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‘AVE
IT!’ CAMPAIGN FOR RED CITY DEVELOPMENTS
Gold Award Winner, Issues Management Category, NW
IPR Pride Awards 2005 |
INTRODUCTION:
Red City Developments (RCD), the company set up by Salford
City Reds Rugby League Club, is developing a futuristic
£35m 20,000-capacity stadium at Barton, Salford.
Reclaiming 50 acres of former industrial land, it is
one of the most ambitious regeneration projects in the
North West, with a retail, leisure and hotel developments
bringing 2,000 local jobs.
We were appointed in 2004 to build
local awareness and support in the lead-up to local
authority planning decision. In 2004, a major stumbling
block was neighbouring landowner Peel Holdings, also
owners of nearby retail city, the Trafford Centre. RCD
had come up against one of the most formidable opponents
in the North-West - the stadium plan inhibited Peel’s
own development aspirations.
Peel took the aggressive step of
submitting a rival planning application. Many in property
and politics shook their heads and said RCD had no chance
against property giant Peel.
OBJECTIVE:
The PR aim was to persuade public opinion that the people
of Salford deserved a secure future for its rugby league
club and new jobs and facilities – and in doing
so, counter Peel’s rival bid. Demonstration of
public support for RCD’s plans was crucial.
Key target audiences:
- local and national politicians
- government bodies
- local and national opinion-formers - especially in
NW media
- Club fans and the people of Salford
METHODS:
1. ‘ave it!’ Campaign
The agency devised the ‘ave it!’ campaign
to galvanise support of club fans and proud Salfordians.
Rugby league is a blue-collar sport and Salford is a
straight-talking city. The title was inspired by the
popular beer advert, felt to be an appropriate ‘working
man’s’ phrase. The agency:
- Designed ‘ave it!’
logo - printed on T-shirts, badges and car stickers.
Proud badge wearers include; Councillors, MPs and fans
- Organised public meetings with Salford City Reds fans
to meet MD Adam Thomas and architects Ove Arup
- Refuted anti-plan letters in local papers with replies
communicating positive benefits
- Liaised with the offices of supportive MPs Hazel Blears
and Ian Stewart – invited them to matches and
photographed them with campaigners.
2. Celebrity support
Celebrities make coverage and we persuaded famous figures
with Salford connections to back the campaign - including
BBC commentator John Motson, who was born in Salford
but moved south when only a few months old! Others included
soccer star Ryan Giggs and Coronation Street actors
Andy Whyment and Nigel Pivaro.
3. Media Relations
Spin Media set about building strong relationships for
the client with influential local media titles. MD Andrew
Spinoza arranged and attended face-to-face meetings
for Adam Thomas with:
- Manchester Evening News editor Paul Horrocks
- Manchester Evening News Salford correspondent Neal
Keeling
- Salford Advertiser editor Vince Hale
- NW Business Insider editor Michael Taylor
These meetings allowed these opinion-formers to hear
fascinating background and benefits to the club and
the city of RCD’s plans. Others regularly updated
included GMR Sports editor Jack Dearden, Key 103 Head
of News John Pickford and GMR News Editor Matt O’Donohue.
RESULTS:
Fan clubs members attended meet-the-developer events
held at current ground The Willows. We excited the Manchester
Evening News/Salford Advertiser with adversarial ‘David
and Goliath’ line and ensured RCD’s plans
were always in the news. A steady stream of news stories
by MEN’s Neal Keeling were followed by a set-piece
full-page feature on MD Adam Thomas.
A final coup was a hard-hitting
Manchester Evening News editorial which came down hard
on Peel Holdings’ strategy.
‘Time To Step Aside
in Casino Fight,’
MEN, April 2004
“Fair minded observers may say that, as far
as Salford is concerned, it is time for the property
giant to step aside and, in gambling parlance, let someone
else have a piece of the action.”
Public opinion, influenced by the
‘ave it!’ campaign and media coverage, brought
Peel Holdings to the negotiating table. In November
2004, Peel and RCD joined forces to form a joint venture
company to develop the site; the scheme goes to planning
decision in Summer 2005. Peel conceded that media pressure
had been the significant factor in their decision to
drop their rival bid and join forces.
Not only is the future of Salford
City Reds looking more secure, the huge financial muscle
of Peel Holdings is now backing the development company.
In addition, following Spin Media’s
approach, the ‘ave it!’ campaign has been
adopted by the Salford Advertiser as its major summer
crusade, calling for local and national government to
make the stadium dream a reality.
The ‘ave it!’ logo
is now a regular feature on the paper’s front
page, with key messages featuring in weekly stories
supporting the stadium.
The majority of press coverage
achieved was local and the AVE is only partially useful
evaluation – AVE: £262,295, opportunities
to see (readership value): 7,206,102. Of far greater
importance was the influence the coverage generated.
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