2012 - Clairemont Communications

10th Annual Gingerbread Benefit Secures Regional Coverage

December 12, 2012January 31, 2023 Margot HorganBlog, Clairemont Client News, In Our Community, Public Relations, Raleigh PR Agency, The Clairemont Team10th Annual Gingerbread Benefit, Carolina Parent, media coverage, media relations, Our State, Public Relations, Raleigh Public Relations Agency, Southern Living, Triangle Family Services1 Comment

For the past three years, Clairemont has had the honor of promoting and participating in one of the Triangle’s most anticipated holiday events of the season – Triangle Family Services’ Annual Gingerbread Benefit, the premier, vital fundraising event for the longstanding local nonprofit.

This year, marked not only the tenth anniversary of the Benefit, but also the 75^th anniversary of Triangle Family Services, which provides programs to families in need in the Raleigh-Durham area in three key areas – financial stability, family safety and mental health services.

With 2012 marking prominent milestones for both the Benefit and Triangle Family Services, we knew that we wanted to make this year’s Annual Gingerbread Benefit bigger and better than any other.

Our plan? A detailed and strategic media relations campaign that would target news coverage in both regional and local publications. With gingerbread-themed media kits in tow, our work started this summer with our “Christmas in July” push to long-lead news outlets. Diligent pitching and coordination with our media contacts continued through the year and throughout the day of the actual event.

The result? Substantial coverage promoting the 10^th Annual Gingerbread Benefit in leading publications like Southern Living Magazine, Our State Magazine, Carolina Parent Magazine and Philanthropy Journal, just to name a few.

SCAN0001 — Southern Living Magazine, Nov. 2012

Screen Shot 2012-12-12 at 2.54.13 PM — Our State Magazine, Dec. 2012

carolina parent — Carolina Parent Magazine, Nov. 2012

Interested in hearing more? Check out some of the other coverage in the links included below:

Gingerbread houses and more for a good cause

The News & Observer

>>View Story

Entertainment Briefs

The Durham Herald Sun

>>View Story

Triangle Family Services Gingerbread Benefit

Cary Citizen

>>View Story

Gingerbread Benefit Feature

NBC 17 – My Carolina Today

>>View Clip

Have You Heard the Buzz About the Fuzz?

November 14, 2012January 31, 2023 Margot HorganBlog, Entry-Level PR Job, Marketing, Social Media + Influencer EngagementBuzz about The Fuzz, Clairemont Communications, Facebook, interns, New Media Campaigns, Pinterest, PR Agency, Public Relations, Public Relations Projects, Raleigh PR Agency, Raleigh Public Relations Agency, Social Media, Twitter, UNC Journalism School, YouTube1 Comment

Social media has forever changed the way brands interact and communicate with consumers. Today, Clairemont intern Callie Henson tells us how she has embraced the power of new media in her PR courses, internships and class project – The Fuzz.

I’ve always been the kind of person who loves social media. At first, it was more for my personal use – but now, I am fascinated with the power and influence new media can bring to a brand.

Over the past few years, I have been able to get a strong grasp on how to be a successful PR professional through my different internships and classes specializing in public relations. For the past month, I have lead a campus-wide new media campaign at UNC called The Fuzz. And with this project, everything I have learned through my college career has come together – my PR skills and social media skills have worked together to help create one strong creative branding campaign.

In the New Media Technology and It’s Impact on the Future of Advertising, Marketing & PR class I am taking at UNC Chapel Hill’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication, I have learned all about new media, it’s impact on audiences and the prevalence new media will have in this industry in the future. Gary Kayye, my professor and founder of rAVe Publications, has challenged us to create a new media campaign on campus to truly show what new media can do for a marketing campaign.

The Fuzz is my team’s campaign – and from Facebook and Twitter to YouTube and Pinterest, my team has created a strong brand and personality on campus in the past three weeks. Everyone knows, or wants to know, all about The Fuzz. Our campaign uses creative marketing to the max – we have figured out how to put on an entire campaign without spending any money. We have reached out to local businesses, and by supporting them and their social media, the businesses have provided us with donations and prizes.

UNC student Julia Shearer shows off her winnings from The Fuzz local business partner, Caribou Coffee

“Five years ago, the idea that students would able to take mostly free new media technologies to organically create a marketing project of this scope and with this level of community involvement would have been unimaginable,” Kayye said.

This marketing campaign has opened my eyes to all the possibilities of new media technologies and what it can do for any business. Social media has brought the power of voice back to the brand. No longer do you need to rely on a reporter to get your news and your story out there.

We got our story out there on our own through different social media channels and self-publishing news websites. For example, I was even approached by Susanna Gebauer, the founder of the exploreb2b.com social platform, to write a story about The Fuzz for the global communications news source based in Berlin. And, from my time at Clairemont, I’ve learned about different self-publishing news websites like The Third Report, All Voices and Pitch Engine. We even have a Huffington Post story in the works…

The Fuzz has allowed me to put my PR skills and lessons-learned to the test. And, so far, I think I’ve passed. As for today, our YouTube page has nearly 2,000 views total. Our followers on Twitter and likes on Facebook grow everyday. And most importantly, the Fuzz is truly buzzing around campus. Everyone wants to know the buzz about The Fuzz. Have you heard the buzz about The Fuzz?

Oxblood: Add a Drop to Your Wardrobe this Fall

November 6, 2012January 31, 2023 Margot HorganBlog, Fashion, Trendsfashion, Fashion Trends, Oxblood Color Trend

Deemed the color of the season by many fashion blogs and trendsetters, Oxblood is popping up everywhere – from makeup and accessories to clothing and shoes. And everyone is talking about it, from national sources like Real Simple Magazine and The Wall Street Journal to our local newspaper, The News & Observer.

While the name might conjure up dark images, don’t shy away from this trendy new color. Oxblood is a more complex color than just burgundy, wine, maroon or merlot. It is a deep, rich, warm red with a hint of brown, purple and blue, and can be the ideal accent to any outfit this season.

Oxblood has become a popular color in the makeup market – lipsticks, eye shadows, blushes and nail polish. A little pop of oxblood through makeup can give your look a boost of sophistication. It can also be a fun alternative from the blacks and dark purples you see during cooler months.

Denim and leathers in oxblood are also big on the runway and in department stores this fall. Still skeptical? Here are a few ways you can incorporate this color into your personal style:

Pair it with a more neutral color like khaki, olive and tans
Contrast it with light neutral colors
Layer it with other shades of red

A little oxblood can help an outfit become the perfect fall look. And remember…a little goes a long way!

#CMWorld: Part II

October 25, 2012January 31, 2023 Margot HorganBlog, Raleigh PR Agency, Social Media + Influencer EngagementAndrew Davis, CMWorld, CMWorld 2012, Content Marketing, Content Marketing Conferences, content marketing world, Finding Nemo, Jack Hanna, Jay Baer, Rick Springfield, The Nemo Effect

As promised, here are some more insights and one-liners from my recent Content Marketing World (CMW) conference!

The movie Finding Nemo decimated the global clownfish population.

Formally known as “The Nemo Effect” (no, I’m not joking), studies have found evidence that the hit movie caused such a demand for clownfish, the wild population drastically reduced and even reached extinction in some areas. On the flipside, along with the demand for every child to have his or her own “Nemo,” came the demand for everything Nemo needs to survive (tanks, food, rocks, more fish, etc.). What’s the point? According to conference speaker, Andrew Davis, valuable content increases demand for the products and services you sell. “The Nemo Effect” – that’s the power of valuable content. To succeed, create valuable content to create needs for your business.

Content is fire. Social media is gasoline. Use your social to promote your content first and your company second.

‘Nuff said. Conference speaker, Jay Baer, says it all.

Never exit the metrics train at the consumption depot.

Here’s another one-liner from Jay Baer (can you tell his session was a lot of fun to attend?). Knowing the amount of people who have read your content is great, but don’t stop there when you’re riding the research train! Knowing a piece of content generated 3,000 page views should prompt even more questions (not stop you dead on your tracks): Do people consuming that content engage in other, more desirable behavior on the site? Do they do so at a ratio different from site visitors overall? Do people consuming that content return to the site?

If your mom won’t share your content, it’s not good enough!

Some more practical, blunt wisdom from Jay Baer (last one, I promise!). If you’re not creating content that’s worthwhile to someone who has to love you no matter what, it’s time to create better content. We can’t complain about content that our consumers don’t find valuable if we don’t give it any value!

Hard work and enthusiasm. Work hard and love what you do.

Jack Hanna, Animal Planet TV personality and zookeeper, was the last keynote speaker at the conference, and made one of the biggest impacts on me. I have never seen someone talk about his or her job with so much unbridled, genuine passion. Let’s all hope we can channel that same passion into our jobs and lives everyday!

Oh, PS, did I mention that I met Rick Springfield? Pretty cool!