Case study: Weird Fish
Reeling in product placements
Background
Weird Fish is a multi-channel retailer with 16 branded stores and 300 stockists, as well as a rapidly growing online channel.
Weird Fish offers a range of clothing and accessories for men and women, with the brand’s ethos centring around offering relaxed, easy-going, and feel-good clothing that gives a ‘forever weekend’ feeling.
Since launching its ‘The Only Way Is Ethics’ policy in 2019, Weird Fish has been focusing on building increased sustainability into every element of the business. This includes the introduction of partnerships with green and ethical factories, increased use of sustainable fabrics including bamboo and organic cotton, and the roll-out of eco-friendly grass paper bags, packaging, and labelling materials.
Brief
Liz Lean PR’s relationship with the casual clothing company began in 2014, when Weird Fish set us a challenge: to come up with a new brand tag line in two hours. Weird Fish subsequently retained us as their PR agency, with a remit for media relations, particularly national product placement and regional launch coverage, targeting:
- online and offline lifestyle publications, websites and bloggers
- general consumer press
For 2021, our brief was amended to create success for the following objectives:
- Build awareness of its rapid year-on-year growth and success within the retail industry
- Enhance its reputation as an established voice within the ecommerce space
- Increase awareness among consumers to help increase product sales
Results
We jumped in with both feet to the brand challenge set by Weird Fish, delivering a number of new ideas within the two-hour deadline. Our “Wear the Weekend” tag line is now gracing the front of Weird Fish stores and across their campaigns, and we have written copy for their website.
For 2021, we devised a strong plan of corporate and consumer PR activity over the course of 12 months, kicking off with a story around Weird Fish’s 2020 success which incorporated impactful growth figures.
- 51 pieces of coverage in 2021
- 1m reach
- 237 brand mentions
- 28 backlinks to Weird Fish’s website
- Two thirds of coverage included quotes
- 100% positive coverage
- Helped Weird Fish achieve its most successful year to date, with revenue reaching £35.5m in 2021 vs £21m in 2020 – a +71% uplift
- Contributing towards Weird Fish driving more revenue online in November 2021 compared the whole of 2019 – with product coverage that month featuring in national titles including the Mail Online and The Sun
- Established a strong relationship with Drapers, with the title featuring multiple pieces of commentary around Weird Fish’s stance on the 2021 Budget
- Secured interview opportunities for CEO, John Stockton and Customer Director, Ben Mercier with titles including Retail Gazette, Retail Systems and Business & Innovation Magazine
- Helped Weird Fish get shortlisted for three established industry awards including the Drapers Awards and Direct Commerce Awards
- Secured product placement coverage with key national consumer titles including BBC Countryfile Magazine, Take A Break and Best Magazine
social media
media relations
