The PR solution retail never knew it needed!

5th May, 2023



In order to provide solutions to any problem you have to have experienced it first hand. At CIJ Group we understand the PR and retail industry and know the challenges they face year on year. Our Founder Courtney, recognised the challenges PR’s faced, working with less budget and limited resources, whilst still trying to gain maximum exposure for the festive period. The Big Christmas Press Show gives brands the prime opportunity to meet the media and showcase their latest product releases. The opportunity to meet face-to-face with these journalists and get the product in their hands, often leads to increased coverage and exposure.


The Big Christmas Press Show, now in its 6th year, has been successful in helping over 200+ household brands, high street stalwarts, online giants plus over 70 PR agencies. Over the years we have seen The Big Christmas Press Show, revolutionise the way we approach Christmas and is the UK’s Number 1 Retail Event for media. Working with prestigious brands and retailers such as eBay, Hobbycraft, Dualit, JoJo Maman Bébé, Whittard of Chelsea, Oxfam, Russell Hobbs, The V&A, Freemans, Remington and Tamagotchi and many more from our UK high street and online. We are proud to have provided a solution which is trusted by brands and retailers who return year on year. All of which have seen a huge advantage in attending our events. Some exhibiting brands have generated over 49 pieces of media alone just through attending the event.


Having worked with brands and retailers in this way for over 4 years, many turned to us and asked if we could host more events to facilitate other key gifting occasions and retail verticals. Such as Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day. This led us to think about how we could best support them throughout the year and continue to work with them to assist in helping brands and retailers meet top-tier media for these key seasons. 


This saw Power Pitching come to life! Our second but virtual solution to connect PRs and journalists, spanning across key dates and verticals in the retail calendar. With 18 events across the year, this aims to have collaborative product pitching events that are consistently connecting PR’s with up to 30  top-tier journalists. The benefits of our solution allows it to be an efficiently effective use of both brands and media time and money, with no-one having to leave home or office!


Power Pitching provides a well structured solution for both the media and PR, in which you can meet up to 30 national ABC ranked journalists within an hour and 15 minutes, rather than the usual 1 or 2 from an individual press event. The solution was created to enable you to meet a high media volume in a short time, but allows you to solely focus on forming relationships and showcasing your products. 


Both our event solutions create a win-win situation for both the media and the brands that take part. They provide an easy option for journalists to block out a small amount of time to attend our events, rather than spending an entire afternoon attending one press event, to only meet one brand. They are a great opportunity for journalists to widen their research for upcoming gift guides, product roundups or seasonal pieces, as well as providing the perfect opportunity for brands to get in front of top-tier media. We have long lasting relationships with a multitude of media houses, that we are in continued contact with


We are so happy that our offering continues to grow and can support so many wonderful brands, retailers and PR agencies, including Marks & Spencer, Not on the High Street, Remington, SchuhWayfair , M&C Saatchi, Hatch PR to name a few. We are constantly thinking of new ways and events that we can host to best facilitate the brand's needs throughout the Retail Calendar. Including our latest addition of Christmas Toys set on 4th October a great sign of what’s to come as we head into the Autumn and Winter months. 


With our two PR solutions, we acknowledge the challenges faced with limited resources and having the pressure to maximise your brand exposure, especially across pivotal events in the retail calendar. We want to revolutionise the way you approach the retail calendar and provide permanent solutions  to those PR challenges!


CIJ Group