Agency pitches not-so-new products during the holidays

The holy grail for merchandise companies is appearing in “best of” gift guides during the holidays. Jabra, a leading maker of headphones and wireless earbuds, sought a place in these guides despite the fact that it didn’t have a brand-new product in its pipeline. Its pitch was successful, though, and has earned first place in the “Product-Focused Pitch” category of PR Daily’s Media Relations Awards.

In addition to landing in gift guides, Jabra also wanted coverage for its Black Friday/Cyber Monday promotions through Best Buy. Contracting with the agency LEWIS, the team reduced the number of product promotions from eight in 2017 to just two Best Buy and Amazon deals.

The pitches included creative upfront introductions designed to capture journalists’ interest while suggesting which gift guide categories would be appropriate for Jabra’s products. The team also developed gifting-themed descriptions of all priority products that could be incorporated into a pitch as required. Each reporter was pitched based on his or her unique beat and interest; no two pitches were the same.

The customizable nature of the material made it easy for gift guide editors to slot Jabra’s products into their guides. The team also made sure sample products were available to be sent at a moment’s notice.

The team started its pitching with Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions in early November in an effort to get ahead of editors planning stories to run; it secured 97 placements early enough to help consumers plan their shopping. Jabra appeared in 151 gift guides in top-tier outlets like Wired, USA Today, Yahoo, Digital Trends, New York Magazine, Runner’s World, Sports Illustrated and the Los Angeles Times. The success of the program contributed to a tripling of Jabra’s holiday sales.

Congratulations to Remy Frisch, Sara Krypel, Hayley Minardi, Reagan Bennet, Jennifer Pietras and Katie Schira.