When Warwick Castle teamed up with the dastardly Dungeons brand to become the location for its next attraction, they needed a petrifyingly good PR campaign to turn the Castle’s £800k investment into a bona fide tourist trap – in every sense of the word.
The brief was a killer: build anticipation and boost visitor numbers with reams and reams of regional, national, online and broadcast coverage.
We used every tool in the bloody box to get our macabre message out to the masses – from hard-working media relations targeting the family market to an inspired viral video campaign and experiential activity aimed at shocking the hard-to-reach youth contingent.
We terrified the press into submission, securing over 100 hits in just three months and convincing more than 60 journalists – including the news crews from BBC Midlands Today and ITV Central – to brave the terrors of the torture chamber in person.
Meanwhile, we topped 15,000 views for our viral video in its first month alone and were the talk of Twitter during launch week.
All in all, we racked up a PR value of over £600k, creating 55 million opportunities to see. But most importantly, we smashed the Castle’s footfall targets, attracting a jaw-dropping 60% more visitors than expected, with year on year visitor figures up too. Which, if we do say so ourselves, is bloody brilliant.
Check out our Castle Dungeon PR showreel here on YouTube
CIPR Midlands Pride Awards 2009 Judges Comments
GOLD - Best use of Media Relations
"The launch was superbly planned and executed. The target audience was not just children, but an opportunity to re-engage with the local market and a catchment area of up to 60 minutes away. Extensive media coverage was achieved across a wide spectrum of media, including blogs and journalists’ own twitter pages. The creative genius that went in to everything, from the blood stained release paper to the competitions, to the ‘escaped’ plague victims interacting with teenagers in Leamington, Solihull and Birmingham, was a touch of excellence. Through Willoughby’s excellent delivery of this campaign they exceeded both target visitor numbers, as well as press coverage – more than double during the launch period. The judges felt this was a deserving winner and commend it."