Making the holidays a key PR moment for consumer brands and products.

Background

Before “shoppers rush home with their treasures,” they must decide on the perfect gift for everyone on their list. Enter: gift guides, the inspiration for “the packages, boxes, and bags” exchanged between friends and loved ones. As shoppers search for gifts and stocking stuffers, a product mention in a CBS News, Engadget, or Rolling Stone guide can steer them towards new products.

Strategy

A holiday media strategy can help jolt sales during this time, but it delivers long lasting ROI when used as a PR moment. Securing the right holiday coverage can build media relationships while boosting brand reputation and awareness. 

Landing coverage for tech gadgets, consumer products, and even B2B brands during the holiday season requires the right positioning, media samples, and a long-term media approach. BIG FISH develops bespoke media strategies to get each of our clients the holiday coverage that can boost their reputation and build awareness during this critical moment. Within each holiday strategy, BIG FISH has identified key tactics that improve our results:

• Start Planning Early: “Christmas in July” is real; that is, if you start Christmas planning in July, it pays off in December. BIG FISH begins strategic planning for holiday initiatives in the summer to get ahead of lifestyle and tech media’s schedules and ensure time for shipping samples to media. 

• Positioning and Pricing: Reporters look for a range of gifts to suit every recipient and budget. Positioning products based on price, audience, and key features ensures that they’re understood by editors and featured in the right coverage. We also consider when products are shipping, as reporters look for products shipping “last minute” before the holiday.

• Deals: Product discounts can be a key catalyst for gift guide coverage and inclusion in Black Friday and Cyber Monday stories. The nature of the discount and timing are important factors that can make or break the opportunity for coverage during the season. Pitching deals early is a great way to get on reporter’s radars and increase potential for coverage during the crowded deals season. 

• Packages Ready to Ship: Some outlets and reporters require a product sample to test before including the product in their gift guide coverage. Gift samples ready early in the season engage reporters, giving them an opportunity and time for more in-depth coverage showcasing the product features and benefits. Testing a new product also opens the window for reporters to update existing guides.

BIG FISH uses tactics including desksides, reviews, deals coverage, and creative storytelling in a carefully crafted media strategy during the holidays to generate awareness and coverage. Throughout the season, we identify opportunities to pitch products and services for early gift guides that begin publishing as soon as October, Black Friday and Cyber Monday as well as last-minute buying guides and in-depth reviews that explore products. Securing a steady drumbeat of holiday coverage is only half our objective; we also ensure that we’re building awareness with the right editors, outlets, and audiences who need to know about our clients. With relationships at lifestyle, tech, broadcast, and niche publications, BIG FISH ensures that gift guide coverage is relevant to our clients and will make a lasting impression.

Results

In 2022, BIG FISH secured 149 unique articles with 1.14 billion impressions for our clients ASUS, Blink, Formlabs, and PLAY. Below are some of our favorite pieces:

• WIRED included the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 gaming laptop in its list of “The 50 Greatest Cyber Monday Deals on Gear We Love,” calling it “a showcase of portability and PC gaming power.”
• CNN listed the best Black Friday travel deals, including low-cost Icelandic airline PLAY’s 40% off deal on flights to Europe among top travel brands such as Marriott Bonvoy, Samsonite, Celebrity Cruises, and more.
• Priced at $3,499, the ASUS Zenbook Fold 17 OLED was positioned as a splurge gift, with Forbes recommending it as one of the best tech gifts, for “futuristic computing at its best.”
• In its list of tech gifts that make great stocking stuffers, Engadget recommended the Blink Mini which “would make a thoughtful housewarming gift.”
• BIG FISH proposed a spin on “12 Days of Christmas” for Icelandic airline PLAY, which sparked coverage leading up to the holiday including a Thrillist feature story highlighting the airline’s 15% off deal on gift cards. 
• To build momentum around the Hasbro Selfie Series, a groundbreaking endeavor using the speed, agility, and precision of 3D printing to manufacture personalized action figures at scale, BIG FISH secured feature stories highlighting the Selfie Series experience in The Verge and In the Know.
• A total of 56 outlets including Architectural Digest, Bustle, CNET, USA TODAY, and others highlighted Blink home security products in their list of deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday as a home hardware upgrade, stocking stuffer, or tech gift.