Up the Villa!

We work with Macc Care, a Birmingham based care group with homes across the Midlands.

Given its location, Aston Villa’s recent Europa league semi-final success was big news in the homes and in their local communities.

And for two Macc Care residents, Ron and Richard, it was even more special – as the club had helped arrange a box for them to watch the game live alongside some of the care team.

One of them had been a long-term season ticket holder and had even played briefly for Aston Villa 80 years ago, which showed a real connection to the club.

Recognising the human story at the heart of it, we immediately looked to shout about it to press and tap into the talk of the town.

With the cup final set for this week, we were able to secure prime broadcast opportunities with the main local television news outlets, BBC Midlands Today and ITV Central.

This saw teams from both broadcasters come to the home to speak to the pair ahead of the final as part of building anticipation for the match.

And on top of this, Global Radio also interviewed the pair, with the resulting conversation broadcast across their main Midlands channels – Capital FM Birmingham, Heart West Midlands and Smooth Radio West Midlands.

The cherry on the cake was then a print piece in the Birmingham Mail, which saw almost a full page article on page 3 – meaning prime placement in Birmingham’s main city newspaper.  

When it comes to PR then, spotting the stories in front of you is key – with some excellent coverage often being the result.