While airports and trains receive nothing but bad press when the snow falls, plenty of brands find a way to capitalise on the unforgiving weather. Tesco was quickest on the uptake, rolling out some nice stats about increases in shovel sales, bird food and panic buying, which featured in the Telegraph, Metro and ITV News respectively. The Sun saw an opportunity to extend its Big Smile campaign, taking its Smile Squad to the M6 to cheer up snow-struck commuters by paying their toll. Another great campaign was by Hunter Boots which launched its Together Through Any Weather campaign, a daily giveaway with prizes dependent on the forecast (think woolly socks for snow). Taking place every day throughout January, the promotion consists of Facebook fans uploading pictures to Hunter’s app, the winners being those that best capture the weather that day. The beauty of this campaign lay not only in its generating likes for its Facebook page (only fans can enter), but also the spontaneity it entails: normally unpredictable weather is a source of grief, so making the weather the deciding factor in each day’s prize turns uncertainty into fun. A special mention has to go to Longleat Safari Park, which received impressive coverage for building a snowman in the middle of its tiger enclosure. This was no ordinary snowman, however, as it provided a hiding place for a specially adapted camera, which captured some awesome shots of the curious cats, including a few seconds inside a tiger’s mouth. Brilliantly simple and putting the zoo’s main attraction onto centre stage, this is a good example of reactive PR at its best. Written by Alex Mansell, account executive at agency WAA