How to get press coverage without product ahead of launch

Getting the eyes and ears of journalists can be difficult, and especially when you’re first starting out. You’re not really known and may only have a handful of samples, a rough prototype or in some cases nothing physical to share at all. At Paved With Gold we’ve worked with so many businesses in this position over the years, helping them to understand how best to share about their launch and what they’ll need in order to be successful. Here are a few different ways we’ve reached out to press about a launch and their response.

Eyra - Kitchen Utensils

Only having a single set of 3D printed kitchen utensils to hand meant we weren’t able to send anything out that could be used for cooking. Eyra did however have a compelling mission to make design better for older people, alongside a great collaborator; Sebastian Conran. We made sure to include quotes and details on Sebastian’s experience in this area of design (which spanned 30+ years). We also offered one exclusive interview opportunity to select design publications. This led a wonderful article in Creative Review about the launch and Eyra’s mission. 

Flit - Folding e-bike

With Flit, we were lucky that we had a prototype of their innovative foldable e-bike which was already wowing test riders. A few weeks ahead of their Kickstarter campaign we offered a small selection of bike and tech journalists the opportunity to test ride it. We caught the attention of t3’s, Duncan Bell, who had already reviewed many industry leading e-bikes. Impressed, he shared some amazing feedback that we were able to use as part of the campaign, “we rode it up a big hill on the hottest day ever and didn't even break a sweat” and “a real challenger for Brompton's electric bike crown”. Perfect quotes to help prove the bike’s performance to those who hadn’t tried it yet.

Animaro - Solstice Clock

If your product is something that is beautiful or in Animaro’s case - mesmerising. Then having photography and a video to match is not only necessary to get people to buy but also for press to share. The Solstice Clock was shared by product design blogs like Core 77, through to creative publications like Colossal. Mashable liked it so much they edited their own video for it. 

Tip: Be sure to create two versions of your video. One superimposed with text for your marketing and another without anything overlayed that you can share with press that want to make their own content.

Foldable.Me - Little Cardboard People

Our first ever crowdfunded business all the way back in 2012 (check out Richard and his cardboard buddy!).

Following a successful Kickstarter campaign we followed up with the press to ask them to share about our official launch. Knowing that they already shared about us, we needed to give them something else to write about so we made personalised Foldables which we sent out ahead of launch. Folks from the likes of Wired and The Next Web loved this and were very happy to write about us again.

Remember, every product will have it’s own angle and pre-launch offering that’s going to work. But here goes to show that even without your final product there are interesting ways to pitch your story. Shoot us an email if this has got you thinking and you want to explore what might work for your project. 

We've become a member of the Distributed Design Community

As part of our work supporting the reignition of Make Works across its regions, we are really excited to announce that we’ve become a Distributed Design Partner. Distributed Design acts as an exchange and networking hub for the European Maker Movement. Distributed Design sits within Fab Lab Barcelona and IAAC, and their projects closely overlap the Fab City Network, working towards a system of Data-in Data-out urban model as opposed to the current city models of Product-In Trash-Out.

We join 18 other organisations all promoting local and sustainable making and manufacturing in their regions; from Fab City Store Paris, Danish Design Center, Open Dot Lab Milan, Ars Longa, and Other Today to name a few.

Our work will primarily be around supporting the integration of Make Works as a tool for the Distributed Design community to use in their work to map manufacturing in their local areas. We’re really lucky to be working with the inimitable Helen Voce to bring this project to life, and pick up on some of the work of brilliant creatives Fi Scott, Neil McGuire, Jamie Sterling, Roy Shearer and too many others to name.

We have huge plans for the next year including a complete update of the Make Works website, events to support its re-launch in Scotland, and we’ll also be mentoring 2 Distributed Design Awards Winners.

Watch this space…

Distributed Design is supported by Creative Europe.

Gold Nuggets from Bevan O'Daly

Over lockdown, we opened our virtual doors for some pay-what-you-can coaching sessions. We had the pleasure of meeting Bevan O’Daly through these and chat with her about her idea to launch an ethical fabric store and haberdashery in Glasgow. It was a great reminder to think about supply chains and not only where your products come from but the materials that make them. Let us introduce you to her…

Tell us about yourself and Bawn Textiles

I am from Dublin originally. I studied Fine Art as an undergraduate and moved to Glasgow in 2015 to do a masters in Textile Conservation. Bawn only became a thought last Summer when I was feeling very unfulfilled in my work. I had a good honest chat with myself and came to the conclusion that I was craving a more creative and busier working life, and an opportunity to really push myself outside my comfort zone. I had worked in a fabric shop in Dublin for three years prior to moving to Glasgow, and when I think back, it was my favourite job by far.

Subconsciously, I had always dreamt of opening my own shop, but I never thought it would ever materialise. Nowhere was doing what I had envisioned, which at first, I thought was a bad thing. If nobody is doing it then it wasn’t worth doing, when actually, it was this giant gapping hole in the market that nobody had run with yet. It felt like a now or never type of opportunity.

There are plenty of fabric shops around Glasgow, mostly interior and craft fabrics, with some fashion fabrics in one or two places, but I could never find any that I liked, nor could I find any that were in the least bit sustainable. And that’s how the seed was planted.  

It took a while to come up with the name. I didn’t want any literal meaning or any sewing connotations. I wanted something that brought in my own Irish heritage, the environment, and a sense of calm. It started with the word Bán which is the Irish word for white, like a blank canvas. However, I thought the accent might cause some pronunciation and google search wobbles, so I anglicised the word to Bawn which means a meadow or a fortified closure around a castle.  

What are your top 3 tips for launching a business in 2020?

Put all your wild and wonderful long-term ideas for your business down on paper and then put them away. Start by getting right down to the very core of your business and go through each step as logically as possible. I found Trello to be a brilliant tool to file all sorts of ideas to come back to when the time was right. I found I could park ideas knowing that I wouldn’t have to keep them spinning in my head, freeing up the mental energy to really focus on the task at hand.   

Don’t think you have to do it all by yourself. For example, if branding and marketing isn’t your strong point get some help. I asked Submarine Studio to help me with the branding for Bawn - the logo, colour scheme and font. It was the best decision I made. They presented me with a vision for Bawn that I would not have come up with myself. Hiring them gave me the headspace to focus on my strong suits and the parts of the planning that required my personal input such as sourcing fabrics and building professional relationships. 

Make friends with other entrepreneurs. There is so much cross over in the planning stages of any business. Sharing resources, bouncing ideas, and getting support from those who understand that crossing the smallest of things off your list feels like a little victory. Many heads make for less headaches.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given and who gave it to you? 

Later on in my planning I reached out to Aileen, the owner of The Sew Studio in Fife. She turned out to be the reality check that I needed. I was so focused on opening a physical shop next year that the idea of starting off with a website never even crossed my mind. Her outside perspective was the ultimate definition of pointing out the obvious.

She helped me to realise that what I had been teasing on social media was me striving for a level of start-up perfection that was unattainable and was only going to annoy the people who were already demanding sustainable fabrics.

She gave me the ‘just do it’ talking to that I needed, so I got straight to work. I made the website, sourced the initial stock, and launched the website exactly one month later. Needless to say I haven’t looked back.   

What’s your ambition for Bawn? 

My ambition for Bawn is to provide a trusted resource for sustainable fabrics and haberdashery. While there is no end to the learning, I want Bawn to support the growing community of conscious consumers in gaining a deeper understanding of textiles, especially in the areas often pushed aside, such as the raw fibres and weave structures. In time, my aim is to be in a position to also work with small fashion brands and bridge the gap between prohibitive minimum orders from large wholesalers and mills and the growth of their businesses. 

What song motivates you and why?  

One song that I always find myself coming back to for a little pick me up is Van Morrison’s ‘Real Real Gone’. It’s one of those songs that I can’t sit still for and fills me energy and gratitude for the people around me. It tells me that it’s ok to feel a bit fed up, but don’t give up – to pick myself back up, think positive and keep going!

Glasgow Print Fair 2020

Glasgow Print Fair at home is open until 31st of July! We asked a selection of artists across Europe to create new prints based on the theme of nature for this year’s event.

We were overwhelmed by its success last year. This year we had hoped to grow the festival, planning to take over two floors of the Lighthouse, as well as hosting an exhibition.

When lockdown hit however, we went back to the drawing board. In 2 weeks we established a simple yet fun way to make this year’s print fair happen. Many of us have turned to nature for sanity on our daily walks and have been looking forward to getting back out into the wilderness, our aim to bring a bit of that nature inside and on your walls.

We’ve had huge support this year with features in It’s Nice That and Creative Boom and support from our pals at Hepworth Gallery, Present & Correct and MagCulture.

Big shout-out to co-organiser Jane McDevitt, go and check out the roll-overs on the website - CHEF’S KISS.