It is somewhat ironic that it is not very often that PR companies get to publicise their own efforts on behalf of a client.  On the week after a well earned TV appearance, our client, All About Eve, has granted us the opportunity to describe how Bvisible drove awareness of their business and the benefits derived from a well executed PR strategy.

All About Eve is a second hand clothes store that specialises in nearly-new designer wear.  Brands such as Coco Chanel, Jimmy Choos and D & G can all be found in their shop at very agreeable prices.  The business was started last June by Karen Kavanagh and Tracy Briggs after they were made redundant from another shop in Malahide.  Using their contacts and a meagre budget they sourced pristine examples of top-line fashion to build a rich stock that would make Brown Thomas green with envy.

The store occupied a unique niche at the right time.  As a generation of Celtic Tiger cubs struggled to come to terms with the downturn, Karen Kavanagh and Tracie Biggs created an opportunity to continue to enjoy finer apparel at recession busting prices.  The only thing All About Eve needed was to let the country know that Louis Vuitton did not have to be pipped by St. Bernard and that quality fashion could be found at an affordable price.

Bvisible were contracted to handle PR activity for All About Eve and with a small budget we devised a simple and highly effective strategy that has seen a massive increase in sales and enquiries to the shop.

Media Strategy

All About Eve’s uniqueness in clothing retailing, combined with its location in Malahide, allowed for a very specific media targeting plan.  A combination of media local to Malahide and North County Dublin, as well as newspapers and broadcasters with a fashion interest, were issued tailored press release together with some feature ideas.  Appropriate blogs were also contacted to notify them of the new venture and why the boutique would interest their readership and audience.

We have interviewed journalists for our posts here on the importance of a good press release and the one drafted for All About Eve was a text book example of the right release for the client and the media.  Not only did we identify strong newsworthy angles, but the release written in an editorial style and presented the key facts in an organic and factual manner.  In fact a journalist from the Irish Times, who subsequently visited the shop and wrote a feature, very graciously commented on how well written the release was.  It goes without saying that if a release gets that kind of feedback your pitch’s chances for success are a near certainty.

The above, together with strong  follow ups and prompt facilitation of interviews meant we secured a wide range of features in our target media.

Flickr

Photography for the shop was masterfully taken by Susan Jefferies and, in order to save time for agency and media alike, these were hosted on a specially created Flickr account.  This allowed for ready, easy and fast access for journalists and picture editors.

Coverage

The combination of a good story, great release and informed pitching led to a great response from the press to All About Eve.  The shop was featured in a range of publications including:

• Irish Times Saturday Magazine full page feature with photo after interview and shop visit
• Sunday Independent Life Magazine fashion brief with product pic
• Irish Examiner Weekend magazine news thread
• Malahide Gazette cover page feature with photo
• Swords Gazette cover page feature with photo
• Metro Interview and feature
• The Star interview- story yet to be covered

Broadcasters who have visited the shop to shoot footage and interview the girls so far include:

• Off The Rails for RTE
• Irish Nationwide for RTE
• The Morning Show for TV3 who interviewed them live in studio

Business Benefits

After the first wave of coverage reached the public, All About Eve reported a dramatic surge in business. On the morning The Irish Times article appeared Karen Kavanagh contacted us to say: “The shop has had people in all morning and phone hasn’t stopped ringing, absolutely delighted!”

One of the objectives of the media strategy was to attract customers from outside the local area.  All About Eve had visitors from as far away as Belfast, Cork and Galway who cited articles in the Irish Times to the Sunday Independent right down to our local Malahide Gazette. The initial flurry of press activity also generated further interest from broadcasters TV3 and RTE .

Conclusion

This initial campaign has yielded incredible results for All About Eve and created its own momentum.  Before embarking on a PR campaign All About Eve were attracting customers solely through word of mouth in the locality.  Now the boutique is known nationwide resulting in regular visits from people outside the locality and leading to a massive increase in sales and stock.

If your business has the right story and is truly doing something unique then a well executed PR campaign can truly drive awareness and have a lasting impact on the bottom line.

A good campaign will generate great coverage