Author: Jasmin Sessoms

What does a PR Agency Do? Creative Tactics

Jasmin SessomsAwards, Blog, Case Studies, Raleigh PR Agency, , , ,

Clairemont has had the pleasure of working with Briar Chapel as its agency of record for several years, allowing us a variety of opportunities to put on our thinking caps and get creative with our wonderful clients. As the largest master-planned green community in North Carolina and part of Newland Communities, the country’s most prominent privately held residential real estate developer, we strive to help showcase the beautiful homes and amenities of Briar Chapel. Looking back at the work we’ve done together these past few years, there are two initiatives that Clairemont conceptualized at different times and to accomplish different objectives that we thought would be fun to highlight in one blog post.

The first was born in response to a very smart question from one of our Briar Chapel clients. She asked, “Instead of trying to add fans and followers purely for the sake of building our numbers, how can we increase engagement with our existing fans to encourage them to be our brand advocates?” After careful thought and planning, Clairemont answered the question with a question. “Are you Briar Chapel’s Best Buddy?”

The Clariemont team created a contest and participants were encouraged to get creative in using social networks to earn points to win a Buddy Scooter, with this prize tying into the contest name. The contest encouraged community members to take to the social channels of their choice and post using the Best Buddy hashtags.

In order to reach the target audience of residents and local community members and to engage throughout the six-week long contest, Clairemont focused its efforts on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Pinterest and Foursquare. The Clairemont Team was able to increase fan engagement and community awareness of Briar Chapel. The Briar Chapel Facebook page engagement skyrocketed by 400 percent, the fan count increased by 159 percent and the viral reach of the page expanded by nearly 600 percent. Briar Chapel was most pleased with the positive, third party content that directly generating local word-of-mouth advertising for Briar Chapel.

A couple of years later as Briar Chapel neared its fifth anniversary, we found ourselves answering this question: “How can we get media to come out to Briar Chapel to see the progress the community has made in the five years since the grand opening?”

Clairemont used creative thinking to plan a visual event that interested the media. The Clairemont team decided on an aerial media tour. Who could resist an invitation to ride in Big Red, the hot air balloon? Creative and individualized pitches were used to pique the interest of targeted media, and themed media kits were strategically delivered to media contacts in the morning just before editorial meetings.

The aerial tour provided a bird’s eye view of the development’s progress by taking members of the media up in a hot air balloon, while allowing Briar Chapel representatives to talk about accomplishments and future plans. Though the hot air balloon served as the event’s focal point, Clairemont worked with the Briar Chapel community to build in other visual and informational elements to attract media. We strategically scheduled the event to fall just before two of Briar Chapel’s popular, annual events: the Parade of Homes and the Pepper Festival.

The creative, experiential campaign exceeded expectations by rebuilding relationships, engaging 18 target media contacts on-site in a fun, positive way. For many, the event offered their first hot air balloon ride, allowing Briar Chapel to leave a lasting, memorable impression.

Clairemont received several NCPRSA InSpire Awards and RPRS Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for both of the these creative campaigns.

 

 

 

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Copy Cat- #HairProbs

Jasmin SessomsBlog, Copy Cat, Marketing,

#HairProbs we all have been there. I mean, how many countless times have you been tardy for something because of your hair?

Ever have a morning where you absolutely just cannot get your hair right? I find that that is me 90 percent of mornings. I take so much time prepping or planning a great style at night only to wake up in the morning and have to change it repeatedly.

Aussie is inspiring women to #DitchTheDrama and spend less energy on their hair and more time living carefree! The new line of products encourages women to never stress about styling with easy steps to tame testy tresses and detangle morning messes.

Not only does the commercial ad feature a hilarious man talking endlessly about his hair, but “Ditch the Hair Drama” copy flashes across the screen. Thanks to Aussie’s copy I now am well aware how ridiculous I sound about my hair.

Join me, #DitchtheHairDrama!

 

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The Beauty of Raleigh PR: Day 30 – #favmoments

Jasmin SessomsBlog, Entry-Level PR Job, Raleigh PR Agency, ,

Today is my 30th day! Woohoo! Although I thought I would have a serious sense of relief when I finished my ever-present responsibility of daily blogging, I have appreciated the experience of sharing my work days on the blog.

For 30 days, I have learned the ropes at Clairemont, and I am thrilled to share my top moments with you today.

My favorite moments at Clairemont to date: (Cheesy, but they make me grin.)

  1. Walking in on my very first day and meeting Mrs. Hughens with a smile. I was greeted with a brand new desk, a Macbook and pink accessories. I was at the first day of my first job, and I felt special.
  2. Learning all of the new apps I would be using each day. In undergrad, I only used Apple for editing in my sound and video production classes. Receiving my Macbook was confirmation that this was a fresh start.
  3. Learning about each of the clients and what my role would be on each account.
  4. Meeting Mrs. Hughens’ dog, Billy. He is a sweetie pie, and rubbing him in the office brings joy to my day.
  5. Learning how to take the initiative on my assigned tasks. I have learned to go the extra mile when researching accounts and client work.
  6. Getting a sweet treat from PDQ–the new seasonal shake, Toffee Coffee.
  7. Collaborative learning in the office. Since the office setup is so cozy, we get a chance to talk each day. If I have a quick question, there is no problem asking for help from Sarah or Cherith.
  8. The expertise of my boss. In our conversations over the past 30 days, I have had multiple opportunities to ask her opinion or counsel, and these mini lessons have given me invaluable information to help with my start in PR.
  9. The team. Every day I get the chance to work with an amazing, supportive group. I think we could conquer the PR world.
  10. My first field trip with the team. On our recent new business pitch out of the office, I got a chance to be a part of the meeting. Not only did I get the opportunity to talk to the prospective client, but I also got to sing for them!
  11. My special Valentine’s Day chocolate heart from Mrs. Hughens. I think the best part about my job is knowing that my boss cares. That’s what makes it a joy to come into work.

What was your favorite blog moment of mine?

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 29 – Snow Day

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

The winter advisory has the Clairemont team bundled up in our respective households. Today, I realized how valuable it is to have good communication with colleagues and a positive team spirit. I think teams that perform well are shown to have more positive interactions than negative ones.

I think that this reigns true on a day like today for the Clairemont team. Even though we aren’t physically together, we have spent the entire day corresponding via email and text message to stay alert on important tasks and serve our client needs. Since your workplace is where you devote countless hours of your life, getting along and working efficiently with your colleagues is imperative.

With a list of tasks for today, I set out to finish a few projects. With the  InSpire Awards‘ early bird deadline tomorrow, the team is putting together our best entries for submissions. With all of the hustle and bustle of deadlines around the office, the importance of a positive team spirit has never been more necessary. Since I wasn’t a part of the team for some of the projects being submitted for awards, I have spent most of my day putting together photo albums and media coverage reports for the awards. This requires me to be able to juggle multiple tasks at once and train my brain to quickly toggle between accounts.

The realization of how much work goes into one account amazed me. I realized while putting together coverage reports just how much goes into making sure events go seamlessly and smoothly. The team took a divide-and-conquer approach so that everyone would be able to accomplish equal amounts of work and not feel like they were responsible for more than they could handle as an individual.

So, how can you shape a successful team? Knowing that trust and respect are vital components for building relationships in the workplace, you should commit to cultivate both. You can create positive collaborations in the office by offering more praise, smiles and high fives.

How do you define a good team?

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 28 – #prjobtips

Jasmin SessomsBlog, Entry-Level PR Job, Raleigh PR Agency, , , ,

On my 28th day in the PR world, I decided to list a few of the things that I have learned.

Top 9 PR tips I have learned from working at Clairemont:


1) Use social media as tools. Gaining more followers for our clients is a daily task for me and social media has the power to gain meaningful exposure for our clients.

2) Use links, keywords, and SEO to optimize blog posts. It is important to add in a quick tag or keyword to our posts. Hopefully, this will help to maximize the visibility of Clairemont’s blog.

3) Save your drafts, every single time. In order to avoid losing a hard day’s work, I try to save every few minutes. Saving my work ensures that the files will be around in case of a freak accident.

4) Develop an eye for details. Proofreading is the most important thing to do before hitting the send button. In order to avoid miscommunication or utter embarrassment, I often ask a colleague to help me.

5) Brush up on your phone communications skills. Everyday I have the opportunity to talk to potential clients and vendors for events. A positive tone and clear enunciation is key during a conversation.

6) Read the newspaper, every day. At Clairemont, we receive the paper daily. I think that reading up on current events and watching the news regularly are essential when working in PR to stay in the know and to help come up with creative ideas for clients.

7) Be enthusiastic about putting in additional time at work. Sometimes, PR can call for a little extra time out what many would consider normal office hours. Working in this 24/7  field requires a flexible attitude and the realization that oftentimes projects come to life outside of the office.

8) Teamwork matters, so love your colleagues. The best part about Clairemont has to be the positive collaboration of the team. Since I am in a room full of so much diverse experience and backgrounds, I get the opportunity to soak in so much information.

9) Be proactive with your client work. I have learned from my colleagues that it is important to anticipate client needs. I watch as they make sure every detail is ironed out for our clients,  ask “what might be next?” and plan accordingly.

What are some of the things you learned at your first job?

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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