Being organised and planning is a basic necessity of a PR professional. It’s in our DNA, and we love nothing more than seeing a plan come together and then executing it. Truth be told, we also thrive off a ‘good’ crisis. But it’s fair to say that no amount of planning or organisation could have prepared even the most seasoned PR pro for the sudden impact and sheer magnitude of the COVID-19 crisis.
As well as having to rapidly adjust to working remotely full-time, many of the team (like most of the population) are juggling the pressures of combining this with simultaneously looking after children, staying healthy and supporting friends and family through this time.
Responding to COVID-19
So it’s hats off to the Refresh team that during all of this, we’ve also managed to re-write and re-think campaigns for many clients, quickly adapting tactics to make sure we’re still able to deliver the results our clients need. From keeping on top of the constantly changing media landscape to deliver daily national coverage, to rewriting full strategies, they have shown unwavering enthusiasm and commitment to delivering for their clients.
One of our campaigns which we had to move quickly on was our annual Heating Installer Awards, an awards scheme which Refresh PR owns and runs, supported by a number of leading names from the heating and plumbing world. It started back in March when COVID-19 was just beginning to murmur, and we were forced to relocate judging day with just two days’ notice, due to the booked location banning group meetings. Since then we’ve been forced to rethink the entire delivery of the awards.
With InstallerLive the usual platform for our awards announcement, when the team announced the event’s unfortunate postponement until later this year, the Refresh team went into planning mode. Thanks to our great relationship with the team at Installer, we’ve been able to work closely with them to create a new mechanic which will ensure the shortlisted installers and winners still get the recognition they deserve, and the sponsors get the brand exposure they are used to from being associated with the awards.
An awards ceremony – on Zoom
So through the medium of everybody’s new favourite tech, Zoom, we’ll be announcing the winners of this year’s Heating Installer Awards on exactly the same date and time as originally planned – 13th May at 1pm (if it’s good enough for Sky News and the BBC, it’s good enough for us!). We’ll be streaming through www.installeronline.co.uk, as well as via Twitter (@HIAwards) and Instagram (Heatinginstallerawards), spreading some joy and celebrating the UK’s very best heating installers. The show must go on!