MAYDE x Flaunter
Who is MAYDE?
MAYDE is composed of husband-and-wife team – Sylvia & Tim Hill. We started the business just about 10 years ago in our rumpus room. As beachgoers with a new baby living on the border of QLD and NSW, we found the lack of lightweight and aesthetically pleasing towels a bit of a nuisance and decided to do something about it! That’s when the idea for MAYDE came about, the research began, the first sample order was ordered, and we never looked back!
What work are you most proud of?
I guess still surviving in the fickle world of retail/wholesale/importing! We always knew that getting past the first two years would be critical to our survival, so having almost chalked up a decade is definitely something for us to be proud of. We’re also chuffed that some of our accounts that started with us when the brand first began, are still with us now – having that brand loyalty is just amazing.
How did you discover Flaunter? What problem were you looking to solve?
After the disaster that was Covid, we had to rejig and pivot (ah, everyone’s favourite word) a little bit to ensure MAYDE would make it through to the other side. Sadly, our PR budget was one of the first things to go. Once we were on that other side, I decided to see if I could give the PR thing a go myself (after all, I did study Marketing & PR, however it was a thousand years ago and pretty much everything I learned back then wasn’t as relevant anymore, so it kind of felt like starting again), and stumbled upon Flaunter in a Google search. After reading some of the blogs, seeing the calibre of brands already on there, and even quizzing some people that were already using it, I decided to give it a go, and I’m so glad I did!
How were you organising your digital assets (images, videos, press) and managing your showrooms prior to discovering Flaunter?
As a small business (it’s still just hubby and I!), all my assets were stored in Dropbox files or literally saved to my documents folder – as long as I knew where they were, we were all good, haha. My office doubles as a showroom and so I’m able to keep all my towel samples nearby and keep an eye on what I had available for send outs. But of course, if the right person knocked on my door, I’d take stock from the warehouse if I had to!
“Moving forward, this will be the way PR will operate.”
How did Flaunter change the way you worked?
I’ve loved being the first port of call for when media have needed anything – it means I’m able to keep tabs on who’s radar we’re on, which makes targeting press releases and campaign launches to the right people so much easier. It’s great to be able to create albums on Flaunter by just selecting what I want from my DropBox folders, which means press and media can find exactly what I want them to. Having all the info available to them is also fantastic because it makes their jobs easier, and mine much smoother.
What do you love about Flaunter?
I guess I just explained all that, haha! But truly, for the small amount you invest in, knowing that you have the power to push your products to the right places & people (or even have someone find you that you didn’t know about), makes this such a great and easy tool to use. I’m definitely feeling more ‘seen’ now, which, as a small business, can be difficult when you have competitors with large budgets. It feels like I’m on a more even keel now and standing shoulder to shoulder with those bigger brands. I definitely feel like moving forward, this will be the way the PR world will operate.
Would you recommend Flaunter to others in the industry?
Yeah, absolutely! Especially for start-ups that may not have a huge PR budget available, this is a great tool to use to be seen and heard. All the homework has been done for you, you now just need to find the right people to contact and who knows what could come of it!
Flaunter in 3 words…
Easy, informative, convenient
