TV celebrity Guy Martin and a WW1 replica tank. Celebrating the White Hart Hotel Lincoln gaining World Origin Site status
The challenge
The White Hart Hotel in Lincoln was set to receive World Origin Site status. A plaque was to be unveiled accrediting the room at the hotel where the concept of the tank was developed in 1915. Our client, the hotel, was keen to secure maximum media profile and mentions of their name. It was crucial to deliver an unveiling event that was visual, dramatic and really captured the media’s attention whilst simultaneously highlighting the historic significance of the event.
Our solution
We worked with the hotel to team find a real tank for the unveiling event with the aim of generating significant media interest and creating a dramatic visual against the historic backdrop of the city. Guy Martin and the Norfolk Tank Museum had made a Channel 4 programme about building a replica WW1 tank replica tank and so we contacted them and secured their involvement. in transporting it from Norfolk to Lincoln to be positioned outside the hotel.
The logistics and last-minute nature of permissions for a monster move of this scale meant we prepared for two possible scenarios – both with the tank and without it. We meticulously researched the history of the Tank Room and the replica tank, developed detailed spokespeople biographies and collated a library of historic and recent images. We tipped off TV planners about the tank and Guy Martin to ensure it was in their long-lead planning diaries whatever the final scenario.
As soon as the tank and Guy Martin were confirmed, our PR activity went into overdrive to maximise the opportunity for our clients. It was essential that the story centred around the hotel and the Tank Room and was not overshadowed by the replica tank with the story just becoming that a ‘tank visits Lincoln’. We developed key message documents to brief all spokespeople and liaised with all media to ensure their stories covered all key messages. This included helping source historic images and footage of tanks to support their features.
We invited all key local, regional and national media and liaised with the hotel’s social media team to ensure joined up messaging and content. We delivered on the ground media supervision to direct activity and ensure key message uptake on the day
The outcome
As a result of our media relations and meticulous attention to detail, we secured extensive coverage including reporting throughout the morning on BBC Radio Lincolnshire. We made the evening news bulletins on both ITV Calendar and BBC Look North with extended pieces mentioning the hotel and interviewing the hotel owner, all with the visual backdrop of the hotel. We also secured extensive local and regional coverage including across key digital news titles. The media coverage around the event successfully created a real buzz, with hundreds of people coming to visit the tank during its day in the city. People continue to talk about the event and share the coverage online.