By Hannah Kapff, Founder and MD
With awards season almost over, the Curious PR team is taking a moment to celebrate one of our most exciting years to date, a year that has seen in be selected as finalists in three awards! The awards in question are the European Agency Awards 2024 - for ‘Best Not-For-Profit Campaign’ for our #FishFarmsOut campaign. This global campaign also saw us nominated for ‘Best Not-For-Profit Campaign’ at the UK Agency Awards 2024. Furthermore, we were genuinely thrilled to be a finalist for ‘Best Agency Culture’ at this year’s European Agency Awards. These nominations bring added verve to our team, lifting our spirits as we transition to London’s long winter, albeit one with exciting plans on the horizon.
Reeling In The Truth: Fish Farming Is Not Healthy. It’s a Net Loss
#FishFarmsOut was carried out on behalf of Greece-based Katheti, and New York based Rauch Foundation - an ambitious campaign for which our team helped reach a global media audience of a 688 million people thanks to securing articles in FT.com, Mail Online, South China Morning Post, Corriere della Sera and elsewhere. Our efforts also helped to gain a social media audience of over 700,577 and secure 175 signatures on an important letter to the United Nations Food & Agriculture Organisation (UNFAO) urging it to remove industrial fish farming from its list of so-called ‘sustainable’ aquaculture activities. We urge you to read about why this MUST happen here. Or, if you prefer to digest unpleasant issues through world-class drama, why not watch the trailer for the new Netflix drama Billionaire Island - a fishy tale based on on Norway’s real life salmon farming barons. The dark humour it portrays perfectly matches the shadowy underside of open net pens used to house millions of salmon.
Maddy Lowe, one of our account executives, reflects on working on the campaign: “It was a thrill to work on #FishFarmsOut. The collaboration, enthusiasm and grit witnessed was truly inspiring. Seeing this global issue gain global recognition is exciting, as it’s an issue that affects us all, regardless of what we eat, but few people know about the issues yet.”
Hannah Kapff and Fay Orfanidou from Katheti at ‘Seas Of Change Summit’, Poros, Greece
Making Waves To Challenge Public Perception Of Industrial Fish Farming
These results went above and beyond client expectations, and were achieved despite having to manage several challenges. Tackling them was testament to our ability to overcome complex, global campaigns with creativity, collaboration and care. A major hurdle we faced was shifting public perception of fish farming at a time when most people don't associate fish farming, or eating farmed fish, with the devastation it wreaks on people and planet. (This will change.) The reality is that it takes 1.2kg of WILD fish to produce only 1kg of industrially farmed fish such as salmon, sea bass or sea bream. Because the wild fish, such as sardinellas and anchovies, are sourced from food-insecure communities in the Global South (e.g. West Africa) communities there are witnessing their nutrients being ‘stolen’, not to mention their livelihoods as artisanal fisherpeople. Women, and therefore children, are being disproportionately affected.
As our founder, Hannah Kapff, explains, “People in the northern hemisphere believe that farmed fish, in particular salmon, but also sea bass and bream, is one of the healthiest options they can feed their family. Sadly, this is not the case for a multitude of reasons listed HERE. Taking just two factors, vast quantities of antibiotics, plus, formaldehyde are used to combat disease and lice at the farms. The huge volumes of waste the farms produce - excretion and wasted food - are destroying the health of our seas by starving life of oxygen via a process called eutrophication. The same is happening to river beds.”
As someone who has spent 15 years communicating about health and sustainability, Hannah is keen to point out that, “Sadly, most of us work (and think) in silos, which has set up a false dichotomy between the health of our planet and that of our bodies. Without one, we cannot have the other. What we eat must be ‘healthy’ in both regards.” Increasingly, we’re all learning how consumer decisions have an impact on everyone around the world. We are all connected.
Challenges Combatted Through Collaboration, Creativity & Care
With awareness campaigns, many voices are required to get key messages heard and understood, and #FishFarmsOut was no exception. With multiple stakeholders to reach, and complex technical issues at play which require scientific explanations, a rigorous approach is always needed. This attention to detail is imbued in our team by Hannah, who formerly worked in newsrooms at BBC and CNBC Europe, where accuracy (and speed) are touchstones. The campaign also benefited hugely from having Brussels-based expert, Joanna Sullivan, advise on policy aspects to drive the campaign, using her significant expertise, impressive network and unrivalled passion.
Breaking The Surface: Unmasking The True Costs Of Industrial Fish Farming
The Fish Farms Out campaign also reflects our commitment to using creativity to support and tell meaningful stories which need telling. Our original brief was to spotlight one Greek island’s issues with mass fish farm expansion threats on Poros near Athens. Yet, our ambition and earlier success helped to give the Rauch Foundation and Katheti teams the confidence to collaborate globally. The outcomes not only strengthened the Foundation’s reputation as a non-profit organisation with global impact, it also strengthened our own belief in the power of collaboration for purpose-driven work. Our commitment to making a positive impact flows through our culture at Curious PR.
Fueling Creativity With Care: The Culture Behind Our PR Success
Speaking of culture, we are particularly proud and grateful to have our company culture recognised by PR and communications professionals who nominated us for ‘Best Agency Culture’. As Hannah, notes, “We place enormous importance on caring for our team, as well as the people we’re fortunate to work for, and with. The word ‘curious’ comes from the verb ‘to care’, so whether it’s the campaigns we lead, or how we work as a team, values and behaviour are all, at Curious PR.” This recognition is especially meaningful as we reach just over ten years in business, during which Hannah has nurtured a values-driven team with great care and attention: “We have always believed passionately that values are key when it comes to public relations, and indeed, to business in general. It was this belief which led me to found Curious PR, and to shape our attitudes and behaviours. Maddy Lowe, account executive, adds: “This nomination is incredibly meaningful, as it’s recognition for our dedication to create an environment where everyone thrives, and where we’re motivated to keep striving for even greater success.”
Judges’ feedback on Curious PR Company Culture
at the European Agency Awards 2024:
“The agency’s dedication to nurturing staff and providing stability, particularly in a competitive and often volatile industry, is impressive. The variety of initiatives, from pro bono work to creative outings, reflects a deep commitment to both employee satisfaction and social responsibility. The positive testimonials from clients and former employees provide strong external validation of their culture.”
Where Values Matter, Sustainable Success Will Follow
‘Sustainability’ isn’t just something we advocate for clients – it’s woven into the fabric of our core values. “If you want to sustain your team and your clients, act sustainably in every way you can,” has been our mantra. This principle marries with our collaborative approach, internally and for client work, whether this involves strategic partnerships with other agencies and suppliers, or in working with journalists to help them produce the story they seek to publish. We genuinely believe that by working together and amplifying diverse voices, we can drive long-term, meaningful change. Paired with our ‘never say die’ attitude, we bring a sense of resilience honed through years of media experience, where perseverance is key to delivering impactful stories.
Delivering results requires hard work and dedication from us, and as our clients tell us, we always go above and beyond. Afterall, we've achieved a global media reach of over 14 billion for them, based on monthly figures e.g. MUU or monthly TV / radio audiences.
Using Creative Skills to get Campaigns with Impact
The Curious team includes film-makers, former producers and also amateur artists, which is partly why we comprehend the power of non-written communications. This sees us constantly weaving filmed or animated content and smart graphics as well as stand-out copywriting into our work. At the same time, we understand creativity can only thrive when working in a place where ideas can flow freely. “Cortisol is the enemy of creativity,” Hannah notes, and she knows a low stress environment also fuels original and lateral thinking. With this ‘non-grindstone’ approach, we have lower than the industry-average in terms of staff turnover and sickness rates.
This was just one of many aspects for which we were nominated, as was the fact we prioritise a stable team working full-time, rather than relying on the freelance model. This provides consistency for our clients, as well as the rest of the team. As reflected in judges’ feedback, we offer a supportive environment, especially for young professionals coping with London's sky high living costs.
Most importantly, we are also keen to see team members grow and shine in areas they are passionate about. Hannah notes, “It gives me the biggest buzz ever to see people grow and fulfil their full potential.”
Where ‘Play’ powers Creativity
As an agency, we firmly believe ‘play’ is crucial to a healthy, satisfied, creative team. Afterall, play a behaviour that has evolved in all mammals over millions of years as it’s crucial for facilitating bonding, learning, communication, conflict resolution, creativity and solution finding - all key aspects of public relations work! As the social psychologist, Jonathan Haidt, notes, “Hundreds of studies on young mammals show they want to play, need to play, and are socially and emotionally impaired when deprived of it.” Yet in today’s digital-first environment, play is often pushed out. Recent studies show childhood play, and chances for real connection, are becoming rarer. As adults, our work diaries fill up with virtual meetings, which, we’d argue, only rarely facilitate casual, spontaneous interactions where great ideas and connections happen naturally. Today lacks ‘water-cooler moments’ which trigger a joke, an idea, even some gossip - a.k.a 'social cement'.
As a result, Curious PR prioritises regular social events to celebrate achievements or successes, or just to recharge together. Along with birthdays and holiday gatherings, we enjoy a variety of outings - from film screenings and art exhibitions to live music at gigs and festivals. We are fortunate to have enjoyed opera performances and see bands ranging from Sister Sledge and Roy Ayres to Khruangbin. These shared experiences help keep everyone refreshed, inspired, connected and ready for fresh ideas to flow.
A Culture That Inspires, A Team That Thrives
In fact, our culture is central to everything we do. It is our agency’s heartbeat compelling us to excel as a team and as individuals, while delivering exceptional results for our clients. This year’s award nominations from the UK and Europe serve as testament to how we’re committed to amplifying the voices of people and organisations with ‘something important to say’. A big, big thank you to all involved - including, crucially, our clients - for enabling us to make waves in the right direction. But most of all, thank you to our team, without whom, we wouldn’t be Curious.
Summer Trip: Carli, Maddy, Hannah & Isabella
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