Year: 2015

What Does A PR Agency Do? Wendell Falls Grand Opening

Jasmin SessomsBlog, Case Studies, Real Estate PR, , , , , ,

Ponies and rickshaws and bluegrass, oh my! On May 16, 2015, Wendell Falls, a new-home community in Wendell, N.C., hosted its grand opening celebration, a southern-style affair featuring homebuilder models, bands, food, family activities and the unveiling of the all-new Grounds Café. Wendell Falls turned to Clairemont to raise awareness about the grand opening activities and reach the target homebuyer demographic through a series of coordinated pitches and creative invitations.

The Pitch

As part of the outreach, Clairemont connected with a variety of regional and local media outlets through targeted pitches to pique the interest of contacts, garner coverage and secure onsite visits to Wendell Falls. Clairemont brainstormed “out-of-the-box” angles beyond home construction, highlighting green features, holistic lifestyle options, parks and trails, family oriented amenities and the onsite Grounds Café—the city’s only coffee shop.

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Execution

– Coordinated Pitches: Media outlets received personalized pitches showcasing unexpected elements of Wendell Falls. For example, Clairemont worked with the daily newspaper’s features columnist to spotlight the custom-designed Asheville Playgrounds structure at Wendell Falls. The local city paper featured the community’s historic tobacco barn quilt while the home magazines received stories about Wendell Falls’ new ecoSelect green building program.

– Blogger Outreach: Clairemont sent VIP invitations to key bloggers and local media to attend a behind-the-scenes tour of the new home community in addition to grand opening. For example, mom bloggers received details highlighting the family friendly amenities and activities at the grand opening. Food bloggers were invited to taste the local coffee and DIY grilled-cheese bar at Grounds Café while beer experts were offered tidbits about the café’s craft brews.

– Media Materials: In addition to a news release, Clairemont provided a “pre-grand opening” prep kit for reporters that included sample tweets, feature photos and hashtags to share. Media guests who attended grand opening left with a “Taste of Wendell” media kit that included pool passes, gift cards to Grounds Café, information about Wendell Falls for future stories and an assortment of local Wendell goods.

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Screen Shot 2015-12-21 at 11.24.28 AMThe Results

The team secured coverage in several major media outlets, including stories in the Wake County and Eastern Wake News sections of the News & Observer, a front page story in the Sunday edition of the News & Observer, an article in New Homes & Ideas, double coverage in the WRAL What’s On Tap section and two segments on WNCN-TV.

Clairemont also secured articles with prominent lifestyle, parenting, food and beer bloggers, including Durham Foodie, Carolina Parent, The B Keeps Us Honest, NC Beer Guys and Triangle Food Guy. Additionally, we hosted representatives of WRAL, the News & Observer and the Triangle Business Journal onsite before and during the grand opening.

Want to learn more about Clairemont’s work in the real estate industry? Read our posts about real estate PR.

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Photo of the Week: Better with Bacon

Cherith AndesBlog, Marketing, Restaurant PR + Hospitality PR, , , , , , ,

Last week, we popped by Il Palio — Clairemont client and Chapel Hill’s AAA-rated Four Diamond regional Italian restaurant — to conduct a quick photo shoot. Armed with our trusty Canon, we nabbed images of everything from raspberry gelee to Italian caviare.

During the holidays, Il Palio offers its own twist on the classic Manhattan, dubbed “Old Smoky.” This winter cocktail features brown sugar smoked on Il Palio’s signature wood-fired grill and a garnish of — that’s right — candied bacon. Everything’s better with bacon, even your nightcap.

We love a good food photo. Check out this fun example of how to get a great shot!

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Copy Cat: Breaking the (Grammar) Rules

Dana PhelpsBlog, Copy Cat, , , ,

I’ll admit that it was the package design that caught my attention. It was the copy that moved me to purchase.

Doctor Lip Bang’s Lip Freak. Just the name raises my curiosity. Then, the front of the package breaks what I consider two copy rules. And I still love it. “The strongest buzzing lip balm in the whole world” — really? The whole world? That’s quite a claim, and one that, as a user of the product, I might be inclined to say is true. Still, in PR, we are careful with making such strong claims. For the packaging of a lip balm, it helps establish the personality of the brand.

Never end a sentence in a preposition. We all know that rule. I spend countless hours fussing over how to reword sentences to honor this one, and yet “Freak your lips out” works so much better than “Freak out your lips” on the front of the package. What other traditional grammar no-nos do you spy with your little eye on the back of the package? Warning to my fellow grammar geeks: it just might give you an eye twitch.

Lip Bangs backDespite the bending and at times total breaking of these beloved rules, I could just smooch the folks at Dr. Lip Bang’s for writing copy that puts a smile on my face in addition to the buzz on my lips! The product is just as fun as the packaging and never fails to be an entertaining conversation starter.

As PR pros, we love some good copy. Occasionally, we can’t stop ourselves from talking about bad copy. From pizza boxes to pet clinic signage, get in on our copy conversations here.

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On the Record: Abbie Fink

Sarah HattmanBlog, On the Record, , , , , , , ,

When you wake up in the morning, do you jump out of bed excited and ready to get to work or are you – as Loverboy would suggest – “Working for the Weekend?” How you answer that question has a lot to do with your workplace culture. For this installment of On the Record, we sat down with Abbie Fink to get her advice on cultivating an environment where employees and clients want to be.

Want to know more about how you can create an innovative and authentic workplace? Check out Abbie’s presentation from the NCPRSA seminar.

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Oh Momma Monday: Santa Cares

Tracy LathanBlog, Oh Momma Monday

Most parents I know with young children dread the obligatory Santa visit each year. After all of the effort that goes into stuffing kids into their holiday best and waiting in an excruciatingly long line, they are typically falling apart by the time the big moment arrives. Let’s not even mention that once they are on Santa’s lap they are often underwhelmed.

“Why is this Santa’s beard dirty? Where are his glasses? Santa smells funny.” And then comes the photo. At least one child is always hysterical.

But this story about a mall Santa in Charlotte that was featured on The Today Show truly warmed my heart. It made me stop and realize that the Santa visit so many parents dread is not possible for all children. Thanks to Caring Santa, a program organized by the group Autism Speaks, children like Brayden Deely get the chance to visit Santa after the stores have closed. There are no lines, no crowds and no sensory overload. What a brilliant idea. Thanks to Caring Santa, parents across the country with children with autism will have a photo of their child with Santa this year, even if they are not sitting on his lap.

We all need reminders like this during the holiday season to be more appreciative. My children visited Santa this weekend, and I must say, I had a completely different outlook on the experience. We got lucky this year; no tears for the first time (at least not from the kids)!

Want to read more Oh Momma Monday posts? Click here!

 

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