Brands move through cycles, and depending on what stage your brand is at, your PR strategy and areas of focus are going to vary significantly. Not sure where your brand is at or how to focus your efforts?

Read on…

The emerging brand: laying the foundation

The marketing and PR landscape has changed significantly, and it has really levelled the playing field for emerging brands who want to get into the market. Most established brands will still engage PR & Creative agencies for the incredible work and story telling that they offer, but emerging brands also have an opportunity to make their mark thanks to user-friendly tech tools, micro-influencers and the power of social media. As an emerging brand, here are some of the things you can focus on.

Define your brand identity and target audience.

If you’re just entering the market, this is an exciting time for your brand. With a blank slate, there’s endless potential to develop a brand identity that sets you apart. Think of this phase as “speed dating” your own brand—discovering its voice, its market position, and its competitive edge.

What makes your brand different from the rest? Your identity is your story, and every brand should have a unique one. Understand who your customers are, and more importantly, who they are not. Carve out a clear niche for yourself so that you can sing to your strengths. Brands that have a very clearly defined offering and know who their customers are well placed to develop clear go-to-market strategies.

Choose the right platforms

Are you more visually inclined? Focus on Instagram or Pinterest. Do you have a ton of engaging stories to tell? Twitter or TikTok could be your friend. Our advice is, don’t try and do them all - focus on one of two channels and do them well. Really build and engage with your audience to create a community around your brand.

Do you have a great Founder’s Story to tell?

Jump on camera and share it with your followers. Create a brand video and include it on your website. People love to hear the ‘why’ behind your brand, and this is something that emerging brands often have as a strength and key selling point. Check out our recent interview with JJW Studios where we discuss how to create a great Founders video.

Create a visual identity

Your brand’s look and feel should be consistent across all platforms. Canva or Adobe Express are great tools for DIY designs. Spend some time considering all the touchpoints that you will need for your brand, from your website to social platforms, brochures to business cards. They should all look consistent and beautifully integrated.

Collaborate with influencers

We would all love if an A-List celebrity endorsed our product, the reality is this is highly unlikely. Instead, develop a list of micro-influencers that would be a good fit for your brand. Not only are they more accessible, but often have a highly engaged audience, making them ideal for new brands.

Promotions and giveaways

Run social media competitions or giveaways to encourage engagement and grow your following. For instance, partnering with a complementary brand to offer a bundle of products can amplify your reach.

The growing brand: it’s time to scale things up

Now that your brand is more defined, it’s time to make some noise. Expanding within your industry doesn’t have to be overwhelming, but it does require consistency and strategy.

Pitch to media

With a strong brand story in place, you can feel confident pitching your brand to media. Here are some of our top tips to pitch and build meaningful relationships with media:

Know your editors: get to know the publications that are relevant to your brand and make sure your pitch is personal and targeted. A generic pitch won’t cut it.
Keep it short: use a subject line that grabs their attention and get straight to the point - remember editors get hundreds of pitch emails every week.
Follow up: following up is ok, but only if done in the right way. Don’t be pushy and allow a reasonable amount of time before you reach out again.
Give them what they need: high quality imagery, product details, pricing etc. Don’t make editors waste their time chasing you for information.

Elevate your imagery

Quality imagery is a non-negotiable. High-resolution images (minimum 300dpi) and a cohesive visual story are essential. Don’t forget about video content either—studies show that customers are much more likely to engage with brands that use video. Flaunter offers a brilliant solution here, allowing you to upload high-quality PR assets like images and videos that media, bloggers, and stylists can easily access.

Invest in influencer marketing

Now that you are more established, you may have some additional budget to allocate to influencer marketing and the ability to work with larger influencers with a higher following. Authenticity is key here and finding influencers that align with your brand and values is super important. Tools like Flaunter help you find the right influencers and track how your brand is performing with media exposure.

Have a clear content strategy

Have a planned and clear content strategy that can be rolled out across multiple platforms, making sure that it includes a good mix of content. If every piece of content you write or post is to directly promote a product sale, your audience will disengage quickly. Ensure your content is a mix of product promotions, informative and useful help and advice, insights behind your brand, how you work with the community etc. You can build out your content pillars however you think best suits your business.

Connect with your audience

Social media growth is fantastic, but building authentic relationships with your audience should always be a priority. Take the time to respond to comments, answer questions and also engage with other complimentary brands and accounts.

The established & growing brand: innovate and expand

If you’re well established, the challenge now is staying relevant. With the market always shifting, you need to be agile, always keeping an eye on new trends and finding ways to grow.

Promote customer loyalty

Consider what you can do actively encourage a repeat purchase. Consider loyalty programs, special offers, events, member exclusives and other ideas that will make your most active and loyal customers feel special. If you’re having a sale, let your existing customers know first and send them a code to use before you promote your sale to the masses.

Keep media engaged

By now, you’re a pro at managing your media relations. You should know and have built some great relationships with media who are relevant to your brand. As your brand matures, keep media engaged in your story and products by offering new and relevant content. Consider offering exclusives to media that you know so that they can break your story first. Make sure your news is 100% newsworthy before you go down this path. Think major new partners, collaborations or product launches. Read our guide on pitching exclusives here.

Creative collaborations

If you’re in the fashion, homeware, or beauty space, collaborating with artists, creators or designers can bring fresh eyes to your brand. Not only does it provide you with a creative edge, but it also introduces you to your collaborator’s audience. For example, yesterday Saben launched a beautiful collaboration with Marcia Leone from Not So Mumsy, creating a limited-edition mini bag. Holly Kingston also works with Prene Bags to create a range of fashionable and functional accessories which are regularly promoted across her platform.

Use tools that work for you

From the start-up phase to expansion, having the right tools makes all the difference. Here’s a roundup of some of the most helpful:

Flaunter: A digital library where you can upload your brand’s PR assets, making it easy for media, bloggers, and stylists to find and download your content on demand.
Planoly: Great for organizing your social media posts and making sure you’re consistently showing up.
Later: Another social scheduling tool that allows you to visually plan and schedule Instagram posts.
ClickUp: A great tool to manage your brand and workflow. Here at Flaunter, we use ClickUp to plan and manage every aspect of our business, from content planning, to admin tasks, client requests to website maintenance. It keeps everything organised and prioritised.
HubSpot: For managing customer relationships, email campaigns, and content marketing all in one place.

As your brand evolves, so should your PR strategy. Whether you're navigating the early stages or scaling up, focusing on consistent branding, creative outreach, and staying connected with your audience will help you build and maintain a strong presence. Don’t forget to flaunt your achievements along the way—Flaunter makes sure your PR assets are always available to the media, ensuring you're never missing out on coverage, no matter where you are in your brand journey!

PR & marketing strategies for each stage of a brand’s life cycle.