Tag: pr strategy

Soccer PR: USWNT World Cup Win

Clairemont InternBlog, Public Relations, Social Media + Influencer Engagement, ,

I’m a soccer fan – more specifically, a U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) fan. So you can imagine, as the concluding whistle blew at the World Cup finals this summer and the USWNT paraded around the field in Lyon, France, I was watching from my home in Charlotte with tears of joy in my eyes. The beloved team I have ardently followed for the last six years won the greatest match in its sport.

With the lingering excitement from the USA win, I can’t help but think about how these soccer icons employed an unofficial – yet effective – PR strategy during the World Cup to support their own goal of securing equal pay in the industry. Through establishing relationships, understanding their audience and leveraging the tools and circumstances at hand, these pro-athletes fostered support and acceptance for equal pay activism.

Here’s how the USWNT made an impact in the PR game.

@kelleyohara

Social Media: Every day of the World Cup, the players were extremely active on social media. These interactions garnered excitement and attention, encouraged fellow players on match day and eventually gained worldwide engagement. Seeing the team not only post consistently but also intentionally interact with each other on social media platforms helped the nation to adore the friendships and camaraderie on the team. Bolstered by this bond with its fans, the USWNT effortlessly collected supporters to rally behind it on and off the field, even yielding “equal pay” chants after securing the final victory. 

The Power of Relationships: Due to the attention drawn to the wage conversation during the World Cup, USWNT sponsors willingly responded to the noise. Secret Deodorant, LUNA Nutrition Bars and other team sponsors donated money in an effort to help close the wage gap. Because of the positive relationships cultivated by the team, the sponsors made a statement of support, providing the team greater exposure, agency and acceptance. 

Press Coverage: The women knew the amount of news coverage they would get surrounding a World Cup win, so they took advantage of the opportunity. For example, the players weaved the topic of wage equality into post-match and post-win interviews. Players Carli Lloyd, Christen Press, Morgan Brian and other notables even sat down with then-CBS News Correspondent Norah O’Donnell to discuss their next steps in spurring the end to wage inequality in their sport.

With a win, the team more powerfully leveraged its position in the media’s presence to earn circulation of its equal pay message. The country that so faithfully supports the team’s on-the-field effort has now rallied behind its message of equality.

I love soccer and PR. Check out my introduction blog to learn a little more about me!

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

Clairemont InternAwards, Blog, Case Studies, , , , ,

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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Copy Cat: Hallmark Hacks

Cherith AndesBlog, Copy Cat, Marketing, , , , , ,

The perfect birthday card. Ah, the elusive unicorn of celebrations and parties. I cringe to count how many hours I’ve spent in Target deliberating between this cutesy shoe motif, this edgy humorous layout or that blasé cake/candles/my-how-good-you-look card. While I’m sure its no easy feat churning out hundreds of soiree-themed slogans, birthday cards seem to strike the perfect (or imperfect!) balance of cheesy and cliche.

…until a recent afternoon in Rite Aid, of all the places. I stumbled on a card brand that snagged my attention but not just because of the clever copy.

It was the placeholder behind each card that piqued my interest.

When a particular card runs out, Shoebox — a Hallmark brand –– leverages this empty space as an opportunity to engage with customers and showcase its voice. Shoebox touts itself as “the perfect way to make someone laugh out loud. These sometimes edgy, irreverent takes on real life are surprising, hilarious, often inappropriate and always timely.”

The empty card slots were slathered with copy like this:

In a word: unexpected. In two: delightfully unexpected.

The witty whims were a surprise almost as much as the creative placement. So a big thumbs up to Shoebox for spying this opportunity to make an impression and increase a form of dialogue with its customer base. I’ll certainly be checking out the Shoebox cards section before my next birthday bash.

And that’s not all. Want to see our favorite (and not-so-favorite) copy? Check out other copy cat blogs!

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What Does a PR Agency Do? Unlocking Your Child’s Future

Clairemont InternAwards, Blog, Case Studies, , , , , , ,

Newland Communities, the country’s most prominent privately held residential developer, launched its newest master-planned community – Wendell Falls – in May of 2015. Since many families choose their homes based on the quality of the closest school system, Newland turned to Clairemont Communications to unveil the strengths of eastern Wake County’s academics and position Wendell Falls as a popular living destination for families.

Strategy and Tactics

Clairemont crafted a comprehensive strategic campaign to target families with school-aged children seeking homes in the Triangle area. As a component of the campaign, our team set the objective to develop an informative external publication highlighting the school system’s strengths to ambassadors and prospects. The touchstone publication supported a larger strategy to boost home sales by 100 percent in 2016.

Execution

Clairemont decided to craft a brochure that was clear, concise and easily portable, giving realtors the ability to physically pass them out without weighing them down from too much information. Our goal was to make the information readily available to realtors when they were asked questions about Wake County schools and to showcase the quality of education that the school system has to offer the prospective homebuyers and their families.

Results

Clairemont met the stated objective and far exceeded expectations, successfully creating an attractive, informative publication for  homebuyers and ambassadors. Complemented by additional family-centric marketing, sales increased by approximately 250 percent in 2016. Clairemont’s brochure even prompted one Wendell Falls representative to tout it as “the best school tool we’ve had to date!”

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. 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.

*Cover image courtesy of Wendell Falls.

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PR People: Kim Morris

Sarah HattmanBlog, PR People, Public Relations, , , , , , 2 Comments on PR People: Kim Morris

Kim Morris

Job title and function: Independent PR practitioner and communications strategist. I work with organizations to discover what truly makes them different through a process that combines the best of public relations, branding and marketing. Then, I promote what they do through a strategy of best public relations practices. I think of it as connecting the dots. I most enjoy creating content that makes a brand, a cause or a person shine.

Most rewarding thing about working in PR today: For me it’s about creating awareness for things I believe in; finding my own link between purposeful work and purposeful living. Whether it’s about global food security and sustainable food production representing Bühler, medical education and research that improves healthcare representing UNC’s School of Medicine or helping The Blood Connection keep the public eye on the community blood supply, being able to communicate authentically helps me keep the focus real.

Craziest/most challenging thing you’ve done in PR: Working on the Volvo GM Heavy Truck account, I once got behind the wheel of a big rig to understand payload, aerodynamics and the lure of the open road. I got the nickname Overdrive. Another time—long before Blue Apron reinvented dinner—I helped Rich-Seapak introduce a seafood meal kit to food editors in test markets. I drove around Washington, D.C. to deliver “Shrimp Sensations” with a bottle of wine and loaf of bread. Later, representing the Doncaster brand, I coordinated press previews for seasonal collections during New York’s Fashion Week (7th on Sixth). All were fun efforts that generated lots of great media coverage.

Advice for new PR pros: Commit to a daily habit of writing to clarify your thinking and keep you thinking about your audience. Always keep your eye on results and be sure to seek out a mentor. No matter what age you are, there will always be something to learn. Finally, step outside your comfort zone. For me, travel experiences have always provided the best comparison points—helping me read between the lines and understand different perspectives for communicating.

Are you interested in being featured in “PR People?” Send us a message on Facebook to share your story!

Sarah Hattman, APR is president-elect for the North Carolina chapter of Public Relations Society of America and has been working in PR since she left television news. She grew up in North Carolina and was excited to move back to her home state in 2012 and join Clairemont Communications, a Raleigh PR agency. 
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