O Agency has worked with Fenwick Newcastle for over a decade, promoting its instore developments, events and of course its annual Christmas window reveal.
Starting its relationship back in 2015, O agency’s team worked alongside the Fenwick team to support on the launch its new multi-million pound Food Hall, which is still today a jewel in the flagship store’s crown.
Not long afterwards, the team at O worked on its first Christmas Window reveal, managing the media for what is always the highlight in Newcastle’s festive calendar. They have since worked with the Fenwick team every year to bring the Christmas window reveal to the region’s media and influencers, and ultimately to the world, with PR, experiential moments, guest list and creator collaboration.
One of the biggest years was during Covid, when the waiting crowds were replaced by a Facebook live stream – making it one of the most globally watched Fenwick Christmas Window reveals ever. Geordie ex-pats from as far afield as Dubai and Australia were among the millions of people who received some festive cheer from home during the pandemic.
In 2022, Fenwick Newcastle celebrated its 140th anniversary with a circus themed year-long celebration of big events and announced a huge £40 million investment for the store to take it into the future. Its founder John James Fenwick’s son Arthur Fenwick had a lifelong passion of circus, and his passion inspired the store’s 140 celebrations, which included a big top themed café 140, a circus performance on Northumberland Street and an exhibition in partnership with Northumbria University fashion students.
In recent years Fenwick has teamed up with a host of local brands, bringing much hype and excitement to the city. O agency’s founder Kari Owers, says:
“Our role is to work alongside the Fenwick team in Newcastle and London to ensure everything big happening in store is shared widely with the local community. We do this by inviting press and influencers along to our special events to experience it for themselves and spread the word.
“Greggs Bistro was probably the biggest and most popular press preview evening we’ve seen held in the store! We had around 100 media on the night itself tucking into the fine dining sausage rolls – and for days after press from around the world came to experience it for themselves. It was a pleasure to work alongside the Fenwick and Greggs team and wider agencies on the collaboration.”
To support Fenwick’s continued collaboration with the iconic Greggs, following the success of Greggs Bistro, O helped Fenwick launch the Greggs Champagne Bar inside the famous Food Hall. Account Director, Rachel Jones said: “We sourced, secured and managed 80 guests for the press and influencer VIP preview day which gained widespread social coverage across Instagram and TikTok with a total reach of 590,000, plus widespread regional press coverage.”
Today, Fenwick is still investing in its store and interesting partnerships, including recent collaborations with restaurants Hjem, Blacks Corner and Colmans opening pop-ups in store to much acclaim. “There is always something to promote at Fenwick, it’s a delight to work with the store because it’s such as central part of Newcastle life,” said Kari.
“The new Beauty Hall has just launched and it’s the UK’s largest beauty hall outside of London spanning 26,000 square feet and featuring more than 160 brands, where we managed its launch event for the media and social media creators.
“The store does so much in the community too, from supporting NHS workers and their families during Covid to its new partnership with Newcastle United, there is always something exciting to share with the local public,” she added.
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