Category: Awards

What Does a PR Agency Do? WGU Comes to NC

Kelli FletcherAwards, Blog, Case Studies

Western Governors University (WGU) is a nationally recognized online, competency-based university designed for busy adults who must balance work, family and financial obligations but may not be able to attend a traditional brick-and-mortar university. In the fall of 2017, WGU prepared to launch WGU North Carolina, a partnership that was created through an agreement between the state of North Carolina and the nonprofit university. Since WGU is based in Utah, it hired Clairemont Communications to effectively understand the North Carolina landscape and to plan and execute a press conference that would officially launch WGU North Carolina.

Chancellor Catherine Truitt speaking at the launch of WGU North Carolina.

STRATEGY

Clairemont conducted research to better understand the public awareness level of WGU across the state. As suspected, general awareness of WGU in North Carolina was very low. Therefore, we knew the location of the press conference needed to have a big impact. We collectively decided on the North Carolina State Capitol building to send the message that this was not just another online university but a partnership with the support of state officials. Clairemont worked with WGU to establish the primary audiences we would be targeting to attend the press conference.

EXECUTION

In order to grab the attention of busy reporters and influencers, Clairemont’s strategy featured a high-profile media event rich with visuals, exclusive interviews and elite spokespersons. With less than a month to plan and execute the press conference, the Clairemont team had to employ creative and tenacious efforts to secure permits for use of the State Capitol building and grounds. We were also tasked with helping secure a strong lineup of speakers at the press conference with little notice.

RESULTS

Our team surpassed expectations of building credibility for WGU NC by securing attendance from three prominent politicians and key thought leaders, including the Lt. Governor, Speaker of the House and President of the NC Chamber. With the goal of five local stories including broadcast coverage, Clairemont exceeded the objective by landing 31 total stories and securing on-site attendance from two TV stations.

The work Clairemont Communications conducted in partnership with Western Governors University earned an Award of Excellence by the North Carolina Public Relations Society and a Platinum Award by the Raleigh Public Relations Society. We are proud that this campaign represents one of the 219 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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219 Award-Winning Inspirations

Kelli FletcherAwards, Blog, Professional Development, Public Relations, ,

There are many things that inspire us: our workspace, coffee, our teammates, the DTR vibe. But it is fair to say that that nothing inspires us more than our clients. We’re always striving to be creative, efficient, thorough and most of all fun, while helping them reach goals and achieve success. And in turn, their success equals ours. So when it comes time to celebrate our work, we’re not too shy about doing just that, because we’re proud of what we do and we love doing it. Last night, Clairemont celebrated our 2018 client work with some big wins at the 2019 Inspire Awards.

Hosted by the North Carolina Chapter of the PRSA, the Inspire Awards recognize the best public relations campaigns and tactics from North Carolina’s Triangle to its Coast. PR pros from the region submit their work to a panel of judges from other PRSA Chapters for consideration for Silver and Bronze Awards.

2019 PRSA Inspire Awards

This year, Clairemont received a total of 19 awards, including six Best in Category awards and the Bronze Best In Show.

  • Bronze Award for Best in Show for “Media Relations: A Royal Media Affair with Lord Spencer and Theodore Alexander”
  • Award of Excellence and Best in Category for “Integrated Communications: Governments/Associations/Nonprofit Organizations: Lighting a Fire for Everyday Heroes”
  • Award of Excellence and Best in Category for “Websites: Briar Chapel’s Website Refresh”
  • Award of Excellence and Best in Category for “Editorials/Op-Ed Columns: WGU North Carolina Takes Higher Education to Another Level”
  • Award of Excellence and Best in Category for “Media Relations: Theodore Alexander and Lord Spencer Unveil Royal Furniture”
  • Award of Excellence and Best in Category for “Events and Observances: Theodore Alexander and Charles, 9th Earl Spencer Debut Royal Furniture Line”
  • Award of Excellence and Best in Category for “Reputation/Brand Management: Western Governors University Builds a Brand in North Carolina”
  • Bronze Award of Excellence for “Feature Story: Briar Chapel Feature Story”
  • Bronze Award of Excellence for “Media Relations: A Royal Media Affair with Lord Spencer and Theodore Alexander”
  • Bronze Award of Excellence for “Media Relations: Vita Vite Hosts a Toast-Worthy Preview”
  • Bronze Award of Excellence for “Social Media: Reimagining Holiday Traditions with Riceland”
  • Silver Honorable Mention for “Marketing Consumer Products/Services: Carrie Knowles – A Laureate’s New Laurels”
  • Bronze Honorable Mention for “Video News Releases/Satellite Media Tours/Internal External Video Programs: Wendell Falls: Open Campaign Videos”

Thank you to our amazing clients! We are grateful for the opportunity to do what we love and love what we do!

Want to explore how we can create a winning campaign for your business? Drop us a line!

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What does a PR agency do? Newland Saves Residents A Million Dollars

Clairemont InternAwards, Blog, Case Studies, , , , , , , Leave a Comment on What does a PR agency do? Newland Saves Residents A Million Dollars

Newland Communities, the country’s largest privately held residential real estate developer, touts two master-planned green communities in central North Carolina: Briar Chapel and Wendell Falls. From inception, Newland built these communities on principles of sustainable design through energy efficient land planning and comprehensive, NGBS-certified home construction – standing as the two largest green communities in the Triangle. Newland sought to showcase its industry leadership with research and data proving the tangible value of building green. Clairemont set the objective to reach media outlets with a circulation of more than 100,000. Therefore, our goal was to secure a feature story in Builder Magazine within the 2017 calendar year that highlighted Newland’s delivery of demonstrable results.

STRATEGY

Clairemont and client Newland developed five personas to define our diverse target market, homebuyers between ages 21 and 65 actively seeking homes in North Carolina and designed an innovative pitch angle tailored to the publications’ needs. Clairemont framed the 10-year study’s centerpiece finding – that Briar Chapel and Wendell Falls saved residents more than $1 million in energy bills – with attention-grabbing, light-hearted depictions of the equivalent annual savings. For example, homeowners could have purchased 14,015 movie nights, 9,110 family cookouts or 60,733 fresh apple pies with their savings. We accompanied our pitch with content that editors could repurpose, such as visually appealing charts and images of the homes. To further ensure a good editorial fit, we met Builder Magazine’s need for data-driven insights by offering supplementary reports, an interview with Newland’s marketing director and the top three quantifiable ways Newland saves energy.

EXECUTION

The Clairemont team completed a media audit to determine which outlets provided maximum visibility within the target demographic. We also thoroughly researched the green building market to identify homebuyers’ biggest questions about green building and how Newland allays these concerns. To ensure quality from start to finish, we held regular internal planning meetings and client calls and completed multiple rounds of editing and proofing.

RESULTS

Clairemont met the stated objective and far exceeded expectations within our budget by the end of 2017. The feature story in Builder Magazine spotlighted Newland’s sustainable nature while positioning the community as a thought leader in the green home industry to its circulation of approximately 120,000.

This feature story fed into a larger campaign that skyrocketed traffic at Wendell Falls by approximately 32 percent, landed Briar Chapel two Best Neighborhood awards in Chapel Hill and earned Newland the Developer of the Year award from the Home Builders Association of the Triangle.

The work Clairemont Communications conducted in partnership with Newland Communities earned Awards of Excellence, Best in Category and Best in Show awards by the North Carolina Public Relations Society of America (NCPRSA) and a Platinum Award from the Raleigh Public Relations Society. We are proud that this campaign represents one of the 198 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? A Freshly Baked Media Kit

Clairemont InternAwards, Blog, Case Studies, , , , , , , , Leave a Comment on What does a PR agency do? A Freshly Baked Media Kit

Il Palio, Chapel Hill’s AAA-rated Four Diamond Italian restaurant, wanted to break into the national culinary scene and gain acclaim as a leading restaurant in the Southeast. As part of a comprehensive PR strategy, Clairemont Communications secured a coveted invitation for Executive Chef Teddy Diggs to cook a dinner at the James Beard House, the country’s leading culinary organization.

A Tasty Media Kit

To secure an invitation to the James Beard House, Clairemont creatively positioned Chef Teddy as the country’s newest kind of “sommelier,” an olive oil expert qualified by his extensive culinary experience with Italy’s olive oil producing regions. Clairemont then crafted themed pitches to pique the interest of busy culinary writers in New York City. To accompany the pitches, we devised a media kit with one main ingredient: a wedge of Teddy’s renowned, freshly baked Sea Salt and Rosemary Focaccia. We paired the tasty sample with an opportunity for an in-person interview with Teddy as well as an invitation to the Italian Olive Oil Feast at the James Beard House. It was all in the details! We orchestrated the bread’s perfectly timed journey from Il Palio’s ovens to New York’s news desks within 24 hours.

Results

  1. Clairemont placed six national media stories in coveted outlets such as Saveur, The Daily Meal and Food Republic. Social media posts reached approximately 1.2 million followers on Twitter alone, far exceeding the original goal.
  2. As a direct result of our media kit, Clairemont secured dinner attendance from five key media from outlets like Food and Wine Magazine and NBC’s Today Show.

Bolstered by diner reviews and media coverage, Il Palio earned a Silver Medal from food critics as a “Best Restaurant in the Triangle in 2017.” In addition, the James Beard dinner sparked the “Taste of James Beard,” a collaborative dinner with leading Raleigh chefs that Chef Teddy hosted upon return, leveraging his New York trip to attract new customers and boost sales at Il Palio.

The work Clairemont Communications conducted in partnership with Il Palio earned a Best in Category and an Honorable Mention by the North Carolina Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). We are proud that this campaign represents one of the 198 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.

Feature image courtesy of Sandra Benton.

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Clairemont Goes Platinum

Cherith AndesAwards, Blog, Raleigh PR Agency, , , , Leave a Comment on Clairemont Goes Platinum

Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Garth Brooks, Barbara Streisand — these 20th-century musical moguls marked history with more than 30 platinum and more than 10 multi-platinum records — each.

While we may never build a Graceland or jumpstart a British invasion, Clairemont celebrated its own platinum milestone at the 2018 Sir Walter Awards.

Hosted by the Raleigh Public Relations Society, the Sir Walter Raleigh Awards of Excellence in Communication showcase exemplary campaigns and tactics by public relations and communication professionals. This competition is held annually and recognizes and honors practitioners who have achieved excellence in a variety of categories, as judged by an independent panel of judges. Winning entries receive a rank of silver, gold or  platinum, which is the highest recognition.

This year, Clairemont was humbled to receive a total of eight awards, including six platinum accolades, the most number of platinums awarded this year.

  • Platinum Award in Integrated Communications: “Babalu’s Grand Opening Rocks the Guac“
  • Platinum Award in Campaigns: Green/Sustainability – One Time or Special Event: “Briar Chapel’s Pepper Festival Turns 10”
  • Platinum Award in Campaigns: Special Events – One to Five Days: “Il Palio Fires Up at the James Beard House“ (This award received a perfect score.)
  • Platinum Award in Campaigns: Special Event – Media Event: “Western Governors University Comes to North Carolina”
  • Platinum Award in Tactics: Media Relations: “Talbots and Oprah Magazine Dress for Success“
  • Platinum Award in Tactics: Media Kit: “Il Palio’s Freshly Baked Media Kit”
  • Gold Award in Tactics: Videos – Broadcast/Web Commercial: “Wendell Falls Builder Spotlight Videos”
  • Silver Award in Tactics: Social Media: “The Vita Vite Lifestyle“

Thank you to our clients! It’s such a privilege to be able to do work we love for people and businesses we love.

Want to explore how we might cook up something great for your business? Drop us a line!

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