Executive profile client

Client: Rachael Flanagan aka Mrs Buckét

Services provided:

• Executive Profiling
• Media Relations

Key results:

• 114 pieces of media coverage.
• Brand exposed to an audience of 1.5 billion people.
• Live TV interview on Channel 4’s Steph’s Packed Lunch.
• Full page profile and interview in The Mirror.
• Awarded Business Leader Magazine Leader of the Year.

Why was Clearly appointed?

In January 2020, Rachael Flanagan announced that her company planned to create 130 new jobs and expand operations outside of her native Wales and into the South West of England within the following 12 months.

The company, Mrs Buckét, which she founded some 15 years earlier at the age of 18 years, is widely regarded as one of the fastest growing contract commercial cleaning and facilities management companies in the UK.

But two months later, the pandemic hit. Business survival and employee health took centre stage, whilst traditional business development and marketing abruptly stopped. This put the company’s growth plans in jeopardy and prompted a radical re-think of how it could remain front of mind for its current and prospective customers.

Rachael initially turned to Clearly PR to develop a strategy and soon appointed us to deliver it, as we detail below.

Objective

• Develop a media strategy to keep the Mrs Buckét name ‘out there’ and position the company as a specialist solutions provider to large-scale businesses grappling with multiple unknown challenges and threats.
• Raise the profile of the cleaning industry by increasing awareness through education of the business-critical role that cleaners play when it comes to worker health and hygiene.
• Help the company to stay on track to hitting its revenue targets for the year and support the expansion of its operations into new geographical territories.

Timeframe

Initially appointed for six months, the client renewed their contract with Clearly PR, and we continued supporting the company for a further two years.

What would success look like to the client

Once the strategy had been determined, the following objectives formed the basis of what a successful PR campaign would need to achieve. Central to this was focusing our energies on building and elevating the executive profile of Rachael herself.

Clearly PR has long specialised in developing the public personas of business leaders because it has been shown time and again to positively influence and impact the fortunes of the organisation that they represent.

• Focus on building the executive profile (personal brand) of Rachael alongside increasing awareness of the Mrs Buckét brand itself.
• Achieve a steady flow of coverage in the Welsh and South West media, in addition to achieving coverage in targeting industry publications.
• Position Rachael as a champion for changing common perceptions and attitudes towards the cleaning profession and position cleaners themselves as ‘key workers’ in the common fight against COVID-19.
• Build Rachael’s profile as the ‘go-to’ commentator, advisor and industry specialist on all matters relating to cleaning innovation and hygiene by facilities managers in the eyes of the UK’s largest manufacturing and industrial sites.

How we delivered value to the client

• Despite previous media exposure as the leader of Mrs Buckét, this had slowly plateaued, so we needed to start back at ground level with media relations. It was imperative that we re-kindled relationships with local and trade journalists and remind them of who Rachael is.
• We started off with the ‘quick wins’ – announcements about new contract wins (including the Post Office), key strategic hires, growth achievements and future plans. These were all great from a local and regional perspective, but Rachael was equally keen to become ‘known’ at a national level.
• The press activity above is great for local and regional media, but to generate national interest demands an altogether different approach. We worked with Rachael to understand what she herself wants to be known for, and we identified some key themes: entrepreneurship and especially female founders, leadership, mentoring, and of innovation within the cleaning industry.
• To shift perceptions and change attitudes towards cleaners, we ran a series of stories that jumped on the back of issues that were currently front of mind for people. One example was a fear of re-entering the workplace when restrictions were eased in the late summer of 2020, another focused on the role of cleaners in mitigating the spread of the virus in hospitals and GP surgeries.
• We also positioned Rachael as an ambassador for the commercial cleaning industry by penning a letter petitioning No.10 to recognise cleaners as ‘key workers’ on a par with their nursing colleagues. This proved to be the beginning of a campaign that continues today.
• We set about securing quotes and by-lines in relevant media, in addition to raising Rachael’s profile as a business leader by securing several judging opportunities for local business awards, speaker opportunities across several regional forums, and even a series of radio and TV interviews.

Results we’re proud of

Our strategy involved a mix of proactive and reactive PR. Proactively, we worked hard to continuously share business updates. Reactively, we kept pace with relevant trends in the market by giving fast-paced, pithy commentary to journalists, establishing Rachael as a commentator of choice.

Media highlights include:

• The company didn’t create the 130 jobs it has hoped for in 2020, but it did recruit 330 by the end of the following year – double the forecast for 2020 and 2021 combined.
• Revenues for the business increased over the two-year period from £2.9 million to £4.5 million.

Rachael also won three major awards on an individual basis as a result of the submissions we made on her behalf:

• Business Leader of the Year (51+ employees) 
• South West ’35 under 35 Business Women’

• WeAreTheCity ‘Inspirational Woman of the Year’ 

Looking to raise your executive profile like Rachael? Speak to us today.