Early last week David Schlocker of DRS and Associates was quoted in an article titled, “Fifty Shades of Grey marketing phenomenon goes mainstream,” by Leanne Italie of the Associated Press. It was picked up by several thousand top media outlets online. Our DRS team originally came up with a media pitch that included several of our clients’ products with the concept of connecting the ever popular and widely publicized novel – as a clever way to get journalists’ attention. We do this quite often and we have been successful in securing valuable PR coverage (inside and outside of the obvious types of publications that cover A + D topics). We thought we would share the full response given to the journalist who reached out to us as she researched her story. Perhaps it will offer an insight or method to our creative madness.

[response from David Schlocker on the subject of why we pitched our clients’ products with the ‘50 Shades of Grey’ theme]:

How does a specialty PR and marketing firm effectively bridge the gap between “mainstream media” (or pop culture) and the boutique and highly designed architectural product manufacturers that we represent? We look for inspiration and that creative spark in the places most agencies fail to recognize. DRS and Associates is a Los Angeles-based luxury brand marketing firm and we’ve built a niche by providing creative services, marketing, advertising and communication programs to the Architectural, Interior Design and Building Products industries – for residential, hospitality and commercial markets.

Pinpointing pop culture phenomena and finding creative ways to connect our clients’ products or stories to those topics is part of what we do in marketing and PR; both challenging and rewarding. We’ve certainly taken notice of the popularity of “Fifty Shades of Grey” and geared some of our marketing to play off of the theme, yet with a spin tied to interior design. For this pitch, we compiled and promoted a number of high-end home products done in various shades of gray, such as the TUNA washbasin by LAUFEN, Qubic faucet by GRAFF, Natural Stone Vessel by Stone Forest and Regal tub by Devon & Devon. We’re not trying to make connections to the more risque elements of the book, however from a design perspective, these products are certainly evocative and sexy – we of course don’t mind if our materials conjure up other sensations or feelings. The phenomenon of E.L. James’ best seller has simply been used by us to spur more interest in black, gray and white design palettes and this is a fun and relevant way to package architectural and interior design products. There really is a design movement or trend that we have observed and many fixture, furniture and textile manufactures have produced products that take shine, luster , texture and the absence of color very seriously. Shades of grays, black and white can transform a product, space or environment in a way that resonates different emotions and moods.

We don’t always get a chance to connect our clients’ brands to current-day entertainment or news. But when we do, tie us down and hold us back!