Background:

The UK’s leading confectionery wholesaler, distributor and importer, World of Sweets, came to us in 2021 seeking brand building PR. They supply confectionery to over 70,000 customers across several channels, including e-commerce, field sales and in their 14 depots dotted around the UK. 

With a national reach and several retail channels, it was important for the brand to be featured in all necessary trade publications, and have their brand and products at the forefront of the campaign. 

World of Sweets incorporates several operations, including wholesaler brand Hancocks, own-brand Bonds of London and sister company Bobby’s. Communicating each retail channel clearly and concisely was really important, as we wanted to eliminate any confusion and create clear brand identities. 

In such a niche market and with a small number of publications to be featured in, establishing authority is crucial. Our aim was to boost visibility to existing customers while also showcasing their authority, products, services and expertise in the industry to new customers. 

Strategy:

Throughout our work with World of Sweets, our overall objectives have been to raise awareness of new products (NPD), support seasonal campaigns, build visibility for key partner brands, support regional stores to drive local engagement and maintain a busy press office to seize as many media opportunities as possible. 

In order to meet these goals, we delivered a multi-faceted PR strategy, which combined: 

• Media relations: Consistent communication of NPD, trending products, thought leadership, retailer advice and local business activity. 
• Forward features: Securing placements in relevant forward features, we made sure World of Sweets was front of mind for editorial calendars with early planning and strong relationship building. We submitted features across a variety of topics including seasonal opportunities, Big Night In, back to school and sugar confectionery. The features include merchandising advice, new product launches, brand insights and sales data. 
• Advertorial campaigns: Supporting the World of Sweets team with advertorial placements by developing compelling copy showcasing key products, consumer trends and covering key points about the brand. 
• Sampling: Facilitating impactful sample deliveries to key trade contacts to tie in with seasonal campaigns and product launches. 
• Press office: Running a proactive press office to manage requests from both consumer and trade press, ensure timely responses and resolutions. 

We even helped them celebrate their 60th anniversary and worked to increase footfall in their 14 depots across the UK, you can read about that specific campaign here. 

These tactics have enabled us to secure consistent placements in high-authority and relevant specialist trade titles. Throughout, we worked closely with the team at World of Sweets and key trade journalists to understand upcoming trends and the latest merchandising advice.

Results:

We achieved 741 coverage items for World of Sweets across its various brands, securing 339 backlinks and a strong number of valuable print placements. 

Although the aim of the World of Sweets campaign was never to gain lots of backlinks into their site, many trade publications offer them when publishing online content. These will work to improve the site’s search engine rankings and continue to drive organic traffic and authority over time. 

We have consistently secured coverage in major retail and grocery trade publications, including The Grocer, Retail Times, Retail Express, Better Retailing, Wholesale Manager Talking Retail, Scottish Grocer and Independent Retail News.

As well as landing coverage through press releases, we also landed 147 forward feature placements in relevant key trade titles, placing World of Sweets at the centre of trends, innovation and up-to-date merchandising advice and providing them with trusted media endorsement.

Client feedback/testimonial:

Kathryn Hague, World of Sweets

“Motive has been a true partner agency. They have driven results, challenged and introduced new approaches, been on hand to offer great counsel and ultimately exceeded the results we wanted. It has been a pleasure to work with the team and it is exciting to see what we will deliver in the future.”

Want results like these?

Email us with the goals you have in mind - we’d love to work with you! hello@motivepr.co.uk