21 November 2022 Rebecca Oatley Business Consumer Affairs Events

IS YOUR PR IN SAFE HANDS?

Black Friday is here again! Only this year it’s different. Thanks to better awareness of our environmental impact and painful double-digit inflation, the trend is towards a more considerate approach to gift buying. In 2023, it’s not just price but people and planet at the centre of brands’ seasonal marketing.

It’s hard not to love a discount. Getting something for less than its original price can be thrilling but this year the cut-price shopping extravaganza has become a more muted affair with the deluge of marketing focused as much on brands’ green credentials as on discounts and offers.

In fact, it’s fair to say that this year Green Friday is a better term for this weekend’s shopping rush, as brands seek to align sales messages with our values as much as our pockets. If you’re like me, you may well be suffering from “gift guilt”, spending money on presents when we’re not switching on our central heating and there are queues at local food banks. Frivolous spending feels just a bit, well, “awks!”

For brands, getting the tone right is even more tricky. The cost of raw materials, production, distribution has increased considerably, squeezing margins and reducing the opportunity for deep discounts. In 2023 driving comms around money saving could damage the bottom line. Instead, retailers are leaning into responsible marketing messages around the use of recycled materials, carbon offsetting, and the contribution of purchases to social projects, even donations from product sales to charities.

The 2020 Pandemic also continues to loom large in seasonal comms. The importance of looking out for each other, using our spending power responsibly means that PR is focusing on being kind and considerate at this time of year.

Thoughtful consumers mean thoughtful PR and at Cherish PR, we understand how to balance wider public sentiment with the commercial reality of PR’s role for products and brands. However, we also need to factor in the stories that grab media attention and make the headlines. It’s a careful balancing act that requires skill and experience.

That’s why every Cherish PR client goes through a strategic communications review as part of the onboarding process. We look at product, media and market to ensure that we’re putting the most effective proposition forward for the business at that time. Our senior team continues to review and counsel throughout the partnership, so that we are conscious of how our clients can contribute positively to the rapidly changing world in which we live.

So, this Green Friday, have a think about your own PR. Is it aligned with what’s going on in the world this winter, and is it in safe hands?

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