Creating Effective PR Strategies for Luxury Brands
The industry for luxury brands has a very competitive market, which means smaller businesses don’t easily stand out among all the big brands. Luxury magazines and publications tend to be filled with familiar household names, which leaves very little room for the smaller brands. Fortunately, with the help of an effective public relations campaign, any luxury brand can stand out from the crowd and get the attention of the right outlets.
Visual Assets
When a luxury brand is sending pitches to media outlets, or responding to their requests, it should include high-resolution images, as well as samples of its products. Sometimes journalists simply choose which brand to talk about on the basis of the quality of images that brands provide. Luxury brands also need to have different variations of their images. For instance, if a journalist is creating a gift guide, they’re going to need cutouts of the products in the guide. On the other hand, if a stylist is trying to find samples for a specific photoshoot, first they will need to see a look-book with shots of models wearing or using the products. It’s also a good idea to have high-resolution portraits of the owner of the brand and the internal team, in case an outlet is looking to do a feature on the brand itself. Once an outlet has decided to use a brand’s products, it might ask for samples. Therefore, brands need to have enough samples to send to outlets. They also must decide whether the samples are going to be a gift or a loan.
PR Landscape
Luxury brands that are looking for media coverage should start by researching different outlets, influencers, and blogs that fit the brand’s target audience. The brands need to first learn what the outlets are looking for, and how a brand can work with those outlets. The best way to do this is by reading through previous articles, gift guides, and interviews from other luxury brands with the same outlet. That way, the brand will understand what information the outlet needs, and get a general idea of how to pitch itself to the journalist. Luxury brands also need to be aware of lead times. Generally, luxury magazines tend to start work on an issue three- to six months in advance. Thus, during the summer months, magazines plan for the Christmas season instead of showing readers what to wear on their summer holidays.
Creating Relationships
The core of a good public relations campaign is creating relationships with the right stylists, journalists, and bloggers. Once a luxury brand knows which outlets fit best, it’s time to start connecting with their journalists and bloggers to create relationships. Those reporters can write great articles about the brand and its products, such as product reviews or gift guides. It’s also important for luxury brands to connect with celebrities and influencers, by reaching out to their stylists. Fashion stylists can get celebrities and influencers wearing the products from luxury brands in their social media posts, magazine photoshoots, and various events.
The author, Dara Busch, is Co-CEO of a leading PR agency, 5WPR.
