In keeping with my lockdown rule of only covering the positive examples of PR activity to emerge during these unprecedented times, please find below my pick of the very best examples to emerge from the past week.

Ikea

Let’s be honest here guys, there are two reasons (pre-lockdown obviously) that you’d be inclined to take a visit to your local Ikea store. Either you are in need of some cheap and cheerful flatpack Swedish furniture, or you’ve got a mean hankering for some of its iconic meatballs. You know I’m speaking the truth.

Well, to help out the diehard fans missing out on their fix, this week the genius marketing team at the brand have released its secret recipe, enabling us all to make the dish from the comfort of our own kitchens!

All ingredients included in the recipe card (cleverly designed to look like an Ikea instruction sheet) are easily accessible, and it’s suggested the meatballs are best served with creamy mashed or boiled potatoes!

Well I know what I’ll be whipping up in my house this weekend.

McDonald’s

Sticking with the theme of being able to recreate the meals most missed during lockdown, I have got to give kudos to McDonald’s for its nifty idea that’s gained a whole host of coverage this week!

With parents of particularly fussy eaters crying out for the golden arched restaurants to reopen their doors so their kids will eat something, McDonald’s Family Fun Hub has released the template and design of a happy meal box. GENIUS.

Mums and Dads might have to be a bit sneaky in what exactly they add to the contents – no kid is going to believe those broccoli florets came from Maccy’s am I right? – but it should go some way in helping to fill the McDonald’s shaped hole missing from their lives until lockdown is lifted.

Ellie Goulding

It might considered a tad cheeky that I’ve included the following story within this week’s column, considering it’s a story that the team here at 10 Yetis have been working on for the past week or so, but it’s blown up and generated some absolutely incredible results and coverage for our client so I’m going to do it anyway!

Our client, the awesome wedding directory company For Better For Worse was thrilled to be able to host an online wedding for NHS worker Hayley Pitman and her partner Harvey Skelton last week after they were forced to cancel their 11 April ceremony due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Tammy from For Better For Worse wanted to make the virtual experience as magical for the couple as possible, and set about inviting friends and family members, and even officiated herself!

One surprise that no one could’ve expected however, was a surprise live performance by one of the couple’s favourite singers Ellie Goulding to round off the wedding. She sang an acoustic version of her hit ‘Love Me Like You Do’ whilst the happy couple took their first dance in their living room, and chatted to them to share her thanks for the hard work Hayley and her colleagues are doing on the front line.

As you can imagine, the story has generated a high level of coverage across the UK and even further afield, with both Hayley, Harvey and Tammy all partaking in a range of media interviews whilst encouraging donations to a fund that’s been set up on behalf of the NHS Together charities.

Admiral

Admiral car insurance is offering all of its customers a £25 Coronavirus refund, and as one of its customers for the last 10 years or so, I am very much here for this great PR opportunity.

It’s the first major UK motor insurer to offer any kind of refund to its customers, and will be shelling out more than £110 million to its policyholders in the coming month. The company has announced it is using money that would’ve otherwise been spent on claims to pay its customers, which have dropped dramatically due to the huge majority of people staying indoors and only taking to their vehicles in order to go grocery shopping or to care for vulnerable individuals.

Great move by Admiral, it’ll now be interesting to see if any other car insurance brands follow suit… and how much they’ll be offering up…

Written by Lauren Wilden, head of PR at 10 Yetis Digital. Seen any good or bad PR lately? You know what to do @10Yetis on Twitter or andy@10Yetis.co.uk on email