Trade Communications: Five Golden Rules

Trade Communications should be a crucial element of any food or drink brand’s PR strategy. Why? Because if your product isn’t on the supermarket shelves, in cafés and coffee shops, or stocked behind the bar, it doesn’t matter how compelling your consumer marketing activity or how innovative your product is – shoppers simply won’t be able to get their hands on it!

For food and drink brands, trade communication is all about ensuring important decision-makers – and that might mean supermarket buyers, independent retailers, or pub landlords – have clear rationale demonstrating why your product must be stocked ahead of the competition.

In turn, securing good distribution in key locations means that the rest of your marketing campaign will work harder. With good distribution, you’ll make it simpler for your target market to choose your product and be able to measure your campaign’s effectiveness more accurately through sales figures.

At Richmond & Towers, we know that effective communication in trade is what connects your product to the right buyers — turning awareness into availability.

Remember, whether you’re talking to a buyer at Tesco or an independent retailer with a single store, they both want to know the same thing: Will this help us to grow our sales?

Whether you work with a trade PR agency or manage it in-house, your trade storytelling should always link back to a clear commercial benefit and tangible results for the retailer or outlet.

Trade audiences across channels have different concerns and motivations. So – while they all want to know how your product will grow their sales – applying a one-size-fits-all approach isn’t the way to best engage with these diverse groups.

Be sure to tailor your trade PR and messaging for each channel: supermarket buyers may want evidence of volume potential, while on-trade partners may prioritise margin or brand experience.

(And hopefully it goes without saying that communicating consumer-focused messages to trade audiences is a dreadful waste of your budget!)

Trade audiences are reading for work, not for pleasure. This means every sentence needs to make an impact.

Work with FMCG specialists like Richmond & Towers, a London communications agency, to make sure your messaging hierarchy is clear and consistent. Not sure what your key messages should be? We’ll run a workshop with your team to develop them based on your brand’s commercial goals.

Our team combines the expertise of a brand communication agency and a marketing communications agency to ensure your story lands with the right audience, every time.

Within trade media, editorial coverage and paid-for support often go hand in hand. A trade communications programme isn’t complete without an impactful advertising campaign that reinforces your editorial messages and further inspires your customers to purchase.

A leading communications agency London brands trust, Richmond & Towers helps integrate trade PR with digital and social support to maximise reach across every channel.

Insightful, non-generic spokesperson commentary adds colour for trade journalists and maximises coverage opportunities for your brand.

Ensure your spokespeople are put through their paces with media coaching so they’re primed for everything from trade communication interviews to networking events.

Want to find out more? Give us a call to learn how we can develop the most impactful trade communications strategy for your brand.

Get in touch with the Richmond & Towers team.