From Start-up to Major Player. How PR & Thought Leadership Helped Fuel 733% Growth

The Vulnerable Registration Service (VRS) is a not-for-profit that helps financial services organisations, utility companies, government, and others to better identify and support vulnerable customers. On a mission for vulnerability data sharing and vulnerability checks to become standard practice, the VRS needed to become known and recognised as go-to champions for vulnerable individuals and organisations looking to meet their obligations to treat their customers fairly.

At the end of 2020, Nellie PR was appointed by the VRS as its retained communications and PR agency to drive brand awareness and beyond – helping to drive understanding of the scale of the vulnerability challenge, and to support the VRS to drive its growth, reputation, and relationships. We are incredibly proud of our work with this amazing organisation and the impact that PR and thought leadership has delivered. Read on to find out more.

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Meet the Client

The Vulnerable Registration Service (VRS) provides the UK’s first and only central, independent register of vulnerable people. Registering with the VRS is completely free for vulnerable customers and their representatives, and the service is used by financial services providers, utilities, local and central government and other organisations to help them ensure their vulnerable customers are treated fairly and appropriately, reducing debt, financial problems, and harm.

Founded by a team of financial services experts, including Helen Lord, the former director of compliance and consumer affairs at Experian, the VRS is today widely recognised as a major player in the vulnerability data sharing space and credits the PR support of Nellie PR as playing a crucial role in building its brand, securing new partners and cross sector recognition.

How it began

The Vulnerability Registration Service (VRS) was founded in 2019 and is a self-funded start-up. Over a year on from its launch, the VRS was struggling to make traction and lack of brand awareness was holding it back. They needed to build brand awareness fast so that they could reach and support more vulnerable people, and make sure that organisations across a wide range of sectors understood the need for vulnerability data sharing. And, that the VRS was recognised the organisation they needed to partner with.

It was crucial that the VRS appointed an expert PR and communications agency that would deliver real commercial and reputational impact – going above beyond awareness and understanding to ensure that organisations took real action and signed-up as paid members and partners of the VRS.

Nellie PR was appointed due to its knowledge of the data industry, financial services and credit reference sectors, and understanding of issues around data sharing and vulnerability. VRS was also attracted by Nellie PR’s reputation in helping even the most complex of organisations become better known and communicate what they do and their impact. It was important to the VRS that they appointed and outsourced their PR and thought leadership to an expert agency that could support and guide them to reach corporate partners, regulators, and a wide range of sectors, as well as vulnerable people and their representatives.

The challenges & goal

As the only database for identifying vulnerable customers, the Vulnerability Registration Service (VRS) was in a unique position to lead the conversation around vulnerability. But, as a small and completely self-funded start-up, the VRS was venturing into unchartered territory around data sharing and vulnerability and had an uphill battle ahead of them.

Not only did the VRS need to build brand awareness of who they are and what they do, they also had to reach multiple stakeholders and sectors. It was also vital to ensure that the lack of vulnerability data sharing and the need for better identification and treatment of vulnerable customers was recognised as a cross sector problem that needed addressing. This was at a time when vulnerability was still not clearly defined and understood by organisations, and the Covid pandemic was underway.  

A key objective was to ensure that the VRS moved organisations within financial, utilities, central and local government beyond awareness so that they would take action and join the VRS as partners and members to better identify and treat vulnerable consumers fairly. In addition, vulnerable people and those supporting them also needed to recognise the value of registering with the VRS.

Within two years of working together, the VRS increased its paid memberships and partnerships by 733% and the size of its database by 900%, surpassing all initial targets.

What we did

We developed a fully integrated and success-focused PR and thought leadership strategy to drive understanding and action amongst financial services organisations, utilities, central and local government and others. The PR needed to illustrate the scale of the vulnerability challenge, build awareness and move people and organisations to take direct action in the form of sign-ups, paid partnerships and membership. At the same time, we also ramped up brand building and thought leadership for the VRS to ensure that they became known and recognised with credibility and authority.

Our approach was consistent and sustained to deliver prioritised results:

• Developed PR and communications strategy with a strong thought leadership lead.
• Audited and provided recommendations and actions to improve current marketing and communications to strengthen the membership, partner and customer journey.
• Strengthened messaging and proposition to aid clarity and understanding amongst corporates and other stakeholders and partners – to speak in their language. We also developed talking points and issues-based points-of-view to fuel the PR activity and help secure stronger pick-up of comment, features, and interview opportunities.
• Commissioned independent research to uncover the scale of vulnerability in the UK and story angles for hard-hitting campaigns on issues such as vulnerable people being pushed to use loan sharks and investigations into prepayment meters.
• Developed a series of white papers and reports to build awareness with MPs, regulators and other stakeholders, and to provide a regular flow of newsworthy commentary.
• Thought leadership and expert profile building to position Helen Lord as a thought leader on consumer vulnerability, pitching her forward for comment and interviews, securing coverage and high-profile opportunities.
• Drafted and secured in-depth by-lines and opinion articles in influential trade media, and a regular series of news and announcements to illustrate the growth and impact of VRS.
• Relationship-building with the media to develop strong relationships with key media, influencers, and other stakeholders – bringing in strong storytelling and real-life case studies.
• Proactive and reactive media outreach by monitoring industry and media discussions, creation of key dates calendar, and leveraging of trending issues, key dates, statistics, and legislative changes to piggyback on the news agenda and pitch timely proactive and reactive commentary.

Nellie PR has worked with the VRS for several years on a retained basis and continues to advise and support them as they continue to grow and scale.

Results achieved together

Nellie PR has played a key role in helping to build awareness of the Vulnerability Registration Service and its CEO, Helen Lord – securing new partnerships and income, building relationships, reputation, and recognition. In taking a campaigning and issues-based approach, we have ensured that the VRS has made a big impact and smashed its ambitions to build its brand, secure thought leadership recognition, and exceed all its initial targets for paid members and sign-up numbers. Helen Lord is now recognised as a vulnerable consumer champion and award-winning thought leader, and the VRS is trusted and known for its work in identifying and supporting vulnerable people.

Here’s a snapshot of some of the impressive results we achieved together:

• Recognition by regulators, including the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as an example of good practice around how financial services companies should manage vulnerable customers. 
• 733% increase in new paid partnerships and members, including a partnership with TransUnion, the global information and insights company, and leading credit reference agency.
• 900% increase in sign-ups and consumer registrations.
• 194 pieces of online press coverage were secured with the first two years, including The Express, Sun, Mail and This is Money, iNews, Guardian, iPaper, and The Independent.
• Extensive broadcast coverage and high-profile interviews with the likes of Sky News, BBC Breakfast, BBC Money Box, Rip Off Britain, and ITV.
• 773% increase in referral traffic within the first year of working together
• Monthly site traffic increased by 154% within year one, and visits to the news page increased by 218%
• 97% increase in backlinks (referring domains) within the first year of working together with top linking domains from the media with a 92-95 domain authority
• Online coverage views of 3.2 million within two years, not including broadcast
• Long-term media relationships built, calls and enquiries direct from regulators, government bodies, and organisations as a result of brand awareness and the impact and reach of the white papers, press coverage, and other significant PR activity.
• Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown quoting The Vulnerable Registration Service and its research within his own bylined article in The Independent, and strong relationships built with MPs, regulators, charities, and other key stakeholders
• The award-winning Helen Lord, CEO, joins the DataIQ 100 power list as one of the ‘most influential people in data’.

“When you start getting acknowledgement from the government, and when people start coming to you rather than the other way around, that’s when you start to realise that you’re making waves. Nellie PR’s work has been instrumental in our success and they have been hugely supportive especially with our messaging, building our brand and the understanding of what we do and why we do it.

“Nellie PR has got us in front of the right people, and they’re paying attention to us. Being endorsed by regulators is a massive challenge for any company of any size, and the fact that we’ve received their recognition is a real win. We’ve gone from hoping for a seat at the table to leading the conversation with regulators and industry leaders.”

See the work in action

Here is a selection of earned press coverage that the Nellie PR team secured for The Vulnerability Registration Service: The Guardian, iNews, Express, Daily Mail and This is Money, Metro, Big Issue, and many more. Even the former Prime Minister Gordon Brown quoted The Vulnerable Registration Service and its research in his bylined article in The Independent.

Helen Lord, CEO has also been interviewed by Sky News, BBC Breakfast, BBC Money Box, Rip Off Britain, and ITV, amongst others, with extensive coverage, articles and interviews secured across the media, including podcasts such as 11:FS and Mouthy Money, and with influential trade media such as FT Adviser, Fintech Times, Financial Reporter, Money Marketing, Credit Connect, Utility Week, Insurance Times and Insurance Edge. Helen has also won numerous awards and a place on the DataIQ 100 power list as one of the ‘most influential people in data’ and is regularly invited to talk at events.

It’s your time to build your brand

Want to find out what a more strategic and results-driven PR and thought leadership agency can do for you? If you dream of positioning your organisation as a go-to brand and expert thought leader, let’s chat.

Contact Nellie PR or book a call with Ellen Carroll to have a chat about your PR needs and the impact you want to achieve. We look forward to hearing from you.