Think regionally

It’s easy to exist in a London bubble when thinking about stories. Many brands have flagship stores in London and many leading stylists, aestheticians and experts with PR support are based here. However, I am always interested to hear pitches from brands and experts based outside of London. As ever, it always comes down to an interesting angle.

If you are a retailer with locations outside of London, it would be a good idea – if you don’t already – to delve into regional trends, and look at how you can build a seasonal, timely story. A good example is Boots, who have just sent a press release this week about the uptake of suncreams in their stores, charted city by city. This is a great hook for a story on suncare uptake; there were also a wealth of stats available to support any angles.

This type of storytelling doesn’t just apply to retailers, of course, although retailers have the added benefit of regional comparisons. If you have an expert who is based further afield and has interesting insights, think about story angles you could pitch based on the research they have from their customer base. This can be especially useful for aestheticians, hairdressers and injectors.