Every good PR prides themselves on their “little black book,” and gone are the days that this meant just having a direct line to top journalists, now the value of working with an agency is who they can introduce you to beyond the media. From bloggers and influencers, to organisations to launch partnerships with, working with EAST VILLAGE. means that we look at how to get you to your target customers through collaboration and affiliate activity too.
As a team of self-confessed cosmetics-lovers, driven by convenience, we were excited to be appointed by a new on-demand beauty app to help it launch in Birmingham. Instead of column inches, this six-month campaign was about building a loyal customer base that could help blow LTD continue its growth ambitions across the UK.
THE ASK.
Having launched in London and Manchester, blow LTD set its eyes on Birmingham as its third location. Bringing a range of luxurious beauty treatments from trained professionals to clients in the comfort of their very own homes and offices, the team at blow LTD was keen to tap into the local corporate and influencer market.
We were tasked with creating a six-month campaign that would shine the spotlight on the app through influencers, bloggers and key regional media, as well as initiating affiliate connections with complementary brands, companies, and networks that would cross-promote blow LTD to their fans. This also then led to supporting with the launch of its beauty bar in Debenhams, which followed later in the year.
OUR APPROACH.
Step one was trying blow LTD out for ourselves and we were quick to book (and continue to book) hair styling, make-up appointments and even the odd pedicure. With our knowledge of the app, how it worked and the incredible quality of stylists and beauticians on board, we set to work on a comms plan that focused on events, partnerships, reviews and PR; all to help blow LTD establish a new range of potential clients.
We engaged a host of regional fashion, beauty, and lifestyle influencers to create a series of endorsements on a local level. This included Vanity Claire, Sian Victoria, Tashpantz, and Fashion Mommy; booking them in for the full blow LTD VIP treatment in exchange for a review. To complement this, we also turned our attention to paid for campaigns with a select number of regional lifestyle titles, including an editorial in Style Birmingham featuring influencer Luisa Hackney and Instagram-celebrity pooch Hugo the Chowchow. We ran digital campaigns with SixtyNine Degrees and The Business Desk Lifestyle to drive app downloads and bookings.
We also designed and hosted several events including weekly #HumpDayHairDos visits to offices across the city including Wesleyan, CBRE, and The Custard Factory, bringing glamour to the desks of Colmore BID and beyond to get blow LTD in front of its coveted corporate audience. This also saw the launch of a campaign with the PA Guide, offering an exclusive discount code to the membership organisation’s audience. These events and drop-ins were all complete with bounce-back offers and vouchers, with the aim of driving future bookings and establishing a solid potential client base from the brand.
What’s more, our affiliate activity saw us partner with hotels, theatres, and independent retailers across the city that aligned blow LTD, to create engaging experiential offerings to enhance their guests’ experiences, while reciprocally providing a greater reach for the brand.
END RESULTS.
Our aim was to assist blow LTD in finding its feet in Birmingham, by building a loyal fan base via local influencers and partnerships.
We delivered a host of targeted influencer partnerships with micro-influencers including Luisa Hackney and The Ting Thing, as well as 10 targeted blogger and influencer reviews. This was complemented by coverage across our target regional media, including Style Birmingham, Bell & Smokey (now Letterbox Birmingham), and Birmingham Living; coverage that amassed over 250k reach in one week.
We secured a number of affiliate partnerships, which included makeovers for date nights at Staying Cool at the Rotunda and Hotel du Vin Birmingham; a presence at Birmingham Cocktail Weekend’s Hub, offering cocktail-inspired manicures to the festival’s 3,000 wristband-wearers; a ‘Summer Blow Out with Miss Macaroon’ event at Great Western Arcade, where guests enjoyed treatments from blow LTD, teamed with macaroons and fizz; and pre-show pampering at the Birmingham Hippodrome for its VIP previews of Hairspray.
This success also culminated in blow LTD’s Debenhams launch party, following the brand’s national partnership with the department store. Running an evening of pampering for 15 of the region’s beauty journalists and bloggers, as well as corporate influencers in the region, the event cemented blow LTD as a game-changer for the region’s beauty scene.
