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Kerry Hopkins is a highly regarded Board Level PR specialist and the founder of the Broadcasters’ Academy (formerly Broadcast Ready), established in 2013.
The Broadcasters’ Academy has secured over 1,000 TV and radio interviews for clients, across 100 plus countries across the world, particularly the UK and USA but also in China, Europe, Australasia, South Korea, India, South America, Africa and the Middle East.
Kerry is a judge on the pre-selection Committee of the News Coverage section of the Monte Carlo Television Festival Awards.
Kerry is one of the UK’s more experienced broadcast PR professionals, with more than 20 years of experience in media and corporate communications. She is a former TV journalist who has worked for ITV News and BBC TV News, winners of Royal TV Society Awards, 22 FTSE 100/FTSE 250/NYSE/NASDAQ/AIM listed companies, A-list Celebrities, Sports Stars, Actors, directors, Members of Parliament, Lords, British royalty, CEO’s, professors, doctors, universities.
She is behind the highly successful ‘Broadcast Ready Expert Women’ campaign, endorsed by UNESCO, and is an official partner of the BBC 50:50 Project. Kerry was also invited to be a judge on UNESCO’s global initiative called ‘Women Make The News’.
In 2019, Kerry organised a major event in the House of Commons about women on TV, which featured ITV News’ acting editor on the panel and was fronted by a BBC TV news presenter. Through Broadcast Ready, Kerry’s other events have attracted prestigious panels including a BBC TV newsreader, BBC editor, ITV News editor, Channel 4 news presenter, MP’s, Sky News business editor, Channel 5 News presenter, ITV’s The Agenda’s Executive Producer and the General Secretary of the NUJ
One of the world’s largest PR agencies recruited Kerry Hopkins, a highly regarded broadcast PR and former TV journalist, to work on a global campaign by Samsung, who were sponsors of the London 2012 Olympics.
This hugely successful PR initiative resulted in 7,000 print and online articles, as well as hundreds of broadcast stories across the world. Kerry directed David Beckham OBE (pictured) on shoots in London and Los Angeles, and Her Majesty The Queen’s Granddaughter Zara Phillips MBE on shoots in London. She directed a media team of eight PR’s and chose the two external broadcast PR agencies to work with in order to achieve an incredible 250 journalists and 26 UK and international TV news crews to attend the press conference.
This level of high-quality publicity helped Western and emerging economies see Samsung as a premiere brand. As a result of the increased brand awareness she provided, tied to a visionary marketing strategy and celebrity and royalty associations, Samsung’s revenues increased. Samsung subsequently knocked Apple off the top-spot to be the world’s largest technology company in 2013.
The founder and CEO of SJL Insurance, Simon Lancaster, said: “We partnered with Broadcast Ready PR (now called the Broadcasters’ Academy) to initially to gain media exposure, and the partnership has since grown. The Broadcasters’ Academy is now at the helm of all our PR campaigns, including our social media platforms, our website, SEO, strategic partnerships, events, press and broadcast and all of our external communications.”
He added: “We wanted to propel ourselves to the next level, and we have achieved that spectacularly. Kerry Hopkins, who heads up the Broadcasters’ Academy, has incredible knowledge, expertise and a genuine passion for what she does. All that is obvious in her fierce work ethic. She has completely exceeded even my lofty standards! I would recommend that any individual or business that wants to improve their positive exposure works with her and the Broadcasters’ Academy.”
“Even after two months, Kerry has made a measurable difference, in terms of what she has done for myself and my company. Our staff are buzzing and the place has literally exploded with phenomenal results. Our website traffic has seen a remarkable jump – in one day alone we enjoyed a 4,000% spike. My personal biography page on the website increased views by 3,100%, and our overall brand messaging has reached millions. All that has translated into qualifiable enquiries and sales.”
A top polling firm hired for the General Election 2015 obtained 120 media interviews.
A polling and insights company signed up with Broadcast Ready to launch their first-ever broadcast PR campaign for the Scottish Referendum in 2014 and the General Election in 2015.
We were able to secure 120 national TV and radio interview opportunities in just a few months across four spokespeople. Our “one stop shop” PR campaign, which included broadcast, online and print, delivered by Kerry Hopkins, resulted in a staggering 9214% Return On their Investment (ROI).
Journalists who had never heard of them before, now do. During the PR campaign, their switchboard went into meltdown with new business enquiries and questions from existing customers. Their graduate recruitment programme also started to attract a better quality graduate.
The Broadcasters’ Academy won a 14-month contract to work with a £19 billion Assets Under Management stockbroking and investment firm in the UK, securing 2-8 times per month TV and Radio appearances for their Chief Investment Officer. This type of broadcast PR was a major component of the client’s marketing and PR campaign.
During the final nine-month period, the firm started with £200 million Assets Under Administration and went up to having £1 billion Assets Under Administration. They sold their business for more than they would have been able to, had they tried to sell before the Broadcasters’ Academy’s PR drive.
Although it meant the existing brand name would become defunct, there were financial benefits to the company to continue with their PR drive, which included social media outreach. It allowed them to increase revenue and attract new customers, which consequently made it more attractive to buyers.
Over 14 months, the Broadcasters’ Academy was able to book 103 TV and radio interview opportunities for their spokeswoman. The Contract with the Broadcasters’ Academy only ended because the firm was acquired by another company in June 2017, and so their broadcast spokesperson moved on to a new role.
Michelle McGrade
Finance & Investments Expert
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