We achieved 103 pieces of coverage reaching over 249 million people for creative card company thortful
THE BRIEF
Start up company thortful is an online card company that focuses on supporting creative talent and having a card for every occasion. They came to us to help launch their brand to the media, opinion formers and target demographic. Their objective was to build brand recognition to boost card sales and boost repeat online purchases. Our challenge involved introducing an unknown card company to mainstream media whilst creating multiple opportunities for thortful to be featured within key titles, without just relying on key seasonal times of year. The online card marketplace is crowded and thortful needed a creative PR campaign that would promote the USPs behind the brand and truly make them stand out amongst the competition.
THE SOLUTION
The Sunny Bird PR team held multiple 1-2-1 media meetings in London to introduce the brand and the card range to key journalists. Sunny Bird PR ensured that thortful was front-of-mind in advance of all key seasonal times of year (Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day etc.).
As well as promoting the general card range, Sunny Bird PR also developed a number of creative PR campaigns that would garner as much coverage for thortful as possible. This included the following:
- Product placement and card round up pages
Product placement and card round up pages were sourced and over 6 months the team met with all key journalists face-to-face on media meetings. After seeing and feeling the quality of the cards first-hand, thortful was front-of-mind for their upcoming features. This approach secured coverage in titles such as S Magazine, Fabulous Magazine, Notebook Magazine, Metro and Stylist. Many journalists requested card samples for themselves and family members as a result and it was a brilliant way to introduce the media to the brand.
- Father’s Day ‘the best advice your Dad ever gave you’
The team travelled 1,000’s of miles across national train networks to collect the best advice people had received from their fathers. This campaign resulted in some great quality coverage within the Mail Online as well as social media and consumer engagement.
- Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Sunny Bird PR enlisted a thortful creative to curate a range of empathy cards. The idea behind the campaign was to create a range of cards that is different to the traditional ‘get well’ cards on the market. The creative herself previously suffered from cancer and was positioned as an authentic case study. This campaign resulted in 20 pieces of coverage in titles such as Mashable, Metro, Elle Online, Independent.co.uk and Good To Know.
- Gary James McQueen ‘Are you OK?’ card range
The team collaborated with the nephew of the late Alexander McQueen to create a collection of ‘Are you OK?’ cards to tackle mental health stigma and to give thortful the opportunity to be positioned within the fashion and health titles. A mental health charity partnership was secured to add authenticity to the collaboration and the collection was featured in 17 titles, including; Hello Fashion Monthly, Emerald Street and Country & Town House Online.
- Launching the Father’s Day Sock Card
Father’s Day 2017 saw the launch of the Father’s Day Sock Card – a gift and card in one. The team issued personalised samples to leading TV producers and male presenters who were also fathers. Not only did the team source the names of the influential fathers, but the card designs were chosen for them based on their public persona and taste. This activity resulted in stand-out coverage on ITV’s This Morning with Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield in a Father’s Day gift guide. The programme was watched by over 3 million viewers and thortful saw a direct increase in sales as a result.
- Launching the Keepsake Cards
Sunny Bird PR pitched the Keepsake Cards as an alternative Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day ‘gift and card in one’. The press feedback for the Keepsake Cards was very strong, especially among the supplements. All key journalists received personalised Keepsake Cards and we offered them the opportunity to order a free Keepsake Card as a gift from thortful for a loved one of their choice. The activity was in line with thortful’s key messaging of always being thoughtful and it resulted in some great coverage, including pieces in S Magazine, Notebook and Fabulous.
- Trade and Business outreach
Sunny Bird PR targeted key trade and business titles to ensure that thortful was positioned as a voice of authority and a start-up that was shaking up the card industry. The founder, Andy Pearce, was pitched as a successful entrepreneur and the face of the brand which resulted in standout coverage being achieved within the following titles; Marketing Week, Growth Business, Fresh Business Thinking, Progressive Greetings, Entrepreneur & Investor, Campaign Week and Enterprise Nation.
- App reviews
One of thortful’s secondary objectives was to encourage sales through the thortful app to boost repeat purchase. Sunny Bird PR targeted journalists who often write app reviews specifically and also seeded the app and a free code to key mummy bloggers. This activity resulted in positive app reviews both in key national newspapers and on high circulation blogs. These reviews often included direct hyperlinks to the app store so that the app could be purchased. The blogger coverage also provided an opportunity for a ‘step-by-step guide on how to use the thortful app’ to be published which educated the reader on the pros of using thortful over the competition. Coverage secured included; Metro, Mummy Constant and The Mirror.
THE OUTCOME
Sunny Bird PR ensured that thortful was regularly featured with key titles throughout the year. This resulted in 103 pieces of coverage with a circulation of 249,370,993. The coverage spanned from high circulation online titles such as Mail Online, Mashable, ElleUK.com, Express.co.uk and a prime daytime TV slot on This Morning’s Father’s Day gift guide that resulted in a direct spike in thortful website traffic and Father’s Day sales.
“Since we have been working with Sunny Bird PR we have seen a direct impact on our sales and website traffic as a result of the PR coverage generated. We have achieved coverage in our target titles such as The Mail Online, Independent, S Magazine, Notebook, Mashable, Elle, Glamour, Metro, Hello and on ITV’s This Morning! Sunny Bird PR has been an integral part of establishing our brand. I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending them to any business looking for a solid PR company”.
Andy Pearce, Founder of thortful.