The founder of a specialist PR and communications consultancy based in Durham has collected Gold at the annual PRide Awards for the North East of England, hosted by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.
Matthew Moore, founder of Matthew Moore Consulting Ltd, was awarded ‘Independent PR Practitioner of the Year’ with a Gold Award from the CIPR judging panel, alongside two Silver Awards for Taste of the Caribbean with Turtle Bay Restaurants in the Best Travel, Leisure and Tourism and Best Low Budget campaign categories.
The 2022 CIPR PRide Awards recognised the outstanding work that in-house and agency communications teams have delivered across the UK in the last 24 months. The awards took place virtually this year and were presented by Jonny Dymond, BBC News Royal Correspondent and presenter on BBC Radio 4.
Matthew’s consultancy was founded in 2011 and specialises in driving participation, engagement and audience development in sports, leisure, travel and tourism; as well as championing organisations and individuals with a passion for social good.
CIPR Gold Award Winning PR Consultancy
The CIP PRide Gold award recognised his achievements rebuilding his business following devastating losses caused by the adverse effects of the Coronavirus pandemic.
“The Covid-19 pandemic was nearly the perfect firestorm for me. My client base was concentrated in industries that were disproportionately affected by Covid, such as hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism and they were repeatedly affected by lockdowns and constantly changing Covid restrictions.
Within a year, I suffered losses of 66% of client revenue and experienced the turmoil of seeing clients enter administration and others simply stop investing in communications.
Thankfully, I received support from Northumberland Business Services Ltd (NBSL) to rebrand my business as a personal consultancy and develop a new website to relaunch to market. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as I explored new ways of working and opened myself up to collaborative partnerships, new markets and industries,” said Matthew.
The website acts as a content creation hub with rich-media case studies, communications advice and a clearer mission statement to champion businesses that value social good.
“The rebrand and website were a crucial turning point in my fortunes and paid off when I received an invitation to pitch for a contract with national restaurant chain Turtle Bay, who were planning to open their third North East venue on The Riverwalk, Durham in October 2021,” said Matthew.
Matthew Moore Consulting won the competitive pitch and managed the launch campaign for Turtle Bay Durham, over a five-month period, resulting in ‘Taste of the Caribbean’ also winning two Silver CIPR PRide awards for Best Travel, Leisure and Tourism campaign and Best Low Budget Campaign.
Ben Hibbard, senior marketing manager at Turtle Bay Restaurants, said: “Working with Matthew was incredibly easy. He’s incredibly professional and his local knowledge and excellent communications were invaluable to supporting the opening of Turtle Bay on The Riverwalk Durham. We were delighted with the PR campaign and the coverage received.”
New business wins followed as partnerships were created with creative agencies Curious12 and Rowl&Co, working jointly on campaigns for kombucha tea brands, kiln-dried firewood producers and heritage visitor attractions.
“From the brink of closure in 2020, turnover had grown 153 per cent in a year and exceeded pre-pandemic levels. As difficult as the pandemic was professionally, it created an opportunity to reset, scan the horizon and make productive changes to the way I worked. This award is the validation that I made the right choice to keep going when it would have been easy to fly the white flag,” added Matthew.
Matthew Moore Consulting Ltd was awarded CIPR NE Independent PR Practitioner of the Year (Gold) and Silver for Best Travel, Leisure and Tourism campaign and Best Low Budget Campaign at the CIPR North East PRIde Awards 2022.