Using creative-led PR to launch your brand

Halfords Autocentre is a new car repair brand, translating Halfords’ values and name into a reliable, affordable service by qualified technicians.

Any brand carrying the Halfords name demands a suitable fanfare at launch. Which was exactly what we were asked to do: making a huge PR noise – only on a small budget.

To maximise PR, we needed to identify Halfords Autocentre’s brand purpose, tap into an incisive insight, and create quality content. On the first count, we saw transparency as the key point of difference for the brand. This was then proven by our insight that 91% of people are bewildered by garage jargon, and this lack of knowledge makes them feel exposed and mistrustful of mechanics.

From this, we needed content that wasn’t just credible to the brand, but was relevant to the audience. So instead of the typical PR approach of pushing out a story, we crafted creative content that brought our audience and brand together: the ‘Glossary of Garage Speak’.

It was our creative approach that wrote the book on plain speaking. And it was our media contacts that secured the support of the Plain English Campaign, as well as motoring expert and Telegraph columnist Mike Rutherford, putting Halfords Autocentre in the spotlight.

We weren’t just communicating a brand launch – we were restoring trust and confidence. BBC Breakfast TV, The Daily Telegraph and The Daily Express were just some of the media outlets that retold our story, achieving over £500,000 of PR coverage. Not only did this more than repay the campaign costs, it created measurable drive to purchase with a garage that people could trust.