Matt Fox, Thinking Hat’s Junior B2B Account Manager, celebrates Pride Month with a look back at some of our most influential clients and their LGBTQ+ campaigns.
Pride is cancelled for a second year running. As an agency with a key strength in socially conscious PR, we understand how to read the room and why this was not totally unexpected. Remembering what brought me to Thinking Hat in the first place – social and environmental awareness and that impressive campaign with Will Young! – It’s inspiring to look back at the campaigns we have created for LGBTQ+ causes since then.
Flying our virtual Pride flag high, here are some of the ways we’ve helped take up space over the past few years.
Supporting LGBTQ+ and alternative families
Our longest-standing client, A City Law Firm, regularly speaks up for LGBTQ+ people and their legal rights, working closely with online magazines like Attitude, The Gay UK and openly.com.
Karen Holden, the firm’s founder, was instrumental in a high-profile family case that caught the attention of media outlets around the world. In 2018, Karen worked pro bono for Freddy McConnell in a bid to get him recognised as ‘parent or father’ on his child’s birth certificate. A lengthy court battle ensued which took Karen and her client Freddy to the High Court and Thinking Hat was parachuted in to handle worldwide media interest.
Despite the outcome, the trial could easily be considered one of the most prolific family legal cases in the last decade for trans rights.
Karen’s involvement and determination to fight for Freddy to be recognised as his child’s father, despite having birthed his child, is the kind of socially-conscious PR that we’re proud to get stuck into. Like Karen, we believe in equality for all, and we’re passionate about making a difference and affecting long-lasting change.
Shining a light on LGBTQ+ education in schools
In 2019, a big client of ours was looking to launch a nationwide campaign to bring LGBTQ+ literature to young people across the UK.
Important context for the campaign is Section 28, an act passed in 1988 that prohibited councils and schools from ‘promoting homosexuality’ in England. Abolished in 2003, this act prevented young people from accessing important information at some of the most crucial stages of their lives.
To mark 16 years since this act was overturned, Amazon’s LGBTQ+ Reading Roadshow travelled the UK with influential figures from the LGBTQ+ community, including Will Young, to shine a light on diversity and inclusion, and tackle homophobic bullying in schools by providing a selection of LGBTQ+ books and literature to young people.
We’re proud to have executed a ground-level campaign that helped secondary school pupils see how their differences are enablers, not barriers, to a successful future. Campaign trails like this make a big impact locally, and produce tangible results with events on the ground. From September 2020, changes to the school curriculum have made teaching about LGBTQ+ relationships compulsory, and we look forward to working with Amazon to continue bringing to light issues faced by members of the LGBTQ+ community, promoting diversity and inclusion in businesses and schools.
Kings and Queens of LGBTQ+ Content
We’re passionate about creating content that elevates our clients’ profiles. Over the past few years we’ve had the pleasure of working with a variety of businesses to produce engaging media content specifically for LGBTQ+ causes.
Whether it’s a specially-curated reading list that celebrates LGBT+ History Month for a big tech company, a guide to travelling the UK in search of your favourite Drag Race queens for a travel-tech startup, or articles offering legal advice and resources to alternative families, being aware of social issues keeps us on our toes, in good stead with LGBTQ+ media, and in the best position to work on your next D&I campaign.
Bringing attention to the power of diverse teams and greater understanding to the issues faced by LGBTQ+ people is what we do, and it’s great to look back on our work to date to see just how far we’ve come in honing our offering to LGBTQ+ causes and clients.
Wondering about the value that a diverse team brings to your business? We have much to say and are always keen for a chat – do get in touch. Until we all meet in person, Happy Pride month.
Meet the people who inspire the Thinking Hat PR team when we celebrated LGBTQ+ History Month 2021.
