On the 23rd February, CIJ Group hosted their 50th Power Pitching event for Home & Garden Spring/Summer trends on Zoom, with 6 wonderful brands pitching their must-have products to 30 journalists, in fun and intimate branded breakout rooms.
On the day we had a variety of top journalists in attendance, including the likes of: Head of Features from ITV Lorraine, Deputy Editor from Ideal Home, Home Editor from Woman & Home, Lifestyle Editor from the Independent and Shopping Editor from Heat & Closer, who listened to our brands pitch their carefully chosen products.
It was so exciting to see so many journalists attend our 50th Power Pitching event, with lots of our regular attendees present, as well as some new names. An array of brands also joined us at the event this year, with a variety of products showcased from clocks, to cooking appliances, to drinks containers and gardening tools, we truly had it all!
Showcasing on the day was:
The V&A
Wayfair
ASKO
Our journalist friends, who attended the event, received a wonderful package from our event partner, Tapp'd Cocktails, that included a full cocktail kit, consisting of: 12 bottled cocktails, 12 canned cocktails, 2 cocktail glasses and a shaker. No better way to celebrate Power Pitching 50! The gift was even accompanied with a serving guide to teach our journalists all the tips and tricks for the perfect presentation.
We were pleased to receive great feedback from the journalists in attendance at the event, including these testimonials:
Helen Addis (ITV Lorraine): “It's the best way to spend an hour to hear all about the latest products and brands!”
Lindsey Davis (Ideal Home) : “These events are perfect for those of us who struggle to find time to attend in person (especially when we are from outside London). They help condense the need to knows into a manageable window of time, and give you a good mix of contacts”.
Rebecca Miller (Express.co.uk): “Power Pitching is a great concept - I've met some amazing brands, and been showing products I wouldn't have known about if it wasn't for them taking part.”
Elizabeth Cotton (BuzzFeed): “It was fantastic, it's no wonder that it's the 50th anniversary due to how smooth and efficient this is – definitely the future of PR!”
Mel Evans (Metro.co.uk): “It's only the second Power Pitching event I've been to but so far I love them - a really brilliant and zesty use of my time to get me up to speed with new and established brands.”
Our Power Pitching events were created to provide a “win-win” for both journalists and PR’s! Brands are guaranteed to meet 20+ journalists and receive their contact details for follow-ups, whilst journalist attendees get to meet brands and acquire potential future stories, all within the 1 hour and 10 minutes. All journalists receive a John Lewis e-voucher for attending the full session and will sometimes receive brand samples pre and post events.
Our upcoming Power Pitching events in April, May and July highlight a variety of retail occasions and gifting verticals, including Mother & Baby, Women’s Fashion & Accessories, Father’s Day and Meet the US Media.
If you are interested in attending any of our events, please do not hesitate to reach out to Erin at erin@cijgroup.co.
- CIJ Team