Editor Actionism

Jennifer Little, Dallas

I had the pleasure of managing a client’s editor event in New York last month. While visiting with editors to view a product line isn’t a new tactic, this client had never hosted an offsite experience with editors. We took a dozen editors from publications such as Real Simple, Redbook, Complex, Ladies Home Journal, Nylon Guys, Antenna and Men’s Health to a sustainable farm about an hour north of the city. The editors actually put on the workwear made by our client and spent time collecting hen eggs, picking vegetables and feeding pigs. Then everyone relaxed for an amazing lunch fresh from the farm. The editors loved the event, were completely engaged in the activities and enjoyed being disconnected from the city.

The win for our client was capturing these national editors for 6 hours and having them wear the brand’s products during the work experience. Not only did it help build stronger relationships, it allowed the editors to slip into the apparel and “feel” the workwear firsthand. Hearing a female editor say, “these jeans are so comfortable!” and having her turn around and place a sample order a week later was pretty satisfying. Hopefully, this editor will become an action consumer for the brand – at least when the issue closes and a decision needs to be made about including product.

Will we stop inviting editors to the showroom to view products or quit doing deskside briefings? Definitely not. We still want to be in front of these influencers in different ways and times. But, what an impact we can have with the decision makers by removing them from the daily grind of the office and allowing them to become just a regular “farmer” for just a little while. Now, how do we do the same for our consumers? The million dollar question.