Marmalade

The Challenge

Impression has supported Marmalade’s digital PR strategy since 2020, delivering campaigns to support the brand’s wider marketing goal to engage parents, learners, new drivers and driving instructors.

From a digital PR perspective, our approach ensures that all work fundamentally ties into the brand. From its tone of voice to its values, positioning Marmalade as the go-to expert on the topics that matter most to its customers.

This particular case study focuses on a prevalent issue identified from audience research, experienced by all of Marmalade’s customer types – abuse towards learner drivers on UK roads.

Our goal was not only to raise awareness but also to influence change.

Operating as a YMYL (your money, your life) brand, Marmalade must demonstrate E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authority and trust) throughout all campaign strategies, so this was a consideration throughout prep to implementation.

Throughout six months of outreach and the time our Govt petition was live, we worked towards achieving:

1

10,000 signatures on a petition to the UK government (the amount required to warrant a response)

2

80% of coverage linking to the ‘stop dangerous driving around learner drivers’ campaign page to ensure we continued to support with search visibility goals

The Strategy

To deliver a targeted, relevant campaign, our first step was to conduct more audience research, utilising Marmalade’s customer database. We sought information on abuse on the roads in more detail, focusing on experiences, frequency of abuse and data about where it happens, how it happens and its impact.

Using the data we compiled a report, highlighting the scale of abuse learners receive whilst on the road, including standout figures and statistics.

To maximise the campaign’s impact, we petitioned the Government to increase the consequences for those abusing learner drivers. The report’s main call-to-action was signatures on this petition asking the UK Government to make disregard for learners’ safety an aggravating factor in driving offences.

Learner/young drivers shared compelling stories of their own experiences, whilst driving instructors provided dashcam footage, which formed a valuable asset for the campaign – especially from an outreach point-of-view.

To boost the report’s credibility, we sought comments and explicit backing from the Driving Instructors Association (DIA), Approved Driving Instructors National Joint Council (ADINJC) and insurance giant, Ageas.

As campaign momentum gained and signatures were given, we analysed the data to find constituencies that were backing the campaign the most. With that data, we gained a comment from the MP for Liverpool Walton – whose constituents had signed the petition the most, along with his public backing of the campaign.

Our outreach strategy was to be as proactive as possible. We only had a short six-month window to outreach and explore angles. The time frame narrowed the scope of journalists we outreached to (particularly national and trade), with the same journalists appearing on outreach lists, we risked going under the radar and saturating our media lists.

The Results

Our approach achieved relevant coverage and enough signatures on the campaign petition to warrant a response from the UK government. As a result, our efforts were recognised and rewarded in the form of multiple prestigious awards.

136

Links in 6 months (87% above benchmark)

10, 641

Signatures (against a target of 10k)

100%

Of all links pointed to the campaign page

The UK Search Awards 2023

Best Use of PR in a Search Campaign

The judges commented: “This is undoubtedly a world-class demonstration of how to execute a highly relevant digital PR campaign for a brand, going beyond the mere creation of on-site content and outreach efforts. Their innovative approach to garnering petition signatures and becoming a brand that champions the interests of young people is truly commendable. Their objectives were quantifiable, and we particularly appreciate the step-by-step implementation and methodological approach in this endeavour.”

UK Digital PR Awards 2023

Best Use of Digital PR – Automotive

The judges commented: “We were highly impressed by the strength and execution of this campaign. The team demonstrated a superbly crafted and innovative strategy to achieve their objectives. It was particularly commendable to see the campaign was rooted in audience insights and aimed to drive positive change. The inclusion of the petition added a remarkable dimension, elevating the campaign from a mere marketing effort to a truly impactful initiative.”

The Alliance Independent Agencies Awards 2023

Best Use of PR

The judges commented: “An incredibly creative campaign with a really smart use of insight.”