“We thought the best way to show our brands that we’re here to weather this pandemic storm was to actually invest in their success,” says Caitlin Shockley, founder of The Creative, a New York City–based public relations, branding, and content creation agency. Last week, she and partner Zaida Zamorano announced the debut of Atelier All Day, a new e-comm site that gathers the work of their jewelry clients in a digital showroom that’s also 100% consumer shoppable.
The venture sounds like a response to the COVID-19 crisis, and indeed it is: In January, Shockley and Zamorano had just opened The Creative Atelier, a jewelry showroom for buyers and press, as well as an intimate co-working space and full-service content studio to complement the public relations and marketing arm of the business. By March, it was clear that a head-spinning pivot was required.
“When clients began fearfully pulling back on their budgets, we went the opposite direction and went all-in,” says Shockley. “We just jumped into the trenches. We wanted them to know that we were right there with them, ready to fight.”
Atelier All Day is a result of that quick thinking—designed as a virtual counterpart to the physical space, the Shopify-powered site was up and running in less than four weeks. It was always part of the long-term expansion plan once The Creative Atelier got off the ground, but as Zamorano puts it: “We sped up our phase two plans x 1,000. So many brands have been inadvertently pushed into the digital deep end. Online prowess isn’t optional anymore, so we needed a solution.”
Shockley and Zamorano see their investment and “sweat equity” in the e-comm platform as a way to offer more intelligent support and insights to their clients. As such, the site will also function as test-and-learn lab to try out new marketing campaigns and assess the impacts of SEO, Google Ads, paid social ads, and influencer placements on shopping behavior.
Results will be analyzed to determine what works for each individual brand as a way to develop customized, data-driven strategies, so that each client’s marketing budget is utilized in the most effective manner.
“E-comm sales will hopefully be a fortunate by-product for our brand partners, but for us this is about evolving their digital narratives,” says Shockley.
Still, “We don’t believe digital marketing is ever going to replace traditional PR, and we don’t believe e-comm is ever going to end wholesale, brick-and-mortar shopping experiences,” says Zamorano. “We think it’s time to meld the old and new school, and by learning end-consumer behaviors and preferences, we’re going to be that much more prepared to consult for our clients and their existing retail partners. It’s collaborative, not competitive.”
Top: Founded by Caitlin Shockley (left) and Zaida Zamorano, Atelier All Day sells jewelry ranging from $40 to $10,000. The company receives a commission from each sale and manages all direct customer communications. For now, they are also pitching in to assist with order fulfillment with any stock based in NYC.
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