Background

Security Risk Management is a leading UK provider of operational risk management services. The company was named by the Security Industry Association as the only firm in the UK able to provide BS7858:2004 accreditation, the only accredited benchmark for performing candidate and employee vetting within the UK, and as such wanted to build its profile by letting potential customers, partners, and industry contacts know.

The Challenge

SRM needed a high-impact event, since the firm was well aware that its exclusive right to issue BS7858: 2004 accreditation was time-limited. Also, like many companies in the security sector, SRM knew that it was essential for the company to highlight its unique skill set, integrity, and track record to the press effectively. These goals, combined with a tight budget spread across a three-month period, increased the need to ensure that the Press Lunch was a success in terms of both attendance and return on investment.

The Solution

CBC coordinated, managed, and led the launch of SRM to the UK media, including venue selection, invitations, and confirmation of journalist and partner attendees for a press lunch at The Ivy. CBC produced a summary of the feedback received from the journalists that attended the event and forwarded this information to SRM.

As part of the supporting PR Campaign, CBC researched and prepared a key target media Press List for SRM, and prepared and released six Press Releases, as outlined on the initial PR Plan that CBC supplied.

CBC also pursued an opportunity for SRM to set up a joint interview with the Rt Hon. Bruce George for the BBC. This involved getting Rt Hon. George's views on the industry and how companies and the public and civil services needed to improve their employment and employee checks to ensure public safety, and also talking to SRM about the work they do in this field, thus highlighting SRM as key players in this market.

The Results

The event attracted reporters from The Times, The Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail, and SC Magazine, and, along with subsequent work with the press, nine pieces of press coverage were achieved, including a feature on the front page of the Daily Telegraph's business section, ITN News, and local radio. Also, as a direct result from the lunch, a telephone interview was conducted with the freelance editor of The Times Crème section.

The results of an audit amongst the 8 journalists who attended demonstrated that the event proved to be an excellent, highly valuable, and effective means to launch the new IPSA Accreditations and to introduce SRM staff to the media.

The overall outtake on the presentation was that that SRM and the guest speakers impressed the audience with an issue that is relevant, of genuine interest, and newsworthy. Journalists were impressed by the location, guest speakers, organisation and planning involved behind the event. Seven out of eight journalists said that as a result of attending the lunch, they had been encouraged to include SRM in forthcoming articles/features that they may be commissioning or writing.

One journalist summed up the mood of the event by saying: "A very informative and useful presentation of a company in an excellent venue. I thought the event was professionally organised, interesting, entertaining and fun. I got the stories I needed out of it, and some useful contacts, so - satisfying! Time well spent."

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