A flare for the leisure sector

The Challenge

Traditionally a B2B business with a global network of fantastic distributors, Pains Wessex wanted to team up with their partners in the UK to meet with the general public and educate them about the responsible disposal of pyrotechnics, and dispel the many misconceptions of marine distress signals. Pains Wessex organised three flare amnesty days to provide the public with a free and convenient route to dispose of out-of-date flares, while purchasing new ones at a discount. These days were not expected to turn a profit for Pains Wessex. Instead, an optional donation for local charities would be collected at each of the events in return for the service provided. At the same time, Pains Wessex was about to launch a new product – a sustainable flare refill pack that gives the option to purchase flares without a plastic polybottle, which many customers already owned from previous purchases. This would give consumers the option to reduce the amount of plastic in each purchase, making ordering new flares a much more appealing and sustainable option, whilst saving them money too. For these activities to be successful, Pains Wessex needed some targeted promotional support to ensure the relevant audiences would be aware of these new products and events.

The Solution

To raise awareness of Pains Wessex’s pyrotechnic disposal campaigns, ADPR focused on getting the brand’s educational and emotive messaging in front of the leisure marine customers through the various, relevant channels, prioritising a specific call to action with each news angle. These included informing consumers of the new refill packs and where to purchase them, attending the flare amnesty days and directing traffic to the myth busting animations.

ADPR drew upon the team’s unbeatable contacts across the consumer and leisure marine publications to promote the amnesty days as a safe and effective route to dispose of pyrotechnics. The aim was to build as much awareness of the amazing service Pains Wessex was supplying for free, in order to maximise attendance and disposals throughout these events.

Via carefully crafted press releases, communicating the benefits of pyrotechnic flares over other alternatives was critical for Pains Wessex. Marine pyrotechnics are internationally recognised as a distress signal and are much more reliable in an emergency situation. In all conversations with the media, ADPR included direct links to educational and informative resources, such as Pains Wessex’s own Myth Busting animations, and emotive messaging to tackle the existing stigma around pyrotechnics.

The Results

Across the three press releases, 19 pieces of coverage were secured, all across top target marine media. All pieces contained Pains Wessex’s key messaging and specific calls to action – such as attending the amnesty days and purchasing the new refill packs.

Due to the increased publicity around the three flare amnesty events, 3,587 expired items were collected, with £2,263.93 being raised and donated to local charities.