The Story
If we knew how chickens were farmed in the UK, consumers say they’d make different shopping and eating choices. That was the result of a survey commissioned by Vegan Fried Chick*n company, VFC, who wanted to promote their study across national and regional radio stations. They questioned more than 5, 000 people. The vast majority consider themselves animal lovers, and don’t agree with chickens being raised in factory farm conditions, but are largely unaware that this is how nearly all poultry are bred.
What We Did
Co-founder of VFC, Matthew Glover (below left), is an entrepreneur and ideas man. He’s also one of the people behind Veganuary, the movement which encourages consumers to try going vegan during the first month of the year. As the number of vegans in the UK increases January has more brands than ever before vying for space. So picking facts from the research that resonated with listeners’ emotional responses was key. For example, when shown an image of a typical industrial factory farm shed and asked would you be happy to buy chicken from here, only 16% of people said they would.
Earlier in the year Matthew had taken five people, including actor Evanna Lynch, best known for playing Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter films, to look round a typical British chicken farm. They were the perfect double act for fielding broadcast interviews. A third party always takes the commercial sting out of a story and broadcasters love a celebrity.
Outcome
Our knowledge of broadcast presenters and producers ensured we could attract radio presenters interested in the subjects of veganism and animal farming. It’s a topic that can court controversy and discussion, perfect for promoting a subject on broadcast. The campaign resulted in 18 interviews, including 4 regional BBC stations, one of which was BBC Radio Leeds, with its audience reach of nearly quarter of a million. The media relations team also secured a live interview on GB News. In all the campaign had a reach of 5.1 million listeners and viewers.
Of course PR is not just about the number of bits of coverage, for VFC the focus was on increasing sales. As one of the business’ co-founders said:
“I was very happy with how it all went, so happy to say the experience was very positive. You managed the whole process efficiently from start to finish. It was great to speak to so many radio stations in various regions of the UK all in one day. And, I can tell you that we sold 5x more VFC yesterday than usual. “
Matthew Glover, Co-founder, VFC Foods
Listen to some of our radio coverage here:
