How we reached over 608,000 people and won two awards for a luxury CBD brand
THE BRIEF
CANNADOX is a premium strength luxury CBD brand offering three highly effective ingestible oils and a restorative CBD Cream. Hayley Millbank, the founder of the brand, came to us to increase brand awareness, assist with building a social media presence for both herself and her brand, and ensure CANNADOX is known as the number one luxury CBD brand in the country by gaining regional and national press coverage.
THE CHALLENGE
Our challenge involved competing against many other CBD brands in the UK, as well as learning what the regulations would allow us to promote in press. Being a relatively new product on the market, there isn’t well established rules for what can and cannot be said about the effects of CBD to the mind and body, which could’ve proved difficult for us whilst working on CANNADOX’s PR campaign.
THE SOLUTION
The SBPR team liaised with various health and food agencies on behalf of CANNADOX to understand what can be said in press, where we need to place a non-medical disclaimer and what the ramifications could be to the brand should certain things be published. This concluded in us compiling a PR strategy which would see us find unique ways to promote CANNADOX without stating any medical claims.
Press Pack
We compiled a press release highlighting all of the brands USPs including the focus on CANNADOX’s high strength oils. We also compiled Hayley’s profile to tell the story of how she started CANNADOX. The objective of this was to place Hayley as an Anxiety Expert and to make her relatable to other mums who have had similar mental health issues. We shared the story to press for potential interview opportunities.
Reactive Media Relations
With parents in turmoil over home schooling during the pandemic, we saw an opportunity to create a feature to help those who were struggling and position Hayley as the Anxiety Expert, after she made the decision to permanently home educate her daughter to protect her mental health. There was a direct correlation between Hayley promoting mental health awareness, for parents and for children, in lockdown and how CANNADOX’s products can be used support this.
We pitched the feature to targeted journalists resulting in two fantastic national pieces of coverage online on MarieClaire.co.uk and in Woman Magazine including featuring on the front cover too! Both of these pieces reached over 350,000 people.
Awards
We did our research on the relevant awards CANNADOX should enter and put the brand forward for The CANNAVIST Awards where the brand won 2nd place for the Best Tincture category. We also recommended and then entered CANNADOX into the ASOS Beauty Awards where the brand was shortlisted for two categories and won the Highly Commended Award for body care, this not only adds kudos to the brand being recognised by such a giant in the retail industry, but the winners were also announced on the brands social media pages and in its beauty magazine, which was seen by over 12 million people.
Social Media
To assist Hayley with CANNADOX’s social media platforms, we analysed the content and activity she was posting, and noticed what was working and where she could improve. We also supported and advised Hayley on key topics and dates to post such as Black Friday discounts, a message for World Mental Health Day and ideas for the lead up to Christmas. Hayley continually increased her reach and engagement as well as seeing hundreds of new followers follow the CANNADOX Instagram.
THE OUTCOME
In just six months, the SBPR team achieved 17 pieces of national and regional coverage for CANNADOX in titles such as Marie Claire, Women’s Running Magazine, Dorset Living and Woman Magazine, as well as two nationally recognised awards, placing CANNADOX as a leader in the UK CBD market.
This coverage was seen by over 608,000 people and if the same coverage had been bought in advertising it would’ve cost over £56,000!