Cutting through the noise, one campaign at a time.
You can have a sharp angle, a decent spokesperson and a clean news hook, then lose the lot because the images don’t work. Here’s what UK picture desks need, what quietly gets files binned, and how a simple image pack can rescue a near-miss pitch.
A rail strike, a red weather warning, a royal announcement or a Budget that runs long can turn a carefully timed launch into a non-event. Here's how UK comms teams build a pre-written contingency release, set trigger points and reschedule without losing the momentum they spent weeks earning.
Almost every UK SME has a crisis plan. Almost none of them have read it since the day it was signed off. Here's a compact 30-minute tabletop drill that turns a dusty document into a holding statement you could actually send — plus the roles, timings and silences that stop a bad morning becoming a bad quarter.
Most UK SMEs spend hours crafting the pitch and almost no time on the page a journalist opens next. That click is your second pitch — and it is usually where the story quietly dies. Here are the five checks reporters make before they decide whether to reply.
Most UK SMEs have a press release template but no prepared answer for the question they dread. This is a practical, low-drama way to build a pre-crisis Q&A, assign who speaks, and rehearse the phrases that keep a tricky moment calm rather than improvised.
Most UK SMEs chase national press while their buyers listen to niche trade podcasts that are far easier to pitch. This practical guide covers finding the right shows, scoring them quickly, writing a one-page guest pitch and turning a single episode into quotes, clips and follow-up coverage.
You do not need a research budget to give a journalist a credible data story. Your invoices, CRM and supplier records already contain the raw material — you just need to frame it properly, avoid the obvious statistical traps and pitch it to the right desk.
Most UK SMEs either send one email and abandon it, or chase a journalist until they're filtered into oblivion. There is a middle rhythm: three touches, each carrying something new, and a clean exit that keeps the contact warm for the next pitch.
The twelve-month retainer is the default because it's easy to sell and easy to sign off. It's also very good at producing activity instead of outcomes. Here's the case for running focused 90-day sprints — with a brief template, a stop/go checkpoint, and a way to fit three of them into 2026.
There's a question journalists ask each other that no PR ever hears. It's also the fastest way to find out whether your story is worth a media list — or a quiet word with yourself. Here's the five-question scorecard, and how to use it to kill weak pitches before they cost you a relationship.
Every inbox in the country now reads like it was written by the same enthusiastic robot. Here's the practical filter we use at Rave to find the human proof inside a client's business — and the seven details that make a journalist stop, read, and reply.
Most UK SME brand guidelines are immaculate on colour, fonts and logo clear space — and completely silent on how the company should sound. That gap shows up in pitches, posts and complaint emails. Here's a one-page fix.
A 2027 PR calendar should not be a single launch with hope wrapped around it. Build the year around three flexible anchors — a data story, a customer-proof campaign and a seasonal moment — then add monthly checkpoints and a simple backup plan.
If every interview, quote and crisis response runs through one person, you do not have a media strategy — you have a bottleneck. Here is how UK SMEs can identify two or three credible voices, train them properly and say yes to opportunities faster.
A shortlisting is a hook, not a headline. This is the practical playbook for squeezing media coverage, case-study content and sales collateral out of UK business awards — without posting another grainy photo of a trophy and the word 'humbled'.
Everyone wants the post that goes stratospheric. Almost nobody wants to send the same message forty times in a row — which is a shame, because that's the bit that builds recognition. Here's a 90-day repetition plan for UK SMEs, plus the frequency metrics that matter more than reach.
Most businesses think they're being overlooked because they aren't shouting loudly enough. Usually the opposite is true: there's plenty of noise, it just doesn't sound like anything in particular. Here's a five-step audit, with a scoring method, to find out whether your output is landing — or just filling a calendar.
Chasing national coverage is the most reliable way for a UK SME to waste a PR budget. The regional titles and trade magazines are where the realistic wins live — if you understand how a stretched newsroom desk works. A practical guide to pitching, plus five ways to slice one story for five different patch titles.