How Cirkle PR used teapots and celebrities to recruit coaches who help people with disabilities to access a wider range of sports

In a market where branded charity initiatives are becoming common-place, Cirkle was asked to promote Typhoo’s partnership with the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS), which aims to make sport accessible for people with disabilities. The EFDS project was named the Typhoo Sports for All campaign which makes sport accessible for everyone, no matter what their abilities or disabilities.

ObjectivesTyphoo wanted to create nationwide awareness around the Typhoo Sports for All project, so generating widespread coverage in the national and consumer media was of paramount importance. It was crucial to promote the charity link and highlight that every pack of Typhoo tea purchased would contribute to the cause. Typhoo also wanted to appeal to those working within the fitness industry to recruit 500 coaches to come on board and make sport accessible for people with disabilities.

TacticsCirkle determined that a high-profile, relevant celebrity would help credibly deliver the campaign’s key messages and generate interest amongst the British public. After extensive research and media audits, 1966 World Cup football legend Sir Geoff Hurst was selected as the campaign ambassador. Prime-time positions on the breakfast sofas of GMTV and Sky News were secured, and then Sir Geoff was whisked off to West Ham’s infamous Upton Park for a photocall with the GB Disabled team, GB Amputee team and a number of children from Everton’s disabled football team. The photocall was attended by most of the UK national newspapers and also gave the opportunity for a series of interviews with journalists from the national sports desks; The Daily Telegraph, The Sun, Daily Sport, thelondonpaper and Daily Mirror.

To maintain awareness and raise additional funds for the charity, further support was enlisted from over 30 leading celebrities including Jonathan Ross, Alan Carr, The Saturdays, Chris Moyles and James Corden, who each decorated teapots for free which were auctioned to raise money for the EFDS via www.typhootea.co.uk. Cirkle liaised with the media to generate widespread coverage and awareness as well as working with celebrity agents to generate coverage on fan pages, celebrity blogs and Facebook. Teapots were also hand delivered by the PR team to leading London radio stations, which led to a number being decorated by the breakfast teams at Heart 106.2, BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2 and Magic 105.4 as well as on air mentions via Terry Wogan and Toby Anstis.

ResultsIn the launch week of the campaign, Cirkle generated over 70 pieces of targeted editorial coverage, and over the course of campaign achieved a total of 163 pieces of editorial coverage, all of which included the Typhoo brand name and most included a link to the EFDS website to drive support. Key pieces of coverage appeared in The Sun, Heat magazine, Daily Mail ‘Weekend’, The Daily Telegraph and on Sky News, and in total reached a circulation of 179,559,340. Other highlights included a six-minute feature interview on GMTV with Sir Geoff Hurst and coverage on Talk Sport and Sky News. The campaign delivered a Return on Investment (ROI) of 20:1.

OuttakesThere was enough funding from the activity to fill every one of the 500 course spaces and it created enough demand to secure a further 400 spaces.

WhenAugust to December 2009.