How Propellernet’s Digital PR Team Turned Data into Viral News in 2024

In the busy world of Digital PR (that seems to refuse to slow down), there’s an art to creating stories that not only grab headlines but actually mean something. At Propellernet, we’ve spent 2024 pushing creative boundaries, turning data into stories that journalists love, and helping our clients stand out in all the right ways. If that’s got you curious, here’s how we did it.

 

The Science of Storytelling

Who says data can’t be exciting? This year, we proved that when you mix scientific methodology with topics people care about, magic happens. Take our “World’s Bluest Waters” campaign for CV Villas as an example. Instead of just claiming a beach was beautiful (yawn), we got technical. Maddie and I compared YInMn Blue, which is the world’s scientifically proven bluest shade of blue, to unedited photos of hundreds of shorelines worldwide. The result? CV Villas didn’t just get coverage in TimeOut, Travel + Leisure, and over 200 other publications; they started outranking Airbnb in search results AND landed a link in Wikipedia. Not too shabby!

Image source: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerano#Turismo 

But we didn’t stop there. For Remitly, our team (Abi, Steve, Megan, Maddie, and Lena) wondered: can you actually measure how friendly a country is? Turns out, you can. We had over 3,000 people worldwide take the ‘agreeableness’ section of the Big 5 Personality Test. South Africa came out on top, and the story went viral globally, landing 194 pieces of coverage, 106 links, and a jaw-dropping 457 brand mentions along the way.

And while we’re on the topic of taking a tool that already exists and flipping it on its head, have you ever wondered if your driving playlist affects your skills on the road? So did we! Chloe, Maddie, Steph and I turned this curiosity into gold for Auto Trader with a first-of-its-kind study: putting participants through actual UK Hazard Perception tests while listening to different artists. The story was so compelling it didn’t just land in the New York Post, it made its way onto the Fakt ab! podcast series and HipHop.de, proving that great methodology speaks every language.

Fun fact, our work with Auto Trader also won the ”Best Use Of PR In A Search Campaign” award at the 2024 Global Search Awards in Krakow, but you can read more about that win here.

 

Making Maps and Memories

Sometimes, the best campaigns come from asking ‘what if?’ Charlotte and I proved this with Premier Inn’s “Fictional Places” campaign, where we asked people to guess where made-up locations from books, movies, and games would be in the real world. The resulting heatmaps didn’t just look cool, they tapped into everyone’s inner fantasy nerd and made headlines in The National News and Spain’s Hacer Familia.

Still in the realm of getting creative with location-based information, Steph and Abi cracked Instagram’s notoriously tough location data for Inghams’ “Unspoilt Landscapes” campaign. By analysing 50,000 posts with #unspoilt against another 50,000 without, we found the world’s truly untouched places. The story resonated particularly well in the winning countries, landing coverage in The Irish Post, Geo France, and Times Live South Africa, but most importantly, giving us the travel bug to head to Iceland as soon as possible.

Speaking of measuring the unmeasurable, Abi, Charlotte, and Isobelle took on a different kind of challenge for SpaSeekers: finding the world’s most relaxing beaches. Instead of just picking pretty postcards, they dove deep into thousands of traveller reviews, manually dissecting what makes a beach truly relaxing according to the people who actually went there. The campaign made waves (pun intended) in Metro, Fox Sports, and enough radio stations we had trouble keeping up, proving that there’s always a new way to talk about a common topic.

 

Getting Physical (Data)

When Richard, Charlotte, and Chloe tackled PureGym’s “Most Physically Demanding Landmarks” campaign, they didn’t just count steps – they created a comprehensive index considering elevation, temperature, and accessibility. The result? A sleuth of new linking domains around the globe including Thrillist, Travel Mag, and Le Figaro, and a Forbes link that we were super cool about and certainly did not screech when we saw it… our apologies to the sensitive ears in our vicinity.

Meanwhile, the SportsShoes team (Steph, Chloe, and Lena) got spooky with it, calculating the running speeds of horror movie villains for a Halloween campaign that was both seasonal and perfectly on-brand. Spoiler alert: If you haven’t gone on a run since P.E. class, Leatherface from the Texas Chainsaw massacre would have you lacing your shoes and ready to bolt at 7.52 miles an hour. Still not as terrifying as having to run the mile but pretty up there.

Image source: https://www.thesun.co.uk/tv/31309993/leatherface-freddy-krueger-horror-villain-escape-halloween/ 

 

Turning Trends into Trust

When TikTok started filling up with young skincare enthusiasts, we saw an opportunity. But instead of just jumping on the trend, Maddie, Hannah, Isobelle, and Megan collaborated with dermatologists and BEAUTY PIE’s experts to create something truly useful: evidence-based skincare guidance for tweens, with what products their skin needs and what to avoid. The Guardian loved it, along with 125 other publications, proving that facts are more important than ever in the age of social media.

 

Adding Heart (and a Bit of Revenge)

Remember the “Scrap Your Ex” campaign by Scrap Car Comparison? You probably do, considering it landed in 216 media sites, TV segments and radio broadcasts. If that doesn’t jog your memory, this will: Richard, Abi, Charlotte, and Lena gave people the chance to name a car after their ex, before sending it to the great junkyard in the sky. It was emotionally satisfying, perfectly timed for Valentine’s Day, and proof that with the right idea, the most unconventional brands can cut through the noise and make strategic headlines.

 

What Makes Our Approach Different?

While each Digital PR agency has its own secret sauce for landing coverage, at Propellernet, our success comes down to three very non-secretive things:

1. Data Innovation

   From cracking Instagram’s API to creating unique methodologies, we’re always finding new ways to measure what matters. But we don’t ignore the science in search of the most clickbaity headline: everything is backed up with experts, triple (or quadruple)-checked data, and putting our cynical caps on before hitting ‘publish’ on a campaign.

2. Perfect Timing

   Whether it’s seasonal hooks like Halloween villains or reactive content like tween skincare guides, we know when and how to strike. We’re also chronically online, and constantly sharing our thoughts, which comes in handy for picking up on trends right as they hit the limelight.

3. Human Connection

   It’s easy to get too caught up in client expectations or what journalists want and forget it’s real people reading our stories, For us, every campaign we craft also needs to connect with real human interests, from travel dreams to revenge fantasies (looking at you, Scrap Your Ex!).

 

Looking Ahead

With 2025 on the horizon, we’re excited to keep pushing boundaries and already have exciting campaigns lined up to hit the headlines. After all, the best stories are the ones we haven’t told yet. Whether you’re a fellow PR pro wanting to geek out over methodology, or a brand looking to make some noise, we’d love to hear from you. 

 

 

Want to create campaigns that make headlines and drive results? Get in touch with our Digital PR team today.