The Art of PR Impact: Short Runways or Long Lead-ins?
This month, we answer a burning question from artists coming to the Edinburgh Fringe: what's our approach to getting them the PR action they crave, and how long do we need?
Artists and producers coming to the Fringe want similar things: bums on seats, rave reviews, and, critically, coverage.
When deciding who to call to give them PR momentum, there is one common theme: how long do you need? Does a long lead-in help? What happens if they come to the Fringe for a shorter run, or if they have opened after the festival has begun?
Having honed our strategies over time, we have gained good results for runs that were as short as five shows at the end of August, as for those which ran for nine shows in the first week.
Starting early
For some runs, we start work from March. We've got the lead time to raise awareness of the show, flag it up to relevant critics, set up joint activity with charities or other organisations related to the show's topic, including offering free tickets to early performances to boost word of mouth.
We flag up previews happening in other cities in the run-up to Edinburgh and invite critics to them when they are less busy. If they like the sound of the artist/show, we'll be in a much stronger position when we contact them again in advance of Edinburgh.
Starting early gives us more time to dig into your show. We find the angles to get the press interested and, over time, monitor and contact those journalists who cover those aspects.
We can work longer with the artist/producers in the build-up to come up with fun marketing and merchandise ideas to help raise awareness of their show. These include mirror stickers for women's toilets for a show about the life chaos of a Brooklyn waitress.
We value longer lead times. When we have a short runway, we have tighter timescales to generate awareness, follow up with contacts, and secure opportunities simply because schedules and decision-making processes often extend beyond the limited time frame.
Our longer-running projects, those we started working on back in March, gain more reviews and coverage. Pop-up events, broadcast and radio opportunities really benefit from earlier planning.
Starting earlier gives us the creative edge and space to build momentum, engage press, and work with institutions that need more advance notice, such as national arts organisations.
Tapping into our networks
Where we are based, we have access to a 'Festival Village' of suppliers from custom gift manufacturers, printers and photographers, who can work with us to develop ideas such as physical invites we can post to a handful of key press/industry contacts. We designed a pack of bubblegum for a noughties girl group piece of musical theatre, and a personalised Valentines card for a comedy show about online dating.
A major part of our job is getting coverage for shows without necessarily talking about the show itself. So, we bring storytelling to the fore, such as placing news stories about an actor with a very generous benefactor, or a business feature about a set of artists talking about the cost of coming to the Fringe.
We secure coverage on podcasts and local radio and discover performance and industry networking opportunities that we put shows forward for. The shows that have a longer run in undoubtedly give our media contacts more options to fit around their schedules.
More time also allows us to make use of the contacts we meet during festival networking events and at Fringe venue launches. Last year, we set up a photocall for a show and created a bank of fresh images to share with the media. We'll be doing more of those this year.
Let us work our magic
Inevitably, everything comes down to cost. Our impact can be just as dynamic if we start work in March as it is for an opening night with 72 hours' notice. But shorter timeframes mean tighter opportunities.
Ideally, we suggest that your show runs for as long as you can afford. It takes time for journalists to discover you and to get reviewers to come to your show.
Runs that open later have been known to get decent coverage, as the media like having something new to cover after hundreds of events have opened in the first few days.
Better planning, a longer lead-in, and a greater bank of creative storytelling opportunities give us the best chance at unlocking great results and achieving more success for artists.
Want to know how we can tailor a Fringe campaign for your show? Find out more about our Fringe PR services.
We designed a pack of bubblegum for a noughties girl group piece of musical theatre.
A personalised Valentines card for a comedy show about online dating.
Keeping The Pedal To The Mettle……
Mid-January 2026 has hit and I am shaking myself awake from the Scottish snowstorms to begin the next cycle of PR campaigns for this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. Yes, it may be in August, but the graft has already started.
You may be wondering what a “day in my life” looks like at the sharp end when August comes round in the thick of Fringe madness. Pedalling, very fast, literally. Here it is:
We’re mid-Fringe. Thursday 14 August, 2025. Trump and Putin are due to meet in Alaska. Spain is on fire. On my calendar: A photocall, a Fringe artist meeting and cycling - three miles through Edinburgh, powered mostly by caffeine!
Here we go:
8.30am: Cycling & the Chaos Begins: I cycle to the office near the castle and hear from an agency photographer who wants in on our Kate Barry photocall. Kate’s promoting her Fringe show Kate, Allie and the ’86 Mets with a photoshoot that includes her mum, a retro phone, a massive poster and the Edinburgh skyline. I give the photographer my number and confidently say “See you at 12”.
9.05am: WhatsApp Is My Office: Busy on the phone with a publicist suggesting a Fringe artist boost a Facebook post for some coverage we landed for them. I update the artist to pick up The Scotsman and find the business section where they can see themselves in a great piece.
9.44am: Excitement And Stress Levels Are Rising: Speak to a client to alert them that the Edinburgh Evening News are on and coming to review their show tonight.
10.48am: Caption Anxiety: My colleague Andy is finalising captions and cover notes, but publications want landscape and portrait shots. A deep discussion on image approvals. Technical but essential.
11.07am: Hit With A 2-Star Email: A reviewer emails and the show they covered is heading for two stars. Asking for opinions and options. I reply and make a note to revisit this after the festival.
11.45am: Bike, Brush, Ketchup: A final round of emails and calls to picture desks and editors for the photocall. Then a cycle past Arthur’s Seat to the photocall location. And the poster area is covered in cigarette butts, defaced with ketchup and near a McDonald’s.
Luckily, we’ve done this before. I whip out the emergency PR cleaning kit (brush, sponge, water, washing-up liquid) and scrub ketchup off the poster like this is a totally normal part of my job.
Meet and greet our photographer, Kate and her mum in a local cafe. The agency snapper turns up too, and I make sure nothing gets stolen. Keep an eye on the visuals and keep things upbeat and professional. I later learn that another photographer turned up after we had left. That’s one lesson: always linger a bit longer!
12.52pm: A Win! I WhatsApp colleague Jessie and a Fringe client that City AM in London has named one of our shows in their “7 Best Edinburgh Fringe Shows to Book” list.
1.58pm: Image Approval Dance: I run the photocall images past the artist for selection and caption feedback.
2.30pm: Back On The Bike: A bit of a hard cycle as a slight mix up over meeting locations, I pedal out to meet another Fringe client whose run has ended to chat about how things have gone.
3.55pm: Retouch Requests: Get feedback from the artist on the earlier photocall images. Quick call to our photographer on the images that need retouching before sending out to our agreed publication list.
4.05pm: Debrief and Prep: Check in with Jessie to see how the meeting notes are coming along for a debrief meeting tomorrow.
5.23pm: Social Media Tempts: The artist asks if they can post the photocall images on their socials. But I urge them to wait until Friday night. PR patience is a virtue.
7.13pm: A Genuine Question: An artist asks if The Scotsman and Edinburgh Evening News are the same thing. They are not and I explain.
Beaten By The Chickens! The photocall images were not used right away, as the publications went with Nicola Sturgeon’s new book launch and a separate Fringe photocall involving people dressed as chickens. However, the images did make the cover of the Edinburgh Evening News as part of a huge review. Worth every drop of sweat and ketchup.
Looking back, it was a busy, oddly satisfying day. Great coverage for our artists, strong Scottish and UK results, and a reminder that good PR sometimes involves actual cleaning. I’ll happily get my hands dirty for our clients.
And on that note: Bookings are now open for our 2026 Edinburgh Fringe PR campaigns and other UK projects. Planning a project this year? We'd love to work with you if you are. Find out more.
I update the artist to pick up The Scotsman and find the business section where they can see themselves in a great piece.
PR for the Edinburgh Fringe and beyond
My brain fog is finally lifting from Edinburgh Fringe 2025.
My brain fog is finally lifting from Edinburgh Fringe 2025.
A huge thanks to all the artists who trusted us with their projects, the venues we worked with, and the journalists who covered the shows.
I've been wrapped up in Fringe work most of the year, and of course, I got sick right as it all finished. I had plans to treat myself by seeing the David Hockney show in Paris before it closed (and an AI exhibition too), but then I got ill. I spent two days in bed, got well enough to make the trip, and then went back to bed. Two weeks later - after a course of antibiotics - I’m finally back in the land of the living.
This year’s Fringe was huge for me and the team. We worked on almost 20 projects from Austria, UK, USA, India, China and Ireland. Some were artists we’d worked with before, and lots were new to us. Some clients started early, others got in touch just before the opening night (!).
A big shout-out to the venues who recommended Opening Lines as potential PR people for their shows to check out, and to the journalists who gave us honest advice and tips.
The shows we worked on included theatre, comedy, spoken word and improv. From Anatomy of Pain digging into our health system, matchmaking comedy Opps by Olivia Raine Atwood, absurd farce The Marriage of Alice B Toklas by Gertrude Stein, country music story Midnight in Nashville, and Vacuum Girl - a live TV pilot. Musical theatre show Girl Pop! was about the biggest girl group of the noughties reuniting. And there was plenty more from improvised Shakespeare, to stories about race, social justice, and love letters to Black women (performed on skates, naturally!).
I teamed up again with publicist Jessie, who worked her magic securing coverage - especially from influencers and podcasts. She also lined up performance opportunities and kept everyone updated on awards and industry events. Andy, a long-time collaborator, came through with his writing skills, and even got an internationally renowned weekly radio show to see one of our shows - they are now in talks about featuring the story.
I focused on networking with journalists, brainstorming creative ways to get our clients press coverage, organising photocalls and crafting some very special (posted!) VIP invites. We also tapped into our building’s network - working with custom gift makers, printers, photographers and poster distributors.
The coverage reports are now complete. We secured over 100 pieces across national press, specialist outlets, podcasts, social media and international titles. Interviews, reviews, features and shortlisting. From titles like The Scotsman, BBC, MSN, viral TikTok moments and major awards. Our clients got a great mix of traditional press, industry buzz and digital reach.
Was it perfect? Not quite. For shows that came to us last minute, or had very short runs, we found it trickier to get coverage. UK national broadsheet coverage was also tougher this year, so that’s something we'll look into.
With my lungs finally less liquid-filled (!), I’m now working on a UK film festival project. We’re also chatting with artists about future runs in London and the US. I’m even thinking of ways we can better support future music projects.
Fancy working with us? Please get in touch any time, and find out more about our Edinburgh Fringe PR campaigns.
A huge thanks again to everyone who trusted us and supported the shows.
