Make it happen To herald the launch of client wilko’s hugely significant new Lakeside store, Brazen combined the power of influencer marketing and robust press office tactics to deliver a show-stopping event.
What we did With wilko Lakeside having a new layout – different to any other store in the wilko estate – the team at Brazen were asked to think outside the box and devise a launch event bigger and more impactful than any other attempted by the retailer, and in particular utilise the power of influencer marketing to create excitement around the new store.
Step forward… popular TV personality and all-round lovable big kid, Joey Essex. Fun and down-to-earth; the former TOWIE star perfectly mirrored wilko’s brand values and tone of voice, plus appealed directly to the local audience we were so eager to reach.
But paying Essex’s most famous son to just turn up and cut a ribbon isn’t exactly Brazen’s way, and the team worked extra hard to maximise the time we had with Joey and yield the best possible results.
Within two hours, the team facilitated a video shoot, photoshoot, meet and greet with team members, ribbon cutting, exclusive interview with the MailOnline and meet and greet with customers.
For the video series, Brazen played on Joey’s famous ‘big kid’ personality, including him playing with wilko’s hero toy range – Blox – on the store’s new Blox station (a first for a wilko store), plus a quick-fire round where Joey had to pick his favourites of two products – to help demonstrate breadth of range.
Elsewhere, the launch campaign heralded a number of other wilko firsts, including a VIP pampering evening for local media and influencers, a Blox engraving station for children, and the set-up of a shopping centre discount scheme for staff working at other retailers at Lakeside.
Results Brazen secured the largest queue for wilko store opening to date (200 people), 33 pieces of coverage, including MailOnline, Express Online and OK Magazine, a PR reach of 820m and social media reach of 10.8m
