Willow PR was asked to help introduce Watershed Distillery’s Barrel Strength 6 Year Bourbon to target audiences in order to increase Watershed Distillery’s bourbon brand recognition and showcase the distillery's premium whiskey making credentials.
The brand had hopes to generate national buzz and consumer anticipation around this LTO, and challenged Willow to earn national media coverage and positive industry reviews to support the goal of driving rapid sell-out.
Tactical Approach
Willow PR developed a custom media sequence to share Watershed’s oldest bourbon ever (with highly limited allocation).
The strategy included press release distribution, a wire release, beautiful press kits showcasing this premium product distributed to top spirits, lifestyle and trade media/influencers. Additionally, Willow PR in conjunction with Watershed Distillery, hosted a "journey from grain to glass" distillery tour and first taste for key media to sample the new product. The strategy was designed to achieve national media attention and garner accolades.
Results
Our efforts resulted in 32 stories with more than 318 million media impressions including being named by Maxim Magazine as one of “The Best New American Double-Barrel Whiskeys of 2021”; Notable press highlights include “Watershed Distillery Barrel Strength Bourbon Batch 2 Can’t Be Missed” by Newsweek and Men’s Journaldubbed it a “Best Thanksgiving Whiskey Pairings from Potatoes to Pie”. Industry accolades included a Gold Medal in the taste competition at the Fall 2021 John Barleycorn Awards and excitement on social media platforms including high praise from leading whiskey expert Fred Minnick.
Client Testimonial
“Allison and Molly with Willow PR are exceptional! They bring big agency know-how to their independent boutique shop and provide high-touch love and attention to Watershed’s portfolio. This powerhouse duo has brought us welcomed exposure with hard to reach targets and has put us on a national stage in a crowded category. We are grateful and appreciate our partnership.”
Rachelle McDonough Director of Marketing, Watershed Distillery - Columbus, OH
Latina-Founded Beauty Brand Launch
Overview + Objectives
Motivated by the lack of Latina-representation in the beauty space and inspired to create something beautiful after her mother passed away, Suhay Gonzalez created and launched Seis Cosmetics with no prior experience in the cosmetics industry.
Willow PR was brought on board to introduce this new Latina-founded and owned cosmetics brand and share the brand story and mission behind Seis Cosmetics in order to increase exposure and build credibility.
Tactical Approach
To support Seis Cosmetics launch month, Willow PR executed a month long PR campaign targeting the South Florida market, national beauty writers and Latinx publications with product sampling and unique story angles to generate buzz during National Hispanic Heritage Month.
Results
National coverage included a product feature in a People en Espanol beauty roundup of Latina created beauty brands for National Hispanic Heritage Month which was also picked up by Yahoo! and MSN. Additionally, founder Suhay Gonzalez was chosen by The Business Journals to be featured in its ongoing BizWomen essay series “In Her Own Words.”
In South Florida, Seis was featured in a print issue of Modern Luxury Palm Beach’s “Gala Glam” story featuring beauty tips for gala season. The outlet featured Seis digitally as one of "5 boutiques perfect for Palm Beach Gala Season." VoyageMIA featured Seis as a local brand to watch.
Additional sampling opportunities were secured with beauty writers at HuffPost, Newsweek and BestProducts.com. Coverage continues to post including inclusion in a Galentine's Day roundup on HipLatina and a shout out for International Women's Day from the executive editor at Florida Trend.
Client Testimonial
"Allison and Molly are true professionals. From our initial conversation, they listened, understood my vision and asked questions regarding my story. Communication is organic, fluid and always on time and their expertise in public relations is exceptional. I strongly recommend them because it is a pleasure working with them, but most importantly, they deliver results. Willow PR is a valuable part of my brand’s strategy."
Suhay Gonzalez Founder and CEO, Seis Cosmetics - Palm Beach, FL
Cajun Steamer Grand Opening
Overview + Objectives
As Cajun Steamer expanded their presence in Tennessee, Willow PR was brought on to develop and implement a grand opening strategy including a plan for soft opening and media experiences for the brand's newest Murfreesboro location. The objectives were to drive local media coverage and generate community excitement surrounding the grand opening.
Tactical Approach
Willow PR developed a robust grand opening strategy to support Cajun Steamer's timeline – crafted key messages, distributed a press release announcement and coordinated interviews with media. Additionally, we planned a media and influencer soft opening and performed high-touch community outreach to get the town talking and build relationships with local media, influencers and Cajun food lovers in the region.
Results
Turns out, people in Middle Tennessee were very excited about Cajun Steamer coming to town—coverage was secured in all top target publications in Murfreesboro, including multiple stories in the daily newspaper - The Daily News Journal and features in Rutherford Source, Murfreesboro Post and Murfreesboro.com. Outside the market, we secured profiles in Birmingham Business Journal (Cajun Steamer’s hometown market) which was also picked up on AL.com, coordinated a media preview for a top Nashville influencer, and secured inclusion in trade publications Restaurant News and Restaurant Magazine.
Additionally, we executed partnerships with top regional foodie influencers who attended an influencer happy hour and shared a sneak peek of Cajun Steamer with audiences during the soft opening period. Our community outreach resulted in a sold out Community Heroes soft opening dinner attended by local first responders, city officials and educators.
Client Testimonial
"What. An. Experience. Working with Willow PR was one of the highlights of opening our newest Cajun Steamer in November. Their eagerness to learn about our brand and help us share our story to the local community blew us away. From their organization and excellent communication, to their attention to detail in every press release, there was no stone left unturned. Because of the hard work that Allison and Molly put into securing press release coverage in top publications, helping organize our charity outreach events, advising us on and communicating with social media influencers for our influencer event and so much more, both our Soft Opening and Grand Opening days set company records for us! It was an absolute pleasure to work with these two stellar women, and we can’t wait to work with them for our upcoming openings."
An innovative vertical farm that is changing its category, 80 Acres Farm has experienced organic consumer and media interest in its hometown market of Hamilton, Ohio. As the brand expanded into new markets, they brought on Willow PR to replicate the awareness in these markets with a proactive PR strategy. Our objectives were to drive earned media coverage and consumer awareness of 80 Acres Farms, its technology, products and expanded distribution in new Midwest markets (Indianapolis, Columbus, Dayton, Louisville & Lexington).
Tactical Approach
Willow PR created a regional PR campaign with a strong focus on media relations which included tactics like press kits to key editors, sampling to influencers, outreach to chefs at top farm-to-table restaurants, local lifestyle television segments and media tours at the vertical farm focused on the brand's category-changing line of produce.
Results
Secured a Spectrum News TV interview + farm tour resulting in a segment that ran more than 98 times across Ohio, Kentucky and New York; secured (unpaid) partnerships with Kentucky influencers (with more than 45K followers) featuring 80 Acres in multiple stories and posts; Good Day Columbus lifestyle segment featuring hands-on recipe demo with brand ambassador; secured sampling opportunities with local market newspapers; facilitated introductions to GMs and chefs at top restaurants in target markets.
Client Testimonial
“Three months flew by. We love working with Allison and Molly.”
Becca Haders VP of Creative and Marketing, 80 Acres Farms - Hamilton, OH
RTD Brand Launch
Overview + Objectives
Brody's Crafted Cocktails, a low ABV bottled cocktail startup, engaged Willow PR to develop and execute PR strategies to support its brand launch and the release of its first five skus. Objectives were to drive earned media coverage and consumer awareness of Brody's and its portfolio in its core markets (New Jersey and the Greater Philadelphia Area), within the industry through spirits/beverage trade outlets, and nationwide through national lifestyle coverage. Additionally, we worked to support the brand's rapid expansion with new market announcements and influencer strategies in California and Connecticut.
Tactical Approach
Willow PR worked with spirits, lifestyle and trade media to garner coverage of the launch and ensure key contacts in the industry heard about Brody's. We performed ongoing outreach and sampling to key media and influencers across national spirits, lifestyle, beverage trade and regional media spaces to drive consumer awareness and ensure key targets had sampled Brody's. Additionally, we worked on separate strategies to help connect the brand with influencers and consumers who aligned with the brand's mission and pledged giveback to dog shelters and animal rescues.
Results
Brody’s Crafted Cocktails was named in Newsweek’s 25 Best Alcohol Gifts for 2021. Additionally, Willow PR secured feature stories in local market target publications—Philadelphia Business Journal, NJ Biz and NJGannetand The Connecticut Beverage Journal. We presented an awards and accolades strategy and facilitated inclusion in BevNet's inaugural Cocktail Showdown competition where Brody’s was selected (out of 80+ brands) as a top 10 finalist. Earned media coverage resulted in placement across 60+ outlets with more than 110 million total impressions.
Additionally, press kit and sampling opportunities were secured with writers at Forbes, Inside Hook, Real Simple, VinePair, Drinkhacker, Liquor.com and Food & Wine. Willow PR coordinated over 30 (unpaid) partnerships and sampling opportunities with influencers in Brody's target markets.
