ROLLERBLADE

The Media Get In-Line with Rollerblade, Inc.

The Challenge and Strategy
Rollerblade, the world’s leading manufacturer of in-line roller skates, wanted to position its product as one of the holiday season’s hottest holiday gift items via a nationwide media campaign. The objective of the program would be to generate year-round sales for the skates and make them a must on everyone’s holiday gift list. A further challenge was presented by a very limited budget.
Action
  • We developed a national media relations plan to meet the company’s objectives. The plan would be launched on September first in anticipation of holiday media coverage.
  • To support the plan, we generated a media kit with various background pieces, including a history of the in-line skate, a company backgrounder piece, promotional photos of the skates, and other promotional pieces to show the skates in use with various age and demographic groups. The kit was intended to provide ready-made article material coming at the subject from different lifestyle angles.
  • The kit was sent out to a focused print media list accompanies by a “pitch” letter that discussed how the skates appealed to various demographic groups and suggested story angles for print and broadcast media.
  • We also created a press release for use in a newswire’s holiday and gift-giving guide services.
  • Follow-up approaches were made to daily newspapers, weekly and monthly magazine editors, and radio and television news assignment editors and program directors.
  • Media outlets requesting additional information were provided with the actual skates, a Rollerblade video showing the skates in use, the names of dealers in their areas, and other tailored information.
Outcomes (September 28 - December 5)
  • By September 28, the following were among those requesting more information: Woman’s World, Redbook, Newsweek, Seventeen, TV Tech, Memphis Commercial Appeal, Flare, New England Bride, WESH-TV Orlando, Fla., Money Radio, “Good Morning America,” WMAQ-TV, Chicago.
  • By early December, the following responses/coverage was added: The Robb Report (a publication targeted to wealthy individuals), 1001 Home Ideas, Mr. Carmel Republican Register (Illinois), News Tribune (Woodbridge, NJ), The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, SC), Press and Sun Bulletin (Bingamton, NY), True Story, WTKR-TV (Norfolk, VA), Entrepreneur Magazine, Gannet-Westchester newspaper’s “Holiday Gift Guide,” and the cover of Advertising Age.. Additional placements were secured immediately preceding the holidays themselves. (Company monitored results; our records do not go beyond this time.)
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