Privacy Policy

Catapult PR Privacy Notice

Catapult PR is committed to protecting your privacy and complies with the principles of the relevant data protection regulations.

This privacy policy explains how and why we collect your personal data and how it is used.

About Catapult PR and our Data Contacts

Personal Data Held
We class personal data as that relating to a living individual who can be identified from that data, or from that data and other information in our possession. The data we hold relates to:

  • Media
  • Clients
  • Former clients
  • Potential new business leads
  • Press cuttings that may offer an opinion about people with whom we work, or have worked
  • Suppliers
  • Potential freelance support

How We Use Personal Data
Personal data comes to us through the following channels:

  • The media database to which we subscribe and on which the majority of the personal data we utilised is held. This is the source of media data such as emails addresses, names, telephone numbers, some of the story preferences of journalists and broadcasters and some personal addresses, particularly for freelancers and bloggers. We access this data via a log-in
  • Through contractual work with clients and contractual work that has been conducted for former clients. This data is in the form of email addresses, postal addresses and telephone numbers. We may also, at times, hold log-in details for client websites, in cases where we are asked to upload materials on behalf of the client. Similarly, we may have access to shared Dropbox accounts, where the client expects us to choose our own photographic images from their portfolio, so that we can support their stories.
  • Through journalist contact that they have initiated, asking for materials from us, or requesting that we include them on our press distribution lists
  • Through dialogues initiated by freelancers, who wish to have their details kept on file so that we can contact them if we need freelance support
  • Through our own research into possible new clients and sales calls made by our external telemarketing agency. This contact occurs, at most, four times a year
  • Through press cuttings that we have to keep on file as a demonstration of our results and campaigns
  • Through the invoices issued to us by suppliers
  • Through newsletter subscriptions for our project Northumberland Day
  • Through social media
  • Through call handling services provided by our external supplier

How We Use Personal Data
We use personal data for the following purposes:

  • In the day-to-day running of our agency, where our business is directly linked to media targeting.
  • To ensure we have adequate staff support and can react quickly if we need freelance support
  • To maintain contact and dialogue with our clients
  • To demonstrate our effectiveness as a PR agency
  • To maintain a network of regular suppliers
  • To grow our business by making tailored pitches to clients that we believe we could assist through our services
  • To inform those who have expressed an interest in our services or Northumberland Day
  • Within Facebook/Twitter marketing
  • To possibly support an award entry

Data is held on our media database, where it is updated by our media database provider. We hold information for journalists with whom we communicate regularly within our own desktop systems, updating this as necessary.

Client data is held for three years after the termination of the contract, to ensure that, should a client decide to return, we have the relevant information to draw upon.

Sensitive data, which may be requested by an awards’ scheme, is removed from an entry, should the award scheme wish to publicise the entry online.

Who We Share Personal Data With and Why
We rarely share personal data, given our size and business model. The only sharing we undertake is:

  • Occasionally providing freelancers with journalist contact details, so they can make contact with journalists, to discuss stories
  • Occasionally providing freelancers with client contact details, so they can work on a contract with us
  • Occasionally providing freelancers with supplier details, so they can work on a campaign requiring supplier input
  • Occasionally passing on a contact’s details to another contact, so that the two could benefit from a working relationship, or because we are providing word-of-mouth recommendation
  • Providing client names and contact details to our external call handling service, so they can provide an efficient service should we be unavailable and they need to recognise and assist our client

We process data Fairly and lawfully, for limited purposes and in an appropriate way. With regard to the latter, this is on the basis of:

  • Legitimate interest
  • Contractual arrangements
  • Consent provided by the third party

Legitimate Interests Assessment
As our core business relates to working with media on a day-to-day basis, we believe:

  • We have a legitimate interest when contacting journalists and broadcasters. Without such activity, we could not operate our business, or keep media informed of our clients’ latest news and developments
  • To be able to conduct our business, we need to process and hold data. Without this, we would be putting more strain on the wrong recipients for particular pieces of information and potentially overloading generic mailboxes with material, making the media’s life more difficult
  • We feel that our media targeting does not impact on the individual’s interests, rights or freedoms
  • Many of the email address details and telephone details that we hold are already in the public domain and highlighted by publications and broadcast channels themselves

Our Security and Your Data
We have strong and recommended virus protection on our IT equipment and have spam filtering on our inbound mail that is operated by our website host. This is set to the highest level.

We do not share client website passwords, unless we have their express permission to do so.

We have a monthly sweep of our website, performed by an external specialist, to identify any breaches of security or unusual activity.

Data is only held on one laptop and that has the highest level of log in protection on it, recognising only one sole user and only allowing that individual to log in.

How You Can Access and Update Your Information/Withdraw Consent
Anyone wishing to access or update the information we hold can:

  • Call us on 0333 2424062 and lodge a request
  • Email datarequests@catapultpr.co.uk and lodge a request for our data controller, Jane Hunt, to attend to your request
  • Respond to the unsubscribe option on the media releases we issue through our media database provider’s distribution service
  • Respond to unsubscribe options on our newsletters

Individuals have a right to complain to the ICO if they believe there is problem with the way we are handling their data.

Use of Cookies
Our website uses “cookies” for analytical purposes for genuine analytical purposes, to count the number of unique visits. This allows us to recognise and count the number of visitors and see how visitors move around the site. This helps us improve the way our website works, for example by making sure that users find what information they want more easily. For an explanation about cookies please see Wikipedia.
We take care to ensure that any external links on the Catapult PR Ltd website are only to safe websites.

Website Privacy and Legal Notice
All information on the web pages of Catapult PR Ltd are in the printed versions thereof and is copyrighted to the Catapult PR Ltd and must not be reproduced in any form without the prior written consent of the association.

Whilst this information is given in good faith and is correct to the best of our knowledge and belief, no liability or responsibility whatsoever attaches to Catapult PR Ltd, its officers and staff for any action, legal or otherwise, which is taken and which is based on the information contained on this website or in the printed version thereof.

Transferring Information Outside Europe
We do not transfer any data information outside of Europe.

Reviewing the Policy
Our data policies are reviewed every six months.

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