Case Study Archives -

We’re back

chris@precisionpr.co.uk — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 17:56:32 +0000

Precision PR is once again accepting new projects

After a couple of years during which we had to scale back our activities, we’re now able to stat accepting new projects. We’re available for content creation, PR consultancy and sustainability programmes.

At some point soon, we’ll be available to take on new websites and full PR programmes again. Chris and Cary are both healthy again, and we’re rebuilding our team of associates and specialists. So if you’re looking for a specialist in digital imaging, medical imaging, services to dentistry, practice management software or sustainability, please get in contact. We’ll be happy to discuss your requirements and how we might held.

Please email chris@precisionpr.co.uk or call +447432 189149.

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Helping the Planet to breathe a little easier

Anastasia Smith — Fri, 25 Feb 2022 03:27:59 +0000

One of the biggest single sources of greenhouse gas for which the NHS is responsible comes via something that many patients – and staff – carry around in their pockets. A tiny, blue plastic tube, normally less than 10 cm in length.

The villain of the piece is the Metered Dose Inhaler (MDI), used to deliver Salbutamol and similar medication.

Salbutamol is a lifesaver and a life changer. It’s one of those miracle drugs that is incredibly effective, rapid-acting, and yet (for most patients) has almost no significant side effects – other than the joy of suddenly being able to breathe! It’s used to relieve the symptoms of asthma – a debilitating lung condition with a real capability to kill.

A 200 dose salbutamol sulphate ‘reliever’ via a metered-dose inhaler (with an HFA propellant)

Asthma is a condition that affects your airways – the small tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs. It can be triggered by one or several factors such as allergies, anxiety, sensitivity to weather changes or physical exertion.

The thing is, it’s NOT Salbutamol that damages the atmosphere. The problem is caused by the propellant used to expel the drug from a tiny pressurised canister.

The propellant needs to be highly compressible to make the device small and portable. It also has to be chemically inert to avoid reactions with the drug, which is highly reactive (hence its ability to act quickly). And it is these very properties that make the propellant damaging to the atmosphere.

So what’s the scale of the problem?

First up, the propellants used are a group of chemicals called Hydroflouroalkanes (HFAs). HFAs were introduced into inhalers in the 1990s, as a solution to ozone-damaging CFCs. But they are 1,000 to 3,000 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than is Carbon Dioxide (CO2). According to research published by the University of Manchester, one puff of a typical MDI using the common propellant HFA-134a has a global warming potential equivalent of 0.13 kg of CO2.

The second problem is their incredible stability; great for preserving the drug while in the inhaler, but it means they take decades to break down in the atmosphere, and some of the compounds they degrade into are also ‘greenhouse gases’.

The third issue is the sheer number of MDIs in use. According to an article in Nature (13th May 2020, by Sarah DeWeerdt – https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01377-7), the annual greenhouse gas emissions from MDIs in the UK are equivalent to those of roughly 600,000 diesel cars. In the USA it is the 7th most commonly prescribed drug with over 60 million prescriptions. Across the whole NHS, 25% of emissions are related to medicines – with 3% coming directly from the use of MDIs – that’s not far short of the emissions from staff traveling to and from work. MDIs make up about a quarter of the carbon footprint from GP prescriptions.

So what to do?

The simple answer is to reduce the use of MDI’s and persuade patients to use other types of inhaler, such as Dry-powder or Soft-mist inhalers. But these have limitations. Dry powder inhalers require a higher inspiratory force, so aren’t suitable for all patients, while Soft-mist inhalers are complicated and expensive devices.

In the long-term, clearly, some very clever chemists and pharmacists will need to get creative in the lab and find a new, less damaging propellant, or some clever designer will need to come up with something as simple and safe, portable, and generally easy-to-use as a MDI, but which doesn’t rely on pressurised HFAs to operate.

A case study

My colleague Chris is asthmatic. His condition is generally severe, but well controlled. He uses a dry powder preventer morning and night, but carries an MDI ‘reliever’ to help manage symptoms during his working day.

A 120 dose beclomethasone dipropionate / formoterol fumarate dehydrate ‘preventer’ via a dry-powder inhaler designed by Fostair

After a chat with his asthma nurse, she agreed to switch Chris to a Dry-powder reliever too. Given that this coincided with the complication of Chris catching COVID, we thought other asthma sufferers and clinicians might find his experiences so far to be useful.

“I always feel it’s harder to breathe out than in,” says Chris. “I’ve never had a problem taking my Dry-powder preventer, so my nurse thought a dry-powder reliever would work for me.

“While I’ve been ill I’ve needed to take my reliever 6 or 8 times a day, at least. That’s much more often than usual. However, I found that my new Dry Powder inhaler was just as easy to take. I also felt it was at least as effective – not as quick-acting but longer-lasting.

A 120 dose terbutaline sulphate ‘reliever’ via a dry-powder inhaler, designed by AstraZeneca

“I’m carrying both at the moment, as an emergency backup and also because I currently own only one dry-powder device, while I have several MDIs stored in places such as on my desk and in my car, so I can find one if I need it. Now I’m recovering well, I find I only have to take the Dry-powder reliever once or twice a day.

“Based on my experience so far, I would recommend all asthmatics discuss a switch to dry powder with their nurse. And if you’re suitable, please do make the change because it will make a disproportionately huge benefit to atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions.”

You can get more information about alternative treatments and drugs for asthma from the charity Asthma UK: https://www.asthma.org.uk/

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SEO Work for Shine Partnerships

chris@precisionpr.co.uk — Mon, 06 Jul 2020 10:54:03 +0000

How do you change the name of an established business?

When it comes to ‘The Web’, with surprising difficulty it seems. So Shine asked us to have a go.

Carlton Lodge – Shine Partnerships

The problem

Shine Partnerships Limited provides supported living to mental health service users across North London. It’s a successful business, growing on the back of an 11-year reputation for quality care and excellent facilities. And this year the company opened three new locations, providing support to 40 new service users.

Two of those locations were formerly owned and operated as residential care homes for the elderly by businesses that ceased trading and sold the premises. But they had been operating for several years and had made various half-hearted attempts to promote themselves on the web. The result is that there are several entries for both on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) register (and unfortunately, neither of them had glowing inspection reports). As a result, many other websites and specialist search engines included references to those locations.

The net result was that when Shine opened their new services at Carlton Lodge, Limes House and Maryland House, Google searches produced details for the businesses that used to own those premisses (Seaforth Lodge and Rose View Care Homes).

The solution

This is going to be a long process as there are so many 3rd-Party relationships involved. So far, we’ve carried out a number of Google searches on both business names to create a target list – not easy because the low search volumes mean these searches keep changing.

Limes House – Shine Partnerships

Top of the list in both cases is the CQC. Both houses produce the CQC registration details, and an archived entry for the last inspection report. Unfortunately, the CQC (though helpful on the ‘phone) won’t change those registration details on our say-so, so Shine’s CQC registered managers have to change that themselves. And the archived inspection report will keep showing at least until a new report is carried out – sometime during the next 5-years!

The first thing we could change is the ‘Google My Business’ panel that displays on the right. That includes verifying ownership of the entry. This is done by a code provided by Google, delivered in a number of ways;

Call the number registered in the existing entry (we couldn’t use this as the telephone numbers were changed to Shine’s head office)
Email the registered email (we couldn’t do this because that email belonged to the now-defunct former owner)
Google sends a postcard to the address with the code. This has to be entered into Google within 4-days of posting, but was our only option.

The thing is, Shine’s staff work shifts, so trying to make sure the person opening the mail knows what to do with the postcard is a stress point.

Once we had verified ownership, we were able to make changes and submit for Google’s review. Those changes have now started to appear and are there when a search for the service name is carried out. When a search for the old entry is made, a 2nd Google My Business box appears and suggests the new Shine service as an alternative.

Maryland House – Shine Partnerships Ltd

And what else?

The next thing to do was to contact all the specialist search engines and request changes. Many ‘phone calls and emails and online forms later, some of them have changed entries, some of them don’t seem to be in business anymore, and others take their information from the CQC or Google!

Two which we have been able to change though are Yell.Com and 192.com. It takes a while for those changes to be approved and indexed, but they are well-used sites, so their influence on search results is important.

Finally, we also …

It is also important to create some entries for the new properties so they can be found in a search under their own name. We created blog posts on Shine’s website for each new service. We also wrote a formal press release, distributing to mental health-focused magazines and website, and also North London local newspapers.

Stories about the new services will benefit from the higher volumes of searches enjoyed by these sites, and back-links to the original release on the Shine website.

Have we been successful?

Partially yes. And over time, the quality fo search results will improve as the CQC entries change, the 3rd-party specialist search engines update, and as the entries for 192.com and Yell.com index. Publications and websites that pick-up the press release will also produce helpful search results.

Meantime, just have to wait – change another bit – write another story – and repeat …

A Learning Point

If you are buying new business premises, make sure your solicitor checks that the old owner signs over ownership of the Google My Business account, and any other premises specific website entries to you. It will save you loads of work and loads of money down the line, and shouldn’t cost you a penny.

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Case Study: Pearl Dental Software

chris@precisionpr.co.uk — Thu, 26 Sep 2019 18:46:04 +0000

New product, new image

BHA Software‘s dental practice management software, Pearl, is well established. In fact, it’s the third most used product of its type in the UK. However, because the company had always sold Pearl through word of mouth, it had received very little marketing investment and simply didn’t look the part.

Early in 2017, work was well advanced on a new version of Pearl, boldly named Pearl Dental Software. The established ‘Pearl Plus’ had reached the end of its development life and was built on a old-style architecture. With new work patterns emerging and many regulatory changes expected within dentistry, Pearl Dental Software needed to provide up-to-date features built on the latest development tools and based on a cloud architecture.

Such a major change in the product would be bound to cause some customer concern. So, the new product needed to be good. It also needed to tell users and potential customers it was good too. For BHA, it was time to invest in marketing.

A partnership is born

Also in early 2017, Cary Cray-Webb (a registered dental nurse and nurse-tutor) and Chris Webb (a technology PR professional for nearly 30-years) decided that it was time for some creative thinking of their own. Chris had spent years managing in-house PR teams to create some highly successful communications campaigns. He had also spent years working for PR agencies and freelancing. Read more about us.

Precision started business development activities and was soon in touch with BHA Software. BHA requested a proposal. After a visit to BHA’s office in Leicester, the deal was sealed for a content-based social media campaign.

Precision would help BHA build LinkedIn profiles and attract members of the dental profession to connect. BHA’s profiles would then share content, such as case studies, opinion pieces and articles from the Pearl website. This would develop the company’s visibility and credibility, and drive traffic to the website. There was only one flaw in the campaign plan – the website.

A fresh look

Unfortunately, the Pearl website was not up to the job. It looked, shall we say, ‘unattractive’. Worse still, it didn’t actually have the capability to curate the content necessary for the social media campaign. A new website was needed. One that looked fresh, reflected and described the product, and that could ‘compete’ with the websites of competitive products.

Working with Precision’s associate website designer, Dawn Li, Chris drew-up a specification for the new website. BHA quickly accepted the proposal. Development was scheduled for the site to be in place in time for the official launch of Pearl Dental Software – in just a few weeks.

The new site was built on the WordPress platform. This provided three key advantages:

Easy to maintain
Easy to develop further in the future
Easy to curate and share content for social media

While the new website was being built, content for the social media campaign was posted directly to LinkedIn or hosted on the Precision PR site. This was transferred to the new website ‘Opinions and Ideas’ section once the site was completed.

Branding

Creating a new website soon became the lead element of a full-on re-branding exercise. Dawn recommended that the Pearl logo needed updating. It needed to show that Pearl Dental Software was a new product – not just a re-platforming of Pearl Plus. Precision PR treated her design as an integral part of the project – other agencies might have chosen to charge for it as a separate project.

BHA quickly adopted and adapted the new logo for the product itself. Pearl Dental Software was starting to look as good as it is functional.

A wider remit

The new website was universally viewed as a success. As well as posting on LinkedIn the campaign was broadened to Twitter, and (to an extent) Facebook (each social media platform needs its own approach, so curated content designed for one doesn’t always work on the others).

The key purposes of the campaign were defined as retention of existing customers, and encouraging migration from Pearl Plus to Pearl Dental Software. Precision PR recommended regular newsletters to BHA’s several hundred of user contacts. The same curated content could be sent directly to the people who use and love Pearl Plus. And the message that Pearl Dental Software is even better would get to the people who need to hear it most.

Working with Charlotte Taylor, Marketing Manager at BHA, Precision started designing and editing newsletters. These were sent through Mailchimp, and eventually also taking on the distribution process. These were eventually going out every two months. However, a new plan (launching 2019) will see monthly ‘technical updates’ about the product itself. Newsletters, sent quarterly, will deal with issues and stories from the world of dentistry and dental software.

Precision also works with press and publishers on behalf of BHA. All advertising now goes through Precision who maintain relationships with the key industry publishers and event organisers. As Ben Baker, MD of BHA, says; “This means that we act strategically with advertising and exhibitions. Salespeople no-longer bombard us with calls, trying to fill up an issue. But we still maintain a relationship with the publishers. Precision assesses each opportunity and passes on their recommendations. We can select from options we already know are worth considering.”

A star is born?

At the launch of Pearl Dental Software, Precision PR suggested that video would help customers understand the changes. Precision set-about managing the production of three short videos. They needed to be very ‘personal’, describing why the new product was necessary, what it was capable of doing, and how it would help customers. Ben Baker supplied the personal element.

“I think I’ve met all of our customers and most of their staff,” says Ben. “We wanted to talk to them directly, but individual meetings were going to be impossible. I hate doing things like this, but Chris persuaded me that video would solve the problem.”

Scripts were written, and a production team hired. A customer, JDRM, offered the use of a surgery in Coalville for the filming.

“I think you can see the difference in what we filmed before and after lunch,” says Ben. “It took me a while to relax in front of the camera, and we had to do some editing where I fluffed my lines. But I think the finished videos worked well with our users. Professional enough to be credible, but with me being me as well.”

Now and the future

In total, Precision PR provides about 5-days consultancy each month to BHA Software, plus weekly social media reports and a monthly planning meeting.

At time-of-writing, Precision PR has supported the marketing efforts for Pearl Dental Software for a little over two years. The work includes content creation, PR (media relations and social media), advertising, website maintenance, direct mail (newsletters and updates) and strategic advice.

Pearl or articles related to the product has appeared in several trade publications and journals (including The Probe and BDJ-Team). New customer signings are on the rise (including for the first time, practice chains). The number practices moving elsewhere has slowed to a trickle. All new and more than half of BHA customers are on Pearl Dental Software. And there is a queue of Pearl Plus users planning migrations.

Recommendation?

Ben Baker

So what does Ben Baker think of Precision PR?

“Precision PR opened our eyes to what could be done with marketing. They provide us with very cost-effective campaigns and don’t expect us to continually payout for extras. What they quote is what they charge. This predictability is really important for a small company such as BHA. Cary’s inside knowledge of, and opinions about dentistry are always useful. And Chris has dealt with companies of all sizes, creating many different campaigns for a range of technologies. So they always have ideas for both marketing and the product. I would thoroughly recommend Precision PR Limited to any technology business.”

More information

For more information, or for a chat about how Precision PR could help your business improve its brand, marketing and communications, please go to the call us page, call Chris on 07432 189149 or email chris@chrisprecisionpr.co.uk

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Case Study: Heditude 2019

chris@precisionpr.co.uk — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 14:02:10 +0000

Once upon a time in a rural Essex village …

Heditude is a community music festival. It’s the vision of a local man, Aaron Stevens. But it was brought to life by a small band of his friends – and Precision PR Limited. This is the story of how a bit of marketing discipline can turn a little dream into a successful music festival attracting 800 people and raising a four-figure sum for charities – even though it rained.

How Precision got involved

Facebook is the simple answer. When the organising team initially worked out what they needed to do, one thing that was obvious was a website. Precision PR was a brand new business at the time. As we are based in Sible Hedingham (the home of Heditude) we responded to a request for help.

Nothing much happened initially, and we thought we’d been lost in a wave of enthusiasm to get involved. But eventually, the organisers asked us to meet, agree on terms and define a brief for the site.

Our initial task was to build a WordPress website. This had to carry all the public notices and a description of the event. We advised on the addition of a number of pages and built the initial site. We also advised that we should also create a blog page for announcements and news stories that could be distributed through social media, leading readers back to the website where they could also get supporting information.

What happened next?

With the site up and running we started building content, such as announcements about the bands as they were signed, and about things such as tickets. It quickly became apparent that many people wanted to buy their tickets online, particularly if they lived outside of Sible Hedingham.

The Outside Chancers – Heditude 2019

We looked at plug-ins so we could manage this on the site, but that was going to be too complicated on the available budget, so we instead recommended setting-up an account with Eventbrite. Whilst this meant that Eventbrite took a cut, managing online sales was incredibly simple, and all that was needed to promote these sales was a blog or Facebook post that included a link the Eventbrite page.

Another bright idea was the creation of a second stage for acoustic acts. This means that Heditude can allow the sound crew 30 minutes to turn-around the Main Stage. But the music never stops – it just gets a bit more gentle while the next group gets ready.

Were we successful?

Point Clear – Heditude 2019

Yes. We sold one-third of advance tickets through Eventbrite and helped get 700 people to Heditude 2018. We also caught the attention of the local press, generating a full double-page centre-spread in the Halstead Gazette and further stories about the bands before the event and about the charity donations afterwards. All told, Heditude 2018 was able to donate £1,100 to charities – the first year of Heditude.

And this year?

Heditude asked us back for Heditude 2019. We were asked to update and manage the website (www.heditude.org) and generate news coverage. We also ran the Eventbrite site again and added direct mailing to promote ticket sales to people that bought tickets for the 2018 event, contributing to the total of about 800 people who attended (more than 10% of the combined populations of Castle Hedingham and Sible Hedingham).

‘Missy Lou’ of Hargreaves at Heditude 2019

We worked with our partners at East West Design to redesign and refresh the website. We also created commercially usable copies of the Heditude logo (so it could be ‘multi-purposed’ and reproduced accurately). Finally, we created a series of posters and fliers, together with a matching programme for the event. We wrote, designed and laid-out the programme – and we even sold a bit of advertising space for it. And to cap it off, we’ve been running market research through a simple, low-cost Survey Monkey survey to find out all we can about why and how people bought their tickets.

What about the weather?

Tracey Ashmead, Heditude event secretary, said; “Initial figures suggest we have made a similar amount to last year, maybe slightly more. That would suggest ticket sales were higher as we weren’t charging in advance for U12’s this year, yet money taken is about the same. But we still have money and donations coming in. So all in all (bearing in mind the rainy weather) a very successful and enjoyable day.

Ska-Mite doing what they do best – the clue’s in the name!

“There’s no-doubt that Precision PR played a big part in ensuring Heditude was successful last year and that it grew this year, despite the weather.”

For 2019, Precision PR achieved a 5.1% uplift in Eventbrite sales (despite lower ticket prices), coverage by several ‘Festival’ websites, created multiple news stories in local papers, and once again (with the help of two of our regular local freelance photographers) had another centre-spread in The Halstead Gazette.

What does this mean for you?

One of the areas of PR in which we have much experience is communications around events. We’ve handled PR for dozens of organisations exhibiting at trade shows. We’ve also handled one-off technology showcases and press events, and now at community music festivals. So if you have an event or an exhibition for which you would like PR and marketing support, please call Chris on 07432 189149 or email cary@precisionpr.co.uk

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New win – ghost writers

chris@precisionpr.co.uk — Tue, 24 Oct 2017 12:47:04 +0000

Specialist copy writing services

Chris has recently been engaged to write blogs and website copy for a large, Thames Valley-based marketing agency. He was selected for his flexible approach to the task plus his previous experience in the subject.

Although we can’t disclose the name of the client or the end-user of the copy, we’re pretty damn happy to have be part of such a prestigious project.

If you have a copy writing project that you need help with on any aspect of corporate / B2B technology and information, please get in touch – we will be delighted to discuss the project with you in confidence.

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