Speed Communications, a MISSION Group agency, spotted the opportunity within hours when Harry Kane lost his voice mid celebration during England’s World Cup run, turning it into a bespoke campaign for lozenge brand Jakemans that ran with the moment rather than after it.
The team developed “ROAR Relief”, a bespoke limited edition lozenge pack built around the moment and got it into market fast. The results speak for themselves: a BBC North TV feature, national radio coverage, 27 pieces of online press and a 93 percent brand recall score.
It’s a campaign that looks spontaneous from the outside, but Speed says the real story is the groundwork behind it. Social conversations now have a shelf life of just three to six hours, and journalists respond to only 3.4 percent of the pitches they receive, so acting fast only works if the thinking has already been done: spokespeople briefed, messaging agreed, red lines set before the moment arrives.
Speed credits its proprietary Pulse AI tool, which scans more than 150,000 sources in real time, with helping the team spot the Kane moment early enough to act on it. The result was coverage most brands would need months and a much bigger budget to plan for.
Kelly Pepworth, MD at Speed, said:
“Jakemans is a great example of what reactive PR looks like when the groundwork is already there. We didn’t get lucky with Harry Kane’s voice, we were ready for it. That’s the difference between a brand that reacts and one that’s just along for the ride.”
Read more about Speed’s reactive PR work.
