Volvo has found in the past 50 years that safety is seen as worthy but dull, so faced with celebrating the 50th anniversary of having invented the three point seat belt, it worked with Nobull to make the most of this unique occasion. Working with the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety and RoSPA we made a startling discovery - the invention had saved over 10 million lives over the 50 years!

And more importantly it had not even trademarked the design, as Volvo felt it was important that this historic innovation should be fitted to all cars and not just Volvos. So where better to celebrate this anniversary than at the Gherkin, a world class venue for a world class invention.

A two day campaign included interviews with more than 50 broadcast media, a press presentation for a further 50, and more importantly some brilliant coverage across the media, including a double page spread in the Independent’s lifestyle section. All of the above was helped by us uncovering some brilliant stills and video from the 50s and 60s which brought the invention to life just perfectly. Who said safety was boring?

Working with limited material Nobull built the Avis brand into an opinion leader in daily rental and the environment over an 18 month period. Using its own detailed knowledge Avis advised its customers and prospects on everything from restricting its choice and size of vehicle for different hirers, discussed the petrol v diesel argument and discussed the best way to reduce fuel use and fuel penalties when handing back their car.

A monthly comment article was secured in TTG’s prestigious green blog and coverage was generated in titles ranging from The Sun to Fleet News as well as regional press. Avis experienced an increase in business across all three sectors and doubled its fleet of green vehicles which it offered to customers across the UK.

The Nissan LEAF is the first mass produced zero emission family car to go into production and Nobull was called in to set up the social media channels to promote the car in the UK. As well as manage assets and ask questions from curious potential customers it also set up and developed measurement and evaluation criteria to gauge the success of the LEAF social media campaign. After 18 months the LEAF Facebook page had over 13,000 fans and the Twitter feed nearly 3,000 followers.

Activity also appeared on YouTube and Flickr helping find homes for the first 500 LEAFs sold in the UK. This was despite no other above the line marketing spend on the car in the first 12 months of it being announced. Pictured are the team at National Grid who have purchased four LEAFs to work round the clock on their contract to upgrade London’s electricity supply.

The accident management market is crowded, but through a traditional PR strategy, Nobull has helped Total Accident Management stand a head above the rest. The challenge to communicate its complex and diverse messages clearly and concisely was achieved using a benefit-led approach. Through targeting fleet, dealer, bodyshop and aftermarket press with interesting and relevant company and sector news, Nobull has helped Total raise awareness of key challenges in the sector, and more importantly their solutions.

An emarketing strategy was developed, generating 8,500 vehicle customers in the first 3 months, while the Total marketing collateral we developed, including website, brochures, tagline and exhibition stand was achieved in just one month. As a result of educating journalists about the importance of Total’s key products, including ULR, credit hire, grey fleet and Tpro, we have helped the company gain trust and transparency in this difficult sector, and have helped to more than double their turnover in the fleet sector.

Safety and security provider, Cobra UK adopted the Mini Coyote v2 speed camera alert system; a new product from the continent into its product range. Nobull created and implemented a communication strategy to both launch the product and generate a national interest and awareness of the product. This was achieved through an integrated social media, events and traditional PR approach and by creating regular dialogue about Coyote and its products with key audiences.

We managed all press enquiries and public relations in the UK, including social media and online activities, a press cuttings service and evaluation. Our ongoing reputation with key journalists ensured the product test and review programme we created and implemented to generate product awareness and drive traffic to Coyote’s UK website was highly successful, generating coverage in a wide range of media, including: Volkswagen Driver, Swiftcover.com, Fleet News, First Car magazine, BMW Car, and numerous national and regional papers. Regular opportunities for Coyote personnel to engage with stakeholders and the media were also created.