Sustainable Products / Forte Furniture

SHC helps shoppers ‘click’ with EasyKlix™ by Forte

The Background

In April 2024, Forte Furniture commissioned Suzanne Howe Communications to support the launch its new innovative EasyKlix™ by Forte self-assembly furniture, with a PR campaign.

A truly smart ready to assemble furniture solution

The EasyKlix™ products are beautifully designed to assemble up to 10 times quicker than conventional furniture thanks to a pioneering ‘click-together’ system using ThreespineID® technology.

Available in two ranges – Sherbrooke and Harllson – EasyKlix™ by Forte comprises cabinets and sideboards, wardrobes, TV stands, chests of drawers and side and console tables, available in white, natural and sage green colours.

Thanks to the trailblazing technology customers can invest in state-of-the-art EasyKlix™ furniture where most parts are simply clicked together. The result is solid, long-lasting furniture that suits all modern lifestyles and should prove especially popular with first-time home buyers, students or those who are often moving house. The technology also means you can disassemble and rebuild the furniture, when necessary, almost tool free.

No tricks, just clicks

At the launch, Forte Furniture National Sales Manager (UK) Victoria Ross said: “Ready to assemble furniture is a popular furniture category because of its pricing, almost instant availability, and the wide range of good and practical designs. However, they are all too often linked to a very complex, stressful and time-consuming assembly experience.

“This is why at Forte we have set ourselves the goal to make ready to assemble furniture easy and hassle-free for our customers.

“Under our new brand EasyKlix™ by Forte, we have now launched a collection of furniture programs that embrace “ease” in all aspects of the consumer experience.

“Products with the EasyKlix™ solution are beautifully designed, up to 10 times quicker to assemble and almost tool free. This is a truly smart solution, so you can enjoy the product without unnecessary fuss and, if needed, it can be taken apart again just as quickly. When you buy a product with an EasyKlix™ solution we promise: “Don‘t worry, this will be easy. You can do this – No tricks, just clicks”!

The Objectives

The objectives of the PR campaign were to raise awareness in the homewares and furniture sectors, boost brand awareness and engagement, and invite relevant media to regional John Lewis EasyKlix™ by Forte store openings in London Southampton, Glasgow, Liverpool and Leeds.

The Strategy

PRESS RELEASE

A press release was written and disseminated to relevant sector media.

INVITATIONS TO STORE OPENINGS

Invitations were send to relevant media to attend regional EasyKlix™ by Forte store openings at John Lewis branches in London Southampton, Glasgow, Liverpool and Leeds.

SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN

A social media campaign focused on boosting brand awareness and engagement by utilising three-weekly posts to test different content types.

Reels and carousels featuring text overlays proved effective in boosting both reach and engagement.

COMPETITIONS

Competitions were organised and promoted via three key magazines.
EasyKlix™ featured in Fabulous magazine in The Sun on 7th July with a giveaway.
EasyKlix™ Featured in Woman’s Own as a competition which ran until 16th August.
EasyKlix™ Featured in a competition in the October issue of Good Housekeeping magazine, which ran until 25th September.

SOCIAL MEDIA GIVEAWAY

SHC hosted the first ever social media giveaway on the EasyKlix™ Instagram account, which successfully drove engagement rate, follower growth and a high number of interactions.

INFLUENCER CAMPAIGN

SHC ran a successful influencer campaign focusing on top tier influencers.

The Results

TEAM WORK

This campaign demonstrated a successful team effort from SHC, utilising the unique skills of Vicky Huxford, Jonny Sharp, Aimee Bull and Ana Radhanauth.

PR CAMPAIGN

The PR campaign secured 42 pieces of coverage reaching an audience of 2.5 million, with 279 brand mentions.

Alongside 31 pieces of online coverage, the EasyKlix™ by Forte John Lewis store openings appeared in: Good Housekeeping; Woman’s Own; Good Homes; Fabulous (supplement in The Sun); HomeStyle; Furniture News; and Big Furniture Group.

COMPETITIONS

The competitions were a huge success with the Woman’s Own competition alone receiving over 25,500 entries.

SOCIAL MEDIA GIVEAWAY

The first ever social media giveaway on the EasyKlix™ Instagram account successfully drove engagement rate, follower growth and a high number of interactions.

SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN

The social media campaign successfully boosted brand awareness and engagement while exploring the impact of reels combining influencer clips with lifestyle shots, which led to a notable increase in interactions and average watch time.

Sharing posts to stories further boosted engagement from followers.