In April, I had the pleasure of working with Leeds city centre’s leading independent nail salon, Pastille Beauty Bar.
While the success of the salon had focused on Pastille’s commitment to excellent customer service and the highly trained team carrying out nail, brow, and lash treatments, salon founders Abra and Erene were keen to give the salon a new lease of life as it approached its fourth year in business.
The salon was given a new modern look and, to celebrate, I was tasked with organising a press event to secure local press coverage and increase brand awareness of the salon across social media.
“We’re so incredibly grateful to Beverley for the amazing work she’s done to help us showcase our refurb. Couldn’t recommend her enough” – Abra Wynn, Pastille Beauty Bar
Strategy
I reached out to local journalists and bloggers to invite them to the event, which took place at Pastille’s Granary Wharf nail bar and, at the event itself, used Twitter and Instagram Stories to amplify the reach of the event online. I also secured local TV station Made in Leeds, who came down to interview Abra and Erene for their Get The Lowdown programme.
Our photographer for the evening was Joanne Crawford, who I brought in to capture the relaunch party and take photos of the salon makeover for Pastille to use across their social media channels and new website.
There were a few stories I was really keen to highlight to the media in the post-event press release I sent out in the days following the party. Firstly, the fact that Abra and Erene were just 21 and 25 when they started the business and, despite having no previous salon experience themselves, won two awards in their first two years of trading: Best New Business at the Leeds Love Affair Independent Business Awards and Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the Women in Business Awards 2015.
There was also a strong ‘women in business’ story to push, not only because of the salon’s female founders but also because of the important work Abra and Erene carry out through their in-house Collaborative Partnership Scheme which offers bespoke business consultations to local, independent, women-focussed businesses.
Lastly, of course, I wanted to highlight the salon’s makeover, using images taken by Joanne at the event to showcase its brand new look.
Results
I pitched these stories to local and national media and, by the end of the project, had secured online coverage in The Yorkshire Post, The Yorkshire Evening Post, The Business Desk, offline coverage in The Yorkshire Post and The Yorkshire Evening Post, as well as blog coverage from those who attended the event
In terms of broadcast media, Abra and Erene’s Made in Leeds interview went out at 6:30pm on Monday 10th April, and also featured the salon’s makeover and scenes from the event.
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Thinking of hosting your own event?
A press event is a great way to increase the visibility of your business online, gain valuable media coverage, and reward those who have supported your venture from the beginning. Make sure your event reaches the right people by working with an experience PR event planner. Email me we’ll get started!