Hit Impact
HIT(ting) the right notes.
168
Coverage hits
4.6M+
Est. coverage reach
The challenge.
Edinburgh-based start-up, HIT Ltd, has created ground-breaking tech to measure the force of head impacts in “gravity sports” like mountain biking. It is unquestionably tech for good but launching a product is always a challenge with journalists often viewing it as marketing masquerading as PR. Our challenge was to use the device to tell an important and topical story.
The strategy.
With the downhill mountain bike season due to get underway imminently, we suggested HIT used its relationship with some of the world’s top riders, many of whom were to be using the device for the season, to activate PR. We knew that footage of people bombing down a hill at breakneck speeds made this a story ripe for broadcast media in particular.
We secured the involvement of former world champion, Reece Wilson, and one of the top young female riders, Hattie Harnden, and offered the BBC and ITV the opportunity to film them doing training runs in the Scottish Borders. Both broadcasters jumped at the chance and the finished films looked great. We were also commissioned to film footage for the Reuters news agency which resulted in international coverage.
We didn’t stop with broadcast though, selling the story into PA News, national newspapers, and key gravity sports trade titles.
Most importantly, everyone used the launch of HIT’s tech to continue the conversation around concussion in sport, positioning the device as having the potential to make a really meaningful impact on research into the effects of concussions and brain injury.
The results.
The package Reuters distributed resulted in coverage across the globe, with the footage appearing as far afield as Nepal, Namibia, and Argentina. As well as the BBC and ITV, we secured extensive radio coverage, got hits in key trades such as BikeBiz and Global Cycling Network, and articles in top Scottish nationals including the Scotsman, as well as leading UK titles like the i paper and the Metro.
“With the help of Hot Tin Roof, we experienced enormous reach within the global mountain biking community for the official launch of our HIT+ product . With brain injury and concussion a big issue in the media right now, HTR quickly understood our vision and managed and steered our release, ensuring awareness of our core messaging, and adding creativity to drive a campaign that elevated it well beyond a product launch. The coverage was immense, featuring on global and national news channels, going well beyond the reach we envisioned.
We have worked with HTR on two releases so far and each time they’ve exceeded our expectations. They say it’s important to work with people you enjoy spending time with, have a passion for what they do, and deliver phenomenal results. I look forward to the next campaign we launch together.”
Euan Bowen, Founder of HIT Ltd.
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