Tag: real estate PR

We Be Jammin’

Cherith AndesBlog, Clairemont Client News, Marketing, , , ,

“Please come, or we’ll Cry! Cry! Cry!”

Wendell Falls, a new-home master-planned community and Clairemont client, knows the value of a good ‘ole outdoor jam session. It’s back with an exciting line up of live music for Farmhouse Jams, the Wendell Falls annual concert series.

Farmhouse Jams celebrates the very heart and soul of Wendell Falls – a sense of shared community and an expression of our local culture. From far and wide, the Triangle is invited to B.Y.O.C. (Bring Your Own Chair) to the gorgeous Wendell Falls Lake Pavilion for a tribute to summer fun. Get your eats and drinks, like cheesy grilled-cheese goodness and craft brews, at the on-site Grounds Cafe.

It’s festive. It’s family friendly, friend friendly and fun friendly!

Mark your calendars for these events.

Location: The Lake Pavilion at Wendell Falls
320 Vintage Point Lane, Wendell, N.C. 27591

Cost: Free and open to the public.

Schedule
June 17: Johnny Folsom 4, a Johnny Cash tribute band
July 15: The Breakfast Club, a totally rad ’80s band

Ready for more adventures? Explore all of the spicy events the Triangle has to offer with big bashes like the Briar Chapel Annual Pepper Festival!

Images courtesy of Wendell Falls.

 

 

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Newland Scores Developer of the Year

Cherith AndesBlog, Clairemont Client News, Real Estate PR, , , ,

We shined our shoes, donned our glam-est gowns and walked the red carpet with Newland Communities (client)! Hosted by the Home Builders Association of the Triangle, the 2017 MAME Awards honored the Triangle’s most successful and stunning leaders in real estate — from creative marketing campaigns to innovative builders and developers. After an evening of toasts, we celebrated some big wins for Briar Chapel and Wendell Falls — Newland’s two Triangle communities.

Briar Chapel by Newland Communities
Best Overall Advertising Campaign for a Community

Wendell Falls by Newland Communities
Best Social Media Ad by a Community

Newland Communities (Briar Chapel and Wendell Falls)
Developer of the Year

Congratulations to the wonderfully talented staff at Newland! We’re privileged to be a part of your team!

Check out some of our fun projects in the real estate industry!

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Bourbon and Bonbons

Cherith AndesBlog, Real Estate PR, Restaurant PR + Hospitality PR, , , , , ,

At Clairemont, we don’t just spruce up a stalwart event. We love designing completely fresh approaches to target audiences, boost visibility and ultimately secure sales.

Last week, we had the pleasure of doing just that!

Clairemont and client Wendell Falls, the Triangle’s largest new-home community, hosted a VIP tasting soiree that leveraged hot culinary trends and popular local businesses to attract potential homebuyers. Hosted at the Wendell Falls Farmhouse, “Bourbon and Bonbons” rolled out the red carpet with a classy yet casual evening. We invited guests to preview some of the area’s finest bourbons paired with gourmet truffles from Videri Chocolate Factory, one of Raleigh’s beloved downtown artisans. Guests could then enjoy a spread of smoky hors d’oeuvres, live music and a glass of wine or beer.

Friends and fans from across the Triangle joined the festivities — many who were visiting the community for the first time! Cheers to some of Raleigh’s finest flavors and a wonderful event at Wendell Falls!

Cover photo courtesy of wonderful blogger and friend Raleigh Revealed.

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Years of Award-Winning PR With Newland

Dana PhelpsBlog, Case Studies, , ,

When a client-centered PR firm like Clairemont Communications gets together with a customer-centered company like Newland, it’s no surprise that great things happen.

Our collaboration began in 2010, the year Clairemont Communications was founded, and has been recognized with an astounding 33 awards, including 19 InSpire Awards from the North Carolina Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (NCPRSA) and 14 Sir Walter Raleigh Awards from the Raleigh Public Relations Society, with one or more Best in Category or Division almost every year!

We’re frequently asked just what a PR firm does. Often, the answer is that we turn challenges into opportunities. Here are just a few fun examples from our work with Newland Communities over the years:

  • How does a company secure news coverage from a national outlet when circumstances remain highly confidential until negotiations are complete? Find out how we got our client’s preferred news outlet to break the story, as well as coverage from other national outlets here! This campaign earned Clairemont a Best in Division award from Raleigh Public Relations Society and an Award of Excellence from NCPRSA in 2013.
  • How does a new housing community announce itself in a way that both attracts potential buyers and also dispels a myth that it’s too far away from the action? (Hint: you raise a barn!) Read how Clairemont and the Newland team shaped public understanding of Wendell Falls, Newland’s newest Triangle-area community as one that combines proximity to Raleigh with its own vibrant community life here. The Wendell Falls Grand Opening Barn Raising campaign received the Gold Excellence Award for Total Campaign from the Raleigh Public Relations Society as well as Best in Category for Events & Observances from the NCPRSA in 2016.
  • How does a festival get busy media outlets to tune in to news of its eighth year when interest in annual festivals seems on the wane? See how we turned up the heat for the Pepper Festival on behalf of Newland’s Briar Chapel, the largest master-planned green community in North Carolina here. With 50 percent of the development (900 acres!) maintained as natural space, Briar Chapel naturally appeals to home buyers who care about sustainability, the environment and local agriculture. The key was getting the word out. Our creativity in piquig the interest of media resulted in record coverage and top attendance! It also earned an Honorable Mention in Total Campaign from the Raleigh Public Relations Society and an Honorable Mention for Events & Observances from the NCPRSA in 2016.

We love it when our clients give us challenges. Here are two we received from our Briar Chapel clients that resulted in award-winning campaigns.

  • Instead of adding followers just to build numbers, how can we increase engagement with existing fans so they’ll become our brand advocates?
  • How can we get media to come out to Briar Chapel to see the progress the community has made in the five years since the grand opening?

The programs we devised with the Briar Chapel community involved social media Best Buddies and hot air balloon rides, garnering eight awards in 2013 and 2014, including a Best in Category for Community Relations and Media Relations. Read more about both campaigns here. We’re delighted that our ongoing relationship with Newland has allowed us to demonstrate the breadth of our talents, from media relations to community relations, from social media to news releases, from promoting events to the identity of an organization. Newland Communities, operates by this motto:

“In every community we create, one thing will never change—we start with the people who will one day live there, raise their families there, or retire there.”

This jibes with Clairemont Communication’s philosophy of loving our clients, and starting with their needs, often coming up with brand new strategies to help them meet their objectives. If you have a challenge you want to turn into an opportunity, email me at d@clairemontcommunications.com to schedule a call. I’d love to talk with you!

Images courtesy of Briar Chapel.

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What Does a PR Agency Do? The Lincoln Apartments

Cherith AndesAwards, Blog, Case Studies, , , ,

In 2015, The Lincoln Apartments broke ground in downtown Raleigh, set to be the newest apartment complex in the Oakwood neighborhood. At the time, downtown Raleigh apartment complexes were at an all-time high, and The Lincoln faced the challenge of breaking into a product-saturated market.

In response, The Lincoln team retained Clairemont Communications to capture the public’s attention and craft a strong debut for the versatile downtown living option. Clairemont Communications captured the community’s attention and generated media buzz for the The Lincoln’s official ribbon cutting ceremony by partnering with Cause for Paws of NC and showcasing the pet-welcoming aspect of the complex.

The Pitch
To attract pet lovers and community members to the ribbon cutting, Clairemont planned the event to feature a dog ambassador “cutting” the ribbon. Creative and individualized pitches were used to pique the interest of targeted media and secure on-site coverage. TV stations were invited to participate in “Tag You’re It!” – a social media photo relay – as part of the official ribbon cutting. This photo relay doubled as a fundraiser for Cause for Paws of NC.

Execution
The event began with the president of the Downtown Raleigh Alliance, city council members and other prominent Raleigh officials welcoming The Lincoln Apartments to the community. After the dignitaries’ remarks, Molly, our canine ambassador from Cause for Paws, “cut” the ribbon by chewing through a treat in the middle of the ribbon. As a part of the “Tag You’re It” social media relay, The Lincoln Apartments donated $5 to Cause for Paws of NC for each participant who shared their photo of the event with the tags #TheLincolnRaleigh and #CauseforPawsNC.

Results
– Clairemont met the goal of securing a major television station on-site for the event, which resulted in coverage on air and online.
– The event also helped secure four additional media placements, including two print stories, four blog posts and three TV segments.
– “Tag, You’re It!” generated more than 70 social media posts.

The Lincoln Apartments’ successful ribbon cutting played a vital role in introducing the complex to the community. Additionally, The Lincoln Apartments donated $1,500 to its charity partner Cause for Paws of NC.

The work Clairemont Communications conducted in partnership with The Lincoln Apartments earned a Gold Excellence Award in Total Campaign by Raleigh Public Relations Society as well as the Best in Category for Creative Tactics from the North Carolina Public Relations Society of America. We are proud that this is one of the 129 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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