Big League Chew
Girls Who Dream Big
Summary
Big League Chew bubble gum recently launched one of their most exciting products to date, the softball pouch. The launch of the highly anticipated pouch – inspired by girls who dream big and play hard – was supported by an extensive public relations strategy developed by Maroon PR.
Over five months, the integrated campaign resulted in more than 100.6 Million impressions and positive reaction from news media, fans and followers, athletes, and women from all over the world.
New Fans
Million Media Impressions
Thousand Owned Social Impressions
Integrated Marketing Strategy
As part of initial product outreach, Maroon PR worked with sports business reporter Darren Rovell who tweeted on January 18 that the softball pouch would be available on February 1. That tweet launched the softball pouch into a viral news story that spread across the country through local, regional, and national media markets as well as a trending topic on social media platforms for weeks.
Maroon PR’s strategy capitalized on the viral news story to promote online sales. In efforts to keep the momentum moving forward, Maroon PR used the trending topics of National Bubble Gum Day (February 1) and National Girls and Women in Sports Day (February 6) to keep the new product top of mind, continue to push online sales and promote the Big League Chew product line through the following tactics:
Media Relations
Secured interviews for Big League Chew inventor, Rob Nelson, and pouch artist, Amanda MacFarlane, that focused on different angles of the softball pouch story. Unique angles in a variety of outlets kept stories fresh and exciting for reporters and followers.
Creative Content Development
Created engaging content for Big League Chew’s social platforms that would encourage followers to purchase the new softball pouch online including six different hype videos which combined for more than 100K impressions and 3.3K engagements.
Targeted Influencer Outreach
Maroon PR researched and reached out to numerous prominent softball players, athletes, journalists, and influencers with strong female followings for product distribution. Customized packages with the softball pouches were shared by: @ambertheoharis (288.2K followers), @justinebaseball (13.7K followers), @kleinschmidtjd (30K followers), @michelesmith32 (27.6K followers), and @catosterman (49.8K followers).
Campaign Impact
The key to this campaign was the successful integration of traditional media efforts with social and digital activation. Maroon PR used proactive media outreach, user generated content, Amanda’s original sketches, and general girl pouch designs to build social content and expand the softball pouch conversation over an extended period of time while constantly driving traffic to online retailers and increasing sales. In addition to generating over 100 Million impressions, Big League Chew’s social media followers increased by the hundreds – creating a larger and more engaged audience for future product announcements and campaigns to come.
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Strategy & Background
The Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill marks a new chapter for the State's rich horse and equestrian tradition. One of only two 5 Star events in the United States, and seventh worldwide, the prestigious 5 Star (CCI5*) designation is the pinnacle of the sport of Eventing, best described as an equestrian triathlon. Knowing that the event has been well attended by Equestrian enthusiasts, MPR was tasked with growing awareness for the Maryland 5 Start and the sport of Eventing to a wider general event-goer audience, particularly in Baltimore and the surrounding Counties. MPR developed a comprehensive earned, owned and paid media campaign focused on our strong media relationships to drive awareness in key markets and ultimately drive ticket sales across the four days of the event.
Our tactics included:
- A targeted media outreach plan using compelling pitches and a cadence of announcements to drive credibility and secure consistent media coverage leading up to the event.
- Creation of a unique media day in the Baltimore market where we took Eventing athletes - rider & horse - to the local television stations for a visual and interactive interview opportunity.
- Development & execution of strategic media buy encompassing digital, television, radio, print, and outdoor, using a mix of tactics to reach the target audience in the Mid-Atlantic region.
- Development & execution of email marketing strategy, along with handling messaging and deployment of the emails
- Media preview day on the Wednesday before the 4-day event to give media early access to the event.
- Proactive media relations efforts before and during the event, including the credentialing process, encouraging media attendance by both trade and mainstream media, and managing the press center onsite.
Key Successes
- General event attendance grew by 18% compared to 2022
- A total of 101 broadcast and online (print/digital) stories garnered
- Secured coverage across all four Baltimore TV stations throughout the campaign (WMAR, WBAL, WBFF and WJZ), through various pitching efforts.
- Secured multiple radio interviews on top news-talk radio station WBAL Radio and with WDEL Radio in Wilmington, Delaware, the region’s top news and information station.
- Deployed 37 email campaigns resulting in 195,233 total opens for a 47% Open Rate and 12,734 clicks to the website resulting in a 2.5% click-through-rate (CTR).
- Over 25 Million paid media impressions generated through advertising campaigns and media partners.
Sample Earned Media Segments:
Baltimore's 98 Rock Morning Show
92.1 The Goat (Chambersburg)
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Regram• @mdprguy Fantastic couple of days working with @maroonpr longtime friends and client Cal and the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation @calripkensrfdn … The CRSF partnered with Yankees legend Derek Jeter @derekjeter his sister Sharlee @sjeter2 and the Turn2 Foundation @jeterturn2 to bring new baseball and softball fields to the Jeter’s high school in Kalamazoo. The ribbon was cut on the $5 Million project earlier today.
Bill Hooper has worked in Baltimore media for over 40 years. Let`s Have a Beer with the @WMAR2news VP/GM and discuss the evolution of broadcast media in this episode of #SPINisaFourLetterWord. Link in bio to listen.
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Bill Hooper has worked in Baltimore media for over 40 years. Let`s Have a Beer with the @WMAR2news VP/GM and discuss the evolution of broadcast media in this episode of #SPINisaFourLetterWord. Link in bio to listen.
#podcast #maroonpr #pragency #baltimore
Happy 248th birthday to the @usmarinecorps and a salute to all Veterans on #veternsday. 🇺🇸
We had a great morning at @jimmysseafood with @98Rock, the @Ravens and the @marinescholars as we help kick-off their partnership during Salute to Service month this November. We are so thrilled to see this partnership come to life & raise awareness for the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation. 🤝
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Happy 248th birthday to the @usmarinecorps and a salute to all Veterans on #veternsday. 🇺🇸
We had a great morning at @jimmysseafood with @98Rock, the @Ravens and the @marinescholars as we help kick-off their partnership during Salute to Service month this November. We are so thrilled to see this partnership come to life & raise awareness for the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation. 🤝
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🎉 Happy #NationalSTEMDay and congratulations to the @calripkensrfdn on today`s opening of their 400th STEM Center nationwide! 🔬
We are proud to support CRSF`s efforts to gift children access to state-of-the-art technology, hands-on learning experiences, and skill sets essential to the future of STEM.
“The fact that today we are opening our 400th STEM Center just blows me away and with partners across the country and the need remaining critical we aren’t slowing down.” - Cal Ripken, Jr.
Read more about today`s opening with @tva at the link in our bio.
#STEM #CRSF #MaroonPR #pragency #mediarelations
🎉 Happy #NationalSTEMDay and congratulations to the @calripkensrfdn on today`s opening of their 400th STEM Center nationwide! 🔬
We are proud to support CRSF`s efforts to gift children access to state-of-the-art technology, hands-on learning experiences, and skill sets essential to the future of STEM.
“The fact that today we are opening our 400th STEM Center just blows me away and with partners across the country and the need remaining critical we aren’t slowing down.” - Cal Ripken, Jr.
Read more about today`s opening with @tva at the link in our bio.
#STEM #CRSF #MaroonPR #pragency #mediarelations
