In the market for promoting towns

Client: The Countryside Agency / emda / Action for Market Towns

“It was felt that the PR was inconsistent until AURA PR was drafted in to work across all of the partner agencies… working with AURA PR, the press and broadcast coverage achieved during the fortnight has been especially impressive.”

Market Towns - Celebrating the Success (2004 Evaluation Report)

A team from the Countryside Agency, emda, and Action for Market Towns co-ordinated a fortnight of events for towns, bringing together practitioners and policy-makers from far and wide. Events included visits by international delegates to Beacon Towns, the inaugural Market Towns Week in the East Midlands (1 to 8 May) and two conferences at Stoke Rochford Hall, near Grantham, Lincolnshire.

The conference on Thursday 6 May brought more than 170 delegates to a regional conference chaired by Peter Stovey, the East Midlands’ Regional Director of the Countryside Agency.

The event focused on partnership working in the region, culminating in the first ever East Midlands Market Towns Awards.

On Friday 7 May, Countryside Agency Chair Pam Warhust chaired a national conference that attracted yet another full house.

AURA PR was appointed to promote the East Midlands Market Towns Week to regional broadcast and print media and to highlight the ongoing work in Beacon Towns.

AURA PR was also asked to promote the conferences to the national media.

Including photocalls and media invites, writing articles and managing media interviews, AURA PR secured coverage in more than 80 media outlets, resulting in an Advertising Value Equivalent of £19,813. In total 31 press releases and photocall invites were written, along with dummy press releases that partner organisations could adapt and use.

AURA PR also researched articles, sold-in features and responded to media inquiries.

The events were covered in the national media, regional dailies, local weeklies, on TV and radio.

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