Championing the Older Generation
Published on 3rd November 2020Our Birmingham PR team have been working with the UK’s leading developer and manager of retirement communities, McCarthy & Stone, to shine the spotlight on one of its homeowners, 80-year-old Ann Maskell, when she fulfilled a lifelong dream of completing a tandem skydive.
As part of the ongoing regional PR programme for McCarthy & Stone, we set out to champion older people, their role in society and how retirees can continue to live an active and independent lifestyle. Ann’s exhilarating story offered the perfect example of living life to the full during retirement, and was one that was certainly worth sharing!
The team shared Ann’s inspirational skydiving story through traditional media relations, from her determination to complete a skydive as soon as lockdown was over - even after a first attempt that saw her having to unexpectedly evacuate at 4,000 feet - to raising over £1,000 in the process for a charity close to her heart, the Merlin MS Centre.
The campaign generated over 60 pieces of coverage across online, print and broadcast media, including an exclusive with the Press Association, to reach over 8.6 million people.
As Ann said: “I’ve always been a busy person, so I really wanted to continue trying new and exciting things and not let lockdown or a pandemic stop me doing this. You just never know what life is going to bring next and I didn’t want to wait around to find out!”
Wise words indeed!
Photo credit: Olly Denham, Cornish Parachute Club
