Hendrix Rose PR Wins at the PRmoment Awards

There are some moments in business that feel genuinely surreal. Moments where all the hard work, persistence, passion and belief suddenly crystallise into something tangible.

Last night was one of those moments for us.

We entered our very first award at the PRmoment Awards and… we won.

Hendrix Rose PR is now officially an award-winning PR agency  and honestly, it still feels slightly unbelievable saying that out loud.

We were honoured to take home the award for Low Budget PR Campaign of the Year for our work with Chapter 2 Dating and the campaign The Challenges and Triumphs of Dating After Loss.

To go from submitting our very first ever award entry to standing on stage as winners is something we are incredibly proud of, deeply grateful for and still very much processing.

Why This Award Means So Much

At Hendrix Rose PR, we work with startups, scaleups and SMEs every single day.

Our clients may not always have huge marketing budgets or household-name recognition, but what they do have is ambition, passion and stories worth telling. That’s where we come in.

We’ve always believed great PR is not about the size of the spend. It’s about strategy, creativity, timing and understanding what truly connects with people.

Unlike global brands with massive budgets and built-in awareness, smaller businesses have to fight harder for visibility. They rely on smart thinking, agility and persistence to cut through crowded media landscapes.

This award feels like recognition for that entire approach.

It validates the belief that impactful PR does not have to rely on flashy budgets or expensive campaigns. Sometimes the most meaningful work comes from insight-driven storytelling, genuine human connection and finding the right cultural moment to start a conversation.

That’s exactly what this campaign set out to do.

A Campaign That Truly Mattered

From the beginning, our campaign with Chapter 2 Dating felt different.

At its heart was a topic that is deeply human, emotional and often overlooked: what happens when people begin dating again after bereavement.

Dating dominates popular culture. It fuels television shows, headlines, podcasts and endless online conversation. But widows and widowers have historically been missing from that narrative.

Their experiences, shaped by grief, guilt, hope, resilience and love, are rarely discussed openly.

Together with Chapter 2 Dating, we wanted to change that.

The campaign aimed to shine a light on the realities of dating after loss while helping people feel seen, understood and less alone in the process.

And importantly, we wanted to do it in a way that felt authentic, respectful and genuinely meaningful.

Turning Silence Into Conversation

When Chapter 2 Dating approached us, they already had a strong mission and a highly engaged community. What they needed was renewed momentum and wider visibility in the mainstream media.

We knew immediately this was not a campaign that could rely on gimmicks or shock-value headlines.

It required sensitivity.

It required trust.

And above all, it required real human storytelling.

So we built the campaign around three core pillars:

• Cultural relevance
• Owned insight
• Founder-led storytelling

The cultural hook came through the release of Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, which explores dating and relationships through the perspective of widowhood.

Suddenly, the media had a cultural reference point. Conversations around grief and dating were beginning to emerge — but what was missing were the real-life experiences behind those headlines.

That became our opportunity.

Real Stories, Real Impact

At the centre of the campaign was insight gathered directly from the Chapter 2 Dating community itself.

The findings painted a powerful picture of the emotional complexity surrounding dating after loss:

• 90% said memories of their late partner still influence new relationships
• 45% admitted feeling guilt or hesitation about dating again
• 71% found modern dating uncomfortable
• 60% avoided discussing dating with their children

These were not just statistics.

They represented deeply personal experiences and emotions that many people had never publicly voiced before.

To bring the campaign to life, we combined data-led storytelling with real-life case studies and founder commentary from Chapter 2 Dating founder Nicky Wake.

Nicky’s openness and willingness to share her own story transformed the campaign from a media initiative into something much more powerful: a conversation people emotionally connected with.

That authenticity became the campaign’s greatest strength.

Big Results Without Big Budgets

Winning the Low Budget Campaign of the Year award makes this achievement even more meaningful because every result was driven through earned media, strategic storytelling and relationship-led PR.

There was no huge advertising spend.

No paid amplification.

No extravagant campaign rollout.

Instead, every element focused on maximising impact through smart communications strategy.

We developed tailored media angles for national, regional, lifestyle and broadcast media. We secured interviews, expert commentary opportunities, podcast features and case study placements that helped sustain momentum far beyond a single news cycle.

And the results exceeded every expectation.

The campaign delivered:

• Over 70 pieces of earned media coverage
• A combined reach of 1.56 billion
• Coverage across national press, broadcast and regional media
• Multiple podcast appearances and interviews

But beyond the metrics, what mattered most was the wider impact.

We helped move dating after loss from being a conversation many people avoided into one that felt visible, recognised and increasingly understood.

That is the kind of PR we believe in.

The Business Impact

Of course, great PR should also drive commercial outcomes  and this campaign absolutely delivered there too.

As a direct result of the campaign, Chapter 2 Dating saw:

• A 134% increase in organic and direct traffic
• A 96% increase in new users
• The biggest subscriber growth in the brand’s history

But perhaps the most powerful outcomes were the real-life ones.

The campaign ultimately contributed to genuine human connection including marriages, engagements and even what the team now lovingly calls a “Chapter 2 baby.”

It is impossible not to feel emotional about that.

Because when PR can genuinely impact people’s lives in such a positive way, it becomes about so much more than headlines or impressions.

A Huge Thank You

Winning this award would never have been possible without the incredible trust and collaboration of the team at Chapter 2 Dating.

And especially without Nicky Wake.

Her honesty, courage and willingness to speak openly about grief, love and rebuilding life after loss made this campaign what it became.

She created space for others to share their own experiences too and that is what turned this from a campaign into a movement.

We also want to say a huge thank you to Ben Smith and the PRmoment Awards for recognising the campaign and creating a platform that celebrates meaningful, impactful PR work across the industry.

Still Taking It All In

To officially say Hendrix Rose PR is an award-winning agency feels incredibly special.

But more than anything, this moment reminds us why we do what we do.

We believe the best PR campaigns are the ones that make people feel something.

The ones that create conversation.

The ones that challenge silence.

And the ones that prove you do not need enormous budgets to create enormous impact.

This was our first ever award entry.

And wow… what a night.

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