As the runners hang up their shoes and the last Greggs pasty wrapper is picked up at Newcastle Racecourse, the 28th Children's Cancer Run has been heralded as one of the charity's most successful events ever. Partly as a result of a highly successful PR campaign which has helped increase the attendance at the biggest annual fun run in the country by 1,500 participants.
Newcastle-based marketing agency, Silver Bullet Marketing has worked with the charity for four years, generating media coverage at no charge for the client. This includes all print, radio and TV coverage, in which a mutually beneficial relationship has been established with the Evening Chronicle, Newcastle Journal, Metro Radio and ITV.
The Run attracted over 10,000 children and adults alike from across the North East. One of the most popular events in the region's calendar, it raises vital monies for the North of England Children's Cancer Research Fund (NECCR). Race organisers are already predicting that this year's total will beat last year's, which raised an astonishing £200,000.
This year's
campaign included numerous press release placements over ten newspaper
publications and the corresponding web sites, four TV spots on ITV and two
spots on Metro Radio. In all, some £330,861 was achieved by the team, making
2010 the most successful publicity campaign for the charity to date.
Chairman
of the Race Committee, Chris Peacock, commented, "This is a truly staggering
achievement from Silver Bullet! This year's publicity has been second to none. Their
enthusiasm and skill has ensured that this has been the most successful run in
many years. Many thanks go to the team for their tireless efforts for the
charity."
Silver
Bullet Account Manager, Jen Tate, said, "Every penny spent on advertising is
money which could be spent on research so our remit is quite clear ? create the
maximum publicity possible to attract the maximum number of runners and
sponsorship. After working with the charity for the past four years, we have
established an excellent relationship with the staff involved in the Run, which
helps make the campaign so successful. The Children's Cancer Run is a great
charity, and one the whole of the North East gets behind every year, and it's a
privilege to be of help to get the message out to everyone.
"This
year's publicity campaign was tailored to emphasise the more personal aspects
of the charity in order to highlight to the public where their donations go,
and who has benefited from it. Working alongside the region's top media, we
produced a campaign that was well received by print, TV and radio. However, I
don't think even we could have predicted that the publicity achieved would be
worth over £300,000."
Silver
Bullet Marketing, based in the Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle, is a full-service
advertising agency specialising in PR, marketing and design. For more
details please call (0191) 2617422 or visit www.silverbulletmarketing.co.uk
