March brought us not only some glorious sunshine, but also Mother’s Day, Women’s History Month, St Patrick’s Day and International Women’s Day. The days are also much lighter after the clocks sprang forward – hello spring! This meant there were plenty of great digital PR campaigns for us to choose from, so here are some of our favourites. As always, we’ll be exploring what these brands did, why their campaigns were a success, and looking at the coverage they gained as a result.
Time Out: Most beautiful cinemas in the world
Time Out scoured the globe looking for the most beautiful cinemas and ranked them in a top 50 list in this campaign. From a 12-seat theatre in an old Ontario crafts shop to a 2702-seat great hall in Paris, the list celebrates a wide range of cinemas, theatres and halls.
This was then cleverly broken up and released across each of their sites, granting them a wider audience and making the campaign bigger. For example, Time Out Europe featured the most beautiful cinemas in Europe, while Time Out LA featured the three cinemas from the city that made the list.
Unsurprisingly, plenty of other media titles, such as The Independent, Entrevue and Arts Talk, around the globe picked up this list, making it a very successful campaign.
Standout coverage
- The Independent (DA 83): The UK cinemas named among the world’s most beautiful
- We Love Budapest (DA 61): One of Budapest’s art cinemas is among the 10 most beautiful in the world
- Sortir A Paris (DA 70): WHAT IS THIS MYTHICAL PARISIAN CINEMA THAT WAS VOTED THE MOST BEAUTIFUL IN THE WORLD?
- Arts Talk (DA 23): Time Out has voted the Tuschinski in Amsterdam the world’s most beautiful cinema
- TBE Bath & Somerset (DA 27): Time Out names Bath cinema as one of the world’s most beautiful
- 9 News Aus (DA 86): Aussie cinema among those named the most beautiful in the world
Why it worked
Location-based ranking indexes are one of the best ways to secure widespread coverage because they provide multiple angles for the media to choose from, which means more stories and more content for the outlet. This campaign in particular features 50 different places around the world, so naturally it lends itself to national, regional and internal outreach.
Each cinema mentioned in the top 50 list is a story in itself, and if there are multiple places in one country, this is another hook. The fact that the campaign provided a global list of places with the most beautiful cinemas meant that there’s a visual aspect too, as the places can be mapped to capture attention.
Not only is it able to secure coverage in a variety of locations, but it also works because there are so many different angles that media titles can take. This allows you to go to the more niche titles and means you also have more opportunities to personalise your outreach. A tactic which always results in better success when it comes to journalists opening your emails.
Lastly, this is the type of content that journalists like to cover. According to research from Buzzsumo, localised PR headlines were a lot more valuable and a lot more likely to be syndicated. This is because people like to compare lists, readers may see somewhere they know or have been on the list and they might have their own opinion, so media outlets know that these types of stories generate clicks and are therefore more likely to publish them. People like to see which is sitting at the top, and which is at the bottom, and see what sets the one at the top apart from the rest.
IKEA: Severance vibes for your workplace
IKEA decided to capitalise on the coverage that Apple TV’s much-anticipated Severance season two was getting by launching a Severance-inspired advert that recreated the iconic show’s cubicle layout. The campaign, launched on IKEA Australia’s TikTok, promotes office furniture that looks like it’s straight out of Lumon Industries and emphasises the concept of privacy.
The ad slogan was a direct nod to the TV show, too, referencing innies and outies, making it a subtle yet slightly unsettling tribute to the popular show. “For work that is mysterious and important. Innie or outie, everyone deserves privacy.”
The campaign reflects the show’s minimalist aesthetic, where design prioritises functionality, mirroring IKEA’s philosophy and making it super relevant for the brand.
The campaign managed to secure plenty of coverage due to its link with the TV show, but it was social media where it had the most success, with plenty of videos covering the ad on their own TikTok channels, and over 1.1 million views and over 700 comments on the post itself.
Standout coverage
- Famous Campaigns (DA 53): Ikea Australia leans Into the ‘Severance’ aesthetic
- MSN (DA 94): Severance vibes for your workspace? IKEA’s latest post sends fans wild
- Extra (DA 66) Severance vibes for your workspace? IKEA’s latest post sends fans wild
- Boing Boing (DA 88): A mysterious and important Ikea ad
- Domus (DA 73): IKEA pays tribute to Severance’s aesthetics in a dystopian-flavored campaign
Why it worked
It worked mainly because of timing. The ad was dropped during the season two finale, capturing all those fans who headed to social media afterwards to discuss the episode online, and capturing the attention of the media who were already covering Severance. It effectively uses product placement to connect with fans of the TV show. IKEA simply has a knack for leaning into pop culture and coming up with creative campaigns that don’t do too much.
It’s a clever concept, too. The campaign brilliantly ties IKEA’s modular furniture to the TV show, capturing the essence of the show’s distinctive office design. It’s visually engaging, while it looks very much like a typical IKEA ad, the caption stating it’s for “work that is mysterious and important” helps it stand out and makes you instantly think of Severance.
It’s a perfect example of how brands can tap into popular culture to create captivating and visually engaging content.
M&S: Limited Edition Connie Caterpillar for Mother’s Day
It wouldn’t be right if we didn’t include a Mother’s Day campaign, and this one was an instant success.
For the Queens in our lives, M&S launched a limited edition Queen for the Day Connie the Caterpillar cake. This cute, half-size version of the iconic treat comes complete with a white chocolate face, pink crown and special sugar crown decorations. Yas Queen!
The campaign managed to secure plenty of coverage in top-tier national, regional and trade titles, but it worked on social media too. The initial Instagram post announcing the launch garnered just under 4,500 likes and plenty of comments from fans of Connie and people complaining that they couldn’t find it anywhere in-store.
Standout coverage
- Liverpool Echo (DA 89): Marks & Spencer shoppers rush to get their hands on unique Mother’s Day treat
- The Sun (DA 94): SNACK DELIGHT M&S fans spot new ‘limited edition’ Connie the Caterpillar chocolate cakes for Mother’s Day
- Glasgow Live (DA 69): Marks & Spencer shoppers all saying same thing about Mother’s Day sweet treat
- GB News (DA 63): M&S launches new dine-in deal for just £5 per person – but you must be quick
- Good Housekeeping (DA 90): M&S just launched a new dine-in deal for Mother’s Day and it’s only £5 a head
- MSN (DA 94): M&S launches Mother’s Day food range featuring female version of Colin the Caterpillar – in stores now
- Birmingham Live (DA 89): M&S brings in new £5 charge and shoppers will notice it from this week
Why it worked
Unique? Tick. Big brand? Tick. Good timing? Tick. This had all the markings of a good campaign. The Mother’s Day aspect helped simply because hundreds of journalists are looking for content for their round-ups, gift guides and review pages. This campaign not only had the seasonal angle but a big brand behind it. The media will always cover a story from an already trusted brand because they know it will generate clicks, especially with an iconic product like Connie the Caterpillar and Mother’s Day.
The limited edition aspect helped, too. It helped create a sense of urgency and exclusivity among fans of M&S and their caterpillar cakes, and the comments from shoppers complaining that there are none left or that they’re struggling to buy them help provide more content for the media outlets covering the campaign.
Every year, whether it’s Christmas, Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day, shops will do meal deals and specific gifts for these occasions – think the M&S dine-in for two and ASDA’s £10 meal deal. This means that media outlets are actively looking for this type of content, and M&S was able to shoehorn a mention of the limited edition product in any articles covering supermarket meal deals.
