17000%

ROI

World Record Set

Public awareness & crisis management

South of England Agricultural Society

Background: LGA had worked for several years with the charitable SEAS to increase attendance at events held on its showground, including the flagship South of England Show. Working strategically with SEAS on a PR and marketing plan we consistently achieved year-on-year growth in ticket sales, but the PR really paid off when a series of crises hit the agricultural industry.

Brief: LGA was asked to produce a crisis management plan to contain and minimize the potentially devastating impact of BSE and, later, foot and mouth disease on the Society’s income, devising inventive alternative events to keep SEAS in the public eye, including a successful Guinness Book of Records attempt to hold the biggest picnic in the world, using local food.

Outcome: While other societies were sadly forced to suspend their activities or even close, the goodwill we had built up with the public and, crucially, the press allowed the SEAS to continue and emerge from a dark period stronger than ever. The income generated during this period meant it continued to be able to fund its charitable work within the agricultural community. Based on evaluated press coverage, ROI in PR alone in 2012 was 17,000% when set against the LGA annual retainer.