Case Studies Archive

Attitudes to sperm donation: would you?

Brief and Objectives

Following frequent news reports of a national sperm shortage and the generally recognised disappointment of the National Sperm Bank, Bourn Hall Clinic wanted to find out the reasons why (or not) men would consider donating sperm, and to raise awareness of the new Bourn Hall Donor Programme.

Research, planning and strategy

Holdsworth Associates proposed a market research strategy, in order to gauge public attitudes. Understanding that sperm donation and male infertility can be a difficult topic for some to discuss, it was important to use a platform with a sense of privacy or anonymity when undertaking the research. Stakeholders to target would be men with fertility issues, but also potential donators.

Campaign tactics, creativity and innovation

An online attitudes survey was created, with contributions from Bourn Hall staff, to assess public opinion, knowledge of sperm donation and male infertility. The rationale was to use the results to identify obstacles to donation, providing insight into how to alleviate the national shortage. Extra space was included in the survey, encouraging participants to leave comments for further context.

Considering the target audience, Holdsworth Associates distributed the survey through relevant channels including Facebook, a football club chat room and a hockey club, due to the significant demographic of male users. With the survey being conducted online, it was more likely that there would be a higher level of engagement.

Implementation of Tactics

Holdsworth Associates posted the survey to social media and internet forums, securing multiple responses. The tactic to include open comment boxes in the survey was successful, with multiple responses recorded, allowing Bourn Hall to gain further useful information which may not have been originally considered.

Bourn Hall donor website - market research
Bourn Hall sperm donation advert

Outcome

The survey illustrated that knowledge of the need for sperm donors was high amongst respondents. The barrier was not the lack of understanding; concerns centred on prioritisation, embarrassment, partner opinion and identification by the offspring’s mother.

With insights from the market research, Bourn Hall could raise awareness for the new Donor Programme.

Responses to the survey indicated that men would be happy to donate if it helped a friend or relative, prompting Bourn Hall to update their donation service. Where previously all donors could choose to receive free IVF treatment for themselves, this was enhanced to provide a new service to allow sperm and egg donors to ‘gift’ their free treatment to a friend or relative, thus providing additional help to people looking to undergo fertility treatment.

Holdsworth Associates implemented a media relations campaign to launch this new gift service, targeting both national and regional media

Measurement & Evaluation

This opportunity to gift IVF was the first of its kind in the UK – Holdsworth Associates secured widespread coverage for Bourn Hall across print, broadcast and online national and local media, including:

Bourn Hall informed Holdsworth Associates that as a result of the campaign, the clinic had received a boost in donors coming forward.

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Making R&D knowledge and research more easily accessible

Brief and Objectives

RADMA (the Research and Development Management Association) is a membership organisation that supports research, good practice and innovation formed by academics. Holdsworth Associates was approached to help better disseminate the research, articles and tools relevant to research and development management in organisations.

Research, planning and strategy

A community outreach website was to be created, as a portal to signpost practitioners to resources recommended by peers. Content would include research, articles and tools – the website would then be publicly launched at the R&D Management Conference 2016.

Holdsworth Associates planned for the website to be arranged around certain key themes, determined in collaboration with the RADMA trustees. It was strategized that the website would be built to allow for users to easily select a theme and/or content type – for example, an academic paper or a research tool – and for new themes to be easily added as the community expands.

Campaign tactics, creativity and innovation

It was proposed that each theme should be managed by two or three theme editors, responsible for the supply of recommended content (blogs, papers, articles etc.) for their respective theme. The inclusion of themes would generate greater attraction for targeted R&D managers, focusing on topics such as roadmapping.

The website design would complement the RADMA brand, utilising recognisable colours while still providing a stand-alone user experience.

To further enhance the community outreach and ease of access for interested parties, Holdsworth Associates would additionally create an email newsletter, a YouTube channel and a SoundCloud channel for podcasts.

R&D Today - making R&D knowledge and research more easily accessible

Implementation of Tactics

The community outreach website R&D Today was successfully designed within a time-frame and populated with content, in order to announce its launch at the R&D Management conference.

Twitter and LinkedIn accounts were created to help provide additional means of communication and outreach.

Measurement & Evaluation

Over 7,500 page views were recorded over the six months since the website went live. As a result of promotion on LinkedIn and by theme editors, readership and interest continues to grow.

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Profiling early-stage technology companies

St John’s Innovation Centre (SJIC) is an incubator for early stage companies and provides a wealth of advice and support services aimed at entrepreneurs.

Holdsworth Associates has worked with SJIC over many years to provide public relations support in order to help companies gain a profile with the media, analysts and potential investors.

We worked with SJIC on a technology showcase, where 13 start-ups demonstrated to the media alongside a pitching session to investors.

Objectives

To promote SJIC’s services, and raise the profile of its tenants and other early-stage companies with the media and potential investors.

Strategy

The event was called ‘Meerkats and Avatars’ – companies from across the East of England were invited to participate.

Each company was given a PR consultation meeting and a press release drafted with a strong news hook to support their business objectives. For many of the companies it was the first time they had their offering articulated in this way.

The technology showcase was aimed at invited journalists from local, national, trade and broadcast media.

Journalists had the opportunity to see demonstrations of early-stage products and meet the people involved in developing the technology.

The press releases were made available to the media who attended the event and also distributed online to journalists in our extensive database.

Cambridge technology PR event

Results

It proved to be a lively day with an impressive array of technologies demonstrated in creative ways.

It was attended by journalists from a range of media including the BBC, The Sunday Telegraph, New Scientist and The Guardian. Coverage appeared in print, online, on the radio and on television.

There was good attendance from investors and many of the companies subsequently gained investment.

For these early-stage companies it was a unique opportunity to raise their profile with the media and investors – in most cases it was the first time their ideas had received public attention.

Audio Analytic at Meerkats and Avatars - Profiling early-stage technology companies
Audio Analytic at Meerkats and Avatars
Gmax at Meerkats and Avatars - Profiling early-stage technology companies
Gmax at Meerkats and Avatars

The companies supported by SJIC technology press days have included:

  • Audio Analytic: Sound-recognition software to aid crime detection by automatically recognising warning sounds such as car alarms, and highlighting the CCTV screen they are coming from.
  • Endomagnetics: A safe and cost-effective technique for detecting the spread of breast cancer.
  • Gmax: Real-time biometrics to improve racehorse training.
  • Intelligent Fingerprinting: Detection of illicit substances from fingerprints.
  • Ombar: Organic chocolate, made from raw cocoa beans, which is low in fat and high in antioxidants.
  • Omnisense: A flexible location system to allow tracking of people and assets in real time without the need for a fixed infrastructure.
  • Psonar: A music storage cloud which allows users to safely back up their collection, share playlists and discover new tracks legally.
  • Trillion Genomics: Their technology has applications in diagnostics, medical research, integrated disease management and drug discovery, and they specialise in screening for prostate cancer.
  • Visual Perception: A user interface to improve human-computer interactions by using patterns found in nature to create an intuitive browsing mechanism.
  • Zonerider: Free software which allows individuals to sell their Wi-Fi broadband, opening up possibilities for communities around the world to get online.

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Is the future of healthcare devices wireless?

How can we deliver digital healthcare? Holdsworth Associates was asked to capture the outputs from a brainstorming workshop that brought together the healthcare, medical device and wireless communities.

We provided a scribe for each of the four strands of the workshop and collated the main points at the end of each session for the chair. These were used as part of the plenary sessions.

Holdsworth Associates produced a report after the meeting with minimal input from the speakers which captured the innovative thinking and created a tangible outcome for the participants.

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Making climate change relevant to business

Management consultancy Obsidian Consulting and its client the British Antarctic Survey were to co-host a seminar on climate change.

Holdsworth Associates was asked to help give the event a strong identity and relevance to an audience of regional mid-market companies.

Strategy

To attract delegates we needed to create a story ahead of the workshop.  Holdsworth Associates proposed that Obsidian used its business consultancy skills to interview a number of CEOs about their sustainability strategy and the risks they had identified within their businesses.

This activity provided an opportunity to understand how to position the workshop for maximum benefit and identified the hot-topics to address.  The findings from the survey created material for a presentation, a report and a media story.  In addition many of the senior people interviewed attended the event to see the findings of the research and share ideas with peers.

For the workshop we developed the theme of ‘Adapt and Prosper’.

This activity ensured that the event addressed the needs of the delegates and stimulated a lively debate about the business response to the opportunities and challenges presented by climate change.

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Generating market pull for new health product

Objective

Holdsworth Associates was asked to launch a new product to the healthcare market. The food intolerance test was to be used by nutritional therapists and related healthcare professionals with their clients.

We devised and implemented a marketing communications campaign which create both a push and a pull – to create market awareness of the availability of the product, and then demand from customers.

Strategy

We used a market research exercise to inform all nutritionists of the new product, and offer them a free trial.

The research also extracted valuable information about competing products, professional organisations, and attitudes to food intolerance testing.

Results

Relationships were developed with nutritionists, which lead to excellent press coverage as well as orders for product. Contacts were made at many relevant professional organisations.

Broadcast coverage included: BBC Look East, Anglia TV, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Q103, and BBC Radio Suffolk – who did a test live on air with a nutritionist.

We targeted professional and trade media with an announcement about the business benefits of Food Detective and a pilot consumer campaign was launched in the East of England where a number of professionals were established users.

This generated immediate interest for the product.

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Creating research to drive PR

SureFlap is a microchip operated cat flap that only permits the resident cat to enter the home, keeping intruder cats outside.

The client wanted to raise the profile of its product with the national media, so we used research to create a story.

Strategy

An analysis of customers revealed that many had purchased SureFlap as they wanted a secure cat flap that would excluded unwanted visitors. Desk research showed that although little was known about the behaviour of cats it was known that home invasions caused stressed.

HA developed a research project with an animal behaviourist from the Royal Veterinary College to provide credibility for the results and then interested Your Cat Magazine in collaborating with a series of features aimed at raising awareness that home invasion caused stress for cats and this could be prevented by using a secure cat flap such as SureFlap.

Results 

  • Over 1,000 people completed the survey.
  • Analysis by HA with the behaviourist generated sufficient material for five features in YourCat Magazine.
  • The findings were launched at the British Small Animal Veterinary Association to a room of vets (key influencers)
  • Results were published in major veterinary publications
  • Radio interviews were secured on the BBC
  • Coverage was achieved in the pet trade publications and resulted in request for several articles
  • Coverage was achieved in the Independent, Daily Telegraph, Express, Metro

Client comment

 The 300% increase in turnover we achieved last year has enabled us to grow the team significantly in the past six months. Sales continue to grow both in the UK and abroad and we now have country managers in place to target the US and Germany. With sales also picking up in Australasia, we plan to have a local presence there too within the next six months.
– Dr Nick Hill, Managing Director, SureFlap Ltd

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Personalising investments to achieve media results

Generating media interest with investment stories - CIC Congenica

When generating media interest in investment stories, adding human interest can make them relevant to key audiences.

Objective

Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC) was to announce a £1million investment in the start-up company Congenica, a spinout from  the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. Congenica, has developed a  diagnostic engine for Whole Genome Analysis, which provides new insights into rare genetic disorders. Although not a treatment, it would allow patients and their families to be better informed about their conditions and pave the way for development for improved therapies.

Both CIC and Congenica required coverage of the announcement to support  their respective aims.

How we did it?

The technology being developed by Congenica was complex and the funding amount, although substantial for Cambridge, was not significant for City papers.  Our media strategy therefore focused on the human impact of the investment, and what it would mean to families to gain a diagnosis and hence a prognosis.

Holdsworth Associates sourced patient case-studies, and quotes from patient support groups and experts to build a compelling PR story.

This approach gained coverage in wide range of media and enabled journalists from different disciplines to understand the potential of the technology.

Close working with key journalists ensured that the story was covered sensitively and all key messages were communicated effectively.

Results

  • Extensive coverage on major online news sites, including Daily Mail Online, ITV News and on over 100 regional news sites
  • Interview with Al Jazeera, gained international coverage, and an interview with Dr Tom Weaver was also broadcast on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
  • BBC Look East report comprising a pre-recorded segment and a live interview with Dr Tom Weaver. The pre-record was also available to view online as part of BBC Health
  • Regional print coverage across the country, including Eastern Daily Press and front page on Business Weekly

Some of the publications in which coverage was achieved included:

  • The Journal of Precision Medicine
  • Personalised Medicine
  • Drug Discovery World
  • Drug Target Review
  • Engineering and Technology Magazine
  • Labmate UK
  • Laboratory News
  • Manufacturing Chemist
  • Financial Times
  • Fortune
  • Scrip Intelligence
  • The Guardian
  • The Herald
  • The Telegraph
  • The Times
  • Angel News
  • Belfast Telegraph
  • Bio IT World
  • BioSpace
  • Business Weekly
  • Cabume
  • Cambridge Independent
  • genomeweb
  • Labiotech
  • News Medical
  • One Nucleus
  • pharmaphorum
  • Pharmafile
  • Pharmiweb
  • Science Business
  • UK BioIndustry Association
  • Yahoo Finance
  • Muscular Dystrophy News
  • Nature
  • BBC Look East
  • BBC North West Tonight
  • BBC Radio 4
  • BBC Radio Cambs
  • Innovate UK
  • ITV News
  • Cambridge News
  • Cambridge TV
  • City AM
  • Clinical Lab Products
  • Closing Circle
  • Computer Weekly
  • Digital Health
  • Eastern Daily Press
  • Heart FM
  • Fierce Biotech IT / Fierce Diagnostics
  • Front Line Genomics
  • Metro
  • MSN UK
  • PE Hub
  • Pharmafocus
  • PharmaTimes
  • unquote
  • BioPortfolio
  • Biotech and Money
  • Digital Media Net
  • Driven by Health with Care
  • Expert Review of Precision Medicine and Drug Development
  • Innovation Nexus
  • insider media
  • Iowa Science Interface

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Creating strong business stories

Objective

HSBC had been involved in a number of important deals, but had received little public recognition for its involvement. Holdsworth Associates was asked to create a PR campaign which would support HSBC’s position as a good partner for mergers and acquisitions within the mid market.

How we did it?

Financial announcements are usually dry and of little interest to the regional media, so we decided to look at the people behind the deals and the long term benefit of selecting HSBC to the growth and stability of the company.

To create coverage within the Midlands regional and with business trade media, a series of case studies who had benefited from the deals were created to show the success of businesses – using the news hook of one year on. These were first person accounts based on interviews we conducted with with mid market directors.

Results

  • On target, sustained coverage in financial and business media and local stories in regional business pages
  • Quotes obtained from the company directors provided strong independent endorsement of HSBC. This raised the profile of the team with accountants and other potential partners as well
HSBC - Creating strong business stories

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Gaining profile with investors

Objective

Cambridge company CBL had developed a new technology that could spray dry vaccines, allowing them to be stored at room temperature without the need for refrigeration.

The technology had huge potential, but the challenge was how to reach and influence high net-worth individuals and encourage them to invest in a new vaccine technology.

How we did it?

Holdsworth Associates developed a communications campaign that would reach the hearts and minds of potential investors.

A story was created based on ‘developing world first’ market strategy. It clearly showed how the technology could save the lives of 10 million children within the existing aid budgets by removing the wastage in current vaccine programmes.

An animation was created for use by the broadcast media, and to embed online to explain the technology to potential investors.

Results

  • Widespread international exposure, including extensive coverage on the broadcast news programmes
  • The Minister for overseas development spoke on the subject, citing our vaccine argument
  • As a result CBL attracted the largest ever Angel Syndicate (high net worth individuals) and millions of pounds of funding

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