Case Study: Award Winning Online Newsroom for PressArea & London Luton Airport

Following the scooping of gold for Best Online Newsroom at the Digital Impact Awards, we asked Neil Bradford, Communications Manager at London Luton Airport to explain in his own words what it was like to win, and their initial reasons for asking PressArea to help them design and build it: -

"Hi I’m Neil Bradford and I’m the Communications Manager at London Luton Airport and I look after the press office and all media enquiries."

How did it feel winning the Digital Impact Award for Best Online Newsroom?

"It was fantastic to receive recognition in the Digital Impact Awards, we work really hard at the airport to make our media site as best as it possibly can be, it’s made a real difference to the way we work and to be recognised for that was just fantastic!"

What were things like prior to you getting the new PressArea newsroom?

"Before PressArea we used a templated service which was good to a point but it didn’t really reflect where we were going as an airport. We’ve had a brand new identity and we’ve come through a period of significant investment and we wanted a website for our media that matched that those ambitions and that was fit for purpose."

Why did you choose PressArea?

"What I really like about PressArea is that it gives us a number of solutions: - 

In the front end you’ve got a functional, good looking, intuitive website for the media;

And at the backend we’re able to keep a log of all inbound enquiries, store all of our statements and lines to take and manage all of our images and video."

How have things improved as a result of the new PressArea newsroom?

"PressArea has really come into its own during the pandemic because we’ve been able to plug in our public affairs and public relations agencies so they can see exactly what we’ve been saying to the media and what inbound enquiries we’ve been receiving and also it’s enabled us to make full use of the filming permits function, which means that whilst we can’t be on site we can still accommodate media in some way."

How else has PressArea helped Luton Airport during the pandemic

"Filming at airports present a challenge on an operational level and from a security point of view and of course during the pandemic there’s been a lot of interest in airports and the impact coronavirus has had on international travel. We wanted to accommodate as many of those requests as possible, but we haven’t been on site to escort media as we normally would do, so we’ve been able to use the filming permit section of PressArea to ensure that those media on-site can come and do their job and the security and operational teams can have the confidence that they’ve got permission to film."

What specific aspects of the PressArea newsroom do you like and why?

"For me the benefit of PressArea is as much at the backend as it is at the front end. Yes we have a great looking website with everything a journalist needs in one place, but at the back end we’ve really got a press office management system where we can keep across all of the inbound enquiries, we can keep across all of our statements and exactly what we’ve been saying to the press at any one time, and of course we can manage our media, our assets, our infographics, our images and our video."

How has PressArea helped Luton Airport with workflow monitoring?

"Before PressArea we didn’t keep any formal log of inbound media enquiries, and actually we weren’t really sure how many press enquiries we were dealing with in any one year, and it turns out we’re dealing with around 500 media enquiries a year and having PressArea has enabled us to look at that and adapt our approach accordingly."

What was your experience of PressArea during the design and build of the LLA newsroom?

"From the get-go PressArea absolutely nailed the brief and designed a website that was in line with our brand, that worked for journalists and worked for us as an airport. In fact there were very few tweaks from the start and throughout they’ve been responsive to changes ensuring they can adapt as and when our processes change."

What's been your experience with PressArea since the build?

"Throughout, working with PressArea has been a collaboration, a good working relationship delivers best results for both sides and that’s exactly what we’ve got, we’ve got a front end website that works for journalists, works for our brand, and at the backend we’ve got something that works for our press office and the rest of the team."

What would your advice be to anyone looking to get a new online newsroom?

"My advice to anyone looking to procure an online newsroom like this is to focus as much on the backend as on the front end, and look at the problems your organisation needs to solve. It’s all very well having a great looking, beautifully designed website, but you need it to work for your organisation and looking at what the issues are for your team can help you get the right product, and that’s where PressArea really helped us!"

How else has PressArea helped Luton Airport with the workflow?

"As a 24 hour operation we have to have a press office that’s always on call and even though we’re a fairly small team here at London Luton Airport, one of the things that we struggled with from time to time was keeping across various press enquiries and understanding exactly who had done what; what PressArea has done has brought everything under one roof, so whoever’s on call, no matter what time of day can keep across what’s being said and pick up where the last one’s left off and of course that’s particularly important during  a crisis."

To organise a free no-strings demonstration of PressArea and to discuss prices and options available click here.