Case study · Home & Interiors
Astonish needed new relationships with national and lifestyle journalists. We ran a cost-effective virtual event with live product demos for titles including Good Housekeeping, The Sun, Daily Mail and Ideal Home. It led to more than 80 pieces of direct coverage, 96% with links to the site.
- 80+ pieces of direct coverage
- 96% coverage linking to site
- 15 key press attendees
- Repeat national coverage
- Client Astonish
- Sector Household cleaning, FMCG
- Services Virtual press event, media relations
- Audience National and lifestyle journalists
- Channels Virtual event, national and lifestyle media
What did Astonish need?
Astonish wanted to reach journalists it had not worked with before, build relationships, show its expertise and unlock national and lifestyle coverage.
- Business objective: drive product interest and purchase.
- Communication objective: introduce Astonish to new journalists and turn those relationships into national and lifestyle coverage.
What was the insight?
Journalists are more likely to write about a cleaning product they have seen work. A live demo shows it, without the cost of a physical event.
The idea was a virtual event with live demos.
What did we do?
- A virtual press event. A cost-effective online event brought the brand to life.
- Live demos. Journalists watched products at work and asked questions.
- The right titles. Attendees included Good Housekeeping, The Sun, Daily Mail and Ideal Home.
- Follow-up. Expert comment and product information turned interest into coverage.
What did it achieve?
Results by stage of the AMEC evaluation framework, with the source for each figure.
| Stage | Measure | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outputs | Key press attendees | 15 | Prohibition campaign reporting |
| Outputs | Pieces of direct coverage | 80+ | Prohibition coverage log |
| Outputs | Coverage linking to the Astonish site | 96% | Prohibition coverage analysis |
| Outcomes | Repeat national coverage from new contacts | Yes | Prohibition coverage log |
What did Astonish get from it?
New relationships that kept paying back. The event led to more than 80 pieces of coverage, almost all linking to the site, and repeat national coverage.
What did we learn?
- Show, don’t send. Live demos made the products memorable.
- Virtual can be efficient. A small, well-chosen audience gave a strong return for the budget.
- What we would do differently. track sales from the linked coverage.
