ERCOL
CONNECTION THROUGH COLLABORATION
The Client
Founded in 1920 by Lucian Ercolani OBE, ercol is a name synonymous with British furniture design, expert craftsmanship and a commitment to superior quality that is revered by an ever-increasing international audience.
Celebrated for its signature mid-century collections as well as an expanding portfolio of contemporary ranges, an authentic passion for design has been at the heart of ercol since its inception.
Offering a wealth of living, dining and bedroom solutions, ercol’s furniture is designed by an accomplished in-house team.
In addition, collaborations with industry talent and leading fabric houses have allowed ercol to draw on global influences to establish itself as a world leader in furniture design.
Challenge
Celebrated for its expert craftsmanship and signature mid-century collections, ercol was struggling to connect with a younger, design-savvy audience when Cool Blue proposed an exciting collaboration project that would transform the brand’s image.
Our job was to shine a spotlight on the furniture maker’s innovative design approach and demonstrate that the brand could appeal to a broader demographic. We needed to turn the tables and set ercol’s brand reputation alight…
Results
34 million
eyeballs reached through editorial coverage
136
articles published
37,000
direct social media engagements
PAINTING THE PICTURE
To coincide with Pride month in June and the London Pride Festival in July – events that strongly resonated with our target audiences – we worked with ercol to launch a limited edition design piece, with all proceeds from the product going to select LGBTQ charity partners.
The goal of the campaign was to champion diversity through a combination of great design, colour and collaboration, whilst reaching a wide range of new audiences via the press, influencers and social media.
However, to really get people talking and show that the brand was committed to developing its contemporary collection, we needed a young, up and coming brand to partner with.
Award winning interior design studio, 2LG, fit the bill.
The devil is in the detail
With an agreement in place with 2LG to create a limited-edition design, we swiftly developed a suite of content that would get the message out. This included overseeing the creation of strong lifestyle photography, creating shareable video content and finalising a detailed media outreach plan.
Together ercol and 2LG created four limited-edition Originals Love Seats. Combining a striking rainbow colour palette – a powerful symbol of the LGBTQ community – with ercol’s iconic approach to design, the finished pieces were not only newsworthy, but covetable as collectable pieces too.
We used the limited-edition Love Seats to champion Pride activities throughout the summer. From taking centre stage in the Pride Pop-Up Shop in Covent Garden, to being the highlight of the night at an intimate VIP Gala Dinner, where one of the seats was auctioned off for charity.
As well as showcasing the Love Seats at key events, press releases were issued and briefings held with media, resulting in an influx of calls from journalists wanting to cover the collaboration. Accompanying social media content was also created to make sure that everyone heard ercol’s story and saw the designers in action.
The finishing touches
As well as raising more than £3,000 for charity, the campaign had immediate pick up with the media. From national press such as the Sunday Times, to design-led online titles such as Dezeen and best-selling gay magazine Attitude, all of our target media titles endorsed the collection and wrote feature length articles on the innovative design. Through our media briefings, we also generated more than 34 million opportunities to see and 136 articles that were published to a broad and diverse demographic.
Strong, shareable imagery ensured that the organic reach of the campaign on social media reached more than five million, with almost 37,000 direct social engagements over the course of the campaign. In fact, the launch post on ercol’s Instagram feed is still the most ‘liked’ and ‘commented on’ post to date.
The Love Seats also received multiple mentions from influencers and key figures in the design industry and were shortlisted for Pinterest’s ‘Best Home Product’ award a few months later.
Our campaign catapulted ercol into the minds of media, designers and influencers across the UK. The brand is now considered a current, innovative and forward-thinking key player in today’s furniture industry and continues to attract customers of all ages.
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