As digital PR experts, we understand that commanding space in a digital world is integral to any brand’s success, and the list of benefits of a successful, creative campaign is endless.
Strong digital campaigns can capture the eyes of the media, helping you build links from credible sources, increase traffic to your website, influence sales, and also boost your brand reputation in the same way that traditional PR does.
When done right, digital PR can be one of the most effective strings to a brand’s bow – and here at Smoking Gun, we absolutely love a creative digital PR campaign.
We’ve rounded up five of our favourite digital PR campaigns from 2020 so far…
A cake shop in Edinburgh selling Eastenders themed cakes
Lots of people got into baking during lockdown (even some of the SG team dabbled in a charity bake-a-thon for our client, Prevent Breast Cancer), but when we saw this story about two sisters in Edinburgh launching their own cake delivery business, and sending samples of their Eastenders themed cakes out to local journalists – we absolutely loved it.

From the Kat Slater-inspired leopard print doughnut, NUTalie Cassidy brownie, and candy sticks posed as Dot Cotton’s cigarettes, this media mailer ticks all the creative boxes.
We know that links are absolutely vital for any digital PR campaign, but we’re firm believers that it’s quality over quantity. If your target audience is in Manchester, for example, then a link on the Manchester Evening News is going to benefit you so much more than a link on the Daily Mail – and that’s exactly why we love this.
These two sisters wanted to attract cake lovers in Edinburgh to drive sales, so a link to their Instagram page on Edinburgh Live was worth its weight in digital PR gold.
Oh, and guess what – they sold out of cakes. Mission accomplished!
The most stressful tube lines in London
We all know how stressful the daily commute can sometimes be, and for Londoners, even just a mention of the word ‘tube’ can cause a stir.
Ask pretty much anyone who has lived or worked in London what their least favourite Tube line is, and you can be almost certain they’ll have an opinion.
Beeja Meditation capitalised on this from a digital PR perspective, with some effective research.
They looked at each Tube line and gave them rankings out of 10, based on factors including completed passenger journeys, number of station closures, delays and lost customer hours, excess journey times, average temperatures and lift availability.
They then used a weighted ranking system to reach a final score out of 100 for each line and station.
The result? Shareable, relatable content, with quality links secured on the London Evening Standard, Stylist and MyLondon.
It makes us wonder how an underground transport system would go down in Manchester…
Stay in a Snow White cottage
Brits are suckers for a fairytale. They can make us feel nostalgic about our childhood too. Couple that with this year’s growing staycation trend, and you have the potential for digital PR gold.
Last-minute holiday lodge booking firm Snaptrip noticed that one of the cottages listed on its site had a striking resemblance to the cottage from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, and launched a digital PR campaign to attract Disney fans for a South Wales getaway, inspired by the classic children’s film.
With links secured on the Mirror, Sun, Metro, Tyla, Country Living and several regional titles, we love how this digital PR campaign marries together two things that aren’t necessarily otherwise linked (Disney and staycations) to reach a completely new audience for the brand.
Better still – traffic to Snaptrip’s booking bage rocketed as a result of the national coverage and links, and the Snow White cottage received record bookings too!
Dogs really do love their owners
We love anything that involves pets, so this next campaign is right up our street.
Dog-friendly holiday cottage company, Canine Cottages, fitted four pups with special heart rate monitors to track what makes their tails wag the most, proving dogs really do love their owners.
Running for a couple of weeks, the dogs’ heart rates were monitored every time their owners cuddled them or told them that they loved them.
Canine Cottages then worked with a vet to help make sense of the findings, and also made some pretty cool visuals to sit on their website.
Landing links on ITV and the Metro, it just goes to show the power of pups when it comes to digital PR!
iPhone users are more likely to get a date
When it comes to online dating, it can be a bit of a minefield out there.
Between the millions of matches, swipes, and the mass of apps, competition is tougher than ever, especially as more and more people are using apps such as Tinder, Hinge and Bumble to find ‘the one’.
A study by comparemymobile.com found that the difference between finding love and being left on the shelf could actually come down to the type of phone you have.
According to the results, iPhone users are far more likely to get a date than users of other phones, and if you have a BlackBerry, then I’m afraid it’s really bad news – using one of these could make you 75% less ‘swipeable’ than your iPhone-using pals.
The research also found the cities where tech has the most ‘pulling power’ – needless to say good old Manchester made the top six.
We’ll let you decide if that’s a good thing or not…
Have you seen a digital PR campaign recently that you absolutely love? Tweet us and let us know – we’d also love to see it!