Lancashire-based PR agency, Catapult PR, has been shortlisted for two national CIPR Excellence Awards 2020, in the categories of Best Arts, Culture, Sport or Entertainment PR Campaign and Outstanding Freelance Practitioner, providing a great lift at the current time.

The highly accredited PR consultancy has been recognised for its work for Northumberland Day 2019 and the personal contribution that managing director, Jane Hunt, makes to the industry and her clients’ campaigns.

Despite the CIPR Excellence Awards being the PR industry’s premier awards, competed for by all national agencies and organisations of all sizes and budgets, this is the fifth time Catapult PR has reached the finals, with previous shortlistings in 2007, 2012, 2018 and 2019.  It already has two national CIPR Excellence Awards in its trophy cabinet, despite it being phenomenally hard for a regional agency to compete with London and city-based agencies.

However, this is the first time Catapult PR has received two national shortlistings in the same year.  It is also the first time that there is no PR ceremony or judges’ panel interview to attend.

The coronavirus lockdown has also left the Blackpool-based agency still sitting on three PRMoment.com awards shortlistings, for work on behalf of Leeds-based commercial insurance brokers, McCarron Coates, loss-assessing and property claims management specialist, Aspray, and London-based kitchen recycler, The Used Kitchen Company.  A ceremony scheduled for March 18, 2020, was cancelled at the last minute.

With five award shortlistings under its belt already in 2020, Catapult has its eyes set on success of a different kind.  It has re-strategized on behalf of all clients, changed the mode of communication and messaging and come up with highly creative ways to promote its clients, in spite of the current business climate.  

Managing director, Jane Hunt, says: “Working in lockdown conditions is tough, which is why the most recent award nominations were so welcomed.  However, the agency has been through 9/11, which hit our financial clients hard, and then the recession after that, and so we knew exactly what was needed and have adopted a hugely positive approach to all of our clients’ campaigns, based on that experience.  This is helping our clients enormously and enabling them to retain customer loyalty.

“We are finding media very receptive to stories and information, as they are now, in many cases, short staffed and we are also writing and creating very positive content for websites, newsletters and social media.  This is actually resulting in people contacting us to say how uplifting they have found it, which is incredibly rewarding. 

“In many cases, we have just switched things around, to do them differently in a world of lockdown. Clients trusted us when we stressed the importance of continued communication and they are seeing the benefits. High quality offline and digital content is proving hugely important and winning hearts and minds.”

Catapult has created some special packages to help businesses continue to stay in the public eye. To find out more, call 01253 446925 or email jane@catapultpr.co.uk