Blazing New Trails for a Retail Leader

The nation’s leading independent alcohol retailer, approaching 300 mega-stores, chose to invest in consumer PR for the first time and turned to Three Cheers to build the capability from the ground up.

With numerous internal stakeholders – many in the C-Suite – watching closely, the stakes were high, anticipating major, frequent coverage in lifestyle, shopping, general interest and broadcast outlets, which had been few and far between.

It came down to focus. With some 15,000 products for sale per typical location and multi-pronged, ambitious goals, we started with a business and brand deep dive, distilled everything down and built a Total Wine PR playbook, while simultaneously tackling major occasions like pro football’s Big Game and St. Patrick’s Day, only weeks from our startup.

We developed, and have been refining ever since, a three-pronged approach: (1) turn their category experts into valued sources and on-air talent; (2) zero in on the seasonal and cultural moments where Total could best play; (3) package up their industry-best data to lead and support storytelling.

Our first two years on the job moved the needle and grew our remit, logging over 1,000 pieces of earned media coverage and amassing over 72B impressions – the lion’s share in consumer outlets that hadn’t to date covered Total Wine & More.

Quality has gone step in step with sheer volume, with nearly 200 interviews with the chain’s management and merchants both feeding stories full centered on Total Wine & More and others asserting the chain’s dominance and authority.

Nearly 80% of results have linked back to TotalWine&More.com, supporting e-commerce. A program focused on regularly placing store managers on local broadcasts outlets, originally piloted in four markets, is now active in 20 markets.