Spreading the Word About Your CPG Brand Through PR with Sarah Maguire
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PR for Your CPG Brand…
If you have a CPG (consumer-packaged goods) brand, it can be hard to get the word out on your own, and often new businesses tend to think about public relations last when getting started. With some PR help, you can share compelling stories about your brand and increase consumer interest.
In this episode, I’m interviewing Sarah Maguire, a publicist with over a decade of public relations experience. Sarah shares why you need PR representation, what to look for when hiring a rep, and how you can DIY your brand awareness if you can’t afford to hire for PR quite yet.
She also walks us through her pitching process and shares crucial advice on how to avoid a PR crisis. It’s time to start thinking about public relations for your business.
Subscribe to the Food Means Business Podcast with Hudson Kitchen founder Djenaba Johnson-Jones to hear the personal stories and “secret ingredients” of abandoning your day job and starting a CPG food business.
In this episode, you’ll learn...
[03:24] The importance of PR to your overall brand and why you should consider PR from the beginning
[06:10] What you should look for when hiring a public relations rep
[08:56] Sarah walks us through her process of pitching a client to a media outlet
[11:32] Sarah’s tips on how to get the word out about your brand if you can’t afford a PR rep right now and what you should put into a pitch
[15:45] What Sarah has seen in the industry on using PR for general brand awareness vs. a specific event/launch
[17:13] Sarah’s advice for CPG owners on avoiding a PR crisis
If you want to hear more about how to bring brand awareness to your CPG business, be sure to tune into this episode:
Links mentioned in this episode…
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About Sarah Maguire:
Sarah Maguire started her own PR consulting firm in May 2022 after a ten-year PR agency career, focusing on meaningful brand storytelling in the food and beverage CPG startup space. She has understood the ever-evolving media landscape, mastering both traditional and non-traditional media relations, including affiliate marketing, thought leadership, and VIP + influencer relationship building.
With experience in entertainment, hospitality, technology, and lifestyle public relations at agencies including Derris and RVD Communications, she found her niche in the food/beverage startup space at JBC Communications and most recently was spearheading the CPG division at celebrity talent agency The Lede Company. Sarah graduated from Elon University with a bachelor's degree in Strategic Communications and is a proud DC native, currently living in New York City.
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[00:00:02] Djenaba You are listening to the Food Means Business Podcast, which features the personal stories and secret ingredients behind what it's like to abandon your day job to start a CPG food and beverage business. I'm Djenaba Johnson-Jones, former marketing executive turned entrepreneur and founder of food business incubator Hudson Kitchen. Join our community of fellow food business owners and subject matter experts to learn and laugh with us as we explore a startup world that's a little more culinary and a lot less corporate these days. All right, Sarah, welcome to the Food Means Business podcast. We're so happy to have you.
[00:00:37] Sarah Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here.
[00:00:41] Djenaba So we'd love to hear your story about how you left corporate America to launch Sarah Maguire PR.
[00:00:47] Sarah Yeah, of course. So it's really been like a ten year journey of doing PR before I decided to kind of take the leap of faith and go out on my own. I really struggled finding my PR foot, I would say. I was kind of a job hopper and that was very unpopular in job interviews, and I always got nervous having to explain my career trajectory. But I always told people I wanted to find my passion and I figured it out with food and beverage. I don't really have a lot of hobbies, but I love to go out to eat and drink. And when friends come into town, that's my favorite thing to do in New York, is to kind of take them to my favorite spot. And so I kind of had this aha moment about five years ago, at an agency where I was like, okay, this is what I need to do. I need to only work with food and beverage clients, to kind of try to work with chefs and bartenders and see if this is a career option. And so five years ago I did that, and then last year I was at a really reputable talent agency working on celebrity brands that were in the food, beverage, home lifestyle space, and kind of really had that dream scenario where a client called an old client and they said, "Hey, we want to work with you, not an agency. We're really disappointed by the agency model. We just don't feel like it works for PR. Like, have you thought about going on your own? Is anything you're interested in?" And I was so burnt out and overworked. So it was kind of that moment where I was like, This is handed to me on a silver platter, in a sense, I should just do this. Like, there's like, why else would I not do this? I was so ready and felt like, I had taken so many experiences and done a lot of different roles and just was ready to kind of go on my own. So that's when I started Sarah Maguire PR and it kind of was a really quick and fast and furious start, which you always kind of think like, Should I have really been more calculated and had clients lined up? But I was just amazed by, I'm sure you feel the same way, our CPG community is so warm and open and supportive, and when I announced on LinkedIn, I got on my own. It kind of blew up on LinkedIn and referrals just started coming in and I had two clients in a month and took some time to travel and kind of built out this business and kind of vision and it just started from there. And I've been doing this for a little over a year.
[00:02:52] Djenaba That's so amazing. Yeah, I definitely can echo your sentiments about the CPG community. They've been fantastic. Even when I first started my business, I came from marketing. I had no idea anything about food and was just welcomed with open arms. So yeah, definitely. I think it's great.
[00:03:06] Sarah Yeah. No, it's been so, so nice. Like going to industry events and seeing the same people and just like everybody wants to know what you're up to and how they can help support. And I think a lot of other industries like fashion and beauty especially, it's really cutthroat. It's just nice to know that food and CPG really is not like that at all. So.
[00:03:24] Djenaba So good. So let's jump in here. So I think a lot of founders, even myself, you want to start a business, you're thinking about like what this is going to look like. You're thinking about the branding, but no one really thinks about PR in the beginning. So can you talk a little bit about the importance of public relations that has to do with your overall brand?
[00:03:43] Sarah Yeah, of course. I always feel like sometimes when I'm talking to new business clients who are thinking about PR last, like you said, and kind of the first thing I always do is really try to convince new business people to really give like six or eight weeks lead time for hiring PR. Just so that you have enough time for a couple of key things. One, coming up with that media facing language about the brand that's going to be different than your marketing language and then your sales language needs to be consumable and relatable and, you know, convincing to a wide assortment of audiences. And then also, especially with food and beverage products like editors need to sample them. And that taste factor is really important. And there's all these editors are now at home with 20 plus samples that they need to get through before they get to yours. So I really try, again I know it's really tough with supply chain issues still happening, to make sure that they have at least three or four weeks lead time to sample product, and especially with food and some products. And you really need to test out multiple times. So for an energy drink, you need to test it out against your go to afternoon pick me up or try it after workout class and really see does it work? Is this something that I can integrate into my lifestyle? Is this something I would recommend to my readers? Or if you have a product that is like something you need to cook or bake or recipe test that takes even more time. So really factoring that in and making sure your prototype samples and even if it's not in your most perfect packaging, because that always seems to be one of the key issues. I just say, you know, we do want to try like a consumer, like I think there you see on Instagram is beautiful on unboxing and that works for some brands not all. Like people just need to test it out like their audience would so kind of thinking through that. And then it also that six to eight week lead time leaves enough time for that PR person to tell the stories to as many different verticals as possible and set up time for interviews, figure out the business stats that you want to share. Obviously, outside of a launch, there is a founder behind the brand and a team behind that brand, and that's equally compelling storytelling. So those are kind of the three main reasons why to start out with PR and I think a lot of brands, you kind of want to get the PR buzz and then move on. And I think for for a launch, it really is like meaningful storytelling. It takes time. And so there's not just a launch day anymore, there's a launch month and PR really critical to getting that buzz because your investor decks, your fundraising decks like they need to show the validation that your product is you know like outside of your mini microcosm of your community, of friends and family. They need to see that validation for them to usually invest.
[00:06:08] Djenaba So yeah, that makes total sense. So if someone is going out to hire someone like you, what should they be looking for?
[00:06:15] Sarah I mean, I think first, like one of my go to core rules is just making sure they're really nice humans. Like we're working very closely every day. Like you want to make sure you have that personal relationship connection. I think the benefits of working with someone who is freelance and consulting are not on a lot of brands is that they have the time and experience. So making sure that they are thinking of a lot of different angles and kind of customizing their quote unquote PR playbook to you and really care about your product and genuinely want to promote it. You know, another thing is I really try to only take on brands that I personally like. So I don't like anything coconut flavor. I will never rep a coconut ice cream or a coconut dessert and nothing against it, that's just not me. I will never be able to promote that. Things like that.
[00:07:01] Djenaba I love that you're like so true to yourself. That's great.
[00:07:04] Sarah Yeah. I mean, I have worked on so many brands that were not against my beliefs in my agency days, like the place that the freedom and flexibility and owners have to be like, I don't have to work on that if I don't want to. So I think that's really important. And then obviously, I think too like this quote unquote rolodex, I feel like it's a question I get from some of the older kind of potential new clients. They'll ask like, where are your media connections? And to me, it's not really where are your media connections? It's how are you making new media connections? This space is ever evolving and constantly changing, and there's so many different new platforms and things, so it's really more pressing to me being like, Oh, actually, you know, saw a new byline, reached out to the author. They want to trail three of my clients, or they are really interested in this, and I pitched them a recipe idea. So I think it's just constantly consuming news and making sure that it's, especially in food and beverage, I think you want someone who knows how to do CPG PR. It's just a very niche circle of media to work with, and so it's harder for a generalist to pop in and do this. I would say I've seen a lot of brands and PR friends fail at doing this and it's just because it's so niche. So find someone who's really passionate and kind of knows that circle and industry really well.
[00:08:09] Djenaba I love what you said about like what kind of new relationships can your publicist make? I think that is so important. Just like you reaching out to me a couple of weeks ago and us being able to schedule this was really exciting. I was like happy to hear from you and also to have access to some of the brands that you work with. So I think that's really exciting. I'm the queen of the cold email or the cold call because I think that it like, why not you have something compelling to introduce to someone, like why not do that to someone new?
[00:08:34] Sarah So, I mean, at the end of the day, obviously you need a publicist who knows the top editors of Food and Wine, Bon Appetit. Like knows how to get you on those morning shows or whatever your dream outlets are. But again, I think there's a lot of lazy PR generally just because we're overworked. It's not because people don't know how to do their job. And so you just want someone who's really ambitious and hungry and wants to find, you know, the right home for your story.
[00:08:56] Djenaba Can you give us an example of a client that you pitched to a media outlet and kind of walk us through like what your process would be?
[00:09:02] Sarah Yeah. So the way... My old assistants if they listen to us are going to laugh. I like to write a pitch outlet for every different type of vertical I'm going after. So, for example, for like a new client announcement or a new product launch or a new brand launch, like you're pitching business, you're pitching lifestyle, you're pitching social, you're pitching marketing, you're pitching trade, you're pitching podcast, like all those different types of things. And each vertical is going to care about different things. So you know, your business, retail, trade writers, they're going to want to know how many retailers are you in, what's the pricing structure, what is some of your sales stats or things like that. Versus the lifestyle wants to know how do you use this product, are there any cool celebrity fans? For social, it's how do I make this buzzy? Like, is this brand really popular and social? What is the consumer audience like? So thinking through all of that is kind of how I approach them. But kind of one. I was gonna say there's like a fun one I had recently for a client where we were kind of struggling to get this kind of business growth story and I was just kind of really thinking of all the different angles for them. And I saw this like Twitter query where it was like, I'm looking for couples who had a first date that was a cooking date, which is kind of crazy in our 21st century to go on a cooking date in someone's home. It's not normal. And I realized I had and I had a client that was perfect for that. It was called Pizza Cupcake. On their first date, they had known each other kind of, you know, through friends of friends. And they met a few times. But their first official date was the now husband making his girlfriend at the time pizza in their home. And this pizza date inspired their company and it was kind of a great tie in story. So I reached out to the writer. I said, I don't know, this is quite what you're looking for, but I think I have something great. She was really into it, ended up being from The Washington Post, which is obviously like a top tier national publication. It was just a really fun, lighthearted way to kind of integrate the brand in that story. And it not only ran digitally right in print and being from DC, that was just such a personal career milestone for me because that's like huge. So, you know, it's cool to have my mom pick it up with our local Starbucks and have that full circle moment. But it just proves that you really need to know your brands inside and out. And I think like to take a step back to, you know, when you're working with consultants and especially agencies, you really want to know how many clients they're working on because you cannot do meaningful, thoughtful storytelling if you are buried in client work and admin work, managing a lot of people. Like you need time to like have the time to creatively pitch it. If I was really so busy that I didn't have a very curated, thoughtful roster, the story would never come to fruition. So I think that's really important.
[00:11:31] Djenaba Yeah, that's definitely important. So are there any tips that you have for CPG owners that may not be able to afford a publicist immediately? Like what should they be doing to help kind of help get their brand out there?
[00:11:44] Sarah Yeah. So one of the things that might surprise your audience, hearing it from somebody in PR, is that media actually love hearing from founders directly. They definitely prefer it. Obviously, we don't love to shout that from the rooftop, but I think there is something special about getting a one on one relationship and building it directly with the founder, especially as the brand grows and maybe, you know, as the writer moves on to bigger and better outlets, I think that's really special. So, you know, one just kind of really taking a step back and being like, okay, where are our brands in my space getting press, seeing who's writing those stories, but also coming up with your dream outlet and tapping your network as much as possible, like going through your LinkedIn, seeing who you know from college or high school or whatever your first couple jobs were where they might know that reporter or follow on Twitter and those connections go a long way. And on the flip side, when I have a client that says, oh, I'm friendly with X, Y, Z, I'm like, feel free to reach out and loop me in as needed. Like, I want people to feel their relationships are their relationships. And obviously we're here to help steer or navigate conversations as helpful. Another thing, too, is, is a lot of these writers have their contact information on their Instagram, in their Twitter bio, things like that. So really just trying to hack it yourself. A lot of writers have their own portfolio or websites or their what their emails kind of buried in there or use that contact form. A lot of the bigger media publications have the same email formats too. So once you crack one like a Condé Nast, they're all kind of the same. And I think also, like, don't be afraid to email those general emails, like the booking header, they respond more than the producers there, right?
[00:13:14] Djenaba So that's really interesting because I would think that they would and it seems like you're like kind of it just goes off into the abyss. But yeah, that's interesting that it would do that. They actually respond.
[00:13:23] Sarah Well. It's almost like pitching local news too, like pitching the news desk is the fastest way to get a response. Like it's so funny, like learning through all these tips and tricks throughout the years. Obviously, too, I'm sure your audience, once they're like, okay, so what do I put in a pitch? What is it?
[00:13:37] Djenaba Right, right.
[00:13:38] Sarah So one of my old jobs, we did a lot of office hours and this is like the biggest question. And what I tell people is that you really want your pitch to be concise, but have that ask up front. So people listening, you know me, I'm a longer pitch writer, but I would tell the average person to really kind of keep it at like 3 to 4 paragraphs max and then put anything else that they think is relevant at the bottom of their signature. You don't need to do the niceties of how is your day, I hope your week's going well. If that's not authentic to your relationship, just get to the point. I'm reaching out because I have this brand that does this and I think would be compelling to your audience for X, Y, Z reasons. Or I read a recent story of yours and thought that you might be interested in the brand I started. You know, kind of give a really brief description of what your brand is objectively. So making sure that they have all the links and they have their socials pretty easily accessible and they kind of talk through what you think the story could be and why you're the right person to help with that, right? So there are also, like so many topics are like, okay, besides just a brand intro, like if you really are passionate about this crazy supply chain or some of these unsexy topics, like they need experts in everything. So if you realized that you had a situation that was pretty unique or, you know, people want to hear more about the nitty gritty than they want about the glory moments, like that's what really I think connects people to the founders and these entrepreneurs is hearing these challenges of how they overcame it. And that's going to be more compelling for a consumer to buy a product that they know there's a really compelling back story. And that's why I tell people like, don't be afraid to be vulnerable. That's what they're here for. And writers need sources that are the same way. They need stories that are going to be compelling and interesting and motivating sometimes. So I think just kind of figuring that out and then just becoming really reliable, like be responsive, do your homework and you can connect them to any other people in your own network for this similar story. I think a lot of the times you'll see your competition get a dream story and you're really upset you didn't get it. And instead of kind of wallowing in that, find an angle and find it, pitch it to a different publication with your spin on it and why you want your story to be told. So it can't be too similar of an audience and a publication. But I think kind of just be inspired by your competition and not so scared of it. I think that's just a healthier way to look at PR, media and business in general.
[00:15:43] Djenaba It's true. Yeah, it is so true. So when someone comes to you, do they have a goal in mind or do people come to you and just say, I need you to in general help me to kind of get the word out about my company? Like it would seem to me that I've actually done my own PR before. If I have a specific thing that I want to talk about, an event that we're doing or some contest that I'm participating in, I'll create a release around that. Do you often have people that are so goal oriented or is it okay to just want some general publicity?
[00:16:11] Sarah Yeah, I think it's twofold. I think there are times where just general brand awareness is great, but you really do need to have compelling news hooks for people to really typically get interest. Obviously a really personal founder story or something like that, or just like you feel like you didn't get your launch buzz and you want to kind of continue it. You have to bring something new to the table still. So it's great when I especially with the flexibility I have, I can do three six month projects with clients where they have a new product announcement or they have a new initiative or they're about to fundraise. And so they need press to validate, you know, put in their press decks or things like that. I do love an objective, but I think it really can just depend on a couple of factors. And I think, you know, press releases and all those things that you can be savvy and do on your own. But to have PR, you want to really have a story behind it. You just need to get news out there. I think that's just not something you have to absolutely hire PR for, a press release will get the job done. It's not my favorite way of getting news out there. But what it will get the job done for the glossy, the trade publications where you know your investors, retailers, distributors are all reading so.
[00:17:13] Djenaba Right cool. Do you have any advice for CPG owners that they should stay away from in order to avoid a PR crisis?
[00:17:21] Sarah Yeah. So I would say this is never the most fun topic to discuss, but I think it's really important, especially having been in the industry for ten years and now I'm beginning to feel my own, I think holistically really making sure that you trust the PR person and you put them at the table for these types of decisions, just as much as your sales or finance, because the last person that you should hear about the potential crisis is a PR person itself. That's all like, we want to know as soon as possible to really start planning and navigating and really kind of see one. Do we need to hire a crisis comm specialist like depending on the situation? Or is this something that we feel we can handle on our own? You know, ways to kind of hopefully avoid this or making sure we're doing media training for the founders so that maybe, you know, I've been in that scenario where they say something where they shouldn't have said something or they didn't understand how to do off the record. And something came out that they didn't want to, or there was a reporter sniffing around company culture and things like that. And just like making sure to really kind of keep the PR person in the loop so we're ready. We can create messaging, things like that. Another thing too, is just like I really try to make sure that when my founders are going on, you know, doing interviews, that they have a really comprehensive briefing doc, where it kind of explains how to pivot, how to redirect questions, how to, you know, ask for off the record. And making sure if they do mess up, I think there's also a really powerful thing about just being vulnerable and open and honest about it and not hiding or trying to kind of make it muddier, just kind of like acknowledge what you did wrong, what you're going to do better, really keep it short and simple, concise, and then show that action. You know, I think there are a lot of times where brands really say they're going to do one thing and then they think media forgot about it and media don't and consumers don't. And you will always have those trolls in your Instagram comments. So I think just really doing what you're going to say. I last year, you know, I was working on celebrity talent agency and obviously having a celebrity involved with the brand is a real risk as much as it is really rewarding and great promotion for a brand. So kind of the example trying to talk this through was we were launching a celebrity booze brand and the first month, great buzzy launch press, and then this celebrity had a pretty bad criminal arrest. And that is not somebody drinking and violence do not go hand in hand, that's not something anybody wants to promote. And so we really had to pivot fully and make sure that we were just talking about the product's ingredients and recipes and focusing truly on that and using the other media spokesperson, we could talk about the business and launch strategy and just really ride this out and wait it out. And once obviously, it quote unquote died down in the media, we still wanted to make sure that, you know, we saw the full end result of what was going on because we didn't want to align the brand with somebody where it was potentially negative or, you know, the end of the day, so many people look up at these celebrities and see what they're buying and promoting. And I think this is really important at the end of the day and there are just some things that are bigger than your brand. And this is one of those moments where you just kind of had to pivot and wait it out and it just seriously took parting with this celebrity. And, you know, it's also a good lesson in like making sure you know, you pick celebrities and notable personalities that align with your brand missions as much as possible. Obviously, we can't predict or foresee any of this. There was no crisis plan for this in place. But I think, you know, knowing that and then kind of another example is working with celebrities, especially in the tequila industry, for example, I was working with Kevin Hart's tequila brand, and we were ready and prepared to kind of get that, you know, potential negative backlash of another celebrity launch a tequila brand. And we made sure that the brand had a really smart, actionable charitable partnership that was authentic to the brand and really gave back to the community and kind of really just saw through every potential pain point of this just so that we were prepared. And luckily, you know, we didn't have to enact any of that. But just being so culturally sensitive and knowing where the potential pitfalls are, I think are really important as you navigate brands and launch them.
[00:21:11] Djenaba Yeah, that's great. Thank you. Well, it is time for us to ring the bell. So we have a bell at Hudson Kitchen that we ring when we have news to celebrate. Could be anything from someone getting a new client to getting a new wholesale partner or even getting their paycheck. Because we have people's employees that work there. So wondering like, what are you celebrating?
[00:21:30] Sarah Yeah, I know. I love this question. I was really excited because I had a new client conversation in the winter with the client that is now signed and basically I got to the top tier. They chose an agency route, that was kind of the route they chose. We kind of stayed in touch and they eventually were like, you know, I think we made the wrong decision. We want to actually hire you. And so that was kind of like just a nice win of realizing like the powerful impact of just one person show sometimes, like that's all you need. And that I do have that expertise. And I think continuing those relationships and really showing your value in different ways, like just because you might have lost a new business relationship doesn't mean you shouldn't continue to talk and keep them in your network and think about them because people remember that. And I was just kind of a really satisfying win recently.
[00:22:15] Djenaba That's awesome. Congratulations.
[00:22:15] Sarah Thank you.
[00:22:17] Djenaba Well, Sarah, thank you so much for being on the Food Means Business Podcast. Please let everyone know where they can find you and how they can work with you.
[00:22:24] Sarah Yeah, of course. So I have a website, sarahmaguirepr.com and same with Instagram handle and my email is sarah@sarahmaguirepr.com. So yeah, I'm always looking for really compelling founders and brands in the CPG space and I really want to just highlight these amazing stories behind the brands and work with incredible products.
[00:22:44] Djenaba Cool. Thank you.
[00:22:44] Sarah Of course. Thank you for having me again, for being my first podcast.
[00:22:49] Djenaba The Food Means Business Podcast was produced by Hudson Kitchen. It is recorded at the studio at Carney Point and mixed and edited by Wild Home Podcasting. Our theme song is by Damian de Sandys, and I'm your host, Djenaba Johnson-Jones. Follow Hudson Kitchen on Instagram at thehudsonkitchen and to get Food Business Bites right in your inbox, sign up for our newsletter at thehudsonkitchen.com/newsletter. Listen, follow and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get podcasts. Until next time.