Hokolo

About

Hokolo is a London based design-led label born in 2012, driven by creative engine Jen Taylor. Jen founded the creative world of Hokolo following a successful career in architecture to express her love of colours, patterns and bold inspiring products. By Spring 2015 Hokolo designs had evolved into coherent modern interior products and materials. Marketing Challenge Through joining a business mentoring scheme Jen identified the areas of her business Hokolo that next needed further developing and professional support. After the initial period of product design and building the Hokolo collection the next step was a concentrated push for professional marketing and PR.

Hokolo came to To Market with a need for a partnered effort in building brand and customer loyalty, increasing product visibility plus being noticed and noted as skilled and expert on contemporary interior design and related products. The aims were to refine the product offering, to explore routes to market for generating income from existing designs plus to focus on ways to move towards bespoke projects that could provide higher income margins.

Marketing Challenge

To Market worked with Jen Taylor on a business marketing strategy to enhance her already busy social media activity with more goal focussed outcomes such as online traffic-pushing competitions and shopping events and email sign up generation via Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.

To Market also built in the approach to increase email marketing in numbers and in frequency. The targets were interior design, craft and architecture-related press both locally, regionally and nationally. In addition we marketed Jen’s associated design exhibition Katalog to help build partnerships with fellow participating design associates as well as industry influencers by placing Jen as an expert and trusted curator in her design field. Results •

To Market sourced hand-picked specialist press & PR lists who were notified of the positive press already gained for Hokolo to increase brand awareness. • A number of specific, targeted press and social media contact lists were built to serve Hokolo’s different exhibition events and promotional purposes. • Email sign-up was promoted across social media and Hokolo’s website by means of a shopping discount offer and competitions such as a Twitter Farnham Maltings design fair ticket giveaway. • We marketed Hokolo’s online promotions and shopping events which included free UK shipping, a discount voucher sent in the post to existing customers plus a Black Friday 24-hour online shopping event •

Outcome

Jointly Hokolo and To Market achieved increased level of engagement on social media with new likes and followers on social media. For example, on Facebook Hokolo saw in June 2015 226.9% page engagement and a total weekly reach of 1776.1. • Each new partnership arrangement was promoted through specialist mailing lists. For example, when Hokolo exhibited at Design Junction this was promoted to key taste makers and leaders in art & design in national and regional press.