High View Communications has won the accounts of the Rakuten Kobo ereader service, Dream Water Products Canada and Spanish jeweler Carrera y Carrera.
Dream Water makes an over-the-counter liquid sleep aid product and Carrera y Carrera which made its North American retail debut with a Toronto launch last month.
High View obtained the Canadian account of Rakuten Kobo and of Dream Water as a result of an RFP. Kobo was previously with Edelman, while it’s a first agency for Dream Water in Canada.
“It’s always exciting to win new clients, but winning them in an RFP feels even a bit sweeter,” says Ann Gallery, Vancouver-based president of High View Communications. “We were up against some really big agencies. It’s pretty neat that a PR boutique can win some big mandates.”
High View won Carrera y Carrera because of the agency’s experience working with luxury brands like Birks, she says.
For Kobo, High View will be placing PR priorities on new product launches and reaching more readers.
While women aged 30 to 60 are core ereaders, “we’d like to make sure others see the benefits of e-reading and Kobo,” Gallery says. “There’s still a lot of people out there who haven’t tried an ereader and we think will really enjoy the benefits,” such as portability.
Dream Water, which has been sold in the U.S. for the last six years, is launching later this month in Canada, to coincide with World Sleep Day on March 18. It will be sold in groceries, health food stores, convenience stores and gas stations.
High View will introduce the product to key influencers to help generate some grass roots awareness. It’s also planning media awareness and social media programs and samplings at everywhere from university campuses to pop-up events.
“The launch of Dream Water in Canada requires a multifaceted communications strategy and understanding of the brand which High View Communications was able to thoughtfully demonstrate during the RFP process,” said Stephen Dick, executive vice-president of Dream Water Canada, in a release.
Carrera y Carrera, which is popular with celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Katy Perry, opened its first branded North American retail location last month on Cumberland St. in Toronto’s Yorkville area.
High View will be conducting influencer outreach, special events, product placement and doing a loaner program to increase awareness for the jeweler.
“We want to make sure that the women that will be a fit for the jewelery know about Carrera y Carrera,” Gallery says.
High View has five full-time employees in Toronto and Vancouver and is a founding member of PR Boutiques International, a network of 30 PR boutiques in more than 20 countries.
