Our work.
We have worked with Manchester Pride, Rudy's, Six by Nico, Printworks, SEA LIFE, LEGOLAND, Chopstix, JW Lees, Macknade and more. We have launched products, filled venues, won awards and built reputations. Here is the proof.
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Supersmith was launching a mobility scooter into a market nobody had rethought in forty years.
Supersmith was launching its 3Scooter, a mobility scooter rebuilt from the ground up. When the Prince of Wales took it for a ride in Bristol, we made sure Supersmith was the story: 55 pieces of coverage and 511.53M reach in launch month.
So we made sure the 3Scooter was the story when the Prince of Wales took it for a ride.
From a royal test ride to a launch built around the people who use it.
Photo: Andrew Parsons, Kensington Palace
The launch in numbers
Pieces of coverage in launch month
Reach
Plus tech, broadcast and Bristol press
BBC Points West
Supersmith is rebuilding the mobility scooter from the ground up. Its 3Scooter uses patented EverLevel™ stability technology, inspired by F1, to stop the tipping that knocks so many riders' confidence, and the founders built it because they had seen up close how badly the existing market served the people who rely on it.
That gave us three stories at once: new technology, a family reason behind the business, and a strong view on how a mobility scooter should look and feel. Our job was to get all three in front of national, tech, health and Bristol press as the scooter came to market.
In January, the Prince of Wales visited a robotics laboratory at UWE Bristol and tried the 3Scooter for himself. There was no release for the visit, so we worked it as rapid-response PR, talking directly to the journalists covering the day and making sure Supersmith was the name in their story. The ride, and his joke that it wasn't fast enough for him, ran across BBC News, the Daily Mail, The Independent, the Daily Express, The Sun, the i Paper, Hello! and GB News. Launch month closed with 55 pieces of coverage and 511.53M reach.
We followed it with the launch release, a TikTok channel built from scratch for a younger audience, and an installation at Treasure House Fair in London that put the 3Scooter in front of a design and culture crowd rather than a medical one.
Launching something that changes how people see a whole category?
Talk to us about getting it in front of the people who'll care.
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Nexo Padel Club was launching a venue that wasn't built yet.
Nexo Padel Club had a new site in Blackburn, no staff, no furniture and six weeks to go. We built the community before the building: 172K+ TikTok reach, 64K+ on Instagram and a sellout launch.
So we built the community before the building.
Six weeks of behind-the-scenes social, from building site to a sellout opening in Blackburn.
The numbers behind the impact
Reach on TikTok
Reach on Instagram
Engagements across both, in six weeks
Plus a thousand new followers
Nexo Padel Club came to us with a new site in Blackburn, no staff, no furniture and six weeks to go. They needed a social presence from scratch, a community to go with it, and people through the door on day one.
We mapped every behind-the-scenes moment worth sharing and filmed the build as it happened, the good days and the bad ones. Every piece had a job to do, and a community wants the real journey, not just the finished version.
TikTok led, because behind-the-scenes content thrives there and more and more people use it to search. In six weeks Nexo reached more than 172K people on TikTok and 64K on Instagram, with over 35K engagements across both.
Nexo opened to a sellout launch, with a thousand new followers already part of its community.
Opening somewhere that isn't finished yet?
Talk to us about building your audience before the doors open.
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Chopstix was launching ready meals into the freezer aisle, where nobody was looking yet.
Chopstix launched its ready meals in Food Warehouse stores across the UK. We filmed a real shop rather than an advert: 640.9k reach from seven organic pieces, and another 692k from four influencer pieces.
So we filmed a real shop, not an advert.
Organic, UGC-style content and creators, for the Food Warehouse launch.
The numbers behind the impact
Reach from seven organic pieces across Instagram and TikTok
Engagements
More reach from four influencer pieces
It sold so well that the group's main brand took it on too
Chopstix launched its frozen ready meals in Food Warehouse stores across the UK, part of the Iceland group, and the job was to make some noise and build social proof for a range people hadn't tried yet.
The temptation with a retail launch is to over-produce it, but polish reads as an advert, and people scroll past adverts. So we filmed the honest version: a trip to the shop, straight to the freezer aisle, the whole range in the basket, then home to cook it, the way a real customer would.
Seven pieces across Instagram and TikTok reached 640.9k with more than 23.8k engagements. Then creators took it further, with four influencer pieces reaching another 692k. Trade titles including The Grocer, Asian Trader and KamCity covered the launch.
It sold so well that Iceland, the group's main brand, took the range on too.
Got a product landing on a shelf?
Talk to us about the content that sells it.
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A pledge for a “No 10 of the North” was all over the news. JW Lees had an iconic pub on Thomas Street.
When a "No 10 of the North" was all over the news, we gave JW Lees' The Millstone, an iconic pub on Thomas Street, a Downing Street makeover. Ten pieces of coverage, 62.3 million combined reach, including The Independent and BBC News on Instagram.
So we turned The Millstone into Downing Street.
A newsjack built in days, from an iconic pub on Thomas Street.
The numbers behind the impact
Pieces of coverage
Combined reach
Plus BBC News on Instagram
When Andy Burnham pledged a “No 10 of the North” in June 2026, everyone in Manchester had an opinion on where it should go. JW Lees had a strong candidate. The Millstone is an iconic pub on Thomas Street, and it's as much a part of the city as anything in Westminster.
We gave The Millstone a No 10 Downing Street makeover and leaked the pictures on the JW Lees Instagram. It went live over three days in July, while the story was still hot.
It landed in The Independent and on BBC News's Instagram, with Manchester Confidential, About Manchester, Secret Manchester, The Manc, Manchester's Finest and EatMCR picking it up across press and social. Ten pieces of coverage reached a combined 62.3 million, and a pub on Thomas Street became part of a national political story, which is how newsjacking should work.
“Bringing more power and influence to the North is a pivotal part of Burnham's plan and where better to mastermind that from a place that truly understands the challenges and benefits of the sector - The Millstone. It has sat proudly on Thomas Street for 170 years... The Millstone is a proper British boozer, which should be protected at all costs, and it's arguably as iconic in our city as No 10 is in London - well it is now, if it wasn't before.”
William Lees-Jones, Managing Director, JW Lees
Is there a story in the news this week you could own?
Talk to us about reactive PR that moves at the speed of the headlines.
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William Lees-Jones was already the voice of JW Lees. More people needed to hear it.
William Lees-Jones was already the voice of JW Lees. We took that voice further across trade, business, national and regional media: 26 pieces of coverage from March to May, 29.9 million reach, nine Tier A titles and 100% positive.
So we took his voice further, across trade, business, national and regional media.
From the trade press to the national business pages.
The numbers behind the impact
Pieces of coverage
Reach
Tier A titles
Positive
Publican Awards
The people who get quoted are the findable ones, not always the ones who know the most. William Lees-Jones runs one of the North's best-known family brewers and has plenty to say about pubs, beer and doing business in the North, and he was already the voice of the business. The job was making sure more of the right people heard him.
We amplified William across trade and business titles and national and regional media. Between March and May that meant 26 pieces of coverage at 29.9 million reach, nine of them in Tier A titles and all of it positive. The Manchester Evening News ran a full profile, “A pint of Boddies with the JW Lees boss”, and when JW Lees posted record results, the story landed across Business Desk, Insider, MCA, the Morning Advertiser and CLH in a single day, plus AOL nationally.
William was named Business Leader of the Year at the 2026 Publican Awards.
Know your sector better than the people being quoted in it?
Talk to us about taking your voice further.
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Bath Shack was opening its first UK store, and “we've opened a shop” isn't news.
Bath Shack was opening its first UK showroom, in Cheadle. We found a different story for trade, business and consumer press and for creators: 19 pieces of coverage, 100% positive, and showroom visits up from 68 in April to 91 in June.
So we found a different reason for each audience to cover it.
First UK showroom, Cheadle, and more of the right people through the door.
The numbers behind the impact
Pieces of coverage
Readership
Positive sentiment
Showroom visits
Bath Shack told us what success looked like: a small number of new customers through the door each day, maybe three or four. That's the target for a showroom selling high-end bathrooms, where one order for a full bathroom is a big sale.
A new store is a very commercial message, and that's the worry in PR, because a shop opening isn't news to a journalist. So the first job was finding the reason each of them would care. For the trade press, a successful bathroom company arriving in the UK for the first time is a story in itself. For business media it's jobs and investment in the area. For consumer writers it's a place that looks great, a chance to try it, and human stories they can tell.
For influencers it's gold, because they're always on with the next reno. The creators we invited were renovating their own bathrooms, and one bought a shower head and a cabinet the first time she walked through the door!
Showroom visits rose from 68 in April to 91 in June.
Opening somewhere new?
What's the story for each person you need to cover it? Talk to us and we'll find it.
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WeBuyBricks needed the country to fall for a machine most people had never heard of.
WeBuyBricks needed the public to sell it their old LEGO® sets, so we made its Brick-O-Matic machine the story: 160.18 million PR reach, 64 pieces of coverage and a 378% jump in its own following in 12 days.
So we made the machine the story.
One media and influencer day in a Lancashire mill, and national news within weeks.
Photo: James Speakman
Results at a glance
The launch in numbers.
PR reach across regional, national, TV, broadcast and influencers
Pieces of coverage, including The Times, The i and BBC News
BBC North West Tonight, BBC Radio Lancashire, Newsround, 5 Live and 5 News
WeBuyBricks' own following in 12 days
Positive brand sentiment, across press and creators
WeBuyBricks is the biggest LEGO® brick reseller, and it needs the public to sell it the old sets sitting in their lofts. Its Brick-O-Matic, housed in a converted mill in Rawtenstall, uses AI to recognise 50,000 different LEGO® pieces and sort them at speed. It's believed to be the first machine of its kind in the UK, and almost nobody outside the business knew it existed.
A press release about a LEGO® reseller isn't news, even the biggest one. A British-built machine that finds the money hiding in your loft is. We trained the spokespeople, then ran a media and influencer day at the machine's home, with each outlet given the angle that suited it: the technology, sustainability, the money in your attic, or the nostalgia.
The Times covered it, and broadcast followed, from BBC North West Tonight and Newsround to 5 News and Radio 5 Live. Twenty creators made content from the day, with a combined following of 48,000, and WeBuyBricks' own following grew 378% in 12 days. None of it was paid for.
Sitting on something worth pointing a camera at?
Most businesses have a Brick-O-Matic of their own, the thing they think is ordinary and everyone else would find fascinating. Talk to us and we'll help you find it.
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Six by Nico was opening in two new cities with a concept nobody there had tried.
Six by Nico opened in Manchester and Liverpool in quick succession with a concept neither city had tried. DATS built an audience in each that understood it: 3,000 reservations before Manchester opened, almost 5,000 in Liverpool, covers full from day one.
So we built an audience in each city that understood it before the doors opened.
Two openings in quick succession, covers full from day one.
The numbers behind the impact
Reservations before Manchester opened
Reservations before Liverpool opened
Pieces of launch coverage
Reach in Manchester
Reach in Liverpool
Six by Nico serves one six-course tasting menu with no choices, and the whole menu changes every 12 weeks. It's a brilliant idea once you understand it, and a hard sell until you do.
Nico was opening in Manchester and Liverpool in quick succession, two of the most competitive restaurant cities in the UK, where awareness of Six by Nico was moderate even among foodies. An audience you build in one city rarely travels with you, so each city needed its own.
The work was all about building an engaged audience in each city that understood the concept and wanted to try it. We opened with the announcement, then ran a series of media stories that explained the idea and kept Six by Nico in the news through the build-up. Journalists and influencers came in to eat the menu and review it, and a launch event opened the doors. The trade press took notice too, with The Caterer and Restaurant Magazine coming up from London to meet Nico.
Manchester had 3,000 reservations before it opened and Liverpool had almost 5,000. Both opened with covers full from day one.
Opening somewhere new?
A new city, a new site, or a concept people need explaining before they'll book. Talk to us. We start long before your doors open, so you open to people who already know who you are.
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Chopstix had grown by saying yes to everything. Growing up meant getting selective and standing for one thing.
Chopstix had a new positioning called Flavour Cravers. DATS made it come alive across PR, social, influencer and store openings, for 18 months on a lean fee. Awareness up 9%, social influence tripled, 1.3B earned reach.
So we built Flavour Cravers into work that made them grown-up, joined-up, and impossible to ignore.
THE NUMBERS BEHIND THE IMPACT.
Chopstix had grown fast by saying yes to everything. More flavours, more partnerships, more channels, more ideas. By the time they came to us, they had the scale of a national brand but the scattered presence of a much smaller one. Growing up meant getting selective. Standing for one thing. Their answer was a new positioning called Flavour Cravers, bold and taste-driven and culturally aware.
Our job was the translation. Flavour Cravers gave us the filter, and every campaign, every channel, every store opening had to earn its place by speaking to that consumer specifically. We said no to a lot. We started by understanding the Flavour Craver, what they cared about, what they shared, what they followed, what they actually craved. Then we built earned moments for that audience, on every channel, for 18 months.
Karate Kid x Chopstix hit a 1.59% CTR. Red Box Live merged food and music into one cultural moment. Spicy Coconut and Cherry Kiss became viral flavour launches. Each store opening felt like a local moment, not a marketing announcement. By the end, brand awareness was up 9%, social influence had tripled, and 1.3 billion people had heard the story.
EARNED AND OWNED
The integrated PR, social, content and website work that ran throughout the campaign.
30 pieces of media coverage. 628M reach.
Movie tie-ins, flavour launches, Chinese New Year cultural moments, regional and national hits.
49,500 social engagements and 3.7M reach in one quarter. Meta engagement up 57% month on month.
YouTube: 1.26M views. TikTok: 764K views at £1.99 CPM.
Retail frozen meals launch: 303K reach, 19K engagements.
Single trend-led post reached 155K users.
97% increase in website users. 99% in new users. 65% in engaged sessions.
Paid social traffic up 45,000%, proving the halo effect of brand activity.
INFLUENCER
288 pieces of creator content. 673M reach.
Gifted programme: 644K reach and 6,000 engagements for a total spend of £125. Activated through Invyted, focused on micro-creators for authentic crave-led storytelling.
NEW STORE OPENINGS
Supporting 10 new store openings with local PR, social and influencer activity. Each launch designed to feel like a local cultural moment, not a marketing announcement.
Hull store opening: 136K reach, 14K engagements.
Each new store launched with bespoke local content, regional press outreach, and creator activations tuned to the city.
BRAND
The strategic moments that defined Flavour Cravers in market.
Karate Kid x Chopstix. A cultural-partnership ad that achieved a 1.59% CTR at £0.30 CPC, outperforming benchmarks.
Red Box Live. A music-led activation that brought Flavour Cravers to life in the real world.
Brand awareness up 9% (strongest among 35 to 44s).
Social influence grew from 4% to 12% (BrandVue / Savanta), more than double the 5% growth target.
Chopstix became the #1 Chinese-led QSR for freshness and health perception.
Chopstix had grown fast by saying yes to everything. We helped them grow up by getting selective, and turned Flavour Cravers into 1.3 billion in earned reach.
Chopstix had the scale of a national brand but a scattered presence. Growing up meant standing for one thing. Their new positioning, Flavour Cravers, became the filter for every campaign, channel and store opening over 18 months.
The result: brand awareness up 9%, social influence tripled, and 1.3B earned reach. That made Chopstix the UK's number one Chinese-led QSR for freshness and health.
What's inside:
• The challenge: consistency at national scale
• The strategy: Flavour Cravers as a filter, not just a tagline
• The work: Karate Kid x Chopstix (1.59% CTR), Red Box Live, viral flavour launches, and store openings that felt like local moments
• The results: +9% brand awareness, social influence tripled, 1.3B earned reach
Down at the Social is a PR, social and brand agency for hospitality and food and drink brands. We help brands get selective and look like one thing again.
Grown fast and lost the thread? Start a conversation: https://www.downatthesocial.co.uk/contact
Read the full case study: https://www.downatthesocial.co.uk/work/chopstix-flavour-cravers-qsr-marketing-case-study
“This relaunch was pivotal in our journey to grow up as a brand. The campaign DATS delivered meant that we had a joined up brand story across all channels — from app, to socials, media to digital marketing. It felt like we knew who Chopstix was and the consumer did too.”
Grown fast and lost the thread?
Saying yes to too many ideas. Showing up differently in different places. A new positioning that needs to actually land, everywhere, the same way. Talk to us. We help brands get selective and look like one thing again.
JW Lees needed to relaunch Boddingtons to a generation that had never tasted it on cask.
Boddingtons had been off cask for 13 years. JW Lees brought it back in 2025, and DATS made it the biggest beer story of the year - 120M reach, 32 pieces of coverage, sold out from week one.
So we built an earned-attention launch that got noticed, talked about, and tried.
Five weeks, five channels, sold out from week one.
William Lees Jones
THE NUMBERS BEHIND THE IMPACT.
2025's biggest Manchester relaunch wasn't the one you think. How DATS brought Boddingtons home to a generation that had never tasted it on cask.
Boddingtons had been off cask for 13 years. The brewing rights came back to JW Lees in 2025, and we had one moment to relaunch it properly: to the CAMRA crowd who remembered it, and to a new generation who never had.
The work needed to be earned, not bought, because no national paid campaign would land the cultural credibility Boddingtons needed in Manchester. So we built a focused, five-channel launch over five weeks.
A launch release that landed in The Sun, Joe and Time Out. A trade story for the industry press. A taste-testing with the UK’s top beer experts, a first pour at Founders Hall, and a pint man in a pint suit handing out 500 free pints across Manchester. A relaunch party for 150 of the city’s biggest names. A seven-minute feature on BBC North West Tonight. And a brand-new social presence built from scratch, reaching 124,763 people in a week.
The casks were empty by the end of week one. They stayed empty all month.
“Boddingtons on TV last night. Amazing coverage for JW Lees Brewery re-launch of Boddingtons on BBC last night. Great work from Daisy Whitehouse and the team at Down at the Social, Rob Gray and Squad, as well as our brewers, marketers, sales team and all of the pubs that have put Boddingtons on their bars in the last four weeks.
”
Got a launch that needs to be noticed?
A brand coming back. A product entering a market that has not heard of it. A story that needs to earn its way into the conversation instead of paying for a seat at it. Talk to us. We build launches that get noticed, talked about, and tried.
We’ve been appointed to launch Wondrwall’s first consumer battery product
We’ve been appointed to lead the PR launch of Wondrwall’s first consumer battery product, supporting the repositioning of a B2B energy tech brand into the consumer market through strategic, news-led storytelling.
We’re excited to be working with UK energy and smart technology business Wondrwall to lead the consumer PR launch of its first consumer-facing battery product, Battery PowrPlan.
This isn’t just a product launch. It’s a positioning moment.
Wondrwall has built its reputation as a B2B energy technology business, working with homebuilders and partners to deliver intelligent energy systems, home energy storage and grid flexibility services at scale. Battery PowrPlan marks a major milestone by bringing that expertise directly to homeowners for the first time through a subscription-based home battery model.
And that is exactly the kind of challenge we love.
A genuinely newsworthy proposition
Battery PowrPlan introduces a new approach to home energy storage, offering professionally installed batteries with no upfront cost through a simple subscription model. At a time when energy bills remain one of the biggest pressures on UK households, the product shifts the conversation from who supplies your energy to when you buy and use it.
The technology is complex. It combines AI-powered energy management, time-of-use tariffs and grid flexibility services. But at its core, it solves a very simple problem. It helps people reduce electricity bills without changing how they live.
That is where PR makes the difference.
Launching a product and repositioning a business
Our role is to lead a PR-first consumer launch campaign that translates technical innovation into clear, compelling stories for national media.
For Wondrwall, this is not just about awareness. It is about evolving how the business is perceived. Moving from being seen purely as a B2B energy provider to confidently speaking to consumers, while maintaining the credibility built through years of B2B delivery.
That balance matters. Getting it right requires strategic storytelling, not just noise.
The campaign kicked off with a piece in the Sunday Times followed by a piece in Tech Radar which has already been viewed by 200,000 eyeballs and Wondrwall immediately saw a massive website traffic spike and sign-ups with much more to come.
Why PR leads here
When you are bringing a genuinely new proposition to market, paid media can amplify. PR builds belief.
Battery PowrPlan sits at the intersection of rising energy costs, smart technology and the UK’s transition to a more flexible electricity grid. It is topical, relevant and rooted in a real-world problem that households are actively trying to solve.
We help newsworthy brands grow through PR, social, digital strategy, content and campaigns. Our content-led, PR-first approach creates newsworthy campaigns for newsworthy businesses, driving brand awareness and delivering measurable commercial impact.
Our focus with Wondrwall is clear. Build belief. Drive cut-through. Launch properly.
If you are wondering whether your brand is genuinely newsworthy, email me and let’s talk.
We’re delivering an integrated PR and social strategy for Bridgewater Home Care
We’ve been appointed to deliver an integrated PR and social strategy for Bridgewater Home Care, supporting franchise growth and positioning the brand as a trusted voice in the care sector.
Down at the Social with PR and social media client Bridgewater Home Care
We’re pleased to be working with Bridgewater Home Care to deliver a fully integrated PR and social media strategy, supporting the next stage of the brand’s national growth.
Bridgewater is a growing UK home care franchise with a strong reputation for combining commercial performance with a genuinely people-first culture. As the business continues to expand its network, the opportunity is not just about visibility. It is about positioning.
And that is where joined-up communications matter.
Supporting franchise growth through strategic storytelling
Bridgewater’s model is built on strong local leadership, high-quality care and central support that enables franchisees to scale with confidence. Recent award wins across multiple offices have reinforced that the model works. Growth is not isolated. It is consistent.
Our role is to ensure those stories are seen, understood and valued by the right audiences.
We are delivering an always-on PR strategy across national, sector and local media, alongside a refined social media approach designed to engage prospective franchisees, industry professionals and families seeking care.
This is not about noise. It is about credibility.
Here are some examples of coverage so far in The Carer and Runcorn and Widnes World.
Bringing expertise to the surface
There is significant expertise within the Bridgewater network, from leadership through to frontline teams. Our job is to bring that expertise to the surface.
Through thought leadership, news generation and content-led social storytelling, we are positioning Bridgewater as a trusted voice within the care and franchising sectors. That means spotlighting franchise success, celebrating people across the network and providing informed commentary on the evolving care landscape.
When care quality, culture and commercial growth are aligned, that is a story worth telling.
Why integration matters
PR builds authority. Social builds community.
By integrating the two, we create a consistent engine that reinforces key messages across multiple touchpoints. Media coverage drives credibility. Social content sustains engagement. Together, they support long-term growth.
Bridgewater is a purpose-led business with clear ambition. Our approach ensures that ambition is matched by visibility and belief.
We help newsworthy brands grow through PR, social, digital strategy, content and campaigns. Our content-led, PR-first approach creates newsworthy campaigns for newsworthy businesses, driving brand awareness and delivering measurable commercial impact.
If you are building something meaningful and want to understand whether your brand is truly newsworthy, email me and let’s talk.
Why Metrics Matter: What We Did for Chopstix (and Why Vanity Doesn’t Cut It)
Discover how we helped Chopstix triple their social influence, boost web traffic by 97%, and support £30K/week store launches — all on a lean budget. No vanity metrics, just real results that moved the brand forward.
Let’s be honest - marketing’s got a metrics problem.
Too many campaigns are built around vanity stats. Follower counts. Likes. Impressions. They look great in a report, but they rarely shift anything that matters to a business. If your marketing isn’t moving the dial on awareness, influence, traffic or revenue? What’s it really doing?
That’s why we focus on real metrics. The kind that build brands and deliver commercial impact. And our work with Chopstix is the perfect example.
Chopstix Instagram
Turning Cravings into Customers
In 2024, Chopstix tasked us with launching their new brand positioning, *For The *Flavour Cravers. The goal wasn’t to go viral or win internet points - it was to:
Define what the brand stood for, building a consistent brand story across all channels (digital and IRL)
Grow awareness among under-45s
Support store openings
And crucially, increase their social marketing influence and brand salience
All on a lean budget.
Spoiler: we didn’t just meet that target, we smashed it.
From Middle of the Table to Brand of Choice
Using trend-led creative, micro-influencers, and punchy, personality-first content, we turned Chopstix into a bold, craveable brand across social. But more importantly, we helped them move up the rankings in how much social media influenced consumer choice.
According to Savanta’s BrandVue data, Chopstix went from:
5th place in Q3 2024 with just 4.0% influence
To 2nd place in Q3 2025 with a whopping 12.0% influence
That’s a +200% increase - and a clear signal that our work wasn’t just getting seen, it was changing behaviour.
This Is What Real Impact Looks Like
We built the Flavour Cravers campaign to deliver on hard metrics:
+9% brand awareness in under-45s
+97% increase in web traffic
+65% engaged sessions
45,000% uplift in paid social traffic
3.7M+ organic reach in one quarter
49.5K engagements and benchmark-busting CPCs (as low as £0.30)
Influencer campaigns reached 673M people, while local social and PR supported 10 store launches, each smashing its weekly revenue target.
That’s not ‘content for the sake of content.’ That’s marketing that delivers.
What We Learned (and What We Live By)
Everything we created for Chopstix - from viral TikToks and meme-led Meta content to earned media and experiential - was driven by one thing: a clear connection between brand storytelling and business performance.
And that’s our whole approach at DATS.
We don’t do fluffy campaigns. We don’t optimise for applause. We build brand fame and commercial gain - by putting real metrics at the centre of every move.
So if you’re chasing likes instead of loyalty, or followers instead of footfall, it might be time to rethink your metrics.
We’re here to help with that.
By ’Eck, It’s Back: How We Relaunched Boddingtons with JW Lees
The Cream of Manchester is back. We partnered with JW Lees to relaunch Boddingtons on cask — and it sold out on the very first day. From PR and social media to OOH and events, here’s how we brought a Northern icon back with a bang.
By ’Eck, It’s Back: How We Relaunched Boddingtons with JW Lees
The Cream of Manchester is Back
Some brands never really leave people’s hearts — and Boddingtons is one of them. Known as the “Cream of Manchester,” this iconic beer has long been a symbol of Northern pride.
So when JW Lees wanted to relaunch Boddingtons on cask in 2025, we knew it had to be bold, noisy, and unforgettable.
The Results: Sold Out on Day One
The numbers speak for themselves:
📈 400+ new followers and growing
👀 32,900 reach
💬 Around 1K engagements
📰 21 pieces of coverage (and counting)
🍻 Sold out of Boddingtons at multiple venues across Manchester
🎥 Viral Reel collab with The Manc 105k views
Launch week ended with empty casks, Instagram love letters, and a whole lot of happy drinkers.
Here’s how we made it happen.
The Challenge: Relaunching a Legendary Beer
It’s one thing to bring back a much-loved beer. It’s another to make sure people don’t just read about it — they head straight to the pub to order a pint.
The campaign slogan was “By ’Eck It’s Back” — and our job was to make sure that everyone (and their mum) knew about it.
Our PR & Social Media Strategy for Boddingtons
Kicking off with beer royalty
We started by giving beer royalty the first taste: CAMRA, trade media, and industry voices. The tasting took place at the JW Lees brewery, which meant plenty of great content for social as well as glowing reviews from those who matter most.
Media coverage at the first pint
Next came the big moment: William Lees-Jones, JW Lees’ Managing Director, pulled the very first pint at the flagship Founders Hall pub in Manchester. Regional and national media were invited — and the coverage (plus social content from their own channels) was instant.
Making Manchester yellow with OOH
As soon as launch weekend wrapped up, it was time to make the campaign unmissable. Manchester turned yellow with OOH across the city — and we haven’t stopped snapping pictures of it since. The unmissable design is from the brilliant team at Squad.
Viral moments & influencer love
The campaign even caught the attention of Andy Burnham and the Japanese Ambassador (who went viral with his pint). And with a standout Reel collaboration with The Manc hitting 105k views, Boddingtons was firmly back in the spotlight.
What’s Next for Boddingtons
The return of Boddingtons is only just beginning. Next up:
🎉 Party invites across Manchester
🍺 1,000 free pints for fans
📸 More content, more coverage, and more reasons to head to the pub
By ’Eck, it’s good to have the Cream of Manchester back.
How Down At The Social Helped Make Chopstix Famous — One Flavour Craver at a Time
From Yorkshire to Cardiff, we delivered a nationwide influencer gifting campaign to shout about Chopstix’s bold new brand proposition: For The Flavour Cravers. With 42 pieces of content, 30 creator partnerships, and over 1 million in reach, Down At The Social proved once again why we’re the go-to agency for QSR and hospitality brands across the UK.
At Down At The Social, we’re experts at turning brand stories into buzz — especially for QSR and hospitality brands. When Chopstix came to us with their bold new proposition, “For The Flavour Cravers,” we got straight to work crafting an influencer gifting campaign designed to stir up appetite, attention, and action. Here’s how we made it happen.
A Nationwide Craving: Influencer Gifting With Real Reach
Our mission was clear: communicate Chopstix’s new brand proposition far and wide. So we designed a national gifting campaign with geographical breadth, high-quality creator partnerships, and content-first delivery at its heart. We tapped into a diverse mix of food lovers across the UK, from @plantbasedpiggie in London to @foodiein.cardiff in Wales, and @lancashirefoodspots up north.
This wasn’t about throwing noodles at the wall and seeing what stuck — our targeted influencer strategy built meaningful connections with creators who could authentically tell the Chopstix story. The mega merch the brand team has created made our jobs pretty easy as it has the perfect look for the gram and TikTok and the creators loved to share it on their grids.
The results speak for themselves:
📈 The Results: A Feast of Reach
42 pieces of content across Instagram Stories, Reels, and Grid Posts
30 creator partnerships, selected to match both brand values and regional diversity
1.06M total reach from the campaign content
27 external links secured, boosting SEO and driving direct web traffic
💬 Client Feedback
“We saw record results with an incredible return on creator partnerships and a true impact among brand awareness for our new proposition that has truly elevated our positioning.”– Rob Burns, Head of Marketing, Chopstix
🌍 What Set This Campaign Apart
Our approach wasn’t just about numbers; it was about building brand resonance through creators who could speak to their audiences with real love for the product. This campaign saw content shared in Yorkshire, Cardiff, Manchester, London, and beyond — connecting with the real audiences who visit the stores day in and day out.
💡 A DATS-Style Recipe for Success
As a marketing agency with passion and expertise in QSR and hospitality, we understand what it takes to make taste trends go viral. Our campaigns combine:
Intelligence — market and audience insights driving strategy
Ideas — creative campaigns that cut through
Influence — credible creators who know how to connect
Together, these ingredients create real impact — and that’s exactly what we delivered for Chopstix.
Ready to turn your new proposition into a national conversation?
📩 Let’s talk. Whether you're a spicy ramen rebel or a bubble tea baron, we know how to get your brand in mouths, minds, and media.
Big Wins, Bold Brands: DATS Kicks Off 2025 with Momentum
Big Wins, Bold Brands: DATS Kicks Off 2025 with Momentum
2025 has barely started and we’re already in our stride. Pop Specs, Kakira Cane Spirits, and Bruco are the latest ambitious brands to join the DATS roster—each bringing disruptive energy and big ideas. From rapid-fire eyewear to premium African spirits and a Mancunian Italian making waves, these wins prove one thing: smart storytelling and founder-led firepower still lead the way.
We've hit 2025 at full tilt. Three exciting new clients have joined the Down at the Social (DATS) family, and they each have one thing in common: they're ambitious, founder-led brands shaking up their industries.
From game-changing eyewear to globally awarded spirits and a local favourite going national, these wins show exactly where we do our best work—at the intersection of smart storytelling and serious commercial impact.
Pop Specs - You might have seen them on Dragon's Den or in one of their 30 stores nationwide. Pop Specs is reinventing how we buy glasses with 20-minute prescriptions, bold frames, and a slick retail experience. We're leading their press office, influencer campaigns and founder profiling.
Kakira Cane Spirits - With over 70 international awards, Uganda’s Kakira Cane Spirits is Africa’s most decorated spirit brand. They’re bringing their sustainable, estate-grown rums, vodkas and gins to the UK, and DATS is heading up their UK launch. We’re bringing craft storytelling and founder flair to a market that loves a good backstory—and a better bottle.
Bruco - Ancoats’ own Bruco is more than just a neighbourhood Italian. It's a vibe. Think house spritzes, sleek design, and a menu worth travelling for. We’re leading national PR and experiential campaigns designed to take this local gem to the next level—with a few surprises up our sleeve.
We're proud to continue working with founders like Nicky Wake—whose Chapter 2 dating app and new venture Sober Love show what happens when purpose meets brilliant positioning. PR with soul and strategy, that’s what we’re about.
Looking Ahead These latest wins are more than momentum. They're a signal. Ambitious brands are choosing agencies who get it—and get it done. We’re scaling too, with new hires, deeper partnerships, and our own in-house content studio on the way.
Got a brand with a big story to tell? Let’s talk.
A 17% increase in sales for our client, Macknade
PR vs Meta. How will brands find a way to reduce their reliance on the churn of paid ads in 2024?
PR can meet your marketing objectives and drive the bottom line, if that’s what you want it to do.
See below for a case study that demonstrates how we have supercharged a brand’s sales at Christmas by generating organic coverage in the right media channels driving links, traffic and direct sales that smashed the client’s budget in this crucial sales period.
Brands seemed to be being sucked deeper and deeper into a reliance on Meta right now. December was chaos CPC rising, audiences being stretched and the new AI model just isn’t delivering right.
Facebook and Instagram have become almost wholly pay to play for businesses that focus their marketing hard on sales and leads and it’s creating a vicious circle of fear and spending.
I have lost count of how many people have told me that their 2024 goal is to find another channel that will enable them to step away from their reliance on Meta. Yet each one was reluctant to take the plunge and invest in other channels.
What are we doing?
ERM PR obviously!
But what can PR do?
Well it can do pretty much whatever you want it to do, if you know what that is. I mean, it can’t drive your car or make your lunch, but it can sell your car or convince everyone to eat at your restaurant for lunch.
Can it drive sales? Hell yes. All day long. If you set up the right campaign to drive sales that is.
It is all in the planning.
Why do you need PR?
Your PR objectives should be directly related to your marketing and business objectives. They should be achievable and measurable.
PR can...
Tell your brand's story and build a connection with your audience?
It can make news and reach new audiences
It can sell products and services - even sell them out with the right piece
It can tackle issues or change the direction of a narrative
It can tap into content creators and tastemakers who will endorse your products and shout about how much they love you to their armies of loyal followers
It can improve your SEO by creating links and driving traffic from websites with high domain authority
With our tailored approach to PR, we delve deep into understanding your brand's unique story and objectives, crafting campaigns that resonate with your audience and drive measurable results.
From media relations to influencer partnerships, we know the ins and outs of creating buzz and building meaningful connections.
Keen but still not sure how PR could help you? Why not book a free consultation with our team to map your marketing objectives for 2024 and we can show you how PR could be the solution to your Meta problems this year.
Salford Shopping Centre had been at the heart of Salford since 1972, and the city needed reminding.
Salford Shopping Centre has been at the heart of Salford since 1972. We built a press office around the people inside it, from new traders and a golden anniversary to over 4,000 food items for Salford Foodbank, with coverage in the MEN, BBC North West and Yahoo News.
So we made it the place where Salford's stories happen.
New traders, community campaigns and a golden anniversary, told to the people who live there.
The highlights
Food items donated to Salford Foodbank at Christmas
Years marked with the centre's first artist in residence
Plus BBC North West, Yahoo News and That's TV
A shopping centre that has been open for fifty years can easily become part of the furniture. Salford Shopping Centre needed local people to see it as theirs again, and new traders to see a reason to choose it.
We built a press office around the people inside it. The Market Hall's family traders told their own stories about keeping decades-old stalls going. When Sports Traider opened Britain's first chain of charity sports shops at the centre, with everything £5 or less, it made the Manchester Evening News and BBC North West, and the MEN covered the queues when Mother Hubbard's chip shop opened too.
At Christmas, the centre worked with the supermarkets under its roof to give over 4,000 food items to Salford Foodbank. For its golden anniversary in 2022, it appointed its first artist in residence, local painter Chelsea Entwistle, whose commission brought the centre's old shops back to life, and That's TV covered the celebrations. Free book giveaways for primary school children, a clothes swap that reached Yahoo News and a new centre manager announced in the retail trade press kept the story going year after year.
"These are particularly hard times for many people, particularly in our community, and this year we felt compelled to do something that would directly benefit the lives of people in Salford."
Nick Pitt, Centre Manager, Salford Shopping Centre
Running a centre that should feel more like part of its community?
Talk to us about the stories already happening under your roof.
START A CONVERSATION NOW
DATS LAUNCHES GAME CHANGING GADGET THAT WILL REDUCE FUEL CONSUMPTION AND SAVE HOUSEHOLDS £650 A YEAR
PR and social media agency Down At The Social has won a competitive pitch to launch a game changing new heating gadget which is set to fight fuel poverty and help households nationwide this winter.
Airgon is a North West designed and manufactured appliance that attaches to the heating system and removes air; making the radiators hotter and increasing the amount of heat transferred for less fuel. It also works to prevent cold spots building up in the radiators.
Cold spots occur when air gets trapped in radiators or due to a build up of sludge which both prevent the flow of water transferring heating into the room. Over time, more and more air and sludge accumulates in the radiators meaning that the boiler has to work harder. The radiator will then need to be bled, or at worst, the entire heating system may need a power flush, which can cost anywhere from £350 - £800, on average.
Airgon is a compact, easy to fit device that can be installed to any wet heating system in under 30 minutes. For a one-off £249 cost, it will increase the efficiency of old boilers by as much as 30%.
Down at the Social is briefed with making this £249 gadget a household name through a campaign of media relations, stunts and digital PR alongside an exciting partnership designed to help people who are struggling to pay their bills as well as those who wish to make their home more energy efficient.
Daisy Whitehouse, MD at Down at the Social, said; “It’s so exciting to be working on a launch that really could make a massive difference to people’s lives right now. If all of the UK’s 23 million households with gas boilers installed an Airgon it would reduce CO2 emissions by 20m metric tonnes. This would achieve almost 50% of the UK government’s domestic target for carbon emissions in just 12 months.
“So we are tasked with getting the word out far and wide to help meet the goal of getting them in as many households as possible this winer. The campaign has already begun and coverage is driving sales so we are off to a great start.”
Mark Brown, co-creator of Airgon, said; “From the first meeting with DATS we felt that they not only understood the potential for Airgon, but were excited about working with us to educate the nation about why they should buy one. The team immediately demonstrated brilliant media contacts and a razor sharp ability to get the right messaging into a piece of coverage so we are very much looking forward to working with them on this campaign.”
