Learning Links

Learning Links is a Portsmouth -based social enterprise that provides training, volunteering, advice, mentoring and education to those in the community who are most in need. But much of its work was not known by the wider world and Rise PR was approached to raise awareness of all Learning Links’ services and drive new business opportunities.

With its 15th anniversary looming, Learning Links wanted to use a celebratory event at the Spinnaker Tower to not only celebrate this, but use it as a hook to raise profile with the local communities. As it hadn’t done much proactive PR in the past, Rise PR initially worked with Learning Links to develop their external messaging and Q&As, as well as identifying impactful statistics which demonstrated their success over the last 15 years.

Rise PR then developed a programme of publicity pre and post event to drive awareness of Learning Links and its services. These included the ’15 hours for 15 years’ initiative which saw all staff giving 15 hours of their time to causes within the community, launch of the new Training Links service and promotion of Educare Recycling. Rise PR also recommended an influencer relations programme, identifying and setting up a number of meetings with local influencers in the local community, including MPs and local councillors.

With the celebratory event at the Spinnaker Tower the climax of the PR programme, Rise PR assisted the team with event logistics, dressing and speech writing for the CEO, in addition to comparing the evening. The publicity campaign resulted in a sustained spike of awareness from coverage across all local target media over the anniversary period. Highlights included a double-page feature in The Portsmouth News and interviews with the CEO on the main local radio stations, BBC Radio Solent and Express FM.