CASE STUDY:

Rider FOR LIFE

rflstudio.com / @riderforlifestudio

ABOUT THE SHOP

Inspired by her own travels and favorite things, owner Lauren McGrady brought her lifestyle to the masses with the opening of her indie shop, Rider For Life. Just before Christmas Day, Lauren opened her lifestyle brand and retail store at 1115 W. Lake St. in Chicago’s West Loop. The 2,000-square-foot space stocked a curated collection of goods, including womenswear, menswear, furniture, art, jewelry, apothecary and cosmetics. Always on the hunt for new designers and artists to add to Rider's inventory, the opening collection also included modern furniture from St. Louis and jewelry from New York. Sandwiched in between the neighborhood's destination restaurants and warehouses, Rider joined a number of other store openings in the West Loop, including custom suit shop BLVDier, luxury retailer Billy Reid, and Kit + Ace.

EFFORTS

SIX4 Creative was retained by Rider For Life to announce the grand opening of the West Loop shop, and establish brand awareness to inspire customer visits and retail sales. We led all public relations efforts, developed media outreach strategies and assets, and assisted with influencer, press, and VIP coordination for the grand opening event. Ahead of the final buildout, we worked closely with Lauren to draft on-brand messaging for outreach, consulting on how and when to secure exclusive placements to amplify the announcement locally. As outreach assets were finalized, we identified and alerted our contacts in retail, fashion, and lifestyle to attract media interest, and garner organic coverage for Rider’s grand opening. Once the shop was open to the public, we continued media outreach to secure additional coverage, further spreading brand awareness to increase customer visits and retail sales.

RESULTS

As a result of our efforts, RIder’s grand opening was announced with exclusives in Crain’s Chicago Business (“New boutique debuts in West Loop”), and DNAinfo — and lauded in print by Artful Living Magazine as a “treasure trove”, and a boutique that “knows no bounds”. After the opening, Lauren was later profiled as one of “Ten Chicagoans to know, love and follow” in a prominent Sophisticated Living Magazine cover story. The grand opening was attended by members of the press, leaders in the Chicago fashion community, local artists, musicians and makers — and continued to garner positive exposure long after opening night.