under Bond Moroch
ABOUT
west elm was born in Brooklyn in 2002. A branch of Williams–Sonoma, Inc, we're focused on the intersection of modern design, affordability and community. Everything we sell—from sofas and tables to bedding and vases—is made with one goal in mind: to help our customers express their personal style at home and in the world. We care about impact too. By designing over 90% of our products in–house, our design team has steadily increased our selection of organic, handcrafted, sustainably sourced and Fair Trade Certified™ products. There's a story behind everything we sell—one that starts in Brooklyn and lives on with you.
PROJECT
Goal:
Bond Moroch’s goal was to raise awareness of the brand for every New Store Opening (NSO) in over 15 new markets. To establish west elm in the communities, we were tasked with securing media attendance to the grand opening as well as media coverage about the new store in traditional print and online outlets with a larger focus on broadcast. The team also wanted to engage with social media influencers and bloggers.
Approach:
We anticipated challenges from opening a retail chain in historically renovated neighborhoods. To combat backlash of a national retailer entering the market, we put the west elm LOCAL initiative to the forefront of our messaging. A collection of handcrafted, hand-picked products, west elm LOCAL seeks to share the work of local makers with customers across the country. We took our approach a step further by partnering with a locally-based nonprofit in each of the markets to co-host the private pre-opening celebration. A portion of the evening’s proceeds benefited the respective nonprofit partner.
Results:
With our goal to focus on securing broadcast coverage, we successfully doubled the number of TV segments YOY with a record 14 on-air mentions in each of the following markets: Palm Springs, Greensboro, and Savannah.
We elevated our LOCAL initiative with attention-grabbing headlines in Summerlin and beyond, such as “West Elm Serves as Communal Hub for Celebrating Local Creativity and Craft” from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. We successfully got the message of West Elm’s LOCAL commitment across with mentions of the program and/or participating makers in 62% of all NSO coverage.
As a result of west elm’s nonprofit partnerships, the brand donated a total of $32,500 to animal, arts, and historic preservation causes that make an impact in its new communities – nearly tripling funds raised YOY.
The west elm team collected nearly 6,000 RSVPs, increasing the number of attendees at the pre-opening celebrations by 20% YOY. They activated 28 local vendors from food and beverage to photography to have a hand in the events.
PRESS