Year: 2015

Oh Momma Monday – Mom’s the Word

Tracy LathanBlog, Oh Momma Monday, Owning a Business, Starting a business, , ,

It’s been said that being a mom is the hardest job in world. As the mother of a two-year-old and a four-year-old, I agree whole-heartedly with that statement. I am in the weeds. I’m trying to balance work and family, school schedules and new business presentations. Some days I feel I can barely keep my head above water. Funny part is, I wouldn’t change a thing.

For those of you who know what life is like with young children, you probably think the idea of starting a business at this stage in life seems crazy. But the army of Momtrepreneurs, or so they’ve been called, is growing strong. I love this recent article, Mothers of Invention, in Walter magazine highlighting local moms who saw an opportunity and took a chance. What inspiring stories!

The truth is, we see these women everyday. They are friends, neighbors, sisters and PTA moms. They are passionate and smart and want to share their talents, but also seek flexibility and choose to spend the time they are working outside the home doing something they truly love. And often times, these new business ventures are born from a realization that there must be an easier way to do something. I sure wish I was the one who invented the fruit and veggie squeeze pouches my kids love.

Do you know momtrepreneurs or other amazing moms you’d like to see profiled here? If so, please let us know!

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The Beauty of Raleigh PR: Day 22 – PDQ Shake

Jasmin SessomsBlog, Clairemont Client News, Entry-Level PR Job, Raleigh PR Agency, , ,

During a team lunch yesterday, we enjoyed a scrumptious treat. PDQ, one of our clients, has recently unveiled its newest seasonal shake, Toffee Coffee. Ready for the official review? The taste is mind-blowing. Decadent toffee pieces mix with the layers of rich coffee flavor for an indulgent melt-in-your-mouth experience. I have to warn you: this shake may lead to instantaneous happiness as well as an uncontrollable need to sing, dance and “shake” it out! We certainly couldn’t resist!

Craving it already? PDQ, a fresh, fast-casual restaurant, offers multiple locations throughout the Triangle, plenty of opportunities to get your “toffee fix”! And please join us in congratulating PDQ as it opens its newest location this Sunday, February 8, in Winston-Salem. (Lucky Winston-Salem!)

Be sure to pop by PDQ and “Shake It Off” with a little Toffee Coffee this weekend.

Editor’s Note: Clairemont enthusiastically welcomes Jasmin Sessoms to our team! Follow this former beauty queen’s journey as she documents her first 30 days in a Raleigh PR agency.

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The Beauty of Raleigh PR: Day 21 – Super Bowl

Jasmin SessomsBlog, Entry-Level PR Job, Marketing, Social Media + Influencer Engagement, , , ,

Although the Super Bowl to most may seem like a thing of the past, fans and foes are still discussing the recent choices made by artist Katy Perry.

Katy Perry’s “flame” dress in which she opened the Super Bowl halftime show was made of detailed orange patent leather worth $15,000 to $20,000, according to ABC News. It is also stated that she worked with the designer over two months to perfect the design. It is reported that her finale dress also cost a whopping $15,000 and had to be slipped on by Perry in just 45 seconds. With four total costume changes, Katy Perry is the only halftime show artist to have changed this many times in Super Bowl history.

From a PR standpoint, I think Katy Perry did the show justice. Not only did she embrace her own identity, but she also left something for her fans to talk about. So I think this falls under branding as well as the importance of social media to PR. The order of public relations and branding is a key difference between the two. Developing a brand must come before engaging in public relations, advertising, marketing or any other communications-related company activity.

At Clairemont, we take a tactics-agnostic approach to devising PR and marketing strategies using both traditional tools such as media relations and event planning and newer tools such as content marketing and social media. We acknowledge the importance of social media followings to help a brand, and Perry has an amazing following on her accounts. With 64.6 million twitter followers and 14.2 million followers on Instagram, Katy Perry is no stranger to social media.

Why? We live in a world of media hype and skepticism where advertising has lost some of its power to influence. Marketers are leaning more to word-of-mouth programs to create the sought after buzz for a brand. Katy Perry does just that, with her larger than life set to include a Lion to ride in on and dancing Sharks her name was trending all over social media channels and even received many spots on the news.

According to reports, this is the most watched Super Bowl half time show in history. Good job Katy Perry — we heard you “Roar” loud and clear.

Editor’s Note: Clairemont enthusiastically welcomes Jasmin Sessoms to our team! Follow this former beauty queen’s journey as she documents her first 30 days in a Raleigh PR agency.

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The Beauty of Raleigh PR: Day 20 – Time Tips

Jasmin SessomsBlog, Entry-Level PR Job, The Clairemont Team, ,

Time: is it really on our side?

In the Clairemont office there are always a plethora of tasks going on at once. As PR professionals, we have to learn how to switch gears efficiently to maximize our time. I think my colleagues do a wonderful job of managing their time. Ready to learn, I curated a few time management tips from the team.

Top Nine Time Management Tips from the Clairemont Team:

1) Early to bed. Early to rise.

2) Prioritize your to-do list. And use it.

2) Take intentional breaks throughout your day. Recharge and refocus.

3) Look at your to-do list at the beginning of the day and tackle the task you want to do the least.

4) Set deadlines for yourself and pursue them with urgency.

5) If you are struggling with an assignment, revisit it later.

6) Allocate a certain amount of time to invest in a task.

7) Take time to proof.

8) Stop procrastinating (or at least put it off until a later date). Take the initiative to jump start tasks.

9) Produce quality, not quantity.

Before you begin work for the day, take some time to think slowly and create a list. Make sure to get enough “shut-eye” tonight, and here’s to a great day tomorrow!

Editor’s Note: Clairemont enthusiastically welcomes Jasmin Sessoms to our team! Follow this former beauty queen’s journey as she documents her first 30 days in a Raleigh PR agency.

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What does a PR agency do? Home Interiors Facebook Campaign

Clairemont InternBlog, Case Studies, Furniture PR, , ,

Clairemont Communications has extensive experience in furniture public relations and building strategic PR plans for home decor brands, interior designers and furniture manufacturers. As our team celebrates our 5th anniversary, we are revisiting some of our most favorite projects since launching in 2010. Here’s one:

Client: Thomasville Furniture 

Background: Thomasville Furniture, established in 1904 and a leading name in home furnishings, was confronted by the challenges of economic downturn. Faced with a reduced marketing, advertising and media relations budget, Thomasville turned to Clairemont Communications for help. After evaluating social media networks and confirming Facebook’s significant potential as a customer engagement channel for the company, we assumed management of the company’s Facebook page in July 2010.

Objectives: Clairemont met the client’s request to build brand awareness during Thomasville’s annual Memorial Day Sale by conceptualizing the Ready to Refresh $10,000 Giveaway. Our objectives included the following:

  • Leverage giveaway to build brand and sale awareness by increasing Facebook fan count by 10,000 likes during the promotional period.
  • Spread the story of Thomasville Furniture and its Memorial Day Sale via Facebook, creating at least one million total daily impressions and a total daily reach of 300,000 users.
  • Capture 75,000 giveaway entries as consumer leads for Memorial Day Sale and future sale marketing.

Method: Seeking a major fan increase as part of a larger strategy to build a younger customer base, this six-week-long promotion that was integrated with other online and offline tactics to maximize engagement. Clairemont built and managed a customer application to host the giveaway using the social engagement platform Shoutlet. Working with the Shoutlet team and a graphic designer, we conceptualized and directed the creation of a custom graphics for the giveaway, incorporating the designs into the application, optimized for desktop and mobile use. To facilitate our objective of leveraging the giveaway to increase page likes, impressions and reach, we built a sharing component into the giveaway application, so that fans could earn extra entries.

Creativity: To emphasize the affordability of Thomasville Furniture, Clairemont shared beautiful photography – which was also featured in the Memorial Day Sale catalog – showcasing rooms decorated with Thomasville Furniture for $10,000 or less. Additionally, we created and shared collage boards showing fans assortments of products totaling $10,000. With these two tactics, Clairemont sough to help fans visualize the amount of stylish furniture available at Thomasville within the $10,000 price range.

To engage users on the page, we also created ten word graphics, such as “Imagine what $10,000 will do to refresh your home,” and “Keep calm and redecorate,” which prompted conversation on the page. Custom-designed cover photos promoting the giveaway were updated bi-weekly to keep page content fresh. Lastly, coordinated marketing efforts separate from Facebook promoted the giveaway through regular email blasts, on Thomasville.com and in the Memorial Day catalog.

Evaluation:

1. Leverage giveaway to build brand and sale awareness by increasing Facebook fan count by 10,000 likes.

  • During the duration of the giveaway, Thomasville’s Facebook fan count increased by nearly 11,000 likes, exceeding our original goal of 10,000.

2. Spread the story of Thomasville Furniture and its Memorial Day Sale via Facebook, creating at least one million total daily impressions and a total daily reach of 300,000 users.

  • The giveaway successfully increased key metrics on Facebook, allowing us to exceed our original objectives with more than one million total daily impressions and a total daily reach of approximately 500,000. Strategic postings and captivating content successfully increased the page’s engagement, with nearly 25,000 more daily engaged users throughout the six-week-long promotion than the weeks prior to the giveaway.

3. Capture 75,000 giveaway entries as consumer leads for Memorial Day Sale and future sale marketing.

  • Additionally, with more than 134,000 entries, the giveaway successfully captured more than 100,000 new consumer leads for Thomasville, surpassing our goal of 75,000 new leads.

As we look back at this work from just a few years ago, we realize how much has changed on how Facebook can be used for promotional purposes. Have you found the same to be true? Do you long for the old Facebook that had seemingly less rules?

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