Loughborough’s COP26 campaign finishes with more than 100 media appearances worldwide

The University’s campaign to highlight research and expertise linked to COP26 has seen more than 100 news, broadcast and radio appearances by Loughborough’s academics and experts.

Launched on October 25, the three-week initiative saw the central PR team write and produce around 30 press releases, videos and podcasts, which were picked up 106 times by national, international and local media.

The campaign led to interviews with BBC News, Sky News, BBC World Service and Radio 5 Live, and covered topics such as the impact of climate change on sport and carbon footprint of the food industry.

Content was given a big push by Loughborough’s digital team and amassed 124,384 impressions (the total number of times a post appeared in someone’s feed), 2,301 engagements (how many times people interacted with a post) and 14,855 video views, on all social channels.

Press releases were also picked up by specialist publications such as Physics World, the Engineer, Techregister and WiredGov. And the campaign’s three Conversation pieces were read by more than 130,000 people.

Internationally, Loughborough University appeared in the news in Australia, America, India, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, Nigeria, Hong Kong, Venezuela and others.

The campaign began with a big announcement about the launch of Loughborough’s £80m STEER research centre.

There was also news about the new £9m SportPark Pavilion 4, the first building on the University campus to have Passivhaus accreditation, meaning it has a very low carbon footprint.

Hendrik Versteeg and Professor Weeratunge Malalasekera featured in the Engineer magazine and online as they detailed a new project to make asthma inhalers more environmentally friendly.

The Cuppa with a Scientist podcast welcomed Professor Rob Wilby who was talking about the reality of climate change.

A COP26 explainer by Dr Richard Hodgkins and another piece co-written by Dr Ashley Fly which explored whether the UK is meetings its net zero pledges got fantastic coverage after appearing in the Conversation.

And Professor Jin Xuan co-wrote a piece for the Chemical Engineer magazine about a more sustainable future for the chemical industry.

Professor Ed Brown talking to Sky News Arabia during the campaign

ENDS

Notes for editors

Press release reference number: 21/250

Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.

It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2021 QS World University Rankings and University of the Year for Sport by The Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2022.

Loughborough is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 7th in The UK Complete University Guide 2022, and 10th in both the Guardian University League Table 2022 and the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022.

Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.

The Loughborough University London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.

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