June 21, 2023
For our team at LCWA, outdoor living season starts well before spring and summer. We begin putting media strategies together months in advance to make sure our home and housewares clients are front and center during this prime commercial period for their products. As with everything in PR, being ahead of the curve is key to success!
For our client Trex Company, the world’s leading brand of composite decking and railing, and a leader in high-performance, low-maintenance outdoor living products, we begin planning in May for the following year’s activations and use a strategic mix of media exposure and perfectly timed influencer partnerships to increase brand recognition and engagement leading up to and throughout the outdoor living buying season. Curated to drive awareness, inspiration and action, we execute an agile and diversified campaign that aims to reach consumers at every touchpoint.
Following are a few tips for boosting the impact of your next seasonal PR program inspired by this year’s Trex campaign:
Pitch Perfect. Landing the perfect pitch with the right outlet is all about timing and strategy – and a strong strategy starts with well-rounded research. Oftentimes, working backward is an effective starting point. Take a look at your target outlets’ editorial calendars, mastheads and media kits to get an idea of what kind of coverage they are looking for and who on their team is writing about it. Once you know what points or trends to hit on, you can start creating a pitching schedule. To take advantage of your client’s primary consumer season, ensure you have media lists generated four to six months in advance to capitalize on opportunities before your competitors.
Invest in influencers. In addition to targeting traditional media, investing in influencer partnerships is an impactful strategy to engage with audiences across demographics. To ensure content is published in a “seasonable” fashion, consider the lead time associated with your client’s products. For example, we facilitated a partnership between Trex and DIY influencer Emily Alexander of “Emily Made Home” to highlight the benefits of Trex products via a deck build at her home. While the project was coordinated at the beginning of the year, we worked with Emily to time the release of her social content to align with prime decking season in order to reach followers while they were in the outdoor living mindset. Establishing a timeline and clear communication is critical when working with influencers since they are likely partnering with other brands in various industries. When in doubt, plan it out!
Support Sellers. For Trex, supporting its network of dealers is just as important as driving national awareness. To drive awareness and demand for the brand’s newest product offering, Trex Transcend® Lineage™, in key markets, our team engaged two high-profile home improvement influencers to promote the product via a series of segments on targeted local TV news programs. These segments were also posted to the stations’ websites, which drove online exposure and additional impressions. Altogether, this outreach reached audiences in 26 markets and drove viewers to their local Trex dealers.
For more tips from the PR pros at LCWA, check out our blog.
