Client: Friendsreunited.co.uk
PR Team: Beatwax Communications
Campaign: Profile-raising
Timescale: May - September
Budget: £30,000
Friendsreunited.co.uk reunites old school and college friends who have
lost touch. Barnet couple Steve and Julie Pankhurst came up with the
idea in October last year.
Objectives
To increase awareness of the site and promote registration.
Strategy and Plan
A number of stories about old friends being reunited through the site
were fed to tabloids as human interest features.
Broadsheets were pitched with a 'Britain gets nostalgic' angle, and
journalists were invited to meet old flames who had rekindled years-old
love affairs.
Teaser e-mails were sent to a diverse range of journalists to pique
their curiosity, aiming for a domino effect across print and broadcast
media.
Online and trade journalists were also pitched suggesting this to be the
'internet success story of the year'.
The campaign was not backed with any additional advertising or
marketing.
Measurement and Evaluation
Coverage in the IT pages of several national newspapers was followed by
a major feature in The Guardian G2 section and a news piece in The Sun,
prompting the press domino effect.
Most notably BBC 6 O' Clock News, London Tonight, Channel 5 News, GMTV
and BBC Radio 1,2,3,4 and 5 Live all featured the site, while Channel 4
News reunited the site creator with an old schoolmate. Around 150
regionals have run the story to date.
More than 10 TV production companies have approached Beatwax with
documentary ideas.
Results
According to msn.co.uk, this summer Friendsreunited became the most
searched-for word on the net, with the number of registered users
growing from 50,000 in May 2001 to 1.2 million by 1 September.
Hits currently number between three and five million per day, and
Friendsreunited is still the UK's most searched web site.
