Project Overview
As one of the world’s leading manufacturers of commercial and household embroidery machines, Ricoma’s products and services are distributed in over 150 countries across six continents through a global network of distributors. According to the company’s CEO, Henry Ma, Ricoma provides this value to help entrepreneurs launch their own small business in the custom apparel and decoration industry.
To date, Ricoma has helped over 3,000 entrepreneurs become businesses owners. Ricoma prides themselves in being able to offer the perfect solution to fit the needs of any business in the custom apparel and decoration industry, as well as the support to assure their continued and total satisfaction.
For five years in a row, Ricoma has been named in “The Power 75” by Stitches Magazine as one of the 75 most influential companies in the custom apparel and decoration industry. Ricoma’s mission is to make apparel decoration more accessible to individuals and businesses through their products, training, and support. They continue to go above and beyond to facilitate the success of their clients, while providing tips and tricks on their company blog and Youtube channel.
The Problem
When Otter PR was approached by Ricoma, the company had already achieved a broad array of success. However, their team expressed a want to capitalize on the wealth of online content they made available for both their customers and industry newcomers alike, as well as to establish CEO Henry Ma as a thought leader in their space.
Looking for press to extend their niche’s reach and continue providing solutions for entrepreneurs looking to start their own custom apparel business from home, CEO Henry Ma and his staff teamed up with Otter PR. His primary goal was to provide thought leadership in the entrepreneur and small business space, and expand his expertise to publications tailored to the manufacturing, supply chain, and custom apparel/fashion industries.
The Strategy
Our team immediately began by focusing on promoting the accessibility to entrepreneurship provided by Ricoma and their brother business, Garmeo, in our pitches to top-tier outlets. At the same time, we crafted additional pitches that adhered to Ricoma’s desired messaging regarding the wealth of opportunities its products and services offered for entrepreneurs.
After several successful rounds of pitching, our team then widened the focus of our media campaign for Ricoma and Henry to include working individuals looking for a side hustle, as well as parents that who wanted to further support their families while simultaneously finding ways to profit off their own small business. Working alongside industry-specific outlets that we knew could best highlight Henry’s expertise, we were able to break into various spaces and introduce the idea of running one’s own custom apparel decoration company to a broader audience of professionals and prospective entrepreneurs alike.
Business Impact (results)
Upon broadening the scope of our team’s media pitches, Otter PR was able to collaborate on a social media content campaign for Ricoma with Creations by Nicholas to make an order of kids’ hats to support this young entrepreneur’s efforts. Combining this campaign with frequent promotions of Ricoma’s newest products — its line of vinyl cutters — resulted in the company’s entire supply of the product sell out in a matter of weeks.
The dozens of guest pieces, bylined quotes, and feature articles our team secured for Ricoma led to a significant boost to the company’s SEO as well as Henry’s own SEO rankings. This contributed to both parties’ continued success during the pandemic during a period when most other companies in the space suffered.
As a result of our comprehensive media strategy for both Ricoma and Henry, the company was able to increase their staff and production by purchasing a warehouse in California. This pivot allowed the company to save their supply chain shipments when the Port of Miami experienced difficulties from the blockage in the Panama canal.
