111 Harley Street has appointed us to build the profile of leading cosmetic surgeon Yannis Alexandrides, ahead of the launch of his new skincare range.

Triple Dry briefed us to find the right world-class athlete to front a new consumer PR campaign which we’ve developed for this leading antiperspirant brand.

SPI has named Focus PR as its lead creative agency globally (outside the US) for Stolichnaya.

ShoeDazzle has recently launched in the UK

It’s often the case that a spot of healthy competition in a market sector drives growth and innovation. We’re witnessing this first hand in an emerging online shopping trend: stylist-led fashion retailing. Our client ShoeDazzle officially launched in the UK in September and, while it has first-mover advantage in its sector, it faces competition from several me-too services. From a PR perspective we’re certainly kept on our toes, but luckily we like a challenge! 

As originator of the monthly personalised shoe, handbag and jewellery styling service, ShoeDazzle has brought a whole new shopping concept to the UK market. Co-founded by Kim Kardashian ,who also acts as the site’s chief stylist, ShoeDazzle has over three million members and one million Facebook fans in the US, and is set to take the UK market by storm – with over 5,000 Facebook likes in the first month alone and member sign-ups ahead of expectation. Despite having prime competitor StylistPick riding on its coat-tails, industry expert and founder of DirectorsOf.com Leon Bailey-Green is excited about the competition between the big players in this new category: 

“ShoeDazzle and StylistPick launching within a year of each other benefits both businesses. By marketing at the same time, they will be growing the market for each other as they educate consumers on the fashion subscription business model.” 

With the recent appointment of Nigel Whiteoak (formerly eBay and Expedia) as ShoeDazzle’s UK general manager, the brand continues to ensure its offering remains fresh, original and innovative, with several celebrity and charity link-ups in the pipeline already.

Social media has revolutionised brands’ ability to engage with consumers in real time, but it’s frustrating to see many companies applying ‘old media’ techniques to a new media environment. Unlike advertising, it’s not about having the ability to broadcast the same message to many people, which a cursory look at Twitter and Facebook reveals to be the approach taken by many corporations. Where its greatest value lies is in being a listening device.

Never before have brand owners been able to eavesdrop so effectively. By using some fairly simple online tools, you can hear the genuine, unfettered views of your consumers (and potential consumers) about your brand and your competitors. Unlike a focus group, social media lends itself to authentic conversations among friends which, while some of it might make uncomfortable reading, is priceless information for a switched-on, customer-focused brand owner. Used in the right way it can grow sales, drive innovation, build brand awareness, reduce customer service costs and improve your marketing effectiveness. 

We’ve been running the social media function for number one false lash brand Eylure for six months and already the client is reaping the benefits of monitoring and responding appropriately to online chat about the brand. We create and disseminate content in response to the most commonly-asked questions from consumers, including how to create key looks and tips for applying lashes properly. In our experience, such content is more likely to be shared by consumers, prompting further discussion about the brand and therefore creating a virtuous circle. As a result, positive mentions of the brand are growing month-on-month while negative comment has dwindled to almost nothing.  

Having established a highly effective and responsive listening process and gone some way to building an online community, we are now consulting consumers about some key developments for the brand. It’s encouraging to know that our engagement programme is already reaping returns, as we’re seeing a clear correlation between social media discussion of particular product lines and resulting sales spikes. 

So, before you set up your Twitter feed or Facebook page, open your ears.