Value-led brand campaigns: the best Digital PR tool for driving relevant traffic

The primary goal of any digital PR campaign is to build links to a specific product or category page on a client’s site. However,  campaigns have the potential to achieve much more than just links. Building a campaign gives a brand an opportunity to holistically connect with its customers by identifying problems that they’re experiencing, and offering its products or services as solutions. As Digital PRs, the fun part of working on campaigns is tapping into what makes a brand tick, and using that to create relevant content that not only customers will find valuable, but that journalists will want to link back to.

When lingerie company Pour Moi came to us with a brief for a brand campaign, the task at first seemed simple: produce a hero piece that would build links and drive traffic to their virtual bra fittings page. But this brief was a little different. Pour Moi wanted to create a campaign that highlights the importance of getting fitted properly- not only to physically support customers and their bodies, but also to help people feel their most confident.

Using the client’s brand messaging that “everyone deserves to feel supported and happy no matter what they wear”, we went into ideation mode to create a campaign that would lead with the brand’s values, help them connect with current and future customers, and ultimately, drive highly relevant traffic to their virtual fittings page.

 

Add context with brand expertise

Having identified Pour Moi’s brand values as our key campaign focus, we consulted with their in-house experts to gain some related key insights to take to ideation. These were:

1. Breasts come in all shapes and sizes. There is no one-size-fits-all bra and that is why you need an expert to help find your best fit
2. Your body will change a lot from the ages of 20 to 40 – you need to adapt your underwear to support you through these changes (many people don’t currently do this)
3. People aren’t getting frequently fitted and perhaps don’t see this as an important task
4. People aren’t throwing away their bras as often as they should be

These insights told us that there are a couple of key problems for people who wear bras; one, they either don’t know how important it is to get fitted or they neglect it, and two, they aren’t adapting their underwear over long periods of time. Luckily, Pour Moi has a solution to both of these problems: virtual bra fittings. 

It was our job to create a campaign that would highlight the importance of wearing a bra that fits properly and the potential physical implications of not doing so and in turn, empower customers to click through to the virtual bra fitting page and use the service.

 

Identify what people need and offer a solution

After our internal ideas session, we decided to take a look at the wider conversation around bras and bra fittings and discovered that many people took to Twitter to discuss the “relief” of taking off a bra at the end of the day. Some people even talked about the redness and scars that their underwear left on their bodies! From consulting with our experts client-side, we knew that wearing a  correctly sized and shaped bra shouldn’t cause discomfort throughout the day- and it certainly shouldn’t cause any bruises! 

We therefore wanted to create a campaign that would achieve the following:

1. Informs readers of the tell-tale signs of wearing the wrong bra size
2. Details the long-term side effects of wearing an ill-fitting bra and visually highlights the impact this can have on the body
3. Highlights how many people aren’t getting regular fittings and how long people hold on to their ‘favourite’ bras
4. Positions the virtual bra fitting service as a simple solution that will help customers feel comfortable and confident

 

Use specialists to boost authority

We were able to draw on the knowledge of the in-house fitting experts at Pour Moi to describe the red flags customers should look out for after wearing their bras all day; from red strap marks on their shoulders and around their rib cage, to a stooped posture and chafing. 

To get an idea of the long-term effects this can have on somebody, we collaborated with Andreas Anastasiou, a sports therapist with expertise in body corrective exercise, and GP Dr Hana Patel to explain the long-term medical implications of wearing an inadequately-supporting bra. The additional expertise from medical professionals also helped to give customers advice on how they can treat any of the ailments they might be experiencing. 

We also surveyed 1,000 British bra-wearers to discover how long they go between getting measured and how old their bras are. 

Finally, we took all of the above (and more) to a 3D render artist to visualise the implications of wearing an ill-fitting bra for decades.

 

The campaign

We knew the best way of getting people’s attention on this matter was to actually show them an extreme representation of what could happen to the body if your underwear doesn’t fit correctly or offer the best support. Enter, Melanie:

 

By working with a GP and a body ailment specialist we learned that neglecting regular bra fittings could result in symptoms including: permanent shoulder dents; hunched shoulders and bad posture; back and neck pain;spots around your neck and back;  chafing; stretch marks and sagging. 

How could all of these be avoided? By aligning with Pour Moi’s core belief that everyone should be regularly fitted to wear supportive underwear that makes them feel their most confident. This campaign puts them front-and-centre as experts in this field and chimes nicely with their brand.

 

The results

We secured great coverage for the Melanie campaign, with links from women’s health titles and lifestyle publications going live on the same day as we kicked off pitching.

 

Highlights include:

• Daily Mail (DA94)
• The Sun (DA94)
• New York Post (DA93)
• HuffPost (DA90)
• Hello Giggles (86)

In total, we built 46 pieces of coverage to the Melanie page and the virtual bra fittings page, which had over 1.1 million coverage views (source: CoverageBook). These results not only boosted the SEO value of the target page, but also solidified Pour Moi as an authority in the fittings space, driving relevant traffic to the site and enabling them to connect with a wider customer base.

 

Key takeaways

Brand values and messaging are the key elements that underpin all brand campaigns. Having these nailed will keep any ideas streamlined around those core beliefs, and will help to spark ideas where in-house teams are the experts. By leading with the brand values, you can connect the brand with the right kind of customers.

Look for the problems first, then look to see if they’re being solved with the product or service that you want to drive traffic to. Ask how you can create a campaign that highlights this problem and brings it to customers’ attention. 

Lastly, don’t try to create something for the sake of it. Make sure that whatever you create links to a real-life issue that people experience and can relate to.  Although some ideas can be fun and exciting, it is essential that a campaign both fully aligns with brand values and messaging, and adds value and authority to the topic at its centre.

 

Like what you see? You can head to our website to find out more about our Digital PR services, or get in touch with our team here to get the ball rolling on your next brand campaign.