Digital UK

Smith & Smith PR amazed the PR industry when they won the three year Digital UK 'Digital Switchover' account. Retained to manage the PR around the firs, and largest digtial switchover in the UK, all eyes were on us! This was the biggest awareness campaign since decimalisation so the finale event had to be something special. The crowning jewel of the entire programme. 

Tess Daly Pushes the North West's Button

The Digital Swtichover Launch was a large-scalemedia launch and photo call, staged on 3^rd November 2009; the eve ofthe digital switchover in the Granada region (Merseyside, Greater Manchester,Lancashire & Cheshire).

The event, which transformed the iconic Urbis building in Manchester into a tower of digital light and sound, was part of a wider media relations campaign, entitled ‘Strictly Digital’, designed to reassure and raise public awareness about the digital switchover.

Aims

• Increase public awareness and ensure maximum exposure of the digital switchover in the Granada region
• Create a buzz for ‘switchover eve’ by creating a spectacular stunt providing large scale media and photo opportunities
• Refocus the target audience’s attention on the climax of a campaign that had remained in the public eye for a long period of time
• Ensure maximum media coverage by managing and informing key media
• Deliver the whole project within a budget of £20,000

Strictly Digital

Smith & Smith PR had a two-pronged challenge. First, to create a visually appealing, media-friendly event to effectively raise public awareness. Second, to be mindful of the public perception of the prudent use of government funds, by anticipating potential objections and leaving a lasting legacy for the north west region.

Careful planning went into ensuring the event provided a platform for the region’s talent and home-grown success. To give the event a distinctly Granada-esque flavour and audience appeal, we commissioned two renowned local digital artists to create an impressive dynamic digital artwork featuring clips and excerpts from Granada region TV shows over the past 50years. The choice of venue further highlighted Granada’s successes, as the Digital event was timed to coincide with Urbis’ exhibition showcasing TV through the ages and celebrating Granada’s heritage.

A press announcement was released two weeks prior to the event, inviting key stakeholders and media to the launch, to relay the digital switchover message to as wide an audience as possible. BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing star Tess Daly was chosen to unveil the TV-themed light-and-sound show on ‘switchover eve’, to increase the profile of the launch and ensure maximum media coverage through the ‘celebrity factor’.

The show itself projected digital imagery onto the front aspect of Urbis, inspired by the history of broadcasting. Audio snippets were blended with the imagery to create a multi-sensory experience, designed to appeal to both TV and radio audiences. At strategic points throughout the piece, the Digital UK corporate colour became more prominent, reaching a crescendo as giant pink radiating circles of energy pulsing up and down the building, as if the tower itself had become a huge beacon sending out a digital signal to the city and beyond. Digital UK and its partners logos were also included at significantp oints during the display. This was to increase the profile of the client company, and highlight the significance of the show to its audiences.

The attendance of BBC North West Tonight, ITVGranada Reports, Real Radio, BBC Radio Manchester, and Digital UK interviews on You and Yours (Radio 4) the Guardian online, the Daily Mirror and a subsequent photograph in Closer magazine made the event a proven success, accessing potential audiences in the Granada region and beyond of over 17.5 million.

Strictly Successful?

The event management process took place between September and November 2009. The event was delivered on time and within budget.

The Digital Switchover Launch in the Granada region was a very successful event, which received highly impressive media coverage both on- and offline, generating over 17.5 milliono pportunities to see (OTS) in print and on the web, plus a further 1.5 million OTS via TV and radio coverage. As a result, the key objective of raising publica wareness in the region was more than achieved.