Our Work

#HeroHertz

PDSA

THE CHALLENGE

To help PDSA honour retired RAF Police Dog Hertz when he was awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal – known as the animals’ Victoria Cross – to commend his lifesaving efforts.

Amid a particularly busy news agenda, we were tasked with supporting the PDSA PR team in building a buzz and securing national media attendance ahead of the presentation event.

THE IDEA

Hertz was a pioneer in his field as the first dog to detect electronic devices such as mobile phones, voice recorders, SIM cards and GPS devices while serving in Afghanistan.

With such an interesting and heart-warming story, our focus was on using our positive media relationships across the national media landscape to generate awareness ahead of the presentation event and encourage journalist attendance.

Working alongside PDSA’s in-house PR team, we tapped into our contacts at top tier outlets to put Hertz’s story firmly on their radar. Both in the run up and on the day, we managed requests for interviews and photography, ensuring the event ran smoothly and secured maximum exposure.

THE RESULTS

The story captured hearts and was featured across every single national outlet, securing:

  • Prime time broadcast interviews with Hertz’s handler on BBC Breakfast, Sky News and Channel 5
  • 311 pieces of coverage across national and regional outlets including The Times, The Guardian, Independent, Daily Mail
  • A whopping 254m opportunities to see
  • A PDSA brand mention in 93% of coverage
  • A 100% positive sentiment score

311pieces of coverage

100%positive sentiment score