Turning technical excellence into sector authority in critical infrastructure

The challenge

Despite having a strong customer base in core markets, Bender wanted to maintain and defend its position while increasing visibility and share of voice. At the start of the collaboration with EC-PR the company was dealing with the following challenges:

• Lack of technical authority across target sectors.
• Better-resourced competitors.
• Inconsistent visibility in tier-one trade media.

The solution

We developed a strategic PR programme built on three strategic pillars:

1. Communication strategy: Building on the existing value proposition, we facilitated the development of a comprehensive communication strategy that included: positioning statements, target personas and messaging.
2. Thought leadership as trust currency: We positioned Bender’s technical experts in the media as authorities on critical industry challenges, from ageing healthcare infrastructure to rail safety compliance and e-mobility resilience.
3. Sector-specific authority building: We developed sector-specific narrative grounded in real-world data, technical evidence and case study proof points that demonstrated Bender’s capabilities in action. 

The award-winning impact

1. The collaboration resulted in a dramatic uplift in all of Bender UK’s tier-1 publications, improving visibility, credibility and recognition. Over the campaign period, EC-PR delivered 39 pieces of coverage, reaching more than 3.6 million people.
2. In the UK, the brand now ranks second for overall mentions against direct competitors. 

3. “We have had amazing internal feedback from one of our healthcare thought leadership articles used by the sales team, with 4 enquiries generated to visit our suite ’97 ICU facility since it was published.”
   – Lisa Hudson, Head of Marketing, Bender UK.

4. Our work delivered 264% more coverage than its nearest healthcare rival and 90% more than its nearest rail competitor in 2025.
5. The work also helped drive industry recognition, including a “Highly Commended” award for Healthcare Supplier of the Year at the Healthcare Estates Awards and a win for Best Interior Building Product at the Building Better Healthcare Awards.