Nancy Nelson, director of Sobriquet Lingerie, explains why the business should win the marketing and PR category of the Guardian Small Business Showcase competition.
From the beginning my marketing strategy has been cheeky shock tactics.
I organised for a group of lovely pole dancers to bring a mobile pole to the opening of my new lingerie shop. I also invited the local MP there so it could be suggested - tongue-in-cheek - that a politician had been ‘caught in a compromising situation’.
The event was all in good fun and not in the least bit sleazy. However it did cause a bit of a traffic jam when a fire engine slowed down to get a good look! It made the local paper, ensuring inquisitive visits to my shop.
I followed this event up with ‘Men Only’ shopping evenings in the run-up to Christmas, for maximum mileage of the idea using two pretty models and snacks and bubbly to lure them in and get them shopping.
All entries which meet the competition criteria are published and our judging panel select a shortlist of the top three for each category. Winners are announced at an awards ceremony in summer 2016.
