The new company name, CIJ Group Ltd, was chosen to reflect the heart of the business -  Connecting PRs with Influencers & Journalists. It also retains the brand heritage with the acronym CIJ (previously Christmas in July).

With the company going into its fifth year, and previously specialising in Christmas events, CIJ Group has expanded into a year-round business, offering solutions to connect brands & retailers with the media, virtually and in-person for every key date in the retail calendar. 

CIJ Group offers three solutions to support product PR outreach for both in-house and agency PR teams:

• The Big Christmas Press Show - formerly the Christmas in July Festival, is an annual exhibition welcoming 100 brands & retailers showcasing to 900+ journalists & influencers. This has quickly become the biggest retail event for the media in the UK trusted by global brands and high-street retailers. The next show is taking place on 15th & 16th September 2021 at the Business Design Centre, London.

• Power Pitching (Virtual) - all Power Pitching events are now held in a hugely successful virtual format, supporting PRs and journalists to meet on a more regular basis and minimising time spent away from desks. Over a dozen events are scheduled for 2021 including Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Homeware, Beauty & Grooming, Health & Wellness, Food & Drink, Easter, Toys & Games, Back to School and many more. In September 2020, 60 brands of which 25 were represented by a PR agency, met on average 34 top tier journalists at each of the seven sell-out events.

• PressFix - formerly GiftGuidePortal.com, PressFix is a digital platform where media can get their daily fix of latest products, hi-res imagery, press releases, lookbooks and PR contact information from over 160 brands & retailers. PressFix supports new product launches 365 days a year, for key seasons including Spring / Summer and Autumn / Winter, plus occasions including Mother's Day, Easter, Father's Day, Back to School, Christmas and many more.

CIJ Group’s Founder, Courtney Rogers comments “ We’ve invested in our virtual and digital solutions to support our clients for every new product launch, season and occasion within the annual retail calendar. Our future growth is based on a hybrid approach and we look forward to seeing everyone in person in the not too distant future. Our rebrand as CIJ Group reflects our year-round solutions beyond Christmas, plus the recent acceleration in changes to the retail and media landscape, meaning July is now too early for many brands, retailers and publications when it comes to launching for Christmas. We will continue to support the long-lead media with targeted Christmas events in the summer.” 

You can view the full video update from CIJ Group’s Founder, Courtney Rogers here: