Event in Numbers | 1 hour 30 mins | 22 national media | 10 brands and retailers
Last week, there may have been a heatwave, but across the retail world, journalists were digging out their Christmas jumpers, and the jolly sound of jingle bells could be heard far and wide! Which could only mean one thing: CIJ Group’s Christmas Long Lead Power Pitching event was taking place!
Maria Carey flooded the speakers as we welcomed 22 national journalists and 10 brands and retailers from across the industry to meet and sell-in their Christmas ranges for features in the media’s long lead articles.
Showcasing their gifting goodies at this sellout event were Fuji Film, Laura Ashley, Cartwright & Butler, Dobbies, Learning Resources, Cricut, Ravensburger, ARRAN a Sense of Scotland, and our fabulous sponsor CEWE.
The media were presented with a vast array of products from Dubai Style Truffles to Cocker Spaniel table lamps, burgundy and pre-lit Christmas trees to personalised build your own burger books. No matter the journalist's specialty, there was something for everyone!
Each PR, presenting from their own home or office, welcomed journalists and producers from Good Housekeeping, ITV Lorraine, ELLE, Country Living, Prima, Simply Christmas, Metro, OK!, IndyBest, Woman&Home, Harper’s Bazaar, Best and more into their own Christmas-themed breakout room. Intimately with groups of 3-4, the PRs provided sneak peeks, officially launched products, and ran through product demonstrations, garnering long lead coverage for the run-up to Christmas.
Numerous pieces of coverage have been secured as a result of this power hour, with some also garnering immediate coverage, such as Cartwright & Butler featuring in The Daily Mail, which was syndicated over 30 times, and Wonderbly securing coverage in My Baba.
Those in attendance were delighted with the event, CEWE, our event sponsor, shared their experience on social media;
Reach PLC commented, “This event is such a must-do that I joined even though it was my day off! The fact that just over an hour of my time at a Power Pitching event saves me hours more researching and sourcing content and cold-emailing potential brands to work with. It's the journalistic equivalent of speed dating - but without any potential disappointment.”
Metro shared “Fantastic and well organised as always! These events just get better and better each time! A really time efficient way of meeting PRs and finding out about new products”.
Bertelli Communications, representing Learning Resources, fed back, “Having attended many power pitching events now, they all run as seamlessly as the last. The calibre of journalists is always excellent and it always gleans media coverage for clients and is a brilliant support to our ongoing media relations.”
We have a vast array of Power Pitching events to come throughout the golden quarter, from Food & Drink to Lifestyle, Toys & Games to Tech. If you’d like more information on how you can get involved, please email aimee@cijgroup.co
