A string of LED fairy lights from a pound shop and a barking mad idea to knit coloured woolly jumpers for hard-to-rehome dark dogs have contributed to a clutch of award nominations for Aberdeen-based PR agency, Tricker PR. The agency has also been shortlisted as Scottish Outstanding Small Public Relations Consultancy of the Year at the CIPR Scotland PRide Awards.
The agency known for its attention grabbing, high profile campaigns has been nominated in the Not for Profit and Low Budget categories for its Coats Of Many Colours Counteract Black Dog Syndrome campaign for the Scottish Women’s Institute’s centenary year.
SWI members were encouraged to knit stripy jumpers for hard-to-rehome dark-coloured dogs in Scottish SPCA centres across the country. Dark animals don’t photograph well as it’s difficult to distinguish their features, and superstition has also given black dogs a bad image, often appearing as evil forces representing death. By kitting out long-term, dark-haired, canine residents with coats of many colours, the SWI promoted their own craft skills, highlighted their centenary year, showed their values of friendship and fun, and gained an estimated 2.53 million digital views as well as
coverage in national newspapers and on BBC, STV and Sky News.
Engaging with the galaxy’s most exciting mixologists led to the creation of four interstellar cocktails to accompany Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – namely Kessel Rum, Dark Vader, Obi-Rum and Wookie Fuzzball. The campaign made sure that the force was strong with pre-Christmas coverage of Scotland’s only rum distillers Dark Matter. The campaign reached media and digital outlets across galaxies far, far away and closer to home.
“We’re not sure if it was genius, serendipity or extra sensory perception,” says Beverley Tricker, managing director of Tricker PR. “But the shot for the Kessel Rum cocktail – launched a week before the film – featured a light effect remarkably similar to those in publicity shots for Star Wars. Although we suspect the Star Wars lighting cost more than ours which was created with a small strand of battery operated LED fairy lights… from The Pound Shop.”
Tricker PR’s range of services cover business-to-business and consumer clients, and its client list includes names such as Aberdeen Asset Management, The National Trust for Scotland, Dundee and Angus Convention Bureau and Aberdeenshire Council.
One of Scotland’s leading independent PR consultancies, established in 2001, Tricker
PR has been the recipient of more than 30 industry awards including the Northern Star Business Award for Best Campaign in 2016. Tricker PR’s clients are from a broad range of sectors including retail, oil and gas, tourism, technical, not for profit, hospitality and professional services. Tricker PR has conducted campaigns for clients across the UK, from Orkney to London, and continues to build its portfolio of clients across Scotland.
More about Tricker PR can be found at www.trickerpr.com or by getting in touch on 01224 646491 or pr@trickerpr.com. Follow Tricker PR on Twitter @trickertweets and Facebook at www.facebook.com/TrickerPR1
Coats of many colours were knitted by the SWI to combat ‘black dog syndrome’, netting two nominations for Tricker PR at the CIPR Scotland PRide Awards.
Tricker PR’s Star Wars-flavoured cocktails have picked up a nomination for Best Use of Photography or Design, one of the agency’s four nominations at the CIPR Scotland PRide Awards.