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PD Ports

PD Ports is one of the UK’s major port groups, operating 12 port locations nationwide.

As owner and operator of Teesport, and the river’s Statutory Harbour Authority, PD Ports plays a vital role in connecting cargo, customers and key global markets through rail, road and sea.

As a fast-paced business operating across multiple sites and sectors, PD Ports needed consistent, responsive communications support that could strengthen its media presence, maintain stakeholder engagement and help its in-house team continue delivering high-quality PR and marketing activity.

Aim

We started working with PD Ports in 2019 to support the communications, PR and marketing team when a member of the team left. Over time, our role adapted as the team grew back to full strength and became ready to take full control of all communications activity once again.

There was an opportunity to:

  • Provide flexible PR and communications support during a period of team change
  • Maintain a consistent flow of media stories across national, regional and trade press
  • Support day-to-day media liaison and reputation management
  • Keep website and social media content active, relevant and aligned with key messages
  • Help the internal team build confidence, capacity and momentum for the future

The Campaign

When we first began working with PD Ports, we were responsible for sourcing information, writing press releases and managing distribution to key media contacts.

This included:

  • Writing press releases for stories across PD Ports’ national network
  • Distributing news to relevant local, national and trade media
  • Tailoring outreach depending on the port, sector or story
  • Supporting coverage across magazines, websites, newspapers, TV and radio
  • Turning around press activity quickly in response to a fast-moving industry

As the team grew and internal skills developed, our role evolved. We moved from leading on press release creation to supporting with proofing, formatting and distribution, giving the PD Ports team the backing they needed while allowing them to take greater ownership of their communications.

Acting as an extension of the PD Ports press team, we also handled media enquiries and day-to-day liaison.

This included:

  • Responding to media requests
  • Issuing statements
  • Arranging TV and radio interviews
  • Managing relationships with local and trade journalists
  • Coordinating special features, interviews and editorial opportunities

This ensured PD Ports remained responsive, visible and well represented across the media, while giving journalists a reliable point of contact for timely information and expert comment.

To maintain a consistent stream of content on the website, we developed and wrote blogs for the PD Ports website.

This helped keep the brand active online, while giving the business more space to explore key stories, people, values and areas of expertise in greater depth.

For National Apprenticeship Week 2020, we developed this further by creating a campaign that brought together social media, PR and website content.

This included:

  • Blog content
  • Video
  • Photography
  • Apprentice-led storytelling
  • Cross-channel campaign planning

With a fantastic team of apprentices at all levels, this was a strong opportunity to showcase the development opportunities PD Ports offers and hear first-hand from those who had benefited from them.

We also supported the PD Ports marketing team with social media management, helping to ensure key messages, job opportunities and company values were shared consistently.

This included:

  • Daily social media content posting
  • Engagement across PD Ports’ channels
  • Sharing company news, vacancies and values-led content
  • Supporting stakeholder relationships online
  • Engaging with clients, local organisations, river-based businesses, supported causes and nearby events

Not only was it important to share PD Ports’ own content, but also to maintain relationships with the wider network around the business.

We supported the PD Ports marketing team with daily social media content posting and engagement for a period of 18 months.

The Results

Over three years, our work with PD Ports helped maintain a consistent and credible communications presence across national, trade, regional and social media, while giving the internal team the support and space they needed to grow back to full strength.

Together, we secured 1,459 pieces of media coverage across national, trade and regional press. This included national features in titles such as The Times, The Telegraph, Bloomberg, Daily Mail, The i, Financial Times and The Guardian, alongside regular trade coverage in publications including Multimodal, Materials Handling World, Construction News, World Cargo News, UK Haulier, Port Technology and Transport Journal.

Regional coverage also played an important role, helping PD Ports stay visible across the communities connected to its port locations. Coverage appeared in titles including Bdaily, Insider Media, The Northern Echo, The Journal, The Gazette, Business Live, North East Times and NEPIC.

Alongside PR activity, we supported PD Ports’ social media presence across Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter, helping the channels generate 5,631 new followers, 53,602 pieces of engagement and a total reach of 1,624,278 people.

Beyond the numbers, the partnership gave PD Ports consistent communications support during a period of transition, helped maintain visibility across key audiences and left the in-house team in a stronger position to take full ownership of its PR, marketing and communications activity.

“We have thoroughly enjoyed working with The Pack – you have provided us with so much support and new learning and that has played a huge part in us now being able to start to furrow our own path.”

Kirsten Donkin

Head of PR, Marketing and Communications

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