Blog post - 18 October 2022 10:50

How Fuldkornspartnerskabet succeeded in increasing their media mentions by 46%

2022 has been highlighted by shocking headlines such as unreal declarations of war, rising food and electricity prices, and high-interest rates that have captured much of society's attention. Big news like this makes it challenging for others who want to get a spot in the public media to get picked up, and yet Fuldkornspartnerskabet managed to increase its mentions by 46% this year compared to last year.

Fuldkornspartnerskabet is a public-private partnership to promote whole grain consumption and consists of 29 organizations from the Government, HealthNGO and the private sector. All with the purpose of increasing public health by getting Danes to eat more whole grains. They have a joint secretariat with two full-time employees and one student assistant working with a small communication budget. As a marketer, you must ensure that all partners gain value from participating in the partnership and that both common and different agendas are considered.

We caught up with Rikke Iben Neess, Campaign Manager for Fuldkornspartnerskabet, to talk about; the challenges of being a small fish in a big pond, the secrets to doubling their media mentions, and the impact this had on their communications work and overall result.

First of all, congratulations on such great results! What an accomplishment. Let's begin with the questions everyone is asking - what is the key to your success?

Thank you! Over the past few years, we have focused on our PR efforts making sure we publish consistently. And our long-term focus has paid off. And since we don't have an extensive PR- and communication budget, editorial publicity is crucial to convey our message about whole grain and the purpose of improving public health.

The key to our positive results can be summed up into two things. Firstly, the dedication of our press group of 5 people within the Danish Whole Grain Partnership. Our group includes participants from The Danish Food Administration (Government), The Danish Cancer Society, the Diabetes Association, and a journalist consultant from Implement.

Secondly, we work with a 360-degree view when finding angles and content for PR.

Yes, persistence is truly key! How would you say you collaborate within this press group, and could you please elaborate on what you mean by a 360-degree view?

We meet quarterly to discuss and plan our PR activities for the upcoming 3 months and evaluate the activities done in the previous period. It's a strong setup with different senders of our PR material, assuring that we are always on track with our PR work. With the help of Mynewsdesk, we can also ensure that our stories find their way to the right journalists and media.

For us, working with a 360-degree view means looking for stories from all angles and integrating our communication campaigns into our PR work. There is only so much you can say about recommending people eat 75 grams of whole grains daily. That is why we need to put whole grains into other frames to keep the consumers' attention.

I can give a few examples. Each June, we celebrate "Open Sandwich week" (made with whole grain rye bread). We run a communication campaign and involve our partners - retailers and producers- to promote rye bread and the Open Sandwich week with aligned campaign materials in stores, on SoMe channels, etc. At the same time, health NGO partners communicate in their PR channels that rye bread is healthy and why it is good for you. Simultaneously, we send out PR material that Danes are increasingly choosing whole grain bread for dinner and that rye bread is Dane's favorite whole grain product. Both stories got positive media coverage.

Another example is that we interviewed an animal keeper from the Zoo about which animals are eating whole grain products. And we have also developed a press kit for magazines (women and lifestyle) with advice and delicious recipes which continuously gives small mentions.

What an inspiring way of working. It's always hard to develop new ideas for content - and your examples truly help to think outside the box.

Let's talk a bit more about the impact of the striking results of your media mentions. How would you say those results have impacted the rest of your PR and communications work?

The increased media mentions have definitely motivated everyone within the press group and the partnership to continue with our PR efforts, integrate PR into our communication campaigns, and look for new ways of working with PR.

In the future, we will focus even more on extending the life of a press release by using content from our press releases on our Social Media channels. In addition, we want to improve and incorporate more video content and recipe production into our press releases to maintain the journalist interest and motivate them to spend more time in our newsroom at Mynewsdesk.

I would not say that the increased media mentions have changed how we work with our communication campaigns; it has become a more natural part of adding to the communications mix when planning and launching upcoming communications campaigns.

Looking back on your journey, are there any learnings you've made along the way that you could share? Both good and bad.

We have learned not to focus only on national media because the odds of getting coverage can be very low. We have chosen only to go for those outlets when we have "breaking news." Instead, we have focused more on local media, magazines, and our own social media channels.

When focusing on local media, the local angle is critical. Consumer behavior can differ across the country; therefore, the messaging needs to be adjusted - e.g., do the Danes in Northern Denmark eat more rye bread than those in the South? We have also found that local media has shown a bigger interest in stories regarding traditions and holidays and consumer surveys – which feed press releases with new numbers and statistics.

Even though many people consider whole grain products low involvement products, we have always treated whole grains as high involvement when writing PR stories.

If you were to advise someone who feels like they are struggling to get the desired results, what advice would you give them? How would you recommend them to prioritize?

First of all: Think out of the box when it comes to finding new and inspiring content for stories. Look at the examples I mentioned earlier and try to create stories around your product or service, not just your product or service alone.

Second: Look for people outside the organization to be part of your storytelling and PR. Reach out to spokespersons relevant to your case; most of us like to talk about our work and/or interests. Of all the people we have contacted, no one has ever refused to participate. Just make sure you formulate good and well-thought questions and a clear brief.

Lastly: If you are in a position like me and not only responsible for PR, invite stakeholders to participate in the PR work. As I mention, we have a press group that meets every quarter to discuss and plan upcoming activities. It gives you input and helps you come up with new ideas, and allows other parts of the organization to be able to impact and optimize the work that you are doing.

Do you want to learn more about the success story of Fuldkornspartnerskabet? Join us for Mynewsday 2022

If you want to hear more about Fulkornspartnerskabet's journey to increase their media mentions, how they work on a day-to-day basis, and learn more about how to work with PR, be sure to register for Mynewsday 2022 on the 16th of November!