It’s time for our monthly PR winners and losers review, where we applaud those who pulled off a fresh PR masterstroke and learn lessons from those who had a PR stinker.
Staying Fresh
Northern marks Brit Awards with new name for Deansgate station
Manchester’s historic Deansgate station was given a temporary name change by rail operator Northern to celebrate the city hosting the BRIT Awards for the first time in its history.
Ahead of the much-anticipated ceremony on February 28, Deansgate was aptly renamed Olivia Deansgate station in honour of one of this year’s nominated artists and performers Olivia Dean.
While station renaming to mark major occasions has been done before, Northern’s PR team get the applause for a stunt that undoubtedly would have required careful planning and jumping through multiple logistical hoops.
By tapping into the city’s excitement at hosting the iconic music awards show, it created a real talking point on social media – even if visitors to the city may have been scratching their heads when alighting their service. The stunt was also effective because it reinforced Northern’s strong cultural links to the region’s major towns and cities, marking a PR win for an often-maligned brand.
Ikea capitalises on Punch the lonely monkey’s viral fame
Few people would have been left unmoved by the videos of Punch, the baby Japanese macaque abandoned by its mother at the Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan.
Punch melted hearts around the globe in the videos where he plays alone with a stuffed orangutan toy that’s been given to him by zookeepers in an attempt to socialise him. Further video shows Punch starting to hug and be groomed by other monkeys in his social group.
Releasing the footage was a huge public relations win for the zoo, likely boosting visitor numbers but also providing an opportunity to educate people about primate behaviour.
But an even bigger winner was Ikea, maker of the same cuddly toy orangutan that’s in the videos and which has reportedly seen a global spike in sales. Ikea was quick in using social media to share an advert for the toy with the message ‘Sometimes, family is who we find along the way’. I’m not crying, honestly!
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Gone Stale
Claims of ‘toxic culture’ shock ethical brand Co-op
Co-op, the 180-year-old member-owned food and services group, was rocked in February by a BBC story alleging a climate of “fear and alienation” among senior staff caused by a “toxic culture” at executive level.
The claims of a failing leadership culture and sinking morale were reportedly made in a letter from senior managers to Co-op board members, obtained by the BBC. The story was also supported by interviews with a number of anonymous sources within the company.
Lawyers for Co-op strongly refuted the claims to the BBC, saying they did not recognise the critical comments raised and that they “do not believe they represent the views of our broader leadership and colleagues.”
However, the negative headlines will come as a severe blow to a company seen as the pioneer of ethical business practices and fairness. It illustrates the dangers when an organisation’s lived reality becomes at odds with its public image. Co-op, still reeling from a 2025 cyber incident, has work to do to repair its reputation.
Bafta and BBC criticised for handling of racial slur incident
Bafta and the BBC were forced to apologise following a racial slur that was spoken involuntary by John Davidson, who has Tourette syndrome, at the Bafta Awards on February 22.
Mr Davidson, a prominent Tourette syndrome campaigner was at the awards because the film I Swear is a biopic of his life and follows his struggles of growing up with Tourette’s in 1980s Scotland. Mr Davidson involuntarily shouted the N-word as actors Delroy Lindo and Michael B Jordan, stars of the film Sinners, were on stage presenting an award.
The BBC was criticised for failing to edit the word out of its coverage despite a two-hour delay between the live event and the broadcast. The corporation said producers had not heard the word, but the broadcast remained unedited on BBC iPlayer for several hours despite considerable outrage on social media.
Delroy Lindo expressed his concern that nobody from Bafta spoke to him immediately following the incident. Separately, black British filmmaker Jonte Richardson resigned from his role as Bafta judge, writing on LinkedIn that Bafta had “repeatedly failed to safeguard the dignity of its Black guests, members and the Black creative community.”
The has offered yet another reminder that a crisis comms response to such incidents has to be immediate and focus on the harm caused to victims first, rather than the context or intent of the perpetrator.
