Chinese Laundry CMO Sarah Zuler is on a mission to bring the fashion shoe brand back to '80s cool.
When she joined parent company CELS Brands in 2022, her goal was to reinvigorate it. But for Chinese Laundry in particular, her stretch goal was to get Taylor Swift into their shoes. Even if it were, it would be an empty wish.
But then it actually happened. Brittany Mahomes, wife of NFL Super Bowl star Patrick Mahomes, is seen wearing the brand's butter yellow tie-dress sandals with Swift's boyfriend, Travis Kelce, in an Instagram photo posted. has been done. The pop star was gifted the shoes, but there was no guarantee she would post a photo wearing them, much less tag them with the brand.
What happened next was a coordinated PR effort by Zurel's PR agency CLD, some creative marketing strategies, and a symbiotic relationship between marketing and PR, resulting in a 1,200% increase in sales and Butter Yellow Sandals. Completely sold out. We sat down with Zuler to discuss the PR marketing partnership that turned her lucrative goals into reality.
Public relations news: How did the Taylor Swift sandal sighting happen? Was it completely a coincidence? If so, how did you utilize such A-list celebrities for marketing purposes?
Sara Zuler, CMO of CELS Brands, Chinese Laundry's parent company, said: It was a very coordinated effort with a lot of moving parts… In a way, I set this as a stretch goal. CLD then worked his magic and gifted the shoes to her stylist and gave her the products. And I kept saying it over and over again until it finally hit. We were all so shocked that she actually wore our shoes.
But then, behind the scenes, we tried to get as much earned media as possible from it. As a marketer, when you have an organic(ish) moment… You've given a gift, but whenever you give a gift, you wonder if they'll actually wear the product or post about it. I don't know. Whether it gets tagged or picked up. So the question is, if they wear it, how can they tie into it? Because I often don't tag them. In this case, the shoes were not tagged. Taylor didn't tag, Brittany didn't tag…no one tagged.
So how do you work with a PR agency to get as much media coverage as possible so that someone knows it's your product naturally? We have made thorough efforts, including posting the following. You have to be very careful about how you do your advertising strategy because you can't use likenesses or images. But I It was done “Chinese Laundry is in the era of butter yellow,” he says. And Google allows you to target Swifties if you use the right keywords on the backend and master them thoroughly. So this is a complete fluke, a combination of phenomena resulting from a highly coordinated effort. [For more on the marketing story, head to PRNEWS sister brand Chief Marketer.]
PRNEWS: What was your media coverage strategy?
Sara Zuler: CLD is great and I actually based a lot of my strategies on it. First of all, when we list celebrities…we're a fashion brand, so we go after the fashion press, we go after the pop press. Then we send it to the business press, follow the news cycle, and cover it as much as possible. We feel very fortunate to be able to take this forward and have an experienced team with whom we have deep relationships.
PRNEWS: Did you run into any obstacles or challenges?
Sara Zuler: I specifically reached out to an editor I knew. There were some pickups and the information was not inaccurate regarding price and pointed to Amazon. So it was kind of a triage moment that you had to deal with in real time. After that, CLD and I coordinated and reached out directly to the people at Penske Media and called some people and asked for a favor. I said, “I need an article that shows me the correct price and points me to our website as soon as possible instead of Amazon.” And at the end of the day, articles were published in Women's Wear Daily and Footwear News. And it was strictly relational. That's just what I asked for. And CLD did the same, calling for support in trying to redirect news outlets to our website rather than Amazon.
PRNEWS: How do marketing and public relations work together for your brand? Are there blurred lines between the disciplines?
SZ: First of all, I think having a team with a PR firm that you can trust, collaborate with, and are compatible with is one of the most important things you can do as a marketer. As a CMO, you would be remiss if you thought you could handle all the PR and communications yourself or in-house. When I started working at Chinese Laundry, I was actually with another agency, but I ended up letting them go because I didn't feel our goals were aligned. Then I moved to CLD. It was such a great experience because I felt like they were an extension of our team and there was a lot of partnership there.
The lines between our internal marketing department and CLD as a PR firm have become somewhat blurred. It was so nice to have that Taylor Swift moment where we were texting nonstop and it felt like we were constantly communicating. Being able to say, “Hey, this is what I came up with.” Hey, I saw this. Can you fix this? Okay, I'm going to call this person and do this. That's it. [What’s important is ] Build a good relationship with your communications and PR teams to ensure their goals are aligned, understand each other's strengths, and understand the brand and audience your PR agency is trying to reach. is to check.
During onboarding, I spend a tremendous amount of time making sure they really understand our goals, execute on them, and become a part of our team so that they can achieve my vision as a marketer. I spent it. Marketers need to make sure their goals are aligned. What are your specific goals? What are your immediate goals? What are your stretch goals? And be clear about your audience.
PRNEWS: What was your specific vision?
SZ: When I joined the CELS brand, my goal was to be there to revitalize this company, all four of these brands, especially Chinese Laundry. I mean, it used to be so cool (I wore those shoes to prom), but now no one knows what's going on or what happened to the brand. What do we make of the conversation, “Oh, what happened to them? Are they still around?” Even things like, “Oh, this is cool'' or “Taylor is wearing this'' are worn by influencers and people want to buy them. Being on the other side of all these things is not something I can do alone.
PRNEWS: What do you look for in a PR agency? What was the process you went through to find the right fit?
SZ: I also looked at other brands that the agency represents. This is because I wanted to know specifically which brands I would like my brand to be listed alongside. That's one easy way to start considering it. Let's take a look at the client. The interview will be with two people instead of one. I interviewed at several agencies before deciding on CLD. And it comes down to energy and relationships. Are these people you want to talk to every day? At least that's how I work.
But on the more strategic side, look at your customer base and make sure they match the audience you're trying to reach. Because if the brand they represent has a similar audience to yours, you know they have a relationship that can move the needle for you. How other brands can they move their needle.
Kaylee Hultgren I am the content director of PRNEWS.
