CASE STUDY (Edgewell Personal Care): building a PR strategy for 4 brands

1. THE CLIENT.

Edgewell Personal Care is a multinational personal care company established in 2015, bringing together internationally renowned brands in its portfolio, some of which have been market leaders for decades, as in the case of Wilkinson Sword, founded in London in 1772.

The Group has more than 25 brands, each designed to meet the diverse needs of consumers in personal care, offering a wide range of solutions in the shaving, grooming, suncare and skincare segments.

With a global team of about 6,800 people spread across more than 50 countries, Edgewell represents a solid and growing company that has placed wellness and sustainability at its core since its inception, promoting values of care, inclusion and respect both through its products and within its corporate culture.

Since 2025, Disclosers has managed public relations activities in Italy for four key brands of the Group:

• Wilkinson Sword: historic London brand that embodies British excellence in shaving. Established in 1772 to produce swords, it has evolved by transferring its know-how to the manufacture of blades and razors for men's personal care.
• Wilkinson Sword Intuition: the line dedicated to women's shaving, with practical and gentle products designed to fit every woman's daily needs.
• Hawaiian Tropic: iconic brand in the sunscreen world, with a range of reliable, fragrant and vegan products with protection up to SPF 50 and water-resistant.
• Bulldog Skincare: brand specializing in men's skin and beard care, with a comprehensive offering of effective and vegan-friendly products.

In 2026, Edgewell Personal Care Italia renewed the appointment of Disclosers to manage PR and media relations activities on all four brands, confirming the value of the positioning path developed during the previous year.

2. THE OBJECTIVES OF THE COLLABORATION

The collaboration with Edgewell Personal Care started at the beginning of 2025 with the aim of developing and implementing a structured and long-term PR activity capable of strengthening the Group's positioning in the Italian market. In this context, all the activities implemented are aimed at consolidating the presence and reputation of the brands involved, increasing their visibility with media and target audiences, and supporting their growth in terms of awareness and recognition.

The work focuses on four strategic brands in the portfolio: Wilkinson Sword, a benchmark for men's shaving; Wilkinson Sword Intuition, dedicated to women's shaving; Hawaiian Tropic, a major player in the world of sunscreen; and Bulldog Skincare, specializing in men's skincare.

Through a mix of media relations, storytelling and enhancing the distinctive features of each brand, the activity builds a coherent and relevant narrative capable of strengthening its positioning and connection with consumers. At the same time, it also gives space to the storytelling of new products, the communication of strategic partnerships, and the highlighting of key moments, such as the launch of major campaigns and initiatives, including the debut of Hawaiian Tropic's new commercial.

3. THE PR & MEDIA RELATIONS STRATEGY

The media relations strategy developed for Edgewell Personal Care in the Italian press, online and offline, focuses on promoting the new products of the different brands, alongside corporate content, including advertising campaigns, events and partnerships, such as, for example, the collaboration between Wilkinson Sword and the Atlassian Williams F1 Team.

The initial phases of our collaboration included an in-depth analysis of the Group and its four reference brands, two men's and two women's, along with a study of the media scenario related to the beauty consumer world and the main industry signatures. This allowed us to build a structured and targeted mailing list, composed of both lifestyle and beauty contacts, who represent the core, and trade interlocutors, recipients of corporate, growth and partnership communications aimed at stakeholders, customers and prospects.

Alongside the more traditional media relations activities, such as press release dissemination and product seeding, the team also develops dedicated press meetings, with the aim of strengthening the relationship between agency, client and journalists. In particular, priority is given to Tier 1 press, so as to keep the positioning of the Group and individual brands high.

Differentiated management by brand and seasonality

The complexity of a multi-brand portfolio with distinct target audiences-male for Wilkinson Sword and Bulldog, female for Wilkinson Sword Intuition and Hawaiian Tropic-required editorial planning capable of calibrating tone, narrative angle, and target audiences according to each brand. Wilkinson Sword and Bulldog were pitched to men's and grooming editors (GQ, Men's Health, Style Courier); Wilkinson Sword Intuition and Hawaiian Tropic to women's and lifestyle heads (Cosmopolitan, Vanity Fair, Elle, Grazia, Io Donna). In addition, seasonality drove the timing and communication of new products: suncare concentrated the most activity in the spring and summer months, while shaving and men's skincare found the peaks of coverage in spring/autumn and around commercial holidays (Father's Day, Valentine's Day, Christmas).

Enhancement of campaign moments as editorial leverage

The launch of the Wilkinson Sword Intuition communication campaign-“Any Hair, Anywhere”-was handled as an editorial opportunity capable of generating coverage in consumer titles, trade media such as Engage and Inside Marketing, and national newspapers. An opportunity to reiterate the brand's core values, which have always been geared toward making women's hair removal an authentic and shareable experience. Indeed, the campaign was created with the aim of overcoming the clichés associated with hair removal, building an emotional connection with contemporary women through a sincere representation of their relationship with hair, wherever it grows. In this context, PR activity played a key role in amplifying key messages, which were well received by the media.

Press lunch organization and product seeding

On the occasion of two product launches for Wilkinson Sword and Wilkinson Sword Intuition-the new “Quattro” line of razors for men and women, respectively-the team suggested that the client host a press luncheon during which to introduce the new products and have them “hands-on.”.

The activity involved location scouting and booking a suitable space, with the choice falling on a dedicated room in the Dhole restaurant in Milan, and Tier 1 lifestyle and beauty press invitation. A total of 11 journalists attended, referrals from leading online and offline beauty publications (including Amica, Elle, Style (Corriere della Sera), Visto, Oggi and NSS) who had the opportunity to meet Wilkinson's contact persons live for the first time and spend a couple of hours that were different from the usual, accompanied by a themed drink and storytelling about the brand and the latest innovations. In addition, all participants were given a gift box with the new razors inside for them to test and an extra giveaway.

Following the luncheon, the attending journalists received a follow-up and thank-you email in view of the media coverage resulting from this activity. At the same time, the team made contact with those who, for personal reasons, could not attend, with the goal of sending them a product sampling.

4. RESULTS.

In the period between March 2025 and March 2026, the PR and Media Relations activities developed for Edgewell Personal Care in Italy generated a total of 142 outputs, spread across four brands and different types of titles: lifestyle, beauty, grooming, sports, consumer, marcom and trade.

The year 2025 constituted the build-up and consolidation phase: 82 total releases, 43 of which were on Tier 1 titles - accounting for 52% of the total - confirming a qualitative positioning from the first weeks of the partnership. Hawaiian Tropic represented the brand with the highest volume of coverage in the period, driven by the launch of Glowing Protection SPF50 and the Hydrating After Sun Skin Nourishing Oil product, which generated peaks of attention in the summer season. Wilkinson Sword Intuition garnered significant coverage through its “Any Hair, Anywhere” campaign, spread across twelve issues in consumer press, trade media, and national newspapers. Wilkinson Sword and Bulldog built a consistent presence in men's and grooming media throughout the year, peaking during the fall months.

In the first months of 2026, there are already 60 releases, with 10 Tier 1s. The focus of publications has shifted to Wilkinson Sword, thanks to the amplifying effect of the partnership with the Atlassian Williams F1 Team, along with Valentine's Day and Father's Day, occasions that have produced top-tier coverage on all four brands.

For 2026, the major effort will focus on the following Toward the two men's brands, Wilkinson Sword and Bulldog, with the goal of consolidate its consumer positioning, through the lifestyle press, and retail, thanks to the most relevant corporate news and partnerships that will affect the trade sector.

5. VISIBILITY ON TIER 1 WARHEADS AND QUALITATIVE VALUE OF COVERAGE.

Tier 1 share on total coverage - 52% in 2025 - is the indicator that best summarizes the qualitative approach of the strategy. The selection of newspapers favored media with a structured editorial staff, a defined audience, and a positioning consistent with the values of each brand: GQ and Men's Health For male grooming, Cosmopolitan, Vanity Fair, Elle, Grazia For women's beauty, Corriere della Sera and ANSA For generalist coverage, Engage and Inside Marketing for campaign narrative and communication strategies.

Repeated presence in GQ - with four issues in 2025 for Wilkinson Sword and Hawaiian Tropic - and in Men's Health for Wilkinson Sword and Bulldog has built stable editorial recognition over time, in which Edgewell portfolio brands have become regular references for newsrooms looking for products and news in their respective segments and target audiences.

On the women's side, Hawaiian Tropic's summer coverage on Vanity Fair, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Grazia, Novella 2000 and Corriere della Sera - Image, has positioned the brand as the star of the suncare season, with distribution in newspapers with readerships in the millions.

Work on Wilkinson Sword Intuition has shown that even a brand that is less present in reviews can achieve relevant quality coverage if supported by a campaign with a clear narrative angle: “Any Hair, Anywhere” made it possible to intercept not only beauty titles, but also news and culture titles such as Light. - The Nation, demonstrating that precise value positioning opens up access to newsrooms that would otherwise be unlikely to devote space to a hair removal product.

6. CONCLUDING REMARKS

The Edgewell Personal Care case illustrates how PR management for a multi-brand portfolio requires a strategic approach capable of holding different logics together simultaneously: seasonality, targeting, positioning of each brand, and campaign moments with specific narrative angles.

The most significant achievement in 2025 is the Tier 1 share, which stands at 52% of total releases. This share is not the product of individual launch operations, but of systematic work in selecting newspapers and building the relationship with newsrooms and journalists.

In addition, on the level of individual initiatives, Wilkinson Sword Intuition's “Any Hair, Anywhere” demonstrated how even a communication campaign with a precise value positioning can give access to a wider perimeter of publications than just beauty, including news and culture media.

The renewal of the assignment by Edgewell Personal Care Italia for 2026 confirms the solidity of the path built and provides the basis to further extend the qualitative coverage on all four brands, consolidating the relationships with the editorial offices already acquired and opening new editorial spaces consistent with the evolution of the product proposal.