Another month has flown by in the Sunny Bird PR office. As we dust off our winter scarves and enjoy mugs of hot chocolate by the gallon, we take a look back at some of our favourite campaigns that we came across last month. From a travelling tote bag, to utilising a famous celebrity face, here are our campaign choices, so grab a cuppa and settle in…
Totes Go Travelling
Estate Agents have been battling their fat pinstripe, wide boy, wheeler dealer stereotype since the eighties. Reading some positive press on West Hampstead’s Paramount agency in The Guardian this month made for a refreshing change.
The agency hired a new and dynamic marketing manager, Carla Bradman, who saw the benefit in communicating with the community through social media. Bradman, knowing the local residents well, tapped into their love of West Hampstead, travelling and sharing these loves via social media.
The agency teamed up with a local artist, Rachel Day, who designed an illustrated map of West Hampstead which was printed onto canvas tote bags. The bags were given away from the agency offices as well as from local bookshops encouraging them to be taken on travels and pictured around the world with the hashtag #WhampPlanet. Photos posted with the hashtag were automatically entered into a monthly competition which was judged by a local blogger, Jonathan Turton, and each month a winner was awarded vouchers for local shops.
These unique and funky totes were pictured in all four corners of the globe ranging from the Gobi desert in Mongolia, the Super Bowl final, the Galápagos Islands and the Glowworm Caves in New Zealand. The totes also made an appearance at three of the Seven Wonders of the World: the Great Wall of China, the Kukulkan pyramid in Chichen Itza, Mexico and Machu Picchu.
Tapping into local trends and community spirit are all good PR, says Mark Greig, founder and CEO: “We wanted to separate ourselves from the other 10 agents on the high street.” As a result of the competition, the business has become part of an engaged online community, its Twitter following has reached 5,228. “Social media goes hand-in-hand with the customer”, says Greig. He explained that, as with the travel industry, review sites influence estate agents’ reputation making them vital for business.
We admire the simplicity of this PR social media campaign and how at all stages, it links back to the community. After all, who else is going to be buying, selling, and renting property other than the locals? The bag was designed by a local artist, the illustration was of the local neighbourhood, the photos were judged by a local blogger and it really worked. Paramount undoubtedly stands out now amongst its competitors as a company that cares about and invests in the local community.
Gold PR Heated Up CoolSculpting’s Campaign
Non-surgical, fat-reduction treatment CoolSculpting, has received consistent consumer news coverage since its initial launch in 2010 through product announcements. With competitive brands launching and expanding, the brand was seeking a way to support its current market, lift its brand profile and gain more media interest.
It’s PR company Gold PR, recommended a celebrity partnership. With the importance of marketing products and keeping relevant to the target audience and budget, Molly Sims was identified as an ideal CoolSculpting brand ambassador. Molly Sims is a 43 year old actress, model, author and mother of three who experienced amazing results using CoolSculpting after giving birth.
Gold PR and CoolSculpting announced the partnership to press. This included lining up a national TV exclusive with an evening entertainment show, a Satellite Media Tour and staging media tours in New York City. She shared honest dialogue and tips that helped her get back to her old self in her own way, which happened to include CoolSculpting. Her style was relatable and inspired so many women.
Following the media tour, Gold PR also arranged on-going top-tier print, online and radio interviews to tell Sims’ story. “Many of the beauty reporters and influencers we were targeting during this campaign were familiar with CoolSculpting, and/or had covered the treatment previously. With the Molly Sims campaign, we were able to present these outlets with new and different angles for covering the CoolSculpting story via Molly’s personal experience,” Gold PR explains.
Gold PR helped CoolSculpting create assets to help tell the story of the campaign. These included press releases announcing the campaign, Molly Sims’ biography as well as photos and videos. With these assets, Gold PR secured an exclusive interview with “E! News” prior to first media day.
This particular campaign achieved 22 TV and radio segments, 70 articles in magazines and newspapers (including Elle, AOL, Yahoo Beauty, InStyle.com and Vanity Fair) and the company saw a 40 per cent increase in new users on social media, compared to the previous month.
Rockstar Riders
Food delivery company Deliveroo offered rock fans the chance to snack like their favourite stars. The campaign was timed around Glastonbury and they used key headliners as a way to grab column inches. Deliveroo compiled an official list of the food items requested by certain stars. These food requests are often referred to as ‘riders’.
Deliveroo then gave the general public the opportunity to order their favourite rockstar ‘rider’ during the week of Glastonbury. This simple, yet effective PR campaign enabled the food delivery company to jump on the back of the media train that follows this major festival each year.
The most popular rockstar riders were said to be Ed Sheeran’s and Katy Perry’s. Ed’s favourite item of Robinson’s squash went down well with fans, as did Katy’s bottle of pinot grigio and dried fruit selection. Deliveroo managed to capitalise on the public interest that goes along with these celebrities. It was an interesting angle that inquisitive people enjoyed reading.
By hosting the celeb riders online they created the perfect call-to-action for the reader and the Deliveroo homepage link was included in the majority of coverage.
The story enjoyed blanket coverage and was covered by Sky News, Metro, Daily Mail, The Sun, The Guardian, OK Magazine and the Express.
Ikea Created The Ultimate House Party
Earlier this month, IKEA opened the doors to an ambitious, week-long exhibition in a central London townhouse to celebrate 30 years of trading in the UK. Spanning over four floors, the public was invited to view a quintessential British living room that took inspiration from the Eighties, Nineties and Noughties as well as a top-floor installation showing the living room of the future.
In the evenings, the exhibition was transformed into the “ultimate house party”, where partygoers could step back in time and enjoy DJ sets, drinks and canapés from each era. While the daytime activities were free for all, the evening antics were reserved for ticket holders. Anyone could buy a ticket, but they sold out quickly due to high demand.
This campaign goes hand in hand with Ikea’s tagline of celebrating “The wonderful everyday”, offering both a nostalgic insight to life through the ages and cementing Ikea as an integral part of British life. It did a brilliant job in showcasing Ikea’s ethos as well as its furniture, while creating a fun and exciting event that went much further than just “look at our amazing products”.
The fact that the campaign encompassed both interior design and an event meant it was covered not only in national press such as The Daily Mail, Evening Standard Homes & Property, and House Beautiful, but also in local London events titles including Secret London, London on the Inside and Time Out.