Tag: Raleigh PR

Zing! First Zambrero Comes to Raleigh

Cherith AndesBlog, Clairemont Client News, Restaurant PR + Hospitality PR, , ,

We’re excited to announce one of our newest clients — and we feel like we need a sombrero and a kangaroo all at once to talk about them!

Zambrero, Australia’s largest Mexican franchise, is debuting its second location in America and first in the Southeast at One Glenwood in Raleigh, North Carolina.

What’s so cool about Zambrero (besides just about everything)?

Its “good for you” menu! (with “IQ Salsa”)

Zambrero backs its “good for you” menu with a critical differentiator: the restaurant doesn’t use fryers or grills. Instead, Zambrero cooks its meat using the sous-vide method, the process of vacuum-sealing meats with marinade and spices, submerging in hot water and cooking for up to 18 hours. Sous-vide produces tender, juicy and flavorful meats without the added carcinogens or fats of standard cooking methods.

Zambrero features fresh ingredients, superfood options and customizable dishes, such as burritos, bowls, tacos, nachos, dos capas and quesadillas. The menu includes proprietary sauces, hand-made guacamole and its famous Pepita Salsa — known as “the IQ Salsa” in Australia due to its protein-packed recipe. Guests can also enjoy a range of beers, Cayman Jack Margaritas, Honest Honey Green Tea, Vitamin Water, Bai and other non-alcoholic beverages.

Its Mission to Fight World Hunger.

A mission-driven concept, Zambrero offers a healthy superfood menu along with its Plate 4 Plate initiative in partnership with Rise Against Hunger. With each burrito, bowl or bottle of water purchased, Zambrero donates a meal to someone in need.

For several years, Zambrero has partnered with Rise Against Hunger to provide more than 34 million meals to countries in need with the goal to donate 1 billion meals by 2025. Founded in Canberra, Australia, Zambrero has quickly burgeoned to approximately 200 locations across Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and now the United States.

So What’s the Date?

Zambrero plans to open its doors in January 2020 at its location at 1 Glenwood Avenue, #105, Raleigh, NC 27603. This will be the first of 60-75 locations that Phoenix Restaurants, LLC plans to develop throughout the Carolinas, including locations in University Hill in Durham and Parkside Town Commons in Cary planned to open in spring or summer 2020.

We love a good grand opening for everything from wine bars to master-planned real estate communities! Check ’em out!

Photos courtesy of Zambrero

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For the Love of PR

Clairemont InternBlog, Fashion, Public Relations, , ,

Ah, Valentine’s. Stop and unwrap a few Dove chocolates (or Hershey’s Kisses … whatever your indulgence). At Clairemont, we are using this “season of love” to celebrate our everyday work. We love what we get to do for our clients, and here’s why!

  1. We never have a dull moment. Nope, never bored in our world! With all that PR encompasses – media relations, brand management, crisis communications, content development, social media management, influencer marketing and the list goes on – it’s endlessly fascinating. No work day is the same, and we love that.
  2. We love to learn. Over the years, we’ve worked with a bunch of great clients across a number of industries, including British nobility, pepper festivals and chocolate factories. Our job is continuously evolving. To keep up, we have to always be learning. From the latest social media platform, analytics tools or creative trends, our team loves to dig deep and dive in to new ventures.
  3. We stay on top of trends!  One of the many things that PR pros are renowned for is being “in the know.” And we love to dress the part! From breaking news to the latest fashion trends (yes, ruffles and white boots have become popular again!), we’re always switched on to what’s going on in the world.  (Remember that time we jumped on the palazzo pant trend?)
  4. We commit! PR is one of the best businesses for building relationships. The job gives us countless opportunities to network with spirited co-workers, clients, members of the media (news anchors, print journalists, bloggers) and even celebrities! At Clairemont, we love finding new friends and turning them into lifelong pals.
  5. We love to save the day. PR pros are like ninjas. We think fast on our feet in even the most challenging of crisis situations. Even more, we love making a difference in the community; the Clairemont team takes pride in planning and implementing community events and nonprofit initiatives to improve the lives of those around us.

In PR, what we do today can make a difference on what tomorrow will bring. Revisit your own list of things you love often and revise it as you develop your own goals.

What do you love most about your work?

By the way, on the topic of love, Clairemont “speaks” the five languages of love.

Written by Clairemont Intern Ru Wolle, a senior at NCSU.
Photos from Canva.

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The Five Love Languages: PR Edition

Kelli FletcherBlog, Hiring a PR Firm, Public Relations, , , ,

In 1995 Gary Chapman wrote a book that promised to enlighten you on “how to express heartfelt commitment to your mate.” It was dubbed the “secret” to making a relationship last and promised a path to truer, deeper love. The book was titled, The Five Love Languages. Twenty years later a revised edition of the book was released and since then, pop culture has seen a resurgence of the concept: that there are five ways to express and experience love, and that each person has one primary and one secondary love language.

Well, call us silly, but we do fancy ourselves in the business of love and commitment. As in, we LOVE what we do and who we do it for, and we are COMMITTED to making our clients happy, day in and day out. In fact, to take it a step further, our team strives to not just make these relationships with our clients but also to maintain them for years to come.

And because each client’s needs are different and each views success in a variety of ways, we’ll argue that we’ve become somewhat of a group of experts at this whole theory and each of its languages. Bottom line: Every day we strive to present our clients with all the languages of love!

Here’s a little snippet of ways we at Clairemont “speak” the five languages of love:

Receiving Gifts: Some people love flowers, but we think nothing says “I love you” more than a big fat clipbook of media hits in our client’s target outlets.

Quality Time: We not only connect with our clients weekly but we also try to do it in person whenever we can. We love hosting kick-off meetings and “calls” at the Clairemont House. This way our clients (and potential clients) can see where all the magic happens.

Words of Affirmation: Whether it’s feedback on a recent camera interview or acknowledging a fantastic idea, we want to let our clients know they’re doing a great job. We think we work with some of the best clients in the biz, and, well, we’re going to tell you about it.

Acts of Service: For us, this is our most fluent. We’re not just going to talk the talk; we’re going to walk the walk! Maybe it’s connecting our clients to the community or to each other. Or perhaps we are tasked with executing a flawless event. Whatever it is our clients need, we’re going to make sure it gets done.

Physical Touch: Often times we’ll kick off a client relationship with a strong handshake and celebrate successes with a high five. But there’s no hiding that we’re a group of huggers at heart, which means we often hug it out with our clients when we say hello and good-bye.

Maybe one of these languages speaks more loudly to you, or heck, maybe you and your business need them all. Either way, our team is up (and excited!) for the chance to show you we care! Want to learn more? Drop us a line!

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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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Finding Inspiration

Cherith AndesBlog, Professional Development, The Clairemont Team, , , , Leave a Comment on Finding Inspiration
I think it’s safe to say we all are in need of a little inspiration from time to time — especially those of us who work in the public relations field. Sometimes the secret sauce needs a little shaking or a  fresh ingredient. Our fabulous Clairemont team is no exception, so we wanted to share with you some of those golden gems that spark our creativity!

Tracy Lathan

I find that my kids are my creative inspiration. At just five and seven years of age, they already know the new technology, games, apps, movies and dances that are all the rage. They keep me on my toes and on top of what is trending. I also find inspiration from various blogs I follow on topics such as food and fashion. And I always make sure to stay up to date on industry trends in PR Strategies & Tactics and other outlets to see how other public relations pros are tackling challenging subjects.

Nathan McDaniel

I find much of my inspiration in the promise of the end result. I want to work hard towards a goal or task so that when it is finished, if done correctly, the satisfaction of doing a good job provides me with motivation. I take pride in my finished products; so when I am putting in the hard work I can push myself, because it will produce a better result. Creativity is a factor that often inhibits progress due to its ability to frustrate and confuse us. If I am stuck, I go completely outside of the box. Sometimes, a brand new style or an off-the-wire idea can generate the best work. Having a brainstorming session over fresh coffee is the best way for me to come up with ideas.

Yasmine Evans

Whenever I’m feeling like I’m in a rut, I switch it up with some music. The type of music just depends on what I’m feeling that day, but music can usually get the creative juices flowing. If I’m feeling like I’ve been stuck for awhile, I’ll try a change of scenery like going for a walk or hanging out at a coffee shop or library. That usually does the trick!

Cherith Andes

Grouch0 Marx amuses me with one of his hallmark quotes: “I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.” I concur! The power of the written word can not only educate and entertain but also inspire and invigorate. From blogs, news stories and op-ed pieces to the back of a cereal box, creative copy reflects a different point of view that can often spark fresh ideas in my own work.

Dana Phelps

Inspiration is everywhere! Shelves of my grocery store offer innovative packaging and clever copy. Art work — whether displayed in The Prado or quickly sketched on theback of a paper placemat by a child — never fails to get my creative juices flowing. Possibly the best way to kick start my brain into idea generation is to first clear it, and nothing does the trick like nature. My favorite place to be is on a beach at sunset. When I can’t make that happen, simply pushing away from my desk and talking a walk around downtown Raleigh always puts me in the right frame of mind.
Looking for your own dose of inspiration? Check out the fun ideas in our case studies!
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