We’re celebrating 20 years of being one of the UK’s leading veterinary marketing and PR agencies.
Our award-winning veterinary PR campaigns have achieved incredible results for our clients, receiving huge volumes of positive trade, national, broadcast and international coverage in the likes of the BBC, Fox News, The Dodo, CNN, the New York Times and The Late Show in America.
We’ve worked with more than 70 practices and 18 referral hospitals, achieving hundreds of pieces of coverage every month. R&Co has also helped secure a 10-part BBC series, launched multi-million pound new hospitals, and overseen publicity for complete rebrands.
As a PR and marketing agency, our service offering has grown to support the veterinary sector with everything from strategic PR campaigns to paid social, organic social media and SEO services.
Our veterinary story
Our first foray into veterinary PR came 20 years ago, working with Avonvale Veterinary Centres, which has practices across Warwickshire. Our first story created a splash when we secured coverage on the practice’s new hydrotherapy suite and, after dipping our toes into veterinary PR, successful seasonal campaigns followed.
It was then that Linnaeus-owned referral hospital Willows Veterinary Centre and Referral Service approached R&Co for support with PR, and news of the great results we achieve spread. Our client list then grew rapidly with Linnaeus, one of the UK’s leading veterinary groups.
After 20 years of working with veterinary professionals and being trusted to speak to their clients about potentially sensitive issues, we’re well-versed in how the industry works, its challenges and how to achieve the best marketing results for veterinary brands.
Veterinary PR for B2C
We’ve got a nose for news and a knack for making veterinary PR consumer friendly. With years of journalism and newsroom experience under our belts, we know exactly how to pique the interest of pet owners and consumers on behalf of primary care vets.
By looking for the unusual and the extraordinary – did you hear the one about Merlin the miracle goldfish?
Medical terminology is softened or removed for a B2C audience, with procedures, injuries and illnesses all explained in a way that is accessible to the everyday reader.
Along with relevant referral cases, we cover everything from local cases to award wins.
We’ve also established monthly columns in hyper local titles, with a different vet giving topical advice and building a trusted reputation in the community.
Learn more about our approach to consumer-friendly veterinary PR.
Veterinary PR for B2B
The veterinary sector benefits from a range of respected and well-read trade titles such as Vet Times, The Veterinary Edge and Veterinary Practice, all of which continue to thrive online and in print.
Over the last 20 years, we have built strong relationships with the journalists at these titles, which are read by vets, specialists and registered veterinary nurses, and developed a bloodhound nose for veterinary news.
One editor has even described R&Co as “the best PR team I deal with”.
Tailoring PR for trade
Most of the stories we pitch to these titles contain news from referral hospitals, which often see the most severe cases and provide ground-breaking treatments.
We tailor our releases to the audience, carefully considering the language, amount of information and images used.
B2B titles often require more in-depth knowledge when it comes to featuring cases, which is why we’ll include medical language and technical terms which veterinary peers will understand and require.
This also allows us to develop in-depth stories about each case and the treatment delivered.
Where possible, we also feature pre and post-treatment X-rays and scans, and more detailed photos, which are often essential to readers with veterinary knowledge.
We’ve also built brand awareness for some of the industry’s leading veterinary hospitals, helping to launch new facilities such as Southfields’ £16 million animal hospital in Basildon and highlighting the expertise of its team.
Award-winning veterinary PR
Don’t just take our word for it – we’ve scooped industry awards for our veterinary PR work too!
R&Co’s ongoing work for Anderson Moores Veterinary Specialists, raising awareness of Alabama Rot, was recognised at the Veterinary Marketing Association Awards 2024 when we received the PR Campaign award for our incredible results.
Judges said the strong link between Alabama Rot and Anderson Moores as the ‘go-to’ specialists had been expertly established. They also commended our ability to raise awareness without scaremongering, which they called ‘a fine line well done’.
Most recently we were named Medium Consultancy of the Year at the Midlands PRCA Dare Awards with judges noting our ‘impactful and meaningful campaigns’.
Growth of our agency
R&Co has grown in recent years and our team includes former news editors and journalists to SEO and social media specialists. Having a knowledgeable team across all areas of digital marketing means we consider the wider marketing benefits with our approach to public relations for the veterinary sector.
We’ve got a healthy contacts book and are immersed in the sector, enjoying well-established relationships with key media titles, industry stakeholders and thought leaders.
Lavender’s X-ray results
Wearing her ‘cone of shame’
Our favourite veterinary campaigns
After 20 years in the veterinary marketing sector, we’ve seen it all and then some.
We’ve been here for the huge boom in the veterinary industry and seen first-hand the transformation and development of this ever-growing field.
We’ve covered some great stories – from life-saving surgeries to groundbreaking treatment. Here are some of our team’s favourite campaigns.
Lavender the hamster
Account director and veterinary PR lead Tom Payne said: “Lavender the hamster underwent a life-saving operation to have her leg amputated after she became trapped behind an oven.
“The four-month-old Syrian hamster had surgery at Cherrydown vets in Essex, with the team getting creative to make her a ‘cone of shame’ so she didn’t nibble the injury site while it healed. The story was covered worldwide, from the BBC to LADBible and The Dodo.”
Maisy the St Bernard. Credit: SWNS
Ben the Boxer
Maisy the St Bernard
Account director Sarah Ross said: “One story which really stands out is about St Bernard Maisy, whose treatment at Paragon Veterinary Referrals went viral after she ate four teddy bears.
“The eight-year-old dog had a CT scan which showed an unusually full stomach and a mass on her spleen. Vets suspected she had cancer and proceeded with surgery – but were shocked to find Maisy had instead snacked on four full teddy bears, which came out mostly intact!
“Her story was covered in national titles such as The Daily Mail, The Mirror and The Daily Express.”
Ben the Boxer
Account director Ian Gallagher said: “Everywhere from Metro to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme featured the story of Ben the Boxer, who ate 16 golf balls!
“Ben was taken to Northwest Veterinary Specialists when he became unwell and went off his food, which led vets to carry out an endoscopy.
“It revealed the two-year-old dog had swallowed 16 balls which his owner said must have strayed from the golf course next door.
“Ben was much better after surgery, and his owner made sure he had plenty of footballs to play with instead of the golf balls which Ben had obviously found irresistible!”
