Author: Josephine Butler

What Does A PR Agency Do? Furniture PR Case Study

Josephine ButlerBlog, Case Studies, Furniture PR, , , , , , , , 2 Comments on What Does A PR Agency Do? Furniture PR Case Study

People commonly ask us what a PR agency does. We thought the best way to answer that question would be to share case studies from our work that was  recognized last year at the North Carolina chapter of the Public Relations Society of America’s (NCPRSA) InSpire Awards. Clairemont won 14 InSpire Awards, and we hope that this “Award Winning Wednesday” blog series will inspire you, too!

Client: Thomasville Furniture and Drexel Heritage

Planning: Twice a year, Furniture Brands International  — a global operating company that is one of the nation’s leading manufacturers and retailers of home furnishings — showcases new product introductions at High Point Market. Two of its subsidiaries, Thomasville Furniture and Drexel Heritage, hoped to stand out among the more than 2,000 exhibitors and capture the attention of the media. When the two North Carolina-based companies learned U.S. Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC) would visit their showrooms during furniture market, Clairemont Communications was hired to plan and execute a press conference.

Faced with this task and exciting news that Thomasville and Drexel Heritage were relocating the company showrooms from Thomasville to High Point, the Clairemont team identified key objectives.

Objectives: The Clairemont team aimed to do the following:

  1. Conduct a press conference that would garner the attention of trade publications and local media, with at least five placements, including local TV coverage
  2. Raise awareness of the Thomasville and Drexel Heritage showroom relocation and boost overall brand recognition among consumers, including engagement on the Drexel Heritage blog and Thomasville Facebook page

Execution: Faced with the challenge of capturing the attention of media, as well as the fact that Thomasville and Drexel Heritage had often been underreported at market because of their previous off-site showroom location, the Clairemont team had to get creative with positioning. Here’s what we did:

Kay Hagan speaks during her Thomasville press conference.
  • Local media: Senator Hagan’s visit to the Thomasville/Drexel showrooms was part of a larger tour of market, so why would media want to capture her tour in our showrooms? Talk of moving furniture market to another state was a controversial topic directly linked to job preservation and creation, an important platform issue of Senator Hagan. In our pitches, Clairemont focused on Thomasville and Drexel Heritage’s North Carolina-based headquarters and the showroom relocations to High Point to emphasize the companies’ commitment to the state’s economy. We also let the media in on a little secret: we would be surprising the senator with the unveiling of the Hagan Chair, named in her honor and sure to create photo opportunities.
  • Trade Magazines: Our trade pitches focused on the showroom relocations. We knew that these reporters would be less interested in state economies and more interested in why the companies moved from Thomasville to the International Home Furnishings Center, the most prestigious address in High Point. We also knew they would be interested in capturing images of the new showrooms that spanned an entire floor and part of another.
  • Facebook/Blog: Even though the showrooms are closed to the public, that didn’t stop us from sharing photos from the press conference and offering fans a sneak peek of the Hagan Chair.

Results: Local media and national trade publications, including News 14 Carolina, High Point Enterprise, Davidson County Dispatch, High Point Market Authority, ihfc.com and Furniture Today attended and covered the event. Clairemont exceeded the goal of five placements and successfully raised awareness of the showroom relocations. On Thomasville’s Facebook page, we received 130,675 impressions and 256 daily likes and comments on our total market updates, including the press conference. On the Drexel blog, we also received positive feedback, including a comment from one of the company’s top dealers.

What did you think of this public relations case study? Was it helpful? We’re here to answer any questions you may have!

Interested in Clairemont’s press conference services? Drop us a line!

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Clairemont Welcomes UNC Intern with Variety of Previous PR Internships

Josephine ButlerBlog, Professional Development, Public Relations, Raleigh PR Agency, The Clairemont Team, , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment on Clairemont Welcomes UNC Intern with Variety of Previous PR Internships

Meet Callie Henson, joining us from the beautiful campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she is studying PR. While we’d really like to tell you more, we don’t want to steal her thunder! We hope you enjoy hearing about where she was before she started her internship here at a Raleigh PR agency.

Say hello to Callie Henson, our newest intern!

When I came to UNC, I knew I wanted to study in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The field has always interested me, and after my first public relations course, I knew this was the profession for me.

Now that I am a senior at UNC and a profession in the real world awaits, I’ve realized it is my different experiences in PR that will help me stand out in the crowd of recent graduates. From interning at local North Carolina agencies (including my internship right here at a Raleigh public relations agency!) to chairing the public relations and outreach committee of UNC’s student government, I feel like I am gaining a wide variety of experience while I am still in school. My past summer interning in New York City especially opened up my eyes to the possibilities in PR.

Every single day during my internship in NYC, I learned something new and usually witnessed a supervisor or two learning a new skill or concept, as well. From strategy for new business pitches to audience profile research, there is always something new to discover.

I love how in PR you can work for so many different kinds of clients. Every company needs good publicity, and the opportunities are endless. I love how when starting a new internship I get to not only learn more about different public relations practices, but I also get to learn more about different professions around the world.

I want to continue to learn as much as I can before I graduate and be ready to be thrown any assignment or into any situation, and thrive. I’m going to continue to ask questions, continue to network and make connections, continue to be curious and continue to volunteer for any and all tasks. What I have learned from my internships in PR is to never let an opportunity pass – you never know where it could take you!

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Clairemont CEO Honored with TBJ 2012 Women in Business Award

Josephine ButlerAwards, Blog, The Clairemont Team, , , , , , 2 Comments on Clairemont CEO Honored with TBJ 2012 Women in Business Award

Did you hear the news? Clairemont’s very own CEO Dana Hughens has been named a recipient of a 2012 Women in Business Award from the Triangle Business Journal, and we’re very proud! A few of the many reasons the TBJ chose Dana for the honor:

  • Dana successfully started a business (Clairemont, of course!) during an economic downturn.
  • She has grown Clairemont to create additional full-time and part-time jobs as well as solidify a strong internship program.
  • She was invited to join the executive committee of Counselors Academy, a special section of Public Relations Society of America, where she has been named the organization’s 2013 conference chair.
  • She is going into her third year of assisting Triangle Family Services, a local nonprofit, with marketing and raising awareness of its Annual Gingerbread Benefit.

To close, we’d like to end with this quote from Dana, which was featured in a recent article honoring all 2012 Women in Business Award winners:

“I see leadership as more of a marathon than a sprint. So I hope that my best example of leadership is a consistent display of my passion for public relations…”

Congrats again, Dana!

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What does a PR Agency Do? Case Study for Real Estate PR

Josephine ButlerAwards, Blog, Case Studies, Marketing, Public Relations, , , , , , ,

People commonly ask us what a PR agency does. We thought the best way to answer that question would be to share case studies from our work that was recently recognized at the North Carolina chapter of the Public Relations Society of America’s (NCPRSA) InSpire Awards. Clairemont won 14 InSpire Awards, and we hope that this “Award Winning Wednesday” blog series will inspire you, too!

EMS station dedication ceremony

Client: LStar Management

Situation Analysis: When the original developer of Edenmoor went bankrupt, it left behind an unfinished master-planned community. With 68 families living there, but no developer to finish the construction or maintain what had been built, roads began to collapse, the clubhouse was vandalized and residents grew concerned about the increasing safety hazards.

The demise of Edenmoor was widely reported in local media. The extent of the negative coverage was reason for concern when new developer, LStar Management, purchased the community. Could LStar overcome the stigmas associated with the neighborhood brought on by its predecessor, convince media that the company had the expertise and financial backing to turn around this failed community and attract builders to start constructing homes again? With the new ownership going into effect in October, LStar turned to Clairemont for help in securing neutral to positive media coverage and improving the perception of the community by the end of the year, allowing for less than three months to make progress.

Objectives: Based on extensive primary and secondary research and a timeframe of less than three months, our objectives were very straightforward, as follows:

  1. Build an arsenal of communications materials prior to the property acquisition announcement.
  2. Secure at least five neutral or positive news articles by year’s end.
  3. Establish a social media presence prior to a mid-December ribbon-cutting ceremony.
  4. Recruit 10 homebuilders interested in buying and building on lots in the community.

Execution:

Communications Materials: Clairemont conducted a messaging session with the community development team in order to devise a message board to guide all communications. We also crafted a fact sheet, a Q&A document and backgrounders, as well as event and pitch-specific media kits.

Acquisition Closing Announcement: While there had been media speculation about LStar’s acquisition of Edenmoor, Clairemont advised LStar to wait until the deal closed before publicly disclosing details. Skeptical about how reporters might respond given the negative coverage we uncovered during the media audit, our pitches directly addressed their previously reported concerns. Our goal was to receive neutral and unbiased coverage. We were pleasantly surprised at the reporters’ positive reactions. Headlines told the story of the community getting a “facelift” and a “second chance” from the new owners. Our client’s favorite story referred to LStar as the white horse.

EMS Dedication + Name Change: Following on the success of our first announcement, six weeks later Clairemont helped LStar host a ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony for a new EMS station that the developer donated to the county. Once at the event, residents and media were surprised with even more news, as we unveiled the new name, Walnut Creek, and brand identity to go along with all of the improvements being made in the community. The response was overwhelmingly positive with media coverage continuing along with a transformation and renewal theme, and LStar receiving accolades at the event from residents, county officials and media for the impressive amount of progress it had made in improving the community in a short period of time.

Social Media: In order to keep residents, potential homebuyers, builders, real estate brokers and media informed about Walnut Creek, Clairemont established a Walnut Creek Facebook page and Twitter feed. We devised a blog strategy and editorial calendar, to start in 2012.

Evaluation:

Our results directly correlate to our objectives, as follows:

1. Build an arsenal of communications materials prior to the property acquisition announcement.

  • Clairemont created key messages, a fact sheet, backgrounders and other materials to support LStar, delivered on time prior to the closing announcement.

2. Secure at least five neutral or positive news articles by year’s end.

  • Clairemont secured 14 positive news stories between Oct. 31 and the end of 2011. By issuing our media releases on BusinessWire, the two announcements also received 1,272 online views.

3. Establish a social media presence prior to a mid-December ribbon-cutting ceremony.

  • Per our client-approved timeline, Clairemont set up and launched Facebook and Twitter for Walnut Creek in conjunction with the event.  A new blog was launched in January.

4. Recruit 10 homebuilders interested in buying and building on lots in the community.

  • As a result of the positive news coverage, LStar has been contacted by several builders interested in constructing new homes in Walnut Creek. One builder has already started construction, and 14 more are undergoing LStar’s stringent homebuilder application process.

LStar recognizes that the first three months of community and public interaction under its new ownership were critical to its rebranding and reputation management efforts and attribute the early success to Clairemont. As a result, Clairemont has been retained as the agency of record for Walnut Creek in 2012.

What did you think of this public relations case study? Was it helpful? We’re here to answer any questions you may have!

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How to Write Convincing Calls-to-Action Copy

Josephine ButlerBlog, Marketing, Public Relations, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Like we’ve mentioned before, one of the ways that Clairemont team members work on professional development is by reading. We’re constantly seeking the latest and greatest when it comes to social media and public relations. Without further ado, here’s a review of our most recent find: an e-book from Hubspot entitled, “Mastering the Design and Copy of Calls-to-Action.”

When it comes to click-through rates, lead conversions and sales, good writing practices are important. Public relations professionals must master the art of calls-to-action (CTAs), a website’s request for a visitor to take action (think of the copy that precedes a “Like us”).

While we’d really love to write the copy for you (seriously, contact us!), we’d also like to share a few tips on how to write your own compelling CTAs. They are:

  • Start with subjects and verbs. It helps readers to quickly understand the meaning of the sentence and what you’re asking them to do. Never forget to include a verb – if you do, you aren’t prompting any action!
  • Include numbers. This way, you can be specific about what you’re offering. Research proves that CTAs with numerical data have high view rates.
  • Use adverbs sparingly. They have no fixed position in a sentence and are the part of speech that gets the fewest number of shares on Twitter.
  • Keep your CTA between 90-150 characters. In true Twitter fashion, your CTAs should also stay within the 140-character limit. It’s always better to be short, concise and to the point!
  • Stay away from technical lingo. If you had to look it up, your reader probably will have to do the same. Instead, use words like “insights,” “analysis,” “answers,” etc. These words suggest that your content can help improve your reader in some way.
  • Be specific. Instead of the vague “click here” or “submit” button, try being more upfront about what it is that you want your reader to do (i.e. “browse,” “compare,” or “grab”).

We hope you found these tips helpful. Stay tuned as we continue to share more best practices in the weeks to come. In the meantime, be sure to share your questions and comments. We’d love to help!

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