Having reached a stage in its journey where further marketing was necessary to raise awareness, establish brand authority and drive further B2B customer growth, the company engaged Hop&Co. as its new agency partner.
Our remit was to position Supreme as the ‘responsible’ vaping brand, that was forward-thinking and one step ahead of government regulation, whilst simultaneously tackling the negative perceptions around vaping amongst the public, consumers, and the media. We kick-started a press office function to raise nationwide awareness of the business; achieving high-value media coverage, creating noise, and promoting content on LinkedIn, to ensure that Supreme would be seen as a real player in an ever-growing business marketplace.
After the UK government promised to crack down on the marketing of vaping products to children, with Health Secretary Steve Barclay saying vapes are made to "look like sweets", team Hop&Co. crafted and issued a press release outlining a series of proactive measures within Supreme’s own-brand category with the aim of mitigating the growing rise of underage vaping, as well as reducing the environmental impact of disposable vapes. Key points included introducing plain packaging across the entire 88vape disposable and liquid range, discontinuing brightly coloured disposables, switching to age-appropriate flavour names, pledging to trade only with retailers with age-robust verification, responsible location of products in stores and the provision of in-store vape disposal units.
The story was incredibly well received by the press, garnering such extensive coverage that Supreme was open to continuing to share its plans, cementing its position as an innovative and progressive player in the industry.
The second press release detailed the trilateral UK partnership between Supreme PLC, global vape brand ELFBAR, and leading nationwide chain B&M Retail, to provide over 700 in-store vape recycling bins across the entire B&M estate in a bid to encourage accessible, more responsible disposal of single-use vaping devices. The initiative, coming at a time of ongoing government consultation over potential restrictions on single-use vapes, was the first scheme of its kind in the UK, meaning consumers could now dispose of their used vapes in a convenient and sustainable way as part of their overall vape shopping experience. Hazardous waste management provider Wastecare Group, the UK’s largest collector of portable batteries for recycling, was brought on board to collect the bins, providing a sustainable solution where raw materials are recovered and recycled in line with existing disposal rules, vape batteries are processed to recover the lithium, and filter and nicotine elements are sent for incineration.
We achieved a huge amount of compelling coverage - 346 pieces in all - in a wealth of reputable news, business, and trade titles - including Sky News, The Independent, Yahoo News, Evening Standard, MSN, LADbible, The Grocer, Convenience Store, Vape Business and Planet of the Vapes, to name but a few. Not only did this position Supreme PLC as an organisation that is indeed always one step ahead, but also served to showcase the company’s continual commitment to positive change, endeavouring to make sure that the vaping products it sells are bought, used, and disposed of appropriately.