Being in my early thirties I am a huge fan of The Body Shop. Having grown up in Greece, there wasn’t a birthday party that went by without giving or receiving a gift from the socially responsible cosmetics retailer.
So, occasionally I reminisce by walking into the Body Shop to browse the beautifully packaged products that look and smell differently now, but somehow still feel oddly familiar. The store I went into today wasn’t too busy and a chatty sales lady came up to me asking if I needed help. I nodded in appreciation while quickly replying that I was just looking. I had not yet finished my sentence when her face lit up and said full of excitement, “You should try our skin line! It was number one in the Palm Beach Post this month!!”
Naturally, she sounded passionate about the PR placement, which made her comment worth noting in my very biased-towards-PR mind as I left the store moments later, and after unsuccessfully searching for my favorite lip pencil. Undoubtedly, the lady used that placement in the Palm Beach Post as an effective way to sell the company’s specific product line, and I wonder how well it worked for the FL shops, since the Palm Beach Post is the top newspaper in the county.
In any case, it was great to know that organizations are still valuing strategic PR while fully capitalizing on its unique ability to influence public opinion and enhance brand awareness.