Case Study
BetaDen
Communicating the Future
Launched in July 2018, BetaDen is Worcestershire’s first technology accelerator. The 9-month award-winning programme provides a package worth £50k including mentoring, business coaching, networking and office space. Encore was initially appointed to deliver PR for BetaDen between 2020 and 2023 – covering four cohorts of founder businesses.
Objectives
- Increase awareness of BetaDen among the Worcestershire business community and wider technology scene;
- Build BetaDen’s profile to attract talented founders for future cohorts;
- Communicate BetaDen’s success with wider stakeholder groups e.g. politicians, development partners and investors.
Approach
With limited resources and a small in-house management team, it was essential for Encore to optimise its use of resources.
The key to telling BetaDen’s story was highlighting the cohort businesses and the technologies being developed.
Encore initiated monthly ‘drop in’ PR clinics for founders to identify stories and provide media relations advice. We also developed distinctive messaging to highlight BetaDen’s strengths, creating a sense of place and heritage, highlighting the unique benefits of BetaDen’s programme.
Using our expertise across a range of sectors, Encore’s team identified what made each technology relevant to different media outlets, spotting stories and translating messages and technical information to resonate with very different audiences. This was supplemented by a series of award entries – both for BetaDen and its cohort founders – that created opportunities to celebrate the accelerator’s success on a national platform.
Results
The campaign generated over 250 pieces of media coverage, reaching a potential readership of over 42.8 million and generating over 350 social shares. Crucially, the average Domain Authority of digital coverage was above 50, signifying the quality of media outlets covering BetaDen’s stories.
Media coverage spanned national newspapers, local newspapers, regional business media, technology and enterprise press, trade publications across 14 sectors, and UK broadcast media.
BetaDen and its founders were highly successful in the awards programmes entered, securing multiple wins and culminating with BetaDen being named Best Technology Accelerator at the prestigious UK Business Tech Awards 2022.
