How we did it

The Umpf team drafted two press releases to support the store’s launch; the first announcing the shop would be ‘coming soon’, whilst the second gave media a ‘first look’ inside the fitted-out unit. Both press releases were distributed to national consumer media, alongside key regional titles, and achieved huge amounts of coverage for both Bluewater and the brand.

We liaised closely with the Managing Director of Sidemen Clothing and the Bluewater management team to create a launch day plan, with two Umpf staff on-site to manage press and photographers. Getty images sent one of their showbiz photographers to Bluewater to capture the launch and distribute photos on the wire to key news outlets.

All seven members of the YouTube collective attended the store launch to surprise their fans — the photography shows the palpable excitement among fans and shoppers.

The results

We landed 55 pieces of coverage, generating a combined press reach of over 56.3 million. Coverage was achieved in a range of titles from the likes of ITV News and Daily Star to Wonderland magazine, with the story interesting a broad spectrum of publications.

Popular Sidemen member, KSI, promoted the store opening in a Tweet claiming the group had “Just shutdown Bluewater”. Bluewater saw a 23% uplift in footfall on the store’s opening day, with over 10,000 fans visiting the store launch.

Just shutdown Bluewater for our new Sidemen Clothing store pic.twitter.com/tcLyNTO0Tf

— ksi (@KSI) July 15, 2023