ACTION

Action B.V. is Europe's fastest-growing non-food discounter, providing an ever-changing, diverse selection of approximately 6,000 products in more than 2,000 stores to more than 11 million customers each week. In addition, 8 million consumers visit the Action.com website each week. The chain employs more than 65,000 people of over 125 different nationalities, in 10 countries and continues to grow rapidly. In Poland, it already has almost 180 stores and employs over 2,000 people (as of the beginning of April 2022). Working for such a dynamic client means many daily communication challenges, but also great satisfaction. Action is growing before our eyes and we are a part of this process, supporting the chain in communication with the market, consumers and media. We started working with the Action network in 2017.

OBJECTIVES:

Our goal is to continuously build brand recognition in Poland and its image as a sustainable development-oriented, dynamic chain of stores with a wide, surprising and constantly changing product offer at the lowest prices, appreciated by millions of customers throughout Europe. "Low prices, big smile" - this is what Action is known for.

We are active in informing local communities about new branch openings. For this reason, we place great emphasis on cooperation with local and regional media, as well as on very precise adjustment of press releases (local public transport, parking lots, access roads), which allows us to convey to the recipients that we approach each location on the Action map with due seriousness and understanding.

We also emphasize Action's unique concept of a very wide range of products from 14 categories and the surprise effect of about 150 new products every week. In our communications we highlight the promotions of the week and seasonal products with inspiration for their use.

As part of our corporate communication, which is most often based on interviews with Action's CEO in Poland, Sławomir Nitek, we emphasize the growth dynamics of both the stores and the distribution network, the company's philosophy, based on providing good products at a low price, and the implementation of increasingly advanced sustainability goals (reducing plastic, sourcing wood, cotton and cocoa from sustainable sources, working with suppliers who work ethically and respect workers' rights, etc.). We emphasize that sustainable products don't have to be more expensive - it's the scale of procurement and ongoing education along the supply chain that matters.

The pride of Action is its employees, who form a team of 125 nationalities across Europe. We speak with great admiration about the company's human resources policy, which is geared towards employees' professional and personal development.

Action is a true leader when it comes to implementing sustainable development - our goal is to communicate the various solutions the store chain uses on a daily basis. These include offering recycled products and materials, working with suppliers who use sustainable raw materials (wood, cocoa, cotton) and continuously monitoring factories in Asia for responsible production. In addition, 100% of the cardboard used during transportation at Action is recycled and stores and distribution centers are constantly looking for new and better solutions for electricity consumption.

ACTIVITIES:

As part of our partnership with Action, we are responsible for:

• creation and distribution of press releases regarding newly opened stores in Poland, the company's domestic and international development,
• media relations: preparing concepts for interviews and expert articles,
• ongoing contact with key journalists, including local ones,
• handling press inquiries,
• communication support during important company events,
• support of internal and social media communication,
• monthly and daily reporting of activities,
• crisis communication.

EFFECTS:

The Action chain opens, on average, several stores each week, which we inform about in our communications to the local media. Thus, every week there are publications in the local media and, when communicating the achievement of further milestones in the company's development, in the industry, business and national media. At our most intense moment in 2021, we coordinated the dispatch of up to 5 separate press releases on a single day. Over the last six months (October 2021 to mid-March 2022), nearly 5,000 publications (4,722) appeared in the media, with an advertising equivalent of about 15 million. Nearly 300 clippings came from key national, business and trade media. The most popular topics in the media include the opening of distribution centers in Poland, the chain's appearance in new important locations (e.g. the first store in the Podlaskie voivodeship) and other important issues related to the chain's expansion in Poland - opening 100 stores or exceeding 2,000 employees.

We also regularly arrange interviews with Action Polska's CEO Sławomir Nitek. In February/March 2022, on the occasion of opening the second distribution center in Poland, we have arranged 12 interviews in key media.

Our effectiveness is also demonstrated by the fact that we respond quickly and effectively to crises and current world events. An example is the remote organization of a spontaneous media briefing related to the transfer of aid to the city of Ostróg in Ukraine, which was to take place the next morning. Between 9 p.m. and 10:30 a.m. we coordinated with the client, invited the Mayor of Bierun, local media, including television, who attended the event, and prepared and distributed a press release.