The Importance of Trade PR in Business Marketing

Trade PR is a very important part of a business’s marketing strategy and should never be overlooked.

Although sometimes seen as slightly less glamorous than the exciting creative PR for consumer campaigns, trade PR is the key comms strategy for many businesses and can be extremely rewarding in terms of client coverage!

Trade communications are particularly prevalent in the food & drink sector. Why? Because consumers won't be able to get their hands on any product that hasn't been purchased by retailers and stocked on shelves!

When creating trade PR campaigns, a range of tactics including industry profile pieces, case studies, press releases can be utilised to expertly position the client in front of the right audiences.

Trade media often have their publications planned a couple of months in advance, so we must work to their deadlines in order to get the client in top outlets.

We currently do trade communications campaigns for several Motive clients. One example being confectionery wholesaler Hancocks. We produce monthly features as well as a range of press releases covering product launches, award wins, store openings and other exciting brand developments.

These have been featured on a range of top industry publications including The Grocer, Retail Times and Convenience Store. Gaining coverage in these outlets ensures that the content is being put in front of key decision makers such as retailers and supermarket buyers who need to know why they should stock your client over the competition.

Determining target audiences for trade releases is a bit more clear cut than consumer. Often, the client will have a list of target publications, usually made up of trade magazines from their industry, which they want to gain coverage in. As PR’s, it is our job to search out the most relevant contacts at these publications and pitch newsworthy and industry related releases to them.

Alternatively, to understand the audience for a consumer PR campaign, we first need to recognise the brand’s user base and key audiences. Who are the key demographic? Who are the influencers in the space? What are the current trends and topics in the space? This identification will then help to inform decisions around the pitching and outreach strategy.

Both audiences require PR practitioners to utilise high level of creativity, pitching skills and strong media list building.

If you need any help for your business reaching trade or consumer audiences, get in touch!