How targeted PR delivers tangible results

Published On: May 29th, 2025Categories: PRBy

The communications needs of many organisations ebb and flow. Consumer tastes change, trends evolve and technology marches on. But in many cases, the solution doesn’t have to be a full communications overhaul. 

Even well-established organisations can find themselves sometimes misunderstood, and when fiction becomes fact, a focused, short-term campaign can deliver real impact on a tight budget.  

That was exactly the goal when the Guernsey Housing Association (GHA) asked Black Vanilla to help inform candidates ahead of the 2025 Guernsey election. The brief was clear: provide accurate, accessible information about GHA’s work so that newly elected Deputies could start from a position of fact, not fiction. 

We decided to shape a short, targeted campaign around GHA’s objectives, delivering: 

  • A town hall-style event where candidates could ask questions directly to GHA’s leadership team 
  • A new Facts, Not Fiction webpage addressing common misconceptions 
  • A printed booklet, GHA Explained, summarising how the organisation is structured, funded and governed 

We aimed to attract 20 candidates to the event and 40 attended. Several requested follow-up meetings with GHA’s Chief Executive. A post-event survey found that most attendees learned something new, and more than 80% wanted GHA to host similar events in the future. 

While the longer-term impact will be clearer after the election, the immediate outcomes were tangible: a better-informed candidate pool, the start of stronger stakeholder relationships, and lasting resources to combat misinformation. 

So why does project-based PR work? 

Organisations might have a specific campaign, event or communications challenge to manage. In these cases, a retainer doesn’t always make sense and there is a need for smart, cost-effective alternatives. 

Every project begins with a clear objective, whether that’s increased visibility of a particular issue, service or product, stronger engagement, improved public understanding or driving a specific action by a target audience group. From there, we tailor the support you need: from strategy and messaging through to project execution which might include media relations, content creation, video production, events and, of course, reporting. 

Return on investment in PR can look like: 

  • Targeted, relevant media coverage in the correct places 
  • Increased awareness of a product or service 
  • Increased attendance, engagement or sign ups 
  • A shift in how people talk about your organisation 
  • Improved sentiment on social media 
  • Enquiries for a service or requests for meetings 
  • Valuable feedback and stronger relationships with your audience 

The key is to link your communications activity to outcomes you care about so that progress can be measured and success clearly demonstrated. 

If you have a specific comms goal in mind, we can build a project around it. No long-term contract, just a clear scope of work, experienced delivery and reporting that shows what your money achieved. 

Want to learn more? Get in touch. 

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