“PR Superstar – you are awesome! Jill Kent makes your PR experience truly enjoyable and the fact that Jill adds such a personal touch and has endless amounts of energy, passion and drive really does show in the fantastic return you receive.”
Scott Campbell, Brand Manager, Wolfpack Lager
Wolfpack Lager was founded by rugby heroes Alistair Hargreaves and Chris Wyles who were haunted by the looming threat of life after their playing days had expired. But they didn’t have to look too far to find something they loved just as much…beer.
Former Saracens captain Hargreaves was dramatically forced to retire on medical grounds at the end of 2016, aged just 30, after sustaining repeat concussions. Meanwhile 33-year-old Wyles, his Wolfpack Lager co-founder, remains one of the game’s most fiercely respected players. Their craft beer company commands a die-hard following among rugby fans. Wolfpack Lager is sold in a growing number of pubs across London – around 50 so far – and on the eye-catching double-decker ‘Wolfpack Bus’ on match days at Allianz Park, the home of Saracens Rugby.
The pair asked PR Superstar to come on board to help raise the profile of their beloved brew.
The PR project wasn’t as straight forward as it might have been as there was existing media coverage on Wolfpack Lager in the national press, on TV and in the rugby media due to the boys’ high-profile status; additionally, the beverage had been around since 2014. This meant their story wasn’t new and had the potential to be off-putting for journalists who were yet to cover it. Undeterred by this, I threw all my energy into the PR and began targeting sports editors on national newspapers, as well as fellow editors overseeing the business pages. With Saracens being a London club and the boys’ beer sold at pubs throughout the capital, media in the city were a key target too, plus pub and real ale media.
I arranged for journalists and photographers to join Hargreaves and Wyles for a few relaxed pints at pubs serving Wolfpack Lager near to their offices. They were offered 121 interviews about rugby’s favourite tipple, as well as Saracens and the rugby union world generally.
Highlights included a full-page photo feature in The Sun newspaper on the eve of Saracen’s European Champions Cup match – which they won – and a double page picture spread in The Daily Telegraph during the Six Nations Championships. I also secured a picture story in the Morning Advertiser, which whilst not sexy has a circulation of 35,000 publicans UK-wide so is a great place for Wolfpack Lager to be featured as the athletes turned entrepreneurs try to increase the number of pubs that stock their beer.
PR Superstar has been retained to PR the launch of Wolfpack Lager’s microbrewery and bar in Queen’s Park where I will move on to target men’s lifestyle media, sports magazines, food & drink media, high-ranking online media and influential bloggers.
