Upgrade to Chrome Upgrade to Firefox Upgrade to Internet Explorer Upgrade to Safari
Digital Marketing, News & Trends, Public Relations - 9 September 2021

A summer to celebrate

After a hard 18 months thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic, we thought we’d celebrate the great summer we’ve had here at Effective as we came out of lockdown and started seeing our family, friends and lovely clients again in person.

Brushes with celebrities

Thanks to our high-end client Luxury Lodges and the launch of their impeccable Dylan Coastal Resort in Laugharne, Lydia and Natalie of the Effective team have been mingling with the rich and famous! We’ve hosted influencers, national journalists and TV personalities at the resort throughout the summer including The One Show’s Alex Jones and sports presenter Sarra Elgan, alongside brand ambassador Alun Wyn Jones (in between popping back and forth to South Africa!).

Forever Flowers fever

Long-term client City Hospice launched their Forever Flowers campaign in May, where people could purchase a handmade flower in memory of lost loved ones. The campaign exceeded expectations, with the hospice selling over 1400 flowers which were displayed in the glorious grounds of Cardiff Castle where hundreds of supporters came along to see them over a fortnight. Our very own Kath, Lydia and Cat volunteered at the exhibition, alongside past Lottery winners thanks to our client Camelot.

Camelot clean up!

As well as volunteering with Forever Flowers, past National Lottery winners from Wales and the South West have taken part in multiple volunteering activities throughout the summer, organised by Effective’s Kath and Lydia. From the remote creation of nest boxes in their homes to help local wildlife, to cleaning up the beaches in beautiful Bude, they’ve really done their bit to help out. And the public has enjoyed watching them do it, with over 10 million people engaging with the great coverage we’ve received for our Camelot volunteers over the summer.

Adventure Travel vs the DVLA

Adam Keen, the Managing Director of Adventure Travel, criticised the DVLA for delays in processing driver licence applications and the ability to book bus driving tests, which resulted in driver shortages and disrupted services for the bus and coach operator. His thoughts certainly resonated with others as we received 14 pieces of coverage in key publications such as The Times, ITV News and Wales Online, reaching over 150 million people!

Sector success

Of course, our main highlight is the extraordinary news that we’ve been nominated for seven Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) Pride Awards Cymru! The CIPR Awards celebrate the outstanding work of the PR industry in Wales, and we’re so proud to have been nominated for a record number of awards this year. We already have plans to celebrate the virtual award ceremony in style as a team.

Family, fitness and finding ourselves

The Effective team have really made up for lost time this summer in terms of socialising, travelling and generally enjoying themselves. Catherine was finally able to meet her baby nephew in person (rather than through a window!) whilst Kath decided that little Harri needed to learn how to sleep through sunrise before they venture out camping again.

Lydia has packed and unpacked her house more times than it’s worth counting as house moves fell through but she managed to fit in a week of hot tubbing and beach hopping in beautiful Ceredigion with a tribe of her family from as far as Boston, USA, who got together in memory of her lovely Dad. Cat joined in on the adventuring and is making the most of open borders with her trips to Ibiza, Brighton, Spain and Tenby!

Natalie has made the most of living by the seaside, with barbecues on the beach, fish and chips daily and ice-cream wherever she went. She even celebrated Christmas in June with a turkey and Christmas pudding surrounded by family. She’s made time for training though as she runs the London Marathon in October, taking tips from our marathon expert Alastair! After a hamstring injury put him on the side-lines for a couple of weeks, Alastair was back up and running in July – 34 miles to be exact in the Isle of Wight coastal challenge!

Keep reading...

White SEO letters hanging from pieces of string. The background of the image is blue.

SEO explained: how can you utilise SEO to boost your online visibility?

Digital Marketing, News & Trends - 6 August 2024
Pink and blue letters spelling PR sit on top of a newspaper

PR in 2024: what trends have we seen and what can we expect?

News & Trends, Public Relations - 3 July 2024