While it has a best-in-class product portfolio, how could The Think Tank drive media visibility for the company without a suite of new launches or the ability to talk about many Oscar Acoustics projects?

We had the insight that excessive noise is a serious problem, second only to air pollution in damaging public health. Yet despite this, awareness of the life-limiting nature of excess noise is still insufficient. The Think Tank understood that Oscar Acoustics is committed to raising awareness of the issue and helping everyone lead a quiet life. It recommended a PR campaign targeting two separate audiences.

Feature pitching and thought leadership placement were central to the first phase; stories tackled topics such as improving sound environments in homes, while not forgetting product-related angles. For the second, The Think Tank recommended a data-driven approach, with market research to support reputation-building.

With the well-known problem of noise pollution in open offices as an anchor, we expanded the accompanying research into other industries, such as manufacturing, demonstrating the problems caused by excessive noise. To bring the issue to life, we asked employees about how noise was affecting their productivity and mood. This provided material for PR activity and for Oscar to use to develop their business.

We found out that whether it’s the crunch of an apple, colleagues chatting incessantly about Love Island or the radio blaring out 80s tunes, it appears we all have our bugbears. 

While acoustically treating offices is a hot topic, other workspaces such as factories and warehouses also need to be taken into consideration. After all, the manufacturing sector accounts for a quarter of our GDP and directly employs 2.6 million people in the UK. Employees are often working in environments containing heavy machinery or dangerous equipment so reducing noise levels is incredibly important in order to meet Health and Safety requirements.

Our research showed that poor acoustics could be hurting companies’ bottom lines, with 50% of participants believing noise negatively affected their productivity. We packaged the data to generate coverage, provide headlines and secure buy-in from the media.

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Oscar Acoustics was quick to pull staff off sites as the severity of the crisis became clear. Working with contractors and clients, they created a safe approach to getting their people back onsite. The Think Tank identified the newsworthiness of this approach and shifted campaign focus from productivity to employee health. As a result, we secured thought leadership and comment in national and trade media (Building, the Guardian, The Daily Telegraph), which also led to two interview slots on BBC Radio Four’s Today programme.

Altogether the campaign garnered 97 pieces of coverage with 54% in tier 1 media. The campaign reached 1.55bn people online, as well as achieving an 11m listenership and 2.35m print circulation. Oscar Acoustics had their most successful year to date in the company’s four-decade history.

“This campaign really boosted our visibility. The Think Tank got behind our brief and really grasped what we were trying to achieve. They’ve secured us consistent visibility while helping us demonstrate the true cost of excess noise.” Ben Hancock, Managing Director, Oscar Acoustics

 

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