This year our superstar Account Director, Nastasia Marjanovic, was welcomed back to speak at the Naturally Good Expo. Last year Nastasia shared a few tips & tricks from our New PR Playbook, & this year, it was all about strategic Retailer Partnerships. If you’re a new brand or business looking to get your product in front of retailers, listen up! Here we’ve summarised a few key points from the presentation. Let’s get into it!
Who still shops at a Retail Store?
Nastasia posed this question in her presentation & not surprisingly, almost everyone raised their hand. There’s no denying that the online world has changed the landscape for consumers, however it certainly hasn’t replaced physical stores.
If you’re a food brand looking to crack into the Australian market, there’s no greater win than getting your product stocked in Woolworths or Coles. If you’re a beauty brand or pharmaceutical, you’ll want to get your product in front of Chemist Warehouse or Priceline. You get the gist.
The Role of PR
One of the most common questions we get asked from clients / prospective clients is, ‘what comes first, PR or the retailer?’. This is a hard one to answer, because retailers want to see that you’re investing in Marketing & PR, but at the same time, we ideally want all PR activity to have a strong call-to-action i.e., driving people in store to purchase.
If you’re an emerging brand looking to secure a meaningful retailer relationship, we recommend a two-pronged PR strategy. The first phase involves building brand awareness via Media Coverage as well as strategic Influencer Partnerships & Brand Collaborations. This will help you prove that you’re serious about building your brand, therefore, increasing your chances of securing a retailer. Once you have a stockist, it is important to continue the momentum with PR; refine your strategy based on learnings from phase one & go-hard at driving people in-store.
The Power of Collaborations
A key PR tactic that can help get you in front of retailers is Brand Collaborations. We’ll dive into an example of a collaboration we executed at Straight Up PR & how this helped to spark retailer interest… but first, let’s look at the 5-step checklist to executing a successful collaboration:
1. Create a strategy with clear objectives & the retailer in mind
2. Have a clear call-to-action
3. Hone in on your audience
4. Be creative – think outside the box
5. Work with the right brands or KOLs to help communicate your key messages
To give you an example, let’s look at our client, MOJO. The first phase of our campaign was focused on building brand awareness for their new product – Green Gut Guru Superbooch, as well as increasing visibility with retailers & stockists.
As part of our strategy, we partnered with leading gluten-free bakery, Wholegreen, to create a limited edition ‘green’ treat incorporating MOJO’s Green Gut Guru. This activation was tied to St Patrick’s Day, bringing relevance & timeliness to this green-themed partnership.
Wholegreen developed delicious spinach & feta scones, which we sent to key Media, Influencers & Stockists, as well as selling in store across all 3x Wholegreen stores. The scones were sold-out every day, & we managed to secure a potential stocking opportunity for MOJO in Harris Farm. We received fantastic feedback from all recipients & we secured epic social coverage.
This Brand Collaboration allowed MOJO to tap into Wholegreen’s audience (& vice versa), introducing both brands to a new, yet relevant audience, as well as creating a positive brand experience, & getting product into retailers’ hands in a fun & memorable way.
What’s next?
Once a Brand Collaboration has gone live & coverage has run, it is important to AMPLIFY. Share the coverage far & wide, tapping into your personal networks, social media followers, & of course, making sure you follow up with retailers that you want to impress. Then, leave it to us to secure your next fun & impactful Brand Collaboration!
If you’re keen to learn more about how PR can help you grow your brand & secure a retailer, please get in touch at Hannah@StraightUpPR.com.au. We love a chat!