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Project Overview
Label Insight, a cloud-based data startup, wanted to position itself at the center of industry conversations about product transparency. Walker Sands accomplished this ambitious goal by leveraging its expertise in data-driven PR and retail tech to create studies that garnered the attention of media outlets, industry influencers and key prospects, earning over 100 media placements and millions of impressions.
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The Background
Label Insight is a rapidly growing cloud-based data startup that transforms basic product data into smart attributes for CPG brands and retailers. With product attributes from more than 17,000 brands (80 percent of the U.S. retail food and beverage sales volume), Label Insight improves consumer visibility to product data, while helping its customers achieve important business and industry outcomes.
The Challenge
Walker Sands’ relationship with Label Insight began in April 2016. Walker Sands quickly became a trusted partner, helping Label Insight leverage public relations for thought leadership, lead generation and business improvement.
Label Insight wanted to raise its company’s overall profile and visibility. Additionally, it asked Walker Sands to simultaneously produce two data studies. The first data study would focus on the impact of product transparency in the food industry, and the second would discuss the ROI of product transparency for industry brands and food retailers.
By developing both data studies in tandem, Label Insight hoped to uncover insights that were important to its customers and the industry at large – effectively positioning the company at the center of industry conversations about product transparency. Further, Label Insight aimed to establish a newly coined term, Transparency ROI, through the data collected and conversations spurred as a result of the studies.
To meet Label Insight’s expectations, Walker Sands would have to marshal its resources and quickly deliver not one, but two proprietary data reports capable of generating meaningful outcomes for the client.
The Solution
The development of highly useful and relevant data studies in a short period of time presented several risks. Incomplete data analysis, muddled messaging and other threats could easily jeopardize the desired outcomes.
Walker Sands acknowledged these risks, but felt confident that it had the people, resources and experience to ensure the quality of the studies in the proposed time frame.
- Data-driven PR capabilities.
Walker Sands’ expertise in data-driven PR for B2B technology companies gave the client and the team confidence to tackle the ambitious project. In addition to dedicated PR staff, Walker Sands’ retail tech team includes in-house content strategists who specialize in developing proprietary insights from complex data sets and creating messaging that resonates with targeted media. - Retail tech industry experience.
Walker Sands’ deep understanding of the retail technology space was another determining factor in the success of the project. The Walker Sands team had partnered with a portfolio of leaders in the CPG and retail sectors, enabling the team to quickly launch the studies and isolate data insights that were useful and relevant to the target audience. - Existing client relationship.
Walker Sands’ role as a trusted PR partner to Label Insight gave the team an advantage right out of the gate. The people working on the project were the same PR professionals who worked with Label Insight on a regular basis. As a result, the Walker Sands team possessed a thorough understanding of the client’s business and market strategy from day one. Just as importantly, Walker Sands had already earned the client’s trust, and team members benefitted from existing relationships with Label Insight’s marketing staff and thought leaders.
Supported by a project strategy that tapped into these and other resources, Walker Sands transformed captured data into a pair of highly relevant studies that garnered the attention of media outlets, industry influencers and key prospects:
- The 2016 Food Revolution Study: This data-rich study presented factual information about how consumers make food choices, their relationships with brands and retailers, and their expectations about product transparency.
- The 2016 Transparency ROI Study: This study quantitatively demonstrated that product transparency ultimately leads to consumer trust and lifetime consumer value for brands and manufacturers.
The Results
Walker Sands’ work yielded important outcomes for Label Insight and improved the company’s visibility as a leader in the retail technology sector. Label Insight reported that its sales team was able to effectively use the studies to explain the concept and value of Transparency ROI to prospects.
Study results were covered by NBC News, Inc. and other high-profile industry publications. Combined, the studies secured nearly 40 placements (many linking back to the landing pages), and more than six million impressions. The studies highlighted opportunities for brands and manufacturers, and provided highly relevant findings that continued to drive media efforts long after the studies launched.
