The Digital PR Recap: Q1 2026

The first quarter of 2026 hit the ground running, with campaigns that ranged from reimagining the world’s dullest book as a bedtime story to mapping out the globe’s most beautiful marathon routes. Across clients old and new, our work this quarter found fresh angles on familiar topics, reacted with speed when the news cycle demanded it, and continued to earn coverage that goes far beyond a single headline.

Campaign Highlights

Autotrader: Global Commuter Comparison

With office attendance hitting its highest levels since the pandemic, the commute was back on everyone’s radar. Rather than rehashing familiar rush-hour stats, we looked at how much time drivers actually spend in their cars each year once hybrid schedules, public holidays and annual leave are factored in. We mapped the findings globally, revealing the countries where car commuters clock up the most and least time on the road.

The results drew international interest from news and auto press in the UK, India, the Netherlands, Ireland and Canada. The UK data has continued to earn coverage in the context of more recent fuel developments, giving the campaign a useful second life.

Scrap Car Comparison: The Highway Code Bedtime Story

Half of motorists never revisit the Highway Code after passing their test. Six in ten don’t get enough sleep. So we turned the nation’s dullest read into an audio bedtime story, backed by the science of hypnagogic learning and narrated by motoring legend Vicki Butler-Henderson in her most soothing tones.

The campaign earned traction both in the UK and abroad, with coverage on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, GB News and regional titles across the country.

“Who would have thought turning The Highway Code into an unexpected sleep aid would work such a treat?“ – Tonje Ødegård, Digital PR Director.

PureGym: City Running Index

With entries to the 2026 London Marathon reaching a record high, the UK’s running boom shows no signs of slowing. Fitness-focused travel is growing alongside it, with more runners building holidays around marathons abroad. We wanted to give that trend some data backbone: analysing over 100 marathons worldwide across metrics including elevation, altitude, temperature and wind speed to reveal which routes are the most physically demanding and which offer the best conditions for a personal best.

The campaign earned coverage in the UK and internationally, with highlights in Runner’s World.

“This campaign is informative, surprising, insightful and fun. The additional expert commentary around how to train for a marathon and adjust your training to fit different climates also strengthens the concept.” – Tonje Ødegård, Digital PR Director.

Press Office Wins

Inghams Walking: Coolcations 2026

Following the success of last year’s coolcations story, we refreshed the research ahead of the 2026 travel season. With searches for “coolcation” up 42% year on year and over 3,500% since 2024, the trend shows no sign of cooling. We tracked search data across nearly 200 destinations to reveal this year’s hotspots, earning 67 pieces of coverage and 13 links on publications including Euronews, Time Out, and Daily Record.

CV Villas: Most Swimmable Seas

As wellness continues to shape travel decisions, we set out to find the world’s best destinations for sea swimming. Using the WHO’s recommended recreational swimming temperature range as our benchmark, we scored coastal destinations on sea temperature, wind speed, cloud cover and UV index, crowning Indonesia’s Gili Trawangan the overall winner with a score of 78.6. The campaign earned 82 pieces of coverage and 15 backlinks, with highlights including the Daily Mail, Forbes and Travel Nine Australia.

Tide: Roles You’ve Never Heard Of

From AI Prompt Engineers to Belonging Managers, a new generation of jobs is emerging that most people have never heard of. Our research found that up to 80% of consumers and business owners couldn’t identify these roles, despite many commanding lucrative salaries. Timed for the January job-seeking spike, the story landed on Metro, the Guardian and Tech Round, speaking equally to business owners thinking about hiring and individuals considering a career change.

Reactive

Compare and Recycle: iPhone 4 and the Digicam Aesthetic

When TikTok users started repurposing the iPhone 4 as a retro digital camera, racking up 347,000+ posts under #digicam, we moved quickly. Pairing the cultural moment with a practical security warning about using outdated devices, the story earned 386 pieces of coverage and 195 backlinks on titles including Forbes, the New York Post and TechRadar.

Pour Moi: Lunar New Year Red Pants

Rather than following the usual Lunar New Year angles, we zeroed in on the tradition of wearing red underwear for luck, backed by Pour Moi data showing 29% of adults own a “lucky” pair and a 50% rise in related Google searches. Six pieces of coverage landed at an average domain rating of 78, including the US Mirror and MyLondon.

MoneySuperMarket: Road Safety Strategy Reactive

When the Government published its Road Safety Strategy in January, we built a six-week reactive programme around it, using consumer survey data and MoneySuperMarket’s internal insurance figures to keep the brand visible across every major angle of the story. Over 200 pieces of linking coverage followed, including the Express, The Sun and Metro, cementing MoneySuperMarket’s authority on motor finance and road safety.

Want to see more of what we have been up to? Browse our work here. And if you are ready to take your brand further with standout digital PR, we would love to chat – get in touch!