How to create a PR strategy on the example of a big brand

Correct PR strategy is the key to the company’s efficiency and achievement of high KPIs. We will show on the example of a Ukrainian brand of croup, how to: develop a strategy to promote the product on the market.

You can also learn in detail about croup market analytics, target audience, and consumer trends.

The target audience of the croup brand

Creating the creation of an advertising strategy (PR) starts with understanding the consumer and making a portrait of him. Different portraits are made for a brand that specializes in more than just cooked cereals (it could be superfoods or breads). In our case, there are five of them – for each product.

1. Cereal in bags for cooking. Women 25-50 years old, middle-income, middle+. Higher education, has a family, children.

Most often, combining two social roles: that of a working woman and that of a housewife. Adherents of healthy eating, strive to diversify the diet by preparing healthy and tasty dishes.

2. Pre-packaged cereals. Women 20-45 years old, middle-income, middle+. Strive to cook healthy foods.

Important: quick, easy, practical and convenient food preparation. Striving to save time. Cereal is most often used as a side dish. Adherents of healthy eating, strive to diversify the diet by preparing healthy and tasty dishes.

3. RtC. Women and men 20-45 years old, middle + and high income. They take care of their health and lead an active lifestyle. Prefer natural and wholesome products.

Foodies and innovators – love to buy something new. Often time constrained, so they strive to make the cooking process easier and faster.

4. Rice Krispie Treats. Women 20-40 years old, middle-income, middle+. Health-conscious, active lifestyle, focused on proper and dietary nutrition.

Strive to consume only healthy and low-calorie foods. Need a healthy alternative to bread, and a healthy, low-calorie snack.

5. Granola. Women 20-45 years old, middle-income, middle+. Watch their health, lead an active lifestyle, watch their figure. Prefer natural and wholesome products. Strive to diversify their diets. Often time constrained, so they want to make the cooking process easier and faster.

Knowing everything about the consumer, the main task is to catch them and remind them of themselves in all the places they visit.

Communication platforms for PR strategy development

There are 16 of the most popular communication platforms, each with its own advantages and disadvantages, but effective in its own way.

PR tools that are used in croup branding can be effective in another niche as well.

Outdoor advertising of croupiers

Media consumption of outdoor advertising by the consumer should be about an hour and a half daily. What are we doing?

1. Select products to be promoted through outdoor advertising (new series, product groups that need additional stimulation).
2. Identify key messages.
3. Define sites, geography, coverage plan.
4. Developing Creatives.
5. Approve the budget.
6. Let’s get the project up and running.
7. Evaluating the results.

Where is outdoor advertising created?

• Billboards. The average daily OTS is 25,000 people.

• Subway. Placing posters on the traveling walls. Average daily OTS – 2,760,800 persons.
• SHOPPING MALL. Format: video clip on the facade of shopping centers.
• Citylight. Format: production of sitilite with the size of 1.2×1.8 m.

Advertising in sports clubs

What are we doing?

1. Developing a creative idea for a banner.
2. Developing a key message.
3. Define clubs, geography, format.
4. We do a detailed project estimate and approve the budget.
5. We place banners (from 1500 UAH per unit in 1 club sportlife). In the 7 largest clubs: A1 – 11,200 UAH per month and printed matter in the reception area – 16,800 UAH per month (prices are actual for 2018 in Kiev).

Machine branding

What are we doing?

1. Developing a creative idea for custom car branding.
2. Developing a key message.
3. We do a detailed project estimate and approve the budget.
4. Branding the cars and getting people’s attention to our brand.

Distribution for a brand of croup

The No. 1 challenge is a robust distribution system. Benefits of distribution:

• Potential for sales of goods – about 80% of sales in the field of food products in Ukraine take place through network retail.
• Better service.
• Logistics.
• Extensive geography.
• Reduced price pressure (fewer price conflicts with competing companies).

What are we doing?

1. We are working out terms of cooperation with all regional and national networks. Changes in the terms of cooperation and connection of a new counterparty are possible.
2. Also, when considering a new network connection, you should familiarize yourself with the network’s payment history so that you don’t get into the unpleasant situation of freezing the working capital of the manufacturer’s enterprise.
3. Consistency of assortment – forming the statement “We won’t let you down”.
4. Competent pricing policy – look for opportunities to cooperate with distributors so that there are no competing, repetitive products in their portfolio. The portfolio needs to be split between a large number of distributors.
5. We pay distributors a bonus for financial discipline.
6. Negotiate reasonable terms on product returns.
7. Seeking and finding good deals on promotional products (highlighting product on shelf POSM).
8. Regular merchandising.

*Distribution Expert Opinion.

Cross-marketing for a brand of croup

Promo, BTL

What are we doing?

1. Tastings, promo.
2. Sampling.
3. Booklets and magazines.
4. “Stock-Swaps” (2+1, 3+1).
5. Price promotions.
6. Promotions initiated by the retailer (“Cina Tizhnya” in Sielpo, STOP – DISTRICT in Auchan, etc.).
7. Shelfstoppers, wobblers.

Cereal tastings

Format: tasting in the shopping mall*

Mechanics: food tasting on tartlets.

Promo for croup brand in shopping centers

Format: authorization of promo action in shopping mall*

Mechanics: a brand stand is placed near the supermarkets. Visitors who have bought brand products, present a receipt, after which the promoter gives a branded gift (AR magnet, spatula, oven mitt, etc.).

Budget/location: from 10,000 UAH.

Rack production: from 5 000 UAH.

Gifts: from 50 UAH.

Creative photo zone for the croup brand

Mechanics: post a photo – win a prize from the company. The drawing is made with different cereals (rice, millet, peas). The idea of the drawing is customized. The photo zone is placed at promotional activity locations and is accompanied by a social media contest.

Budget – 35 000 UAH.

Cross-marketing with restaurant chains, street food festivals

What are we doing?

1. Develop creative idea for cross-marketing collaboration with restaurants, street food festivals.
2. For example, we provide products for meals at significant discounts, ask in return to brand part of the area, highlight our partnership on the website, on social networks, on signs.
3. Let’s play around with the idea: our sushi is perfectly cooked because we use quality rice from (insert name). Serve food in branded dishes, give booklets, possibly use sampling.

Exhibitions for the croup brand

Exhibitions are an opportunity to find new insights and useful contacts. Examples:

• FOOD HUB.
• WorldFood Ukraine.
• UKRAINIAN FOOD EXPO
• ECO-Expo exhibition of ecological goods.
• IFFIP International Forum of Food Industry and Packaging.
• PRODEXPO.

What are we doing?

1. Select a list of thematic exhibitions in which we want to participate.
2. Request terms of participation and determine the most attractive ones.
3. Creating a bright distinctive booth with our new slogans.
4. As part of participation in the exhibition we do contests, tasting, master classes, drawings.
5. Evaluating the result.

Sponsorship of events for large

What are we doing?

1. We find interesting themed events with a high concentration of our CA.
2. Negotiating sponsorships and partnerships.
3. We develop a detailed PR plan.
4. Tracking the result.

Example: Family Day Sport

Sports festival for the whole family, people who prefer active and healthy lifestyle.

Number of participants: ~500.

CA: 25-35, middle and middle+ – active youth and young families.

Number of races: 3 (family, individual, corporate).

Distance: 1 km.

Advertising campaign period: 2 months.

TV and Internet advertising for the brand of large

TV and the Internet is the leader in reach and trust in advertising. What are we doing?

1. We choose the products that are most interesting to promote through TV (RtC, Cereal in bags for cooking, granola, superfoods).
2. We’re picking a TV project.
3. Discuss the terms of sponsorship.
4. Let’s get the project up and running.
5. Evaluating the results.
6. Decide on the effectiveness of the channel.

What kind of content can you use?

• Demonstration, product use, word of mouth, branding.
• Creation of a special brand territory: headings, stories, separate branded zones in the project studio.
• Internet activations: contests and quizzes for viewers.

Digital and media advertising

When choosing tools, it is necessary to use the specific behavior of the target audience online, as well as the capabilities of digital tools.

As an example: we relied on this table to select the tools.

Digital tools: TrueView InStream, Bumper Ads

Notable TrueView In-Stream video format with pay per views + short Bumper Ads 6 sec teaser with no skip option – works well for image and memorization of communication messages, build up frequency of contact by video formats on the same resource. Targeting by gender, age, geography, interests.

Digital tools: Video Discovery

Video Discovery to familiarize CA with new video content on the brand channel. Attracting subscribers to the channel, getting a loyal audience.

Pay per click. Targeting by gender, age, geo, interests

Digital tools: Facebook ads

Native banner formats in news feed, Facebook stories on all devices – works for engagement, target audience loyalty, drives traffic to website. Precise targeting for age, geography and interests of the CA.

Digital tools: Instagram

Native banner formats in newsfeed, Instagram stories on all devices – works for engagement, target audience loyalty, drives traffic to website. Precise targeting for age, geo and interests of the CA.

Digital tools: outreach

Placing ads on the network’s largest venues will help address the challenges of building reach as quickly as possible. The amount of inventory in the package will allow targeting by social demographic and income, for more accurate targeting and, as a result, cheaper cost of targeted outreach. The unconventional Catfish will grab the audience’s attention.

Digital tools: video advertising

The largest advertising video network in Ukraine. Placing video ads on the most popular sites. Due to targeting by gender, age and income, we hit the target audience accurately. Video is the most visible advertising format will increase brand awareness.

Digital tools: mobile advertising

Placement with Halfscreen mobile format to capture the attention of the audience. This placement will allow you to reach users who visit the Internet on mobile devices. Targeting by gender/age/geo. This placement works very well for image purposes and to increase recognition.

Digital tools: branding

Placing branding will attract the attention of users. Outreach sites with a high concentration of CA will be selected for branding. These can be sites of women’s topics (cooking, Life Style, motherhood) or media coverage sites, such as Smak.ua, cosmo.com.ua, kidstaff.com.ua, segodnya.ua, etc.

Digital tools: Google

A type of contextual advertising used in the Google search engine. The basis of targeting is user queries; use to satisfy CA and other users’ interest in the brand after an image campaign.

Targeting keywords, geographies.

By the way, you can order digital strategy development here .

SMM for the croup brand

Why social media?

1. Through social media, you can reach any audience, regardless of gender, age, social status.
2. The average user spends 2 hours and 15 minutes a day in them.
3. Half of all social media users are subscribed to brand pages.
4. Social media is a major source of information for consumers. A quarter of users under 24 in this age group admit that a high number of likes on a brand page can tempt them to buy. In the 35-44 age group, 20% of respondents said the same.

5. Watching videos is a favorite social media activity. Facebook is the largest social network in terms of users, but YouTube is number one in terms of traffic and the reason is video. Video posts get the most engagement, which is why cutting-edge brands are constantly publishing videos on their pages.

Website

What are we doing?

1. To improve user perception it is proposed to redesign the site – modern, adapted, with flash elements, integration with online platforms of partners (for example, buy goods through Rozetka). The new design and structure will improve both the company’s image and practical interaction with the resource.
2. Maximize product photos from different angles, with finished dish and recipe videos.
3. Develop a creative idea on a website, such as online tests of the perfect diet or an online broadcast from a production or lab.
4. We perform a range of works on SEO.

Bloggers set consumer trends

Why bloggers?

• They teach you how to eat right.
• Motivated to cook unconventional dishes.
• Help you choose a quality product among a huge number of competitors.
• They’re testing new series.
• Bloggers are imitated, they want to be like them.
• Native advertising that is part of the content. There is no interruption in the interaction with the audience. There is little or no irritation effect as with traditional advertising.

* According to Social Media Today, companies get $6.5 for every $1 invested. The ROI of influencer marketing is more tangible and impactful than all traditional types of marketing.

What are we doing?

1. Select products for promotion (new series, product groups that need additional stimulation).
2. Identify key messages.
3. Finding the right bloggers.
4. Request for quotation.
5. Let’s get the project up and running.
6. Evaluating the results.
7. Decide on the effectiveness of the channel (at least 10 bloggers and 2 months of promotion to evaluate the result).

Media, blogs

What are we doing?

1. Selecting products to promote through the media.
2. Define project goals and key messages.
3. Determine a list of the most effective media with a direct hit on the target audience.
4. Developing a promotion plan.
5. Request for quotation.
6. Check for discounts.
7. Let’s get the project up and running.
8. Evaluating the results.
9. Decide on the effectiveness of the channel.

Email newsletter

What are we doing?

1. Analyze all competitors’ mailings, finding creative ideas.
2. We develop an email strategy, select options for headings (e.g. support for sporting events, recipes for tasty dishes).
3. Updating the design.

AR application

What are we doing?

1. We perform in-depth analysis of the AR application market.
2. We develop a creative concept and get it approved.
3. We’re selecting contractors, calculating budgets.
4. Launch implementation.
5. Connecting advertising campaigns.
6. Evaluating the results.

PR through employees

All employees are the face of the company and brand ambassadors. Internal corporate PR is very important, which increases brand love, generates a desire to become a brand advocate, share news about company innovations, product innovations, etc.

Employees must understand and share the brand values, know them by heart, and embody them with their life stance. Brand ambassadors must truly believe in and be proud of their company, products, and want to recommend them to their loved ones.

Did you like the research? Order a customized croup market promotion strategy from KOLORO.

What are we doing?

Develop a program that will inspire and encourage employees to share brand-related content on social networks, blogs, reviews (creating thematic creative content and posting it on personal pages).

High quality guarantee

How do we denounce it?

1. We tell and show how we test products in the laboratory. Content on social networks, YouTube, media, do live broadcasting, invite bloggers to test products;
2. We tell the customer what to look for when choosing products;
3. Introduce our own quality label, use it on packaging, brand the posts periodically.

Teaching to cook – drawing attention to the product

How do we denounce it?

1. We invite bloggers to the studio and ask them to prepare a tasty healthy dish from the brand’s products (including unpopular products).
2. Publish recipes on social media and blog, preferably short videos.
3. We are developing an AR app with a series of recipes that are displayed when you hover over the product packaging.

Creating a culture of consumption

How do we denounce it?

1. We tell you all about the history of the product, when it was first introduced, how it came to our country and what its value is, how much of the product is eaten per year in our country. Interesting numbers, facts, infographics (social media).
2. We suggest in which situations the product is best consumed. For example, to take with you on a trip, hiking, office, sports club, consumption situation at the airport, at the bus stop (social media, commercials, posters).
3. Cross-marketing with restaurants: we provide our products to chain restaurants with significant discounts, restaurants, in turn, tell guests that they cook with our products (branding of the area, social networks, on the website, branded dishes, catalogs with new products on the tables, in case of a good check – a gift from the company).

The above tools are indispensable when creating an advertising strategy for a croup brand.

The research was prepared by Olesya Karpuk, Kseniya Lyashko, Igor Gema and KOLORO content department. Edited by Daromira Kopjova.