Retaining Sponge as client through successful trade & consumer PR
Sponge is the UK’s largest independent online cake retailer with flavours for every occasion.
We were appointed by Sponge to raise brand awareness through PR on a single project-basis, mainly focusing on consumer and trade PR, which led them to become a retained client due to the success of this campaign.
Create:
In order to elevate the Sponge brand, the aim was to generate positive media coverage and raise awareness of its product offering, with a specific focus on Christmas to aid sales during a crucial – and highly competitive – selling point in the year.
Cakes are a treat loved by the nation. You only have to look at the backlash to Susan Jebb’s comments to know this!
We took a multi-strand approach that would represent the ‘fun’ flavour of the FMCG brand and inspire them to shop with Sponge.
Engage:
Trade PR approach:
As part of our always-on trade press office activity, we promoted the brand’s specialist new products, starting with Sponge’s first ever non-refined sugar cake. We crafted a launch press release announcing the cake to the market, aimed at key trade media for the food and hospitality industry, securing coverage with publications such as Food and Drink Network and FoodBev. This was supported with securing a series of specialist trade forward features, positioning relevant spokespeople for expert comment on industry news. This activity ensured Sponge was put in front of potential trade customers along with its unique offering, key messages and website to place orders.
Consumer press outreach:
To drive consumer traffic around peak sales periods, we issued a series of product mailers covering the best cakes and sweet treats for people to purchase for upcoming occasions, such as; Halloween, Christmas and Valentine’s Day.
When introducing the brand to key journalists, we sent an introduction package including product information, images and some tasty treats for them to try. Who doesn’t love free cakes, right?
Digital PR features were issued to help drive traffic through links to the Sponge website. A fun (and tactical) feature around ‘cake cutting etiquette’ was issued and picked up by 23 publications, of which 19 included SEO-rich links.
Raising awareness locally was also important for the Norfolk-based team, so we set up a series of interviews and business profiling opportunities with regional publications. Not only did this drive local traction, it positioned Sponge an established business and employer of choice in the local area.
The proactive press office activity was supported with constant reactive listening – identifying relevant comment opportunities and crafting quick turn-around quotes from Sponge. Examples include commentary around using leftovers to reduce waste, which resulted in coverage in Express.co.uk.
Convert:
Our creative and insight-driven consumer PR approach engaged consumer audiences’ – achieving the following results:
- 53 pieces of coverage in key publications – such as the Daily Star, Express, and British Baker
- 31 direct backlinks from sites with a high DA, such as The Inspiration Edit and the Cake Journal
- 21 pieces of consumer coverage
- 6M media circulation
