Stratford Literary Festival - Autumn 2025

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In 2025, we partnered with Stratford Literary Festival to deliver a comprehensive PR and social media campaign from programme announcement through to the Autumn edition itself. Running from 31st October to 2nd November, the festival filled Stratford-upon-Avon with leading voices from literature, comedy, history, politics and sport. Highlights included John Cleese reflecting on Fawlty Towers: Fawlts and All in its 50th anniversary year, Graham Norton in conversation, Lyse Doucet on global affairs, and historian Andrew Lownie presenting Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York.

Our campaign began with a press release announcing the line-up and worked closely with speakers’ publicists to secure interviews. Coverage appeared in Marie Claire, BookBrunch, Country Life, and regional titles including Coventry Observer, Warwickshire World and West Midlands Metro. Broadcast highlights included ITV Central interviewing festival director Annie Ashworth and BBC CWR airing three features, including a lively chat with Gyles Brandreth. In total, we secured 31 pieces of coverage across print, digital and broadcast, with a potential reach of 28.6 million.

On social media, engagement surged: Instagram views reached 344.5K (75% from non-followers), accounts reached grew 275% in three months, and followers rose 14%. Facebook saw a 76% rise in views and 242% increase in interactions, with combined reach across both platforms hitting 181K over the festival weekend—more than double Spring 2025. Partnerships with Times+ and Hotel du Vin drove 1,000 new newsletter subscribers, while influencer and celebrity collaborations extended reach to audiences exceeding 835K.