Meet Courtney Rogers, founder of CIJ Group
Courtney Rogers is the founder of CIJ Group, a PR solutions company which supports retailers to boost their product exposure for each key period in the retail calendar. Most notably in the lead up to the Golden Quarter, hosting The Big Christmas Press Show annually at The Business Design Centre, London.
CIJ Group works with over 150 retail brands, including Freemans, eBay, Paperchase, Moonpig, Hobbycraft, Remington, Baylis & Harding, JoJo Maman Bébé, Whittard of Chelsea and more. With over 15 years experience in the retail, events and PR industry Courtney is a gifting expert, trend and market watcher, dubbed the “Queen of Christmas” for the solutions she has pioneered to help retail at its most profitable time of year.
Having started her first business 12 years ago, before going on to found CIJ Group, which is now in its 6th year, Courtney has an intrinsic understanding of the retail landscape and is available to talk about retail trends, predictions, solutions and the future of the highstreet.
As well as devoting her time to help the retail industry thrive, Courtney is passionate about business, entrepreneurship, continued learning, self-improvement and empowering and inspiring others.
There’s always a lightbulb moment before the beginning of a new venture. What was that moment for you?
For me it was on my daily commute home to Richmond in late 2016, when I grabbed a copy of the daily Evening Standard magazine and noticed an article by Jo Malone MBE, entitled “Here’s why Christmas will be a washout if it hasn’t happened by July”. It particularly captured my attention as my events company at the time had organised various Christmas press launches for individual brands and it got me thinking: why can’t all brands & retailers launch their Christmas products collectively, to maximise their most profitable time of year?
In coming together, it would save them on budget, resources and would also increase their exposure. All these brands and retailers share a highstreet so why would a press launch be different? And so, The Big Christmas Press Show, (formerly the Christmas in July Festival) was born!
What inspired you to launch your business and what is the end goal?
Our goal is for The Big Christmas Press Show to become the ‘fashion week of Christmas’, with participation from all major highstreet and online brands. Collaboration is key and we promote the power of working together with all of our PR solutions.
How do you prepare for all the unknown obstacles when running your business?
We are always looking to evolve and add value; it’s an intrinsic part of our ethos. We do this by asking our expansive media and retail network for regular feedback to ensure we stay ahead of the game. We are agile, quick to adapt and able to implement new strategies, ensuring we are always offering win-win solutions for both journalists and brands. We also work hard to build robust systems and processes to ensure consistency of service quality and that each of our clients, large or small, receive the same care and attention.
What does your business offer its target audience?
CIJ Group connects both in-house PRs and PR agencies with top tier media, through our physical, virtual and digital PR solutions.
Our core services are extremely cost effective and require much less resources and time than each company trying to get the same results individually. These solutions consist of the following:
The Big Christmas Press Show, our annual show where circa 100 brands and retailers meet 900+ media over the course of two days
PressFix our digital media image library, which enables the media to access and download the brands’ and retailers’ high res imagery, price points and info 365 days a year
Power Pitching, our virtual event series spanning each retail category and gifting occasion, aptly coined ‘speed dating meets Dragon’s Den’, where brands get to meet journalists in short, sharp, fun meetings
Furthermore, our community is what drives us forward and we are delighted, as industry leaders, to be able to offer targeted, stimulating webinars, answering the burning questions and hot topics of interest that our clients want to know about.
How do you set yourself apart from other businesses in your industry?
CIJ Group’s offering as a PR solutions company is unique and we are proud to be pioneering the way forward in our sector. We’re trusted by the retail and media community alike and have over 150 active clients, both agency and in-house, whom we connect with top tier media through our key events and solutions.
We continue to forge unparalleled connections with influential media for our brands and retailers, with publications and broadcast outlets like ITV This Morning, Evening Standard, IndyBest, Daily Mail, Good Housekeeping, Steph’s Packed Lunch and HELLO! being regular attendees at our events.
With all the success stories around entrepreneurship and how innovative people have to be to take the leap. How do you think you’ve innovated your sector and why?
Edison once said that success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration, and I think that is true of CIJ Group. We had a unique idea which, after many years of hard work and perseverance, is now resonating with hundreds of retailers. I’m proud of my team, current and past, who have turned this idea into reality! Being able to own the thought leadership space in key areas such as affiliates and being able to advise our clients accordingly, which we do day in day out, is essential to innovating and moving our sector forward.
What plans do you have for CIJ Group over the next two years?
Over the next two years, we aim to continue our growth trajectory and expand further into international waters. We already have two successful Power Pitching Events in the US, centred around Holiday Gift Guides, and we are now looking to continue to develop our US offering with further targeted events. Driven by client demand, we are also looking to expand our solutions into Europe, so watch this space!
How important is company culture and what is your top tip to get it right?
Hugely important! Culture is the beating heart of any company and something that starts inwards and then shines out, showing the world who you are as a business. As a company we ensure everyone is given a voice and we value flexible, hybrid working to help maintain a better work-life balance. Our Tuesday team days, in the London office, are great fun and help with team bonding and culture.
What’s the single most important decision that you made, that contributed to your business?
The decision to start it!
How does technological advancement speak to the strategic direction of your business?
We developed PressFix, our digital image library, to support PRs and media throughout the year. How it works is that PRs upload all their product images, press releases and contact details onto their own branded page, so that journalists can then easily download these assets from the website. It saves journalists a lot of time, as everything they need from PRs is in one place and at their fingertips within the click of a button. PressFix helps to facilitate relationships between journalists and PRs, as it makes communications easier and faster.
Does your company help the community that you’re located in?
Absolutely, we regularly work with charities such as the Make a Wish Foundation, InKind and Retail Trust and this year at The Big Christmas Press Show we are supporting the Unicef Appeal for Ukraine.
As well as charity work, we listen to what our community needs support with. We have recently launched CIJ Inspired, a quarterly networking event, designed to bring together PRs and industry peers.
What are your top three tips to hire and develop new talent?
I strongly believe in hiring based on attitude and not just on skill, as offering training and development is hugely important as a business. To develop talent, I believe you need to be able to explain the future vision of the company and to let any new hires know where they fit into the jigsaw puzzle. Of course, having a fun company culture and team is also hugely important for retaining talent.
Why do you think your business has had such a positive impact across your industry?
At CIJ Group, we are all about win-win solutions that help our PR clients and media community. Our business has had a positive impact because our solutions genuinely help brands save time and money; plus the connections our clients and the media make through our events are unmatched. For example at The Big Christmas Press Show, big retailers met an average of 475 media over the two days, whilst at our Power Pitching events brands and retailers can meet up to 20-30 top tier media in just over an hour.
What’s the most important question entrepreneurs should be asking themselves?
Entrepreneurs should always be asking themselves this key question: is my company evolving and continuing to add value to the solutions it’s aiming to provide? To grow and improve your business exponentially, it is essential to not rest on your laurels and continue to seek to innovate your sector. Asking for frequent feedback from your customers helps ensure that you are consistently adding value and allows you to refine, tweak and hone your business proposition.
