Digital PR Case Study: External Data

Hundemagazin.com / Claneo

Digital PR Case Study

With Data PR into editorial newsrooms – even without brand awareness

Want to achieve more visibility in search engines and LLMs with digital PR? We’re convinced it works and we see it in practice every day. But how can the success of PR actually be proven?

To demonstrate the effectiveness of data-driven PR formats, we set up our own experiment: as a test, we used our own website Hundemagazin.com – a brand with no public awareness and ran a full-scale PR campaign for it. This case shows clearly that a brand’s name is not a prerequisite for success. Over 60 clippings in relevant media outlets, podcasts and radio programmes prove it: with the right idea and the right data, data PR works for brands of any size.

Client

hundemagazin.com

Industry

Special Interest

PR-Format

External Data

The challenge

New business figures, a new product and a CEO interview. When a brand already has a lot of media presence, it’s hard to clearly attribute the impact of individual PR measures. This is one way PR differs from performance marketing, where success is directly measurable. We wanted to find out: how important is brand awareness for a campaign’s success? Is it possible, even with an unknown brand, to generate high-quality clippings in high-reach media outlets?

The solution

To test this, we picked up on two ideas with social relevance that also offer direct informational value for dog owners: dog tax and dog waste. Everyday topics in life with a dog, but ones that even people without a dog have an opinion on.

To develop compelling stories for the media around these topics, we relied on external data. This data had to be valid, robust, current and, ideally, novel. Official statistics and information from municipal regulatory offices deliver data of this quality: figures that editorial teams trust and that lend the necessary credibility even to a low-awareness brand, as in the case of Hundemagazin.

Campaign 1:
Dog Tax: We determined the 2025 dog tax rates of 395 German cities and compared them with the previous year’s figures – broken down by first dog, second dog, and dogs classified as dangerous. Data basis: official dog tax statutes and dog levy regulations of the respective municipalities.
Campaign 2:
Fines for Dog Waste: Whether you own a dog or not, everyone has an opinion on dog waste. German cities handle fines for uncollected dog waste very differently – responsibilities, terminology and amounts vary widely. We examined the 69 largest cities in Germany, asked the relevant authorities for data, and thus provided, for the first time, a nationwide point of reference for discussions on dog waste.

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The implementation

For both campaigns, we relied on primary data collected directly at the source: through email and phone inquiries as well as research on administrative websites. This ensured the credibility of the data and the results derived from it.

The collected data was structured, analysed and placed in the right context. The results were presented on a landing page with clear tables and an interactive map of Germany, making the data quickly accessible by city. For the dog tax campaign, we developed a calculator tool that displays the individual dog tax rate for each city. Seeding targeted regional media for direct local relevance, as well as lifestyle media, since the topic of dogs has long since become mainstream. Of course, the focus also included special-interest and niche-relevant media such as Petbook.

The results

The campaigns worked on two levels: as a content asset for the Hundemagazin brand and as relevant material for editorial teams. The polished content serves as a reliable data source for journalists while also being relevant and engaging for dog owners. A strong overlap between data PR and content marketing.At the same time, the topics of dog tax and dog waste fines generated significant media coverage and gave Hundemagazin considerable visibility: over 60 clippings across two campaigns – from special-interest media such as Petbook, to high-reach outlets such as BILD, MSN and t-online, all the way to radio features, print clippings and a mention on one of Germany’s most-listened-to podcasts.

>30

backlinks

67

clippings

2

campaigns

4.8 million

downloads/ month on podcast

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Impact on Brand Visibility

Brand Awareness

Thanks to the campaign, the little-known brand hundemagazin.com was mentioned in a wide range of high-authority, high-reach media outlets. This is only achievable with digital PR.

SEO Visibility

After the campaign, clicks in the “dog tax” category rose by 155 compared to the previous month. The visibility index increased by 60% – a measurable success in organic visibility.

LLM Visibility

The campaign also made an impact in AI chatbots: for topic-related queries about dog tax, the landing page was directly and indirectly cited on multiple occasions. The results also appeared in Google Featured Snippets.

Fazit

Data PR clearly increases a brand’s visibility in both search engines and LLMs. The brand does not need to be well known for this to work. What matters is that the data is verifiable, relevant and connects to current topics, and that it reaches the right recipients. External primary data is well suited to this, provided it is collected and combined correctly.

This digital PR campaign
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