Yet again for 2025, we’re bringing back our popular festive spotlight — featuring regional businesspeople from across the north. We’ll be quizzing a notable name with 12 quickfire questions. Clair Challenor-Chadwick, Managing Director of Cause and Effect Public Relations, is next.

1. What were you hoping to achieve by December when you sat down in January, and did you get there?

At the start of the year, we set out to evolve ‘Cause UK’ into ‘Cause and Effect PR,’ to reflect the growth of our brand. 15 years ago, we started out primarily working in the not-for-profit sector, but our client base has really grown and evolved.

The rename flags our results-driven work, which has measurable impact for our clients. The name also stays true to our founding mission, which remains at our heart: creative, meaningful, and impactful PR that has social and cultural value.

We’re proud to have built a purpose-led business, delivering stand-out campaigns that make a real difference.

2. Tell us about three moments from 2025 that made you proud of your business.

We did some interim support work for New Writing North in 2024. Part of that was a lobbying campaign to help secure DCMS funding for a major new centre for writing (based in Newcastle). We got their story on BBC Radio 4 Today and PM, Radio 2, the Guardian, iNews, the Telegraph and BBC online. It’s strapline: Talent is Classless. They secured the funds at the start of 2025.

Winning new national business clients, including Widd, to support their 100-year legacy of manufacturing with press coverage for their bold new brand and product innovations. It’s good to work with such strong, ethical businesses that play such a vital role for our region.
We’ve built a bit of a specialism around promoting book festivals, so it was a joy to work with Ilkley Literature Festival for the fifth year, as well as launching a major podcast for Durham Book Festival in the Guardian.

We also helped to programme and promote the inaugural Whitby Lit Fest this November. It’s always a joy to use our creativity, and work with people whose paths have crossed with ours over many years. We were proud to secure Lee Child, Miriam Margolyes, Shaun Usher, Rob Rinder and Sir Alan Ayckbourn, as well as help programme circa 40 other authors.

3. What’s been your biggest headache this year – supply chains, recruitment, costs, or something else entirely?

The biggest challenge is shrinking newsrooms and tighter resources in the media. It’s reinforced how important strong relationships are, but also the skills required to secure strong media coverage – namely, knowing what makes a story, and packaging it in a way that a journalist will use. We are trained working journalists ourselves – that’s an asset for any PR firm. The other big one is AI – it’s something you need to be on top of, but also have a very human eye over.

4. If you had to describe 2025 using a Christmas film title, which would you choose?

The Holiday — because sometimes you have to step out of the familiar, take a leap, and discover unexpected opportunities.

5. What’s your number one priority when the office reopens in January?

After a good rest, January is all about re-energising. Our main priority is working with our clients’ objectives to ensure we can help them achieve their ambitions in the coming year.

At Cause, we’ve got a bit of a reputation for doing a big creative project most years. In the past, we’ve produced an award-winning Sky Arts film, a theatre stage production from scratch, ran a Dickens’ festival - it’s all about the art of the possible. We represent a lot of arts and cultural organisations, and we’re very much creatives ourselves!

6. Which business in the region has caught your eye this year – for all the right reasons?

Widd. They’ve taken a century of craftsmanship and reinvented it with a fresh vision and identity. Their mix of heritage and forward-thinking innovation is exactly what the region does best.

7. Crystal ball time: what does 2026 hold for businesses like yours?

More demand for authentic, human communication, measurable impact, and creative campaigns with purpose. AI will continue to reshape the pace of content creation, but the need for human judgement, experiences, nuance, and storytelling will only grow.

8. This Christmas, are you a “full production” household or a “feet up and telly” one?

Somewhere in the middle—think good food, being with family, and a well-earned chance to pause for an afternoon of sofa-based film-watching.

9. Crackers, Brussels sprouts, or pudding – which one best describes your year?

Crackers. Loud, colourful, full of surprises—and filled with moments of joy and creativity.

10. Which business book, podcast or piece of advice has been your “surprise hit” of the year?

It has to be the Armchair Expert podcast with Dax Shepherd and Monica Padman, I am a dedicated super fan and armcherry.

11. As you wind down for the festive break, what are you most looking forward to switching off from?

The constant stream of notifications. PR is wonderfully fast-paced, but a few days without emails, alerts or deadlines feels like the greatest luxury. A trip to Swinton Castle to their wonderful spa is on the cards.

12. In 25 words or fewer, what would you say to your customers, teams and stakeholders as we head into 2026?

Thank you for your trust, creativity, and collaboration. We look forward to another year of meaningful stories, bold ideas, and campaigns that create real impact.