Owning the straw ban news cycle
Every food desk in America was writing the same story. The opportunity was to be the brand they called, not the one pictured in the roundup.
Scope
Media relations and influencer marketing for the compostable single-use tableware brand: the launch of compostable Straws and garbage bags, the Walmart retail rollout, press release development and distribution, product seeding to national consumer and trade media, and a paid and organic Instagram influencer program.
Challenge
Cities and chains across the country began banning plastic straws, and every food and lifestyle desk in America was suddenly writing the same story.
Repurpose had the product that answered the question those stories raised. But a compostable straw is easy to reduce to a listicle mention. The opportunity was to be the brand journalists called for the business and policy angle.
What we did
Crier pitched Repurpose into the straw ban news cycle from two directions at once.
For consumer press, product went to editors running eco-friendly swap and best-of roundups, positioning the Straws as the practical answer rather than a novelty. For business and trade press, Crier pitched the company story: a fast-growing private company profiting from a policy shift, and a woman-led founder narrative, which opened Forbes and Inc.
Press releases for each product and retail moment gave trade outlets a steady reason to cover the brand, while an Instagram influencer program ran underneath, combining organic seeding with paid and sponsored posts.
Results
Forbes contributor Suzie Dundas interviewed co-founder Lauren Gropper for a feature on how the straw banning wave became an economic win for the company, and Inc. included Repurpose in both its annual list of fastest-growing private American companies and its Female Founders 100.
Consumer placements ran in Architectural Digest, Apartment Therapy’s roundup of the best eco-friendly straws, Mental Floss, Cooking Light, MSN, Better Homes & Gardens and Lonny’s gift guide, with Cooking Light picked up by Yahoo Lifestyle and a story in The Mighty on compostable straws and the disability community picked up by Yahoo Finance.
Trade and retail
Trade coverage supported the retail push, with placements in Progressive Grocer, Supermarket News, Convenience Store Decisions, Beverage Industry, Chilled Magazine and Hotel F&B, plus a print feature in Salt Lake City Magazine.
The announcement release generated 217 pickups against a potential audience of 9.1M, and the influencer program produced posts from creators reaching audiences from 22,000 to 77,000 followers.
Where it landed
The short answers
What did Crier Communications do for Repurpose?
Crier Communications handled media relations and influencer marketing for the compostable single-use tableware brand, covering the launch of compostable straws and garbage bags, the Walmart retail rollout, press release distribution, product seeding and a paid and organic Instagram influencer program.
How do you use a news cycle without becoming a footnote?
Pitch it from two directions. For consumer press Crier positioned the straws as the practical answer in eco-friendly swap roundups. For business and trade press it pitched the company story, a fast-growing private company profiting from a policy shift with a woman-led founder narrative, which opened Forbes and Inc.
What coverage did Repurpose earn?
Forbes interviewed co-founder Lauren Gropper, and Inc. included Repurpose in both its list of fastest-growing private American companies and its Female Founders 100. Consumer placements ran in Architectural Digest, Apartment Therapy, Mental Floss, Cooking Light, MSN, Better Homes & Gardens and Lonny. The announcement release generated 217 pickups against a potential audience of 9.1 million.
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Let us tell your story
Twenty years of earning coverage for CPG food, home and wellness brands.
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