Client: EMPOWER TRAINING SERVICES LIMITED

Project: Media relations in support of company launch

Background: Empower was launched in July 2001 following the management buy-out of Powergen plc's specialist technical training division in Nottingham.

Objective: The company needed to raise awareness of its facilities among existing customers such as Jaguar Cars and British Energy, as well as attracting new business in the UK and overseas.

Description: Empower commissioned Word Association to draft a series of press releases for the launch and to research a distribution list of national, local and trade publications.

Our role: To draft the launch release and tailor it to suit different segments of the media including the electrical, engineering and health and safety press; also to manage the distribution of the releases and make approximately 90 follow-up calls to editors and journalists.

The challenge: Chief executive Mark Thomas said: "Because of the legal restrictions surrounding the management buy-out, we had to ensure that Powergen and their advisors were happy with the wording of the releases, as well as the client. Once they had been issued, we spent some considerable time contacting the publications individually to provide further information and photographs, as well as identifying opportunities for feature coverage."

Feedback: Empower's marketing director, Adrian Symonds, said: "It was a weight off our minds at an exceptionally busy time to hand over the media relations to Word Association. We were impressed by their very professional service, which produced media coverage worth in advertising terms well in excess of £10,000."