Strategic PR Elevates Loop as Leader in the Competitive E-Commerce Returns Space

The Challenge

On the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, the retail tech landscape was incredibly crowded with more established voices dominating the retail returns conversation. As an emerging player in the space, Loop was relatively unknown to the media. So from the outset, it was clear that Walker Sands needed to spend time educating reporters and prospective customers on the company’s differentiators. The rise of e-commerce sales during the pandemic also made retail returns more newsworthy than ever, creating a ripe opportunity for the PR program.

With these factors in mind, Walker Sands established the following program goals:

• Generate awareness of Loop among online retailers, particularly larger retailers using Shopify Plus, by increasing the quantity and quality of media coverage in business and trade media. 
• Increase Loop’s share of voice (SOV) among competitors across mainstream business, retail and tech outlets through proactive storytelling.
• Educate Loop’s target audience about post-purchase experiences and how they impact customer retention.

The Solution

Walker Sands developed and executed a multi-pronged PR strategy consisting of proactive thought leadership, timely newsjacking, promotion of company news and customer stories, as well as a series of trend-based quick polls. The team was confident that this diversified media mix, coupled with timely storytelling, would work in harmony to deliver quality, consistent media coverage and achieve the program’s objectives.

Data-Driven Outreach

Walker Sands partnered with Loop’s marketing team on a series of quick poll campaigns that used proprietary survey data to increase media coverage while amplifying Loop’s credibility and SOV in relevant e-commerce and reverse logistics conversations. Focusing on timely topics like consumer retention, reverse logistics and post-holiday returns, each data-driven campaign included survey findings from 1,000 consumers. The data was then pulled into an in-depth blog post and infographic that Walker Sands promoted through proactive media outreach and regular inclusion in newsjacking efforts. These efforts led to numerous top-tier broadcast opportunities for Loop, including segments on The Today Show and CBS News.

Company & Customer Stories

To showcase continued company momentum and differentiate Loop, Walker Sands also promoted significant company news moments. Key examples of this occurred when Loop announced a partnership with PayPal’s Happy Returns as well as when the company formed a strategic partnership with Affirm. Walker Sands developed a comprehensive media strategy for these announcements that included embargo media outreach and launch outreach, netting placements in publications like Freight Waves, Modern Retail, Sourcing Journal and others.

The team also actively pitched media on Loop’s client success stories to bolster its credibility. With notable clientele including consumer brands like Allbirds, Chubbies, Aviator Nation and FIGS, these stories showcased Loop’s success with prominent retailers. This not only set Loop apart from its competitors, but underscored its value proposition to its target audience.

Newsjacking and Proactive Thought Leadership

Walker Sands capitalized on timely newsjacking opportunities throughout the program, strategically positioning Loop’s executives to offer insight on relevant breaking stories. Topics ranged from how rising fuel prices and inflation impacted retail returns to the reasons why major retailers were implementing return fees. This approach ensured a continuous stream of coverage in both top-tier business and target industry media outlets.

The team also incorporated Loop’s proprietary data into newsjacking outreach to differentiate Loop’s positioning and extend the lifespan of the data. For example, immediately following the holiday shopping season, Walker Sands leveraged Loop’s data to newsjack holiday return stories, leading to key placements in publications like Insider Intelligence, INSIDER and more.

Walker Sands also maintained a steady cadence of proactive thought leadership outreach featuring unique perspectives from Loop’s executives. The team partnered with Loop to establish talk tracks and focus areas for each thought leader and conducted thorough media training. This component of the PR program was designed to further establish Loop’s executives as experts in returns management and to educate target audiences about how the post-purchase experience impacts customer retention.

The Results

Walker Sands’ strategic PR program successfully elevated Loop’s profile and solidified its executives as go-to sources in top-tier media outlets — establishing Loop as the leading voice in the retail and e-commerce returns space. The team secured a total of 127 media placements for Loop, 41 of which were in tier-one outlets like Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Business Insider, and Bloomberg. 

Each component of the multifaceted program contributed to Loop’s PR success. The quick poll campaigns netted 85M impressions and 48 media placements, 58% of which had backlinks. Loop’s client success stories netted feature placements in publications like Business of Fashion, The Information, Digital Commerce 360 and more. The team’s newsjacking efforts led to numerous opportunities for Loop executives to offer insights to publications like INSIDER and Yahoo News.

Walker Sands also secured significant award wins for Loop during the program, landing the company on Fast Company’s 2023 Most Innovative Companies List for retail and Forbes’ 2023 Next Billion Dollar Startups List for 2023.

Ultimately, the PR program has allowed Loop to increase its overall brand awareness, boost its credibility and successfully differentiate itself in a crowded field.