The
Globe & Mail lauds
Harbord tattoo parlour
Speakeasy for their innovative use of both
online and traditional PR. Owner Lizzie Renaud uses almost every
available social media tool -- Twitter, WordPress, Tumblr, Facebook,
MySpace, and Flickr -- to showcase artwork, stories and even to fill last
minute cancellations. But Renaud is also known for her use of more
traditional communications, in the summer of 2010 she worked with a
designer to create
postcard-shaped handbills to advertise Speakeasy's "guest artists"
program.
"When a colleague told me about Toronto-based Speakeasy Tattoo, I was
intrigued. She said Lizzie Renaud, the shop's owner, was doing some
really cool things online � Ms. Renaud and her team fill last-minute
cancellations through Twitter and share their stories and artwork on
WordPress, Tumblr, Facebook, MySpace, Flickr and other tattooing
websites. You name the social network, Speakeasy is there."
"But marketing is a particular challenge for Ms. Renaud: she runs a
very small business in a specialized market, and it is important to her
to always respect the tightly knit group of tattoo artists and shops in
her community."
"You can't ever come out and say 'we are the best shop in Toronto'
because you would be stepping on the toes of the people who made you
who you are," Ms. Renaud explains. "The people who taught me to tattoo
are in this city, so it is a huge challenge to stay modest and respect
everyone."
"So Ms. Renaud and her team did something innovative to set Speakeasy
apart: they reached out to five well-known tattoo artists and asked
them to work as guests in the summer of 2010. Despite her commitment to
blogging and social media, when it came time to promote the roster of
guests, she deployed a completely integrated campaign that used a
combination of online and offline tactics."
"We decided to go old school," says Ms. Renaud, speaking about her
offline strategy. She worked with a designer to produce glossy,
postcard-shaped handbills, which included art by the guest artists, the
dates they were coming, and the shop contact information."
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original source
Globe & Mail