Russian for Fish

BACKGROUND

Founded in 2006 by 3rd-generation architect Pereen d’Avoine, Russian For Fish was born initially as a means of entering an architecture competition (which the practice won), and offers a full range of architectural and interior design services. Working mostly with clients across the capital and throughout the South-East, the firm is renowned for its unique approach to colour, materials, structure, and architectural detail.

With a selection of recently completed and photographed projects available, and plenty of design and architectural expertise, we wanted to increase engagement with the practice in both consumer media and through greater peer-to-peer thought leadership.

Aligning with the 10th anniversary of Pereen’s partnership with co-director Nilesh Shah, the practice embarked on an exciting collaboration with furniture maker Jack Alexander in 2025. In addition to using completed project imagery within our work, we led a targeted campaign to boost awareness of this new kitchen design offering as part of the studio’s available services.

OUR SOLUTION

Sandford created both PR and digital strategy outlines, providing specific media plans, suggested social media content, and wider ideas that align with the studio’s key business aims: cementing a reputation for expert authority and knowledge, to re-evaluate digital presence following the launch of a refreshed website, and to introduce the co-directors to the media offering expertise for a multitude of feature types.

Key PR initiatives included:

• Positioning completed projects for full case study features in top-tier titles

• Pitching individual imagery alongside expert comment on trends / practical tips/design specifics to secure coverage in a broader selection of relevant publications

• Extracted key themes for more in-depth thought leadership features in B2B and B2B2C outlets

• Compiled ideas and styling suggestions for photography of completed projects to ensure diversity of images available

• Created a separate PR and digital campaign for the launch of the collaboration kitchen collection

Digital initiatives included:

• Developed a comprehensive digital strategy to drive engagement and consideration, including audience personas and competitor analysis

• Developed individual social media strategies for specific campaigns - new product launches, influencer collaborations, and thematic industry-specific content

• Shared suggestions for increasing the Google ranking of a refreshed website, including SEO-friendly formatting and user journey

RESULTS

We secured over 30 pieces of editorial coverage across a 6-month period, with an estimated 611k views. More than half of these inclusions appear in digital media outlets, with most featuring expert commentary and backlinks to the Russian For Fish website - thereby improving the Google ranking of the studio.

Coverage secured led to great social media engagement, with over 142 likes, comments and shares.

We successfully placed founder expertise and thought leadership in titles including Building Design, Livingetc, Homes & Gardens, and Homebuilding & Renovating - with the latter noted as particularly successful in lead generation.