Spotlight On MEIR

About meir - the company, products and team

Meir is an Australian company that specialises in the design and manufacture of premium tapware; with the largest matte black tapware range in the world.

Meir’s vision is to help people shape and personalise their world through their products; Products that are an expression of creative individuality.

Simply put, Meir’s reason for existence is to help people love their home.

The name MEIR is an acronym of the founding family members; Marco, Ellara, Irma and Rick Bazerghi.

‘We are family’ underpins everything Meir does. Baked into their very name, Meir treats their customers, staff and everyone in the Meir ecosystem with the same care, empathy and respect they would show their own family members.

Meir has distribution centres in Australia, UK, The Netherlands, Malaysia, Slovenia, South Africa and New Zealand, with new offices opening regularly.

What sets the meir brand apart?

Meir was the pioneer of introducing black tapware to the online marketplace, and was the first to allow people all over the world to experience the ease of shopping for quality tapware online, at reasonable prices.

In 2015, Meir began to partner with major Australian companies such as Reece, to provide an omni-channel experience, allowing consumers to visit stores and experience the quality of the products on display.

Meir understood that tapware is not traditionally products that people would purchase online, however, as customer service is at the heart of the business, the company is dedicated to ensuring a seamless journey from start to finish. This includes a no-questions-asked return policy, live chat and an abundance of on-demand information such as specification drawings and various images of the products as well as inspirational galleries.

The marketing team is constantly working with leading digital agencies and designers to ensure they present useful and interactive information on technologically innovative platforms.

Meir also has a powerful social media presence and conducts regular photo shoots to provide a constant source of inspirational content for customers.

Why is pr important to the business? Have your goals changed much since you first started?

PR has been a great way for Meir to connect with people and publications who will communicate their messages with their audience and influence them.

At the beginning of the Meir journey, the company didn’t invest in a PR spend, as the goal was to invest in building a strong e-commerce platform. In the past two years however, goals have shifted and the team has recognized the importance of investing in platforms that will increase the visibility of the brand to the media.

Through platforms such as Flaunter, Meir has been able to reach thousands of key media people to share their messages, which has resulted in Meir products being featured in leading publications such as Adore Home, Belle Magazine, Vogue Living and many more.

Can you tell us about the success you’ve had without a pr or ad spend?

Without a PR or ad spend Meir has been featured in over 110 print publications, as well as across thousands of online channels including blogs, magazines and social media.

It is so important to build deep and meaningful connections with key people in the media. By continuously nurturing these connections over time, Meir has been regularly featured in magazines such as Real Living, Adore Home, House & Garden and Home Beautiful.

We also have an in-house content team who are constantly writing about new products and projects. This content is shared across the company’s social channels - blasting news out to our digital community of over 45K. We have acquired significant PR coverage through this approach.

Have you considered using a pr agency? Why did you make the decision not to engage one?

There were times we considered using a PR company and met with numerous agencies to discuss their approach and packages, however, we decided to continue to build their strategy in house and through channels such as Flaunter.

This is due to the success the brand continues to have without a PR spend.

What are your core in-house pr activities that drive coverage?

Meir has a content team in-house who are constantly strategising and building pieces of content to share across the company’s digital channels in order to reach the media and the company’s audience. The content is written in the form of blog posts, articles and press releases and is shared across Linkedin, emailed to contacts and published on the Meir blog and other online blogs.

The team is also constantly working with leading photographers and videographers to produce the highest quality imagery, which then gets uploaded to Flaunter. This allows the team to track which media people have viewed and requested the assets.

How did you discover flaunter and how does the platform contribute to your overall pr strategy/success?

Meir was approached by a member of Flaunter to join in September 2017, and after speaking to brands within the industry discovered that they were achieving outstanding results on the platform, so had no hesitations giving it a try.

Flaunter has been integral to Meir’s PR success since they joined. By connecting the company to thousands of journalists, bloggers and influencers, the Meir story has been shared with hundreds of thousands of people around Australia.

Meir continues to be featured in major print and online publications due to measurable success through the platform.

Can you tell us about the importance of quality imagery?

Quality imagery is essential in bringing attention and credibility to the Meir brand and integral to driving sales. We sell luxury tapware and kitchen and bathroom accessories and are extremely aware that high-quality imagery will set the brand apart from competitors and provide consistency to our branding.

High-quality imagery connects with people on an emotional level, and allows potential customers to imagine the product in their home - to visualise their ideal lifestyle and see that Meir is the missing piece in creating that.

Your photoshoots are always styled to perfection. What are your top 3 tips for creating beautiful media ready images?

Brief the photographer/videographer - Meir has a photography guidelines document that outlines every detail of branding for shoots. It includes things such as colours, example image photography, other brands which can be used and image quality.

Know your customer - Meir always puts themselves in the shoes of their customers to think about how they will feel and what emotions they will experience when they see the image

Hire a professional - Hire a professional photographer that has a portfolio of work they have done within the same industry and brief them on the kinds of images you are hoping to achieve in the shoot

What’s on the horizon for meir?

We’re looking to increase our e-commerce and digital channels in line with changes in the digital space. There’ll be a new website launching next month, as well as a number of new products and new brand lines, stay tuned!

And some quickies….

FAVOURITE INTERIORS PUBLICATION/S:

FAVOURITE PRODUCT ON YOUR WEBSITE RIGHT NOW:

Meir’s new sub-brand Lavello has just launched the world’s first stainless steel scratch-resistant sinks in 3 luxurious finishes - brushed gold, gunmetal and brushed nickel.

YOUR BRAND IN 3 WORDS:

Luxurious, Affordable, Innovative.