Pretzel has a wealth of experience working with charities and the third sector driving results that quite literally change lives.

Even with its tireless work with young LGBT+ communities, The Proud Trust as a charity remained relatively unheard of, that’s until it started working with team Pretzel. It needed to raise its profile as it fundraised for a mammoth total of £2.15m to rebuild the LGBT+ centre on Sydney Street in Manchester. 

Pretzel won the tender to work with the charity initially for a four-month campaign. Four years later, The Proud Trust remains one of Pretzel’s longest-serving charity clients and they more than hit their target – so the centre is set to open very soon!

Pretzel devised a traditional and digital strategy to raise the charity’s profile regionally and nationally across consumer press (broadcast, print, online media and bloggers/influencers) as well as to attract business investment/funding in charity publications (Third Sector, Charity Times etc.) and business trade, regional and national media. Where and when the news was relevant, we targeted LGBT+ publications (DivaMag, Pink News etc.) to raise awareness among the LGBT+ community.

Four years later (due to pandemic push-backs!) the centre is set to open in a matter of months welcoming, supporting and changing the lives of thousands more youths across the country.

Furthermore, Pretzel’s experts have worked with one of the world’s most well-known football teams, Manchester United. The team had no issue generating media coverage for its successes on the pitch, but it was another story when it came to the club’s community and charitable activity, much of which was done under the radar and without a strategic approach.

To make communication easier, the decision was made to bring everything under one umbrella brand, and it was then that Manchester United Foundation was born.

Right from the initial launch of the charity, our experts oversaw the marketing and communications strategy for Manchester United Foundation. They were fundamental in setting up and running all channels of communication from social media platforms to a busy press office function, as well as ensuring it had a brand and tone of voice that was in line with key messaging from the football club.

The activity covered everything from huge stadium fundraisers with audiences of 65,000+, to high profile player visits to projects in the local community. However, it was finding real life case studies of young people who had completely turned their lives around through football, that often gave the best demonstration of the charity’s work in the media.