The Seren Group
It includes five organisations: Charter Housing, Fairlake Properties, REACH Support Services, Pen-yr-Enfys and Solas Cymru.
Working Word PR was appointed in January 2007 to deliver a strategic media relations programme to raise Seren's profile and build its reputation with stakeholders and the public within the local area and the wider social housing and care sector.
The team established a ‘communications group' encompassing at least one marketing representative or equivalent from each Seren member organisation. This group now meets monthly to plan PR activity and share information with the PR team.
Members of the senior management team across Seren were media trained by Working Word PR associates and subsequently opportunities were secured for them to comment of topical issues relevant to their areas of specialism in the mainstream and sector media.
To ensure no opportunities for media comment were missed, Working Word produced information sheets for each member organisation capturing all areas of personnel expertise, opportunities for expert comment and the Seren Group's position on topical issues.
Through a series of positive case studies, news stories, expert articles pieces and comment opportunities, Working Word PR positioned the Seren Group regularly within its target media.
Working Word PR systematically briefed and built working relationships with relevant journalists, who now regular seek comment from Seren.
During this period the team also secured very high media profile for Seren's acquisition of alcohol and substance misuse charity, Pen-yr-Enfys and for the 25th anniversary of homelessness relief organisation Solas, also a Seren member.
Working Word's work for Seren secured a Gold Award at the CIPR Cymru Wales PRide awards in October 2008.
