Chinese language Laundry CMO Sarah Zurell is on a mission to make the style footwear model cool once more—because it was within the ’80s.
When she joined dad or mum firm CELS Enterprises in 2022, her aim was to revitalize all 4 of its manufacturers. However for Chinese language Laundry specifically, her “stretch aim” was to get Taylor Swift to put on their footwear—a pie-in-the-sky want if there ever was one.
However then, it did occur. The singer was noticed sporting the model’s butter yellow Tai Costume Sandal in an Instagram picture posted by Brittany Mahomes, spouse of NFL Tremendous Bowl star Patrick Mahomes, alongside Swift and her boyfriend, Kansas Metropolis Chiefs’ Travis Kelce. The pop star had been gifted the footwear, however there was no assure she’d put on them and put up a photograph, a lot much less tag the model.
What occurred subsequent was a coordinated PR effort on the a part of Zurell’s PR company CLD, some artistic advertising techniques and a symbiotic relationship between advertising and PR that led to a 1,200% gross sales spike and a whole sell-out of the butter yellow sandal. We caught up with Zurell to debate the PR-marketing partnership that made her pie-in-the-sky dream a actuality.
PRNEWS: How did the Taylor Swift sandal sighting come about? Was it utterly coincidental? And if that’s the case, how did you leverage that sort of mega movie star?
Sarah Zurell, CMO at CELS Manufacturers, Mum or dad Firm of Chinese language Laundry: It was such a coordinated effort with quite a lot of shifting items… In some methods, I set it as this stretch aim. And CLD then labored their magic in, gifting and getting the footwear to her stylist and getting the product over to her. After which I simply stored saying it over and over and over, after which lastly it hit. We have been all so shocked that she truly did go forward and put on our footwear.
However on the again finish of how we then leveraged it: We tried to get as a lot earned media as we probably may from it. When you have got that second as a marketer that comes and is natural(ish)… You’ve gifted, however everytime you’re gifting, you by no means know in the event that they’re truly going to put on the product or in the event that they’re going to put up it or if it’s going to get tagged—or if it’s going to get picked up. So then, it’s a matter of, in the event that they do put on it, then how will you tie again to it? As a result of they typically don’t tag. On this case, the footwear weren’t tagged. Taylor didn’t tag them, Brittany didn’t tag them… no one tagged them.
Then, how do you’re employed along with your PR company to attempt to get as a lot press about it and to get any individual to organically name out that it’s your product? There, I went actually deep, even placing adverts out. You must be so cautious with the way you’re doing advert technique as a result of you’ll be able to’t use the likeness and picture. However I may say, “Chinese language Laundry is in our butter yellow period.” After which with Google, should you use the suitable key phrases on the backend and get actually nerdy with it, then you’ll be able to goal Swifties. So, it’s this mixture of manifestation, a complete fluke and a extremely coordinated effort. [For more on the marketing story, head to PRNEWS sister brand Chief Marketer.]
PRNEWS: What have been your methods for media placement?
Sarah Zurell: CLD is wonderful and so they truly did quite a lot of the technique on it. First, when you have got movie star placements… we’re a vogue model, so that you go after the style press and also you go after a few of that pop press. And then you definitely flip it into the enterprise press to comply with the information cycle and to take it so far as you’ll be able to. I really feel so fortunate to have such an skilled crew with deep-rooted relationships which were in a position to push this ahead.
PRNEWS: Did you hit any roadblocks or challenges?
Sarah Zurell: I reached out to the editors that I do know particularly. We would had some pickup and the data wasn’t inaccurate round worth, and it was pointing to Amazon. In order that was sort of a triage second that we needed to handle in actual time. It was then coordinated with CLD and myself the place I reached out on to the parents over at Penske Media and referred to as up a few of them and requested for a favor. I mentioned, Hey, I want a narrative that claims the proper worth, and to level to our web site as a substitute of to Amazon–as quick as potential. And by the top of the day, we had a narrative on Ladies’s Put on Every day and Footwear Information. And that was strictly relationship. That was simply me calling in a favor. And CLD did the identical factor, calling in favors to attempt to re-steer the press into the route to level to our web site as a substitute of Amazon.
PRNEWS: How do advertising and public relations work collectively at your manufacturers? Are there any blurred traces between the disciplines?
SZ: Initially, I feel having a PR agency and a crew that you simply belief, work properly with and have good chemistry with is among the most necessary issues you are able to do as a marketer. As a CMO, I might be remiss if I believed that I used to be going to have the ability to do all the PR and comms on my own—or internally for that matter. After I began at Chinese language Laundry, we have been truly with a distinct company and I ended up letting them go as a result of I felt like we simply weren’t aligned in our objectives. And we moved over to CLD. It has been such an unbelievable expertise as a result of I really feel they’re an extension of our crew and there’s a lot of partnership in that.
The traces between our inner advertising division and CLD as our PR agency are considerably blurred. It was so beautiful that in our Taylor Swift second that we have been in fixed communication. [We could] say, Hey, this simply got here up. Hey, I noticed this. Can we repair this?… [What’s important is] having a great relationship along with your comms crew, your PR crew, and ensuring that these objectives are aligned, that you simply perceive one another’s strengths—and your PR company understands the model and the viewers that you simply’re making an attempt to succeed in.
We spent a lot time going over that after we have been onboarding in order that they actually understood our objectives after which may run with it and be an extension of our crew—to assist me as a marketer attain my imaginative and prescient. As a marketer, it’s important to guarantee that the objectives are aligned. What are these particular objectives? What are the instant objectives? What are the stretch objectives? And be clear concerning the viewers.
PRNEWS: What was your imaginative and prescient particularly?
SZ: My aim when becoming a member of CELS Manufacturers was to return revitalize this firm, all 4 of those manufacturers, particularly Chinese language Laundry. As a result of it was actually cool (I wore the footwear to promenade), and now no one is aware of what’s taking place or what occurred to the model. How can I shift the dialog from, “Oh what occurred to them? They’re nonetheless round?” to “Oh, these are cool” and “Taylor’s sporting them.” We’ve all these influencers sporting them and other people wanting to purchase them. Getting on the opposite aspect of all of these issues is just not one thing I may do alone.
PRNEWS: What do you search for in a PR company? What was your course of to search out the suitable match?
SZ: I appeared on the different manufacturers that company is repping, as a result of I needed to get particular about what manufacturers I needed to my manufacturers to take a seat subsequent to. That is one straightforward strategy to begin to take a look at it. Let’s take a look at the purchasers. Two can be: interview a couple of. I interviewed at a number of businesses earlier than we selected CLD. After which it comes all the way down to vitality and relationship. Are these folks you wish to discuss to day-after-day? At the least that is how I work.
However on a extra strategic aspect, assessment the consumer base and guarantee that the purchasers that they’ve match the viewers that you simply’re making an attempt to succeed in. As a result of if the manufacturers that they are repping have an analogous viewers to yours, then you understand they’ll have the relationships to have the ability to transfer the needle for you.
Kaylee Hultgren is Content material Director for PRNEWS.