B2B Media Relations Manager
City Of London
Virgin Money UK PLC serves 6.6m UK customers across its retail and business banking arms. I joined the business as CYBG PLC (Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank) shortly before its acquisition of Virgin Money. In this Media Relations role, I had the privilege of acting as the B2B media lead for the business bank, with the aim of positively shaping the perception of the bank amongst small and medium-sized businesses across the UK. I developed large-scale PR campaigns to secure more than 60+ pieces of coverage in regional and national titles, including The Scotsman, The Herald and The Telegraph. I also led the delivery of the bank's largest ever media partnership, 'Taking Care of Business', with activations in The Telegraph, Manchester Evening News (and other Reach plc titles) and on Global Radio (Heart Radio). Working closely with colleagues in the sales team, I wrote awards submissions and promoted customer case studies through social media campaigns to improve perception of the bank's support for UK SMEs.I organised media interviews for the banks' senior leaders, as well as media training days to help sharpen their skills at dealing with print and broadcast journalists, alongside controlling and allocating a high six-figure PR and paid social media budget. With support from specialist B2B comms and marketing agencies, I also delivered events at the bank's flagship Manchester store in collaboration with Tech Nation and Manchester Evening News, sourcing speakers, guests and journalists. Our campaigns resulted in a significant uplift in brand recall and sentiment, leading to the acquisition of new business banking customers.