LEVERAGING EMBARGOED OUTREACH TO INCREASE IMPACT

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CNBC.com Exclusive

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Million Impressions

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Fox Business Live Interview

Situation

Before the holiday season kicks off, Sensormatic Solutions releases its annual ShopperTrak “Top Ten Busiest Days” holiday traffic predictions, highlighting which 10 days will account for over 40 percent of the year’s in-store shopper traffic. A major draw for both retailers and reporters, the release normally garners significant coverage, making it one of the company’s biggest announcements of the year. However, as competitors begin releasing their own reports, the landscape is becoming increasingly crowded.

Strategy

To differentiate the data from competitors, Matter aimed to secure a business press exclusive to be released the morning of the announcement. Unlike the previously leveraged tactic of widespread “day-of” pitching, the team determined that a more in-depth business press article would increase interest from news outlets, helping to spread the data farther than before. Through embargoed outreach, the team collaborated with CNBC.com retail reporter Lauren Thomas to develop and release the article when it would have the greatest impact. Additionally, Matter prepped Sensormatic Solutions executives for TV appearances by conducting 1:1 mock interview trainings.

Results

The CNBC.com exclusive article was published one hour before Sensormatic Solutions press release crossed the wire. Within six days, the “Top Ten Busiest Days” report garnered over 100 pieces of coverage, from editorials to syndication of the CNBC.com article — amassing over 36 million impressions. The initial coverage also caught the eye of a producer at Fox Business Networks’ Varney & Co., who invited Sensormatic Solutions to participate in a live broadcast segment (a first!) and be featured in a corresponding article on FoxBusiness.com.