Tag: Raleigh PR

What Does a PR Agency Do? A Top-Selling Real Estate Community

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

Briar Chapel is one of largest master-planned green communities in North Carolina and part of Newland Communities, the country’s most prominent privately held residential real estate developer. As it approached its eighth year in business, the marketing team turned to Clairemont, its agency of record, to continue to position Briar Chapel as one of the Triangle’s most desirable living destinations.

Strategy

Clairemont crafted a strategy to reenergize Briar Chapel’s organizational identity through media relations, creative on-site events and community partnerships. Since research showed that target buyers valued self-expression and innovation along with a sense of community, our methods provided opportunities for prospects to interact and personally experience the relational atmosphere at Briar Chapel while highlighting its cutting-edge, customizable lifestyle offerings.

Execution

The Pepper Festival: Hosted on-site at Briar Chapel, the annual Pepper Festival celebrates local culture and food, featuring the largest chef competition in the state. As the team planned for the 9th Pepper Festival, Clairemont spiced up the event to increase attendance and gain stronger visibility for Briar Chapel. To connect with families, we launched the inaugural Spicy Kid Chef Competition, pairing top chefs with aspiring “Pint-Sized Chefs” and challenging the peppery pairs to craft their most creative pepper-themed dish. We tapped into the creative class by hosting a “Hot Glam Fashion Show” where designers showcased pepper-themed couture.

To boost online visibility and social sharing, Clairemont created an interactive personality quiz peppered with twists of wit; seven short questions posed unexpected queries and prescribed a pepper-themed personality type (like “Mild Child,” “Sweet Heat” or “Flame Thrower”), encouraging users to share their results and enter to win festival tickets. Creative and individualized pitches piqued the interest of target influencers. These efforts attracted a record 2,500 festivalgoers on-site to Briar Chapel and secured record coverage, including features in regional magazines and on TV segments.

Launching Veranda: As Briar Chapel prepared to unveil Veranda, its first commercial segment, Clairemont added zest to the strategy to snag the interest of media and guests. For example, we bypassed standard shovels at the ground-breaking ceremony and opted instead to put our officials at the helm of Bobcat excavators.

The ground-breaking ceremony secured visits from the Triangle’s top reporters through creative pitches and placed stories in almost all of the area’s major outlets. To foster community engagement before grand opening, Briar Chapel hosted “Meet the Neighbors,” inviting residents to enjoy complementary food, beverages, live music and services from their new Veranda neighbors at a block-style party. Veranda opened its doors as an attractor for homebuyers and destination for Chapel Hill visitors.

Partnerships and Community Events: To attract prospective homebuyers, Clairemont ditched blasé home tours and helped launch a series of creative on-site events. The team reinstated Music in the Meadow, an outdoor summer concert series featuring local bands, food trucks and family activities in Briar Chapel’s renowned parks. Briar Chapel also hosted a Triangle Off-Road Cyclists (TORC) race to attract the public on-site while showcasing its extensive trail system. Standard open-house weekends were transformed into interactive celebrations that offered guests guides to explore amenities and gift certificates to enjoy the shops and restaurants at Veranda, Briar Chapel’s new commercial segment.

Online Presence: Clairemont retooled Briar Chapel’s website content to reflect its innovative homes and the sense of community that target demographics prized. To boost reader interest, we transformed data into useful, creative content, such as a DIY home blog series, sneak peek tours of developments and resident spotlights on programs such as “Pooches on the Porch.”

Creative Media Pitches: Clairemont brainstormed creative angles beyond home construction to pique the interest of reporters throughout the year. Our pitches explored everything from Briar Chapel’s commitment to green building and its new age-qualified section to its active, vibrant vibe.

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 36 news stories and blogs.
  2. Special events drew an additional 4,000 people on-site.
  3. Home sales increased by 49 percent in 2016.

As a result of this campaign, Clairemont successfully positioned Briar Chapel as one of the top places to live in the Triangle, which helped Briar Chapel meet its annual sales goal and earn the title of Best Neighborhood by Chapel Hill Magazine.

The work Clairemont Communications conducted in partnership with Briar Chapel earned a Gold Award in Organizational Identity/Promotion 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.

Read More

What Does a PR Agency Do? Our Coffee Cares Video

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

Newland Communities, the country’s most prominent privately held residential developer, unveiled its newest master-planned community – Wendell Falls – in the spring of 2015. Wendell Falls is situated in a relatively undeveloped section of Wake County, and when it experienced a lull in traffic, Newland turned to Clairemont Communications to re-engage prospective homebuyers and increase interest during slower winter months.

Strategy and Execution

As part of a larger strategic approach, Clairemont crafted a campaign that leveraged a foodie trend by highlighting Grounds Café, the on-site cafe, and its sustainable approach to sourcing. Clairemont created a video targeting food influencers as well as homebuyers in the Triangle with the objective of ultimately helping increase interest and traffic at Wendell Falls in the month of December by 50 percent, as compared to 2015.

This story would create an additional cultural appeal beyond just housing products. But instead of relying on editorial articles or paid advertising, Clairemont chose to also tell the story via a video featuring personal interviews. Visual mediums like this are easily sharable and have proven to generate higher interest from viewers as well as produce higher engagement on social media.

Results

The Grounds Café video secured the highest number of views for any Facebook video at that time posted by Wendell Falls. In addition, Wendell Falls experienced a distinct uptick in traffic, experiencing an 81.6 percent increase in December 2016, as compared to December 2015. Since then, we’ve converted followers into fans; Raleigh influencers and foodies regularly visit Grounds, posting pictures and touting Wendell Falls to their 50,000+ followers on social media.

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 for our video “Our Coffee Cares.” It also received a Gold Award in Video/Podcast/Videocast from the Raleigh Public Relations Society. 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.

Read More

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.

Read More

Maximize Your 2018 Marketing

Cherith AndesBlog, Marketing, Social Media + Influencer Engagement, , ,

What’s hot? Ringing in the new year doesn’t necessarily require a revamp of current strategies. But it does call for a closer look at burgeoning digital and social media trends along with new tools on the horizon. Where do you need to place your focus to maximize your marketing efforts and boost business success?

A New Definition of Evergreen Content

In the past, social media platforms catered to snack-sized, temporary content forms designed to be consumed at brief intervals. Recently, there has been a gradual shift toward permanent content. Unlike traditional “evergreen” content, however, the M.O. of social media is still real-time posts that can be specific to one moment, event or experience. (e.g. Snaps from a one-time conference or a Insta story about your lunch burger.)

Platforms are now creating ways to make the content permanently available. For example, Instagram recently launched Stories Archives, allowing users to save and repurpose their stories, along with Highlights that showcases “permanent” video compilations on the user’s profile. So much for the 24-hour lifespan. Businesses should leverage this opportunity to create content with consideration to future repurposing. Not only does this alleviate hefty content planning, it also can add credibility by reconnecting the audience with past successes, products and appearances.

Short Planning Periods

The days of the annual content calendars are bygone. Both technology and social media platforms introduce new products and features weekly, monthly and quarterly. Yes, create a content marketing game plan commensurate with sales and business goals. But devise an internal system that allows (and even requires) you to revisit and adjust strategy frequently. Create an arsenal of resources to stay updated on consumer behavior and social media trends.

Laser Focus on ROI

With the predicted downturn in the economy, businesses and consumers alike are watching budgets with a close eye. Although this should be nothing new, marketers need to continue to craft strategies based on detailed performance analytics that evaluate multi-faceted variables and KPIs. Fortunately, the digital landscape is replete with powerful tools and user-friendly platforms, like Simply Measured.

Video, Your (Not-So) Secret Weapon

Social video generates 1200 percent more shares than text and images combined. Video on a landing page can increase conversions by 80 percent or more, and video can also drive a 157 percent increase in organic traffic from SERPs. Digital platforms evolve almost weekly to accommodate both instant and highly produced video, such as the good ‘ole Facebook cover photo (that can now be a video). Live Streaming claims center stage boosted by extra tools, like Facebook’s new Creator app that allows you to pre-create intro and outro segments for your live segments. Leverage easy editing tools, like Magisto or Animoto, to create and polish content straight from your phone.

Don’t miss these opportunities to maximize every inch of your strategy. Want to bounce around some ideas? Shoot us an email!

Read More

What Does a PR Agency Do? Briar Chapel Unveils Encore

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

Briar Chapel is one of the largest master-planned green communities in North Carolina and part of Newland Communities, the country’s most prominent privately held residential real estate developer. As Briar Chapel prepared to launch Encore, its new age-qualified section, marketing managers turned to Clairemont Communications to gain visibility and roll out this distinctive offering to homebuyers ages 55 years and older.

Strategy: Feature Story

Clairemont crafted a comprehensive public relations campaign designed to gain visibility and support home sales for Encore. As a key element in this strategy, Clairemont set an objective to secure a feature story in The Original Relocation Guide prior to Encore’s grand opening that highlighted the age-qualified section’s features and lifestyle appeal. To gain maximum exposure, we aimed to secure this story in a local publication with a followership of at least 300,000 that targeted homebuyers. 

Execution

Clairemont recognized that feature stories often secure greater exposure with more opportunity to tell a complete, in-depth narrative than news briefs or short blurbs. Encore included a distinct set of lifestyle offerings that few other locations in the country could claim, so a larger feature story was critical to thoroughly depicting the character of the new section. The Original Location Guide, with its large readership in North Carolina, provided the perfect vehicle to share the news.

Clairemont crafted a creative, out-of-the-box angle designed to grab the attention of busy editors. Our initial hook leveraged the exclusivity that Encore offered, since it was only the second of its kind in the country. While this newsy tidbit might have been worth a local newspaper mention, we recognized the need for a more engaging story that would appeal to The Original Relocation Guide’s informative yet warm tone. We invited them to share a “how to” segment that tapped on both the desire to share fresh news as well as equipping the editors with a DIY approach for their home shoppers.

Results

Clairemont met the stated objective and far exceeded expectations. The feature story in The Original Relocation Guide highlighted the distinct character of Encore while positioning Briar Chapel (cited as the author) as a thought leader in the retirement industry to its circulation of 470,000. Published prior to the grand opening, the feature article prompted interest from prospects, and Encore secured a full waiting list of homebuyers by grand opening date.

The work Clairemont Communications conducted in partnership with Briar Chapel received a “Best in Category” award in the 2017 InSpire Awards. 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.

Read More