Author: Clairemont Intern

Meet Jessica, Clairemont Intern

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I am an extrovert. That word tends to get misused quite a bit, but the bottom line is this: I love to help people thrive.

Meet Jessica

My name is Jessica Winesette, and I’m excited to be one of Clairemont’s newest interns! I’m a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Go Heels!) majoring in public relations at the School of Media and Journalism. I am also minoring in philosophy, politics and economics.

So what does a typical day look like for me in the “Southern Part of Heaven” (aka Chapel Hill)?

Quick answer: there’s no such thing as a typical day!

What I love about my time at UNC is that every day holds different opportunities to seize and different people to meet. I am a student leader with Cru Campus Ministry and have been lucky enough to lead a Bible study with some sophomores that have become like family. I live with seven of my best friends, and, needless to say, there is never a dull moment. I have also danced with Blank Canvas Dance Company since my second semester at UNC. Finally, I’ve participated in multiple special campaigns at UNC, such as Carolina Justice Week, International Friends and Electionland. In summary, I stay pretty busy!

Making Magic

As incredible as my time in Chapel Hill has been, there is one time in my college career that stands out above the rest. Last spring, I took a semester off of school to participate in the Disney College Program at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida! It was such a great character-building experience, and as you can imagine, also a blast. I did work in Disney World, after all!

My job as a Vacation Planner allowed me to have constant guest interaction and definitely helped with my conflict resolution skills. They might call it the Happiest Place on Earth, but I assure you, not everyone there is happy. Nevertheless, this gave me a perfect opportunity to address guest complaints and handle a variety of difficult situations with tact.

Why PR?

Public relations is something that I don’t think I fully understood until I was an upperclassman. I actually declared PR as my major during my freshman year but only started to truly appreciate and become excited about it during my junior year. As I learned more about the diverse functions of PR from my incredible professors, I became enthralled with the dynamic and ever-changing field.

I am excited to spend my career building mutually beneficial relationships with clients and their publics. Ultimately, my passion for working with people and building them up naturally pointed to a life in public relations.

Why Clairemont?

The incredible creative energy that flows throughout the Clairemont House is undeniable. I am inspired by all of the women that I work with and their dedication to taking care of their clients. I also appreciate the smaller size of Clairemont, as it makes me feel like an integral part of the team and allows me to have my hands in a little bit of everything. Just like my time at UNC, no two days at Clairemont are the same, and I’m eager to see what each new day is going to bring!

Written by Clairemont intern Jessica Winesette, a senior at UNC-Chapel Hill.

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What Does a PR Agency Do? Our Coffee Cares Video

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Newland Communities, the country’s most prominent privately held residential developer, unveiled its newest master-planned community – Wendell Falls – in the spring of 2015. Wendell Falls is situated in a relatively undeveloped section of Wake County, and when it experienced a lull in traffic, Newland turned to Clairemont Communications to re-engage prospective homebuyers and increase interest during slower winter months.

Strategy and Execution

As part of a larger strategic approach, Clairemont crafted a campaign that leveraged a foodie trend by highlighting Grounds Café, the on-site cafe, and its sustainable approach to sourcing. Clairemont created a video targeting food influencers as well as homebuyers in the Triangle with the objective of ultimately helping increase interest and traffic at Wendell Falls in the month of December by 50 percent, as compared to 2015.

This story would create an additional cultural appeal beyond just housing products. But instead of relying on editorial articles or paid advertising, Clairemont chose to also tell the story via a video featuring personal interviews. Visual mediums like this are easily sharable and have proven to generate higher interest from viewers as well as produce higher engagement on social media.

Results

The Grounds Café video secured the highest number of views for any Facebook video at that time posted by Wendell Falls. In addition, Wendell Falls experienced a distinct uptick in traffic, experiencing an 81.6 percent increase in December 2016, as compared to December 2015. Since then, we’ve converted followers into fans; Raleigh influencers and foodies regularly visit Grounds, posting pictures and touting Wendell Falls to their 50,000+ followers on social media.

The work Clairemont Communications conducted in partnership with Wendell Falls earned an Award of Excellence and a Best in Category from the North Carolina Public Relations Society of America for our video “Our Coffee Cares.” It also received a Gold Award in Video/Podcast/Videocast from the Raleigh Public Relations Society. We are proud that this campaign represents one of the 175 awards we’ve received since starting Clairemont in 2010.

To read more about the work we do with clients, please visit the case study section of our blog.

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Meet Kennedy, Clairemont Intern

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Sprite and Hewlett Packard have a couple of things in common. One, they are global companies, and two, they asked me to partner with them on campaigns this past summer.

Meet Kennedy          

My name is Kennedy Norton, and I’m a junior at NC State University studying communications with a concentration in public relations, as well as minoring in design studies.

You will probably find that I am not your typical college student. In addition to being a full-time student, I am the marketing/PR coordinator for a planner company based in Charlotte, Kahootie Co. I’m also a blogger! I have a fashion and beauty based blog named Enticingly Haute. I have crafted campaigns with Sephora and Neutrogena, taken over T.J. Maxx’s Instagram story for the day and will complete a campaign with Ulta Beauty at the end of this month. Last but not least, I’m Clairemont Communication’s newest PR intern.

 

Social Media Savvy

My favorite class assignment to date was giving a speech on why I believe that Instagram is the best social media platform. I adore social media and the communication it affords me. I started a blog to share outfit ideas and beauty tips with my friends and family. Enticingly Haute took off in ways I could have only imagined. Kahootie Co. loved my Instagram presence of 20,000+ followers at the time and reached out wanting me to work on its social media and communicate with its buyers. I love people and building relationships with them. It’s what made me choose my major and easily share so much of myself through my blog; it’s also why I think I’ve had success in creating meaningful and impactful social media content.

Why Clairemont

As the PR director for the NC State PRSSA chapter, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Clairemont’s own Tracy Lathan. Tracy is passionate about what she does, and after hearing her speak multiple times at PRSSA events in Raleigh, I needed to find out more about Clairemont.

This agency could not be more perfect. The women here are driven and excited about what they do. The less than 10-person team is a homey and hands-on experience. I truly feel a part of the team here at Clairemont; you can’t walk around this house without feeling inspired to think up a new idea or to create something. This agency makes me that much more excited about my major and will give me an outlet to continually grow my love for social media and people while offering opportunities to develop knowledge for a lifetime.

Written by Clairemont intern, Kennedy Norton, a junior at North Carolina State University.

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What Does a PR Agency Do? Briar Chapel’s Spicy App

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More exposure and higher attendance were the goals of the Briar Chapel marketing team as it planned its 9th Annual Pepper Festival to support North Carolina agriculture. Briar Chapel is one of the largest master-planned green communities in Raleigh-Durham and part of Newland Communities, the country’s largest private residential real estate developer. It turned to Clairemont Communications to reengage past festival participants and grab the attention of new audiences.

Strategy

Clairemont spiced up Briar Chapel’s approach with a creative social media personality quiz designed to promote the Pepper Festival to Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill residents. Clairemont had two objectives in mind: to increase visibility for the Pepper Festival and build third-party credibility for the event.

Execution

Spark Social Sharing

Clairemont wanted to expand the event’s social media strategy to incorporate a fun, interactive approach that would attract audiences untapped by traditional efforts. We researched the most effective types of personality quizzes and crafted a short online experience that would encourage users to share with a network of friends across multiple platforms, hence organically expanding the festival’s visibility.

“How Spicy Is Your Personality?” Quiz!

Rather than settle for traditional promotions, Clairemont turned up the heat to design an interactive social media quiz that piqued viewers’ interest with a play on words: “How Spicy is Your Personality?” For an unexpected twist, we crafted seven short questions that had little connection with festivals, food, peppers or Briar Chapel. Instead, the quiz featured queries like “What’s your getaway vehicle?” or “Pick Your Poison” – a question followed by four beverage choices ranging from wine to milk with cookies. The quiz posed other clever questions like “If your pants were on fire, you would …” and “your favorite hot spot is …” to emphasize the heat theme of the event. Clairemont peppered the content with twists of wit and humor along with themed verbiage connected to spice, fire and heat commensurate with the Pepper Festival.

The Spicy Personality Results

Once users took the quiz, they found results that stretched beyond the expected, standard “mild, medium or hot” descriptions. Instead, Clairemont crafted five positive personality types that featured popular phrases or song lyrics related to heat, fire and smoke. These descriptions told people if they were a Mild Child, a Sweet Heat, a Spiced Just Right, a Firecracker or a Flamethrower, which contributed to our goal of unexpected and quirky content.

Participants could then share their prescription and accompanying image on Facebook, encouraging friends to take the quiz as well. The quiz also included an opportunity for viewers to enter for a chance to win tickets to the 2016 Pepper Festival, along with details and links to the festival.

Results

Clairemont exceeded each of its objectives of quiz shares, visits and entries, boosted attendance by 10 percent and rolled out the largest festival to date.

The work Clairemont Communications conducted in partnership with Briar Chapel earned an Award of Excellence for Creative Tactics and an Honorable Mention for Social Media from the North Carolina Public Relations Society of America. We are proud that this campaign represents two of the 175 awards we’ve received since starting Clairemont in 2010.

To read more about the work we do with clients, please visit the case study section of our blog.

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What Does a PR Agency Do? Wendell Falls Busts Real Estate Myths

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Newland Communities, the country’s most prominent privately held residential developer, launched its newest master-planned community – Wendell Falls – in May 2015. Newland turned to Clairemont Communications to showcase the strengths of eastern Wake County and unveil the community as the conveniently located living destination that it is.

Strategy

Clairemont crafted a strategy that incorporated media relations, special events and community partnerships. Since research showed that buyers valued a sense of community, our methods highlighted the fun, relational atmosphere at Wendell Falls and provided opportunities for audiences to interact with the brand, whether through online campaigns or in-person events. 

Method

The Hoedown Showdown: Clairemont worked with Wendell Falls to plan a barn-raising themed celebration to commemorate the community’s first anniversary. Clairemont created the Wendell Falls Hoedown Showdown, a celebrity square-dancing competition hosted at the anniversary event. We invited TV, print and online personalities to do-si-do for a little dough ($1,000) to donate to a charity of his or her choice. Media received creative invitations that included a “wanted” poster and a cowboy hat, which one TV reporter even sported on her morning show! Clairemont successfully recruited nine media representatives to compete and another three influencers to judge the competition, resulting in print and television coverage as well as influencer posts to approximately 52,200 followers on Twitter alone.

Jam with Us! – Community Events: To attract prospective homebuyers, Clairemont ditched standard home tours and helped to launch a series of creative on-site events. Since the information center is called the “Farmhouse,” the team rolled out Farmhouse Jams, an outdoor summer concert series featuring local bands and Grounds Café’s “brews and brews,” the on-site café’s beer and coffee. Holiday Sip and Shops attracted home shoppers to peruse Raleigh’s finest hand-crafted gifts, and open-house weekends were transformed into themed celebrations highlighting unexpected home features.

Hand-in-Hand – Partnerships: Clairemont aligned Wendell Falls with key local organizations to increase visibility and connection with the community. For example, during the Eastern Carolina Farm Tour, Wendell Falls launched a family friendly party bus to chauffeur families to tour local farms while they enjoyed, food, beverages and activities.

And…action! – Videos: To combat the perception that Wendell Falls is remotely located, Clairemont conceptualized a “Faster Than” video challenge. Team members “raced” in their cars from a starting point in downtown Raleigh to several prominent suburbs, including Wendell Falls. The contest, captured via mounted GoPro cameras, revealed that drivers can get to Wendell Falls from downtown Raleigh faster than to other surrounding areas. Clairemont also created a video – titled “Our Coffee Cares” – to unveil the story of the Guatemalan family that selects and sources the coffee for Grounds, the on-site café at Wendell Falls.

Beyond the Books – School Campaign: Clairemont did a little homework to bust the myth that the area’s education was subpar. Based on extensive tours and interviews, we first developed a resource to “unveil your child’s future.” This brochure, webpage and blog series highlighted Wendell’s “hidden gem” – a surprising variety of academic options, programs and tracks. The campaign prompted the marketing manager to dub it “the best school tool we’ve had to date!”

Creative Media Pitches: Clairemont brainstormed creative angles beyond home construction to pique the interest of reporters. Our pitches showcased Wendell Falls’ commitment to green building along with the vibrant community lifestyle.

Results

In direct correlation with our stated objectives above, we met every goal, exceeded expectations and produced the following results:

  1. Clairemont secured a total of 13 news stories and blogs.
  2. Special events drew an aditional 1,800 people on-site.
  3. Home sales increased by 250 percent in 2016.

Clairemont successfully positioned Wendell Falls as one of the top places to live in Wake County, efforts that have helped Wendell Falls meet its annual sales goal and earned the community the title as Best Master Planned Community in East Wake County by The News & Observer.

The work Clairemont Communications conducted in partnership with Wendell Falls earned a Platinum Award in Organizational Identity/Promotion from the Raleigh Public Relations Society. We are proud that this campaign represents two of the 175 awards we’ve received since starting Clairemont in 2010.

To read more about the work we do with clients, please visit the case study section of our blog.

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