Welcome back to this week's PR & Marketing News Round-Up from Visible PR.
This week, it’s a mixed bag of festive treats and showstopping activations that had people talking, including Greggs taking sausage rolls into the world of five-star luxury, Selfridges bringing Grand Theft Auto to Oxford Street, and Morrisons and Disney finding fresh ways to bring a little magic to Christmas. We're also celebrating some coverage of our own, with our AI Christmas gifting research making the headlines in PRWeek, Decision Marketing and more.
From unexpected collaborations to clever storytelling and research-led PR, here's what's caught our attention this week…
Greggs ‘Rolls’ Out the Five-Star Treatment
Fancy a sausage roll served on a silver platter? Greggs has taken its high-street favourites into the world of luxury hospitality, opening a permanent branded suite at the five-star Hotel Gotham in its hometown of Newcastle.
The Greggs Suite comes complete with midnight blue and gold interiors, branded dressing gowns, slippers and eye masks, and, our favourite detail, a dedicated 'ring for a sausage roll' concierge service. Guests simply pick up the rotary phone and have their freshly baked Greggs favourites delivered straight to their room on a silver platter.
The first 96 stays also come with limited-edition merchandise, a playful nod to the 96 layers of Greggs' puff pastry. It's gloriously over the top, but somehow feels completely on brand.
Why it matters for PR & Marketing: We love this. Greggs has built a distinctive brand personality around being accessible, fun and not taking itself too seriously, and this activation plays brilliantly on the contrast between everyday bakery favourites and five-star luxury. It's a great visual story with plenty of potential for earned media, social content and influencer experiences. Crucially, it doesn't feel like a random publicity stunt. It's unmistakably Greggs, and the kind of idea people will want to tell their friends about.
Morrisons Gets Christmas Just Right with Goldilocks
Morrisons has taken a familiar fairy tale and given it a charming Christmas twist, bringing Goldilocks and the Three Bears together for a festive family gathering. Christmas Made Just Right follows Mummy and Daddy Bear as they prepare to welcome their grown-up son and his new girlfriend home for Christmas. Daddy Bear heads to Morrisons to find everything he needs for the perfect festive meal, and the twist, of course, is that Baby Bear's girlfriend turns out to be Goldilocks.
There's plenty of warmth and humour, but the real message is about making Christmas feel right for the people around your table, even when the decorations are wonky and things aren't quite perfect.
Why it matters for PR & Marketing: What we liked about this campaign is how naturally it brings Morrisons' fresh food credentials into the story. The store colleagues are there for a reason, helping to reinforce something distinctive about the supermarket rather than simply providing a backdrop for a festive film. The wider campaign, including a Baby Bear social takeover and a partnership with Gogglebox, also gives the idea room to grow beyond the television advert.
Grand Theft Auto Takes Over Selfridges
It's not every day that one of London's most famous luxury department stores turns itself into a video game destination, but Selfridges has teamed up with Rockstar Games to bring the world of Grand Theft Auto VI to Oxford Street.
Running throughout November, the Vice City takeover transforms Selfridges ‘The Corner Shop’ into a celebration of the eagerly anticipated game's fictional setting. There's a customised supercar, themed window displays and an exclusive collection of clothing and merchandise, including a varsity jacket with an eye-watering £2,500 price tag.
It's an unexpected pairing, but one that brings together gaming culture, fashion and the kind of larger-than-life retail experience that Selfridges does so well.
Why it matters for PR & Marketing: Following Disney’s hugely successful activation around the festive season last year, this is a great example of how a major entertainment launch can extend well beyond its core audience. By bringing GTA into a physical retail space, Rockstar and Selfridges have created an experience fans can visit, photograph and share, while giving lifestyle, fashion, gaming and retail media plenty to talk about. It's also a reminder of just how commercially and culturally influential gaming has become.
Disney Makes Magic with an Invisible Horse
Disney has unveiled its latest Christmas short film, The Invisible Horse, and this year's story is a lovely reminder of the power of imagination. Directed by Dougal Wilson, who also directed Paddington in Peru, the film follows a young boy called Jack who is beginning to outgrow his childhood sense of wonder. An encounter with a mysterious invisible creature changes all that, drawing him into an unexpected friendship and helping him rediscover the magic of Christmas.
Rather than showing us the animal, the film uses movement, clever visual effects and Jack's reactions to make its presence felt. It's a beautifully considered piece of storytelling that leaves plenty to the viewer's imagination. We don’t want to spoil the surprise, but the invisible horse turns out to be something a little more festive!
Why it matters for PR & Marketing: Disney knows how to tell an emotional Christmas story, but what makes this one particularly appealing is the creative restraint. By choosing to keep the animal a mystery, the film invites audiences to imagine it for themselves. It's a clever way to make the story more engaging and gives the campaign a distinctive creative idea. Sometimes what you leave out can be just as powerful as what you put in.
Our AI Christmas Research Makes the Headlines
We've been delighted with the response to our new AI Christmas gifting report, created in partnership with IgniteStack, which has been picking up coverage across the media and marketing, data, retail and ecommerce trade press, including Decision Marketing, Media Shotz, Retail Focus and PRWeek.
It's been particularly interesting to see how the findings have resonated with different audiences. From the brands dominating AI gift recommendations to the growing influence of AI on shopping and product discovery, the research has opened up conversations across several industries.
Why it matters for PR & Marketing: It's a great example of how original research can generate stories for different media audiences. The same findings can offer valuable insights for retailers, marketers and PR professionals, creating opportunities for coverage well beyond a single sector. And, of course, the research itself reinforces the growing importance of PR in shaping how brands are discovered and recommended by AI.
Final Thoughts
This week's campaigns show that some of the best PR ideas come from taking something familiar and doing something completely unexpected with it. That twist is what captures attention and is really the secret sauce to success. What they have in common is a strong sense of brand identity, with each idea feeling distinctive to the brand behind it, whilst giving audiences something to notice, enjoy and share.
And as our own research shows, getting noticed is just the beginning. Brands also need to think about how they're discovered, talked about and recommended.
Looking for an idea that gives your brand something worth talking about? Visible can help. Let's talk: hello@visiblepr.co.uk