Using Editorial Calendars as Roadmaps for Trade Pitching

As a leading national provider of decorative commercial railing systems, our client Trex Commercial Products has supplied products for some of the largest projects in the country – from sports arenas and educational institutions to healthcare facilities and hotels. With a target audience of architects, contractors, glaziers, fabricators and more, our agency team executes a successful trade-marketing program to connect “TCP” with the architecture and design industry.

As part of this trade program, our team comprehensively researches and monitors the editorial calendars for key industry publications to identify potential coverage opportunities. At the beginning of each year, we compile a month-by-month list of planned editorial coverage that serves as a roadmap for our media outreach.

From our experience, we find that editorial calendars play a crucial role in any successful trade marketing program. They allow us to align our pitches with the topics that are most relevant to editors and afford us timely reasons to reach out to keep our clients top of mind for editorial inclusion.

Following are some examples of opportunities where we have been able to pair a compelling case study with an editorial calendar to garner high-profile coverage for Trex Commercial Products:

• Interiors + Sources Magazine – Every month, Interiors + Sources features a product showcase in the “Sources” section of the magazine. We pitched the editor a line-up of projects from Trex Commercial Products, showcasing the company’s work in healthcare, hospitality and aviation. The end result was a beautiful full-page round-up, positioning Trex Commercial Products as an expert of architectural railing systems.
• Retrofit Magazine – Responding to an editorial calendar focus on hospitality renovation projects, we pitched and secured a great case study feature on Trex Commercial Products’ work at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in St. Louis Park, Minn.
• Architectural Products Magazine – Inspired by the magazine’s planned editorial focus on universities, our team pitched a Trex Commercial Products’ project at Hope College in Holland, Mich. We successfully secured a full-page feature on the project, highlighting how TCP’s Track Rail System enhances the sense of community at the student center.

As you can see, editorial calendars can be valuable roadmaps for pitching, especially in niche markets like the A&D industry. When working with Trex Commercial Products, we put our hard hats on and think like an architect. By doing so, we are able to build awareness and demand for Trex Commercial Products and position the company as an expert and go-to resource for commercial railing systems.