Tag: Triangle Dairy Queen

What Does a PR Agency Do? DQ’s Miracle Treat Day

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

Triangle Dairy Queen has grown to be the largest DQ franchise in Wake County since Andy Valkanoff founded it in 2005. In 2016, Triangle Dairy Queen celebrated its 11th annual Miracle Treat Day as part of a nationwide fundraiser that supports more than 170 Children’s Miracle Network hospitals across North America. On Miracle Treat Day, proceeds from Blizzard purchases at Triangle Dairy Queen locations are donated to Duke Children’s Hospital for research, care and family support programs.

Strategy

Looking to drive traffic to Triangle DQ locations to raise funds on Miracle Treat Day, Andy turned to Clairemont Communications to create a media relations campaign. Our objectives were to build awareness of Miracle Treat Day and help drive traffic to Dairy Queen locations by securing media placements, community calendars posts and media and blogger coverage on social media. 

Fans visit Triangle Dairy Queen on Miracle Treat Day!

Execution

To drive traffic to Dairy Queen locations on Miracle Treat Day and raise money for Duke Children’s Hospital, Clairemont chose to craft a news release to share with

local media contacts. We recognized that a release would provide the most concise and efficient vehicle to communicate the full story of the event and maximize coverage opportunities to media and influencers – especially when partnered with targeted and personalized pitches. A release would also allow us to easily share the event on community calendars and news release sites to increase visibility and attract potential customers to the restaurants. 

Results

Clairemont surpassed its original objectives, securing leading media placements, including in our state’s most read paper, The News & Observer, and an exclusive feature story with our ABC TV affiliate. We also secured prominent posts on community calendars and across social media. Miracle Treat Day was a strong success for Triangle Dairy Queen and continues to be part of its ongoing legacy.

The work Clairemont Communications conducted in partnership with Triangle Dairy Queen won an Award of Excellence from the North Carolina Public Relations Society of America. It also won a Silver Award in PR Writing 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.

*Cover image courtesy of Dairy Queen.

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The “Coolest” Client Challenge

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

I scream; you scream; we all scream for … Blizzards? In this “chilling” student competition, we absolutely did!

What’s this “Upside-Down or Free” Gig?

Clairemont client Triangle Dairy Queen wanted to bolster and support student learning in a fun, creative way. So Clairemont and Triangle DQ devised the “Upside-Down or Free Competition,” challenging local elementary schools to test their engineering skills in a Blizzard ice-cream-launching competition. Designed in partnership with The Engineering Place at NC State University, the competition invited approximately 400 students to design an apparatus that could carry a Dairy Queen Blizzard upside down from a platform safely to a target on the ground.

That’s right! First- and fifth-grade students crafted some crazy cool contraptions from reusable materials, from balloons and bubble wrap to shoeboxes and used soda bottles.

So why upside-down?

At Dairy Queen, all Blizzards are served to guests upside down, or they are free. Triangle Dairy Queen owner Andy Valkanoff wanted to leverage this fun factoid to re-energize learning, stimulate a renewed interested in engineering and provide an imaginative outlet for kiddos to simply create!

Who were Blizzard-bombing players?

  • Approximately 400 students from York Elementary, A.B. Combs Magnet Elementary and Wendell Elementary schools, jazzed to unveil their Blizzard-blitzing contraptions.
  • Andy Valkanoff, owner of Triangle Dairy Queen, who personally launched almost 150 Blizzards from
    the threshold of a sky-high cherry picker. Yes, he did.
  • The photo-taking, event-organizing, uber-excited Clairemont team!
  • Engineer students and representatives from The Engineering Place at NC State, carefully judging each Blizzard competitor.
  • A large squeegee. (Because smooshed and melting ice cream in 85-degree weather needs something heavier than a broom!)

At the end, Triangle DQ crowned a grand prize and runner up winner for each grade, who received coveted prizes like ice cream for a year. Each student trotted off with their own Starkiss and a coupon for free Blizzard, while every teacher was bequeathed a free ice cream cake. Best of all were the smiles on the students’ faces paired with one request for us to return next year for “the best challenge ever!”

We love devising zany, effective strategies to support our community and help our clients reach their goals. Looking for your next “voila” for your company? Drop us a line!

Photos courtesy of Triangle Dairy Queen.

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Dhruv’s New Bike

Sarah HattmanBlog, In Our Community, Photo of the Week, , , , , , , ,

With only one look at Dhruv’s face in the photo, you can tell he is ecstatic to debut his new bike to his classmates at Green Hope Elementary School. Seven-year-old Dhruv suffers from cerebral palsy, a condition which causes spastic muscle movements and makes it nearly impossible for him to ride a bike … that is until he won the Duet Bike from the Great Bike Giveaway.

Earlier this year, Dhruv thought he was simply riding his new bike to school, but when he arrived he realized he was in for a huge surprise.

This scene might not have happened if not for Andrew Valkanoff, owner and operator of Triangle Dairy Queen and a Clairemont client.

Back in March, Andrew agreed to hang fliers encouraging people to vote for Dhruv in all three Triangle Dairy Queen locations on one of the busiest days of the year – Free Cone Day. That was just the beginning. When Andrew met Dhruv in person, Dhruv’s big smile and positive attitude stole Andrew’s heart, and Andrew committed to making sure Dhruv won the adaptive bike. With the help of Facebook, Twitter and media stories, Dhruv secured the most votes … and a new bike!

To make sure the school celebration was complete. Andrew even donated ice cream to Dhruv and all of his classmates. It doesn’t get much sweeter than that!

Want to see a few other fun events we’ve done with Dairy Queen? Check out our special DQ Frozen gig!

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Making Memories and Miracles

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

Sometimes big miracles come in small packages. Four-inch plastic baggies, to be exact. 

On July 28, Clairemont client Triangle Dairy Queen celebrated its 11th annual Miracle Treat Day, an annual nationwide fundraiser that supports more than 170 Children’s Miracle Network hospitals across North America. On Miracle Treat Day, proceeds from Blizzard purchases at Triangle Dairy Queen locations were donated to Duke Children’s Hospital where they will be used for research, care and support programs for children and their families.

But Triangle Dairy Queen owner, Andy Valkanoff, couldn’t stop there. He took a road trip to Duke Children’s and spent the afternoon dishing out frozen treats to the children and staff at the hospital. One family said that Andy’s ice cream was the first thing their daughter had wanted to eat in days — a huge encouragement to them.

Throughout the past three years, Andy’s efforts Miracle Treat Dayalone have raised more than $120,000 to support Duke Children’s. Thank you, Andy, for serving and giving back to your community!

Check out some of the other fun shenanigans Andy is doing in the Triangle!

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Photo of the Week: Free Cone Day

Sarah HattmanBlog, Photo of the Week, Restaurant PR + Hospitality PR, , , , ,

On Tuesday, the Clairemont team took an outing to Triangle Dairy Queen (client) to participate in Free Cone Day, and we weren’t the only ones. Between the three Triangle Dairy Queen locations, 5,200 ice cream cones were given out to DQ Fans.

Having worked with Andrew Valkanoff, Triangle Dairy Queen owner and operator, for more than a year we know that Free Cone Day is one of his favorite days. We have also learned that the one thing he loves more than handing out ice cream cones is putting a smile on a child’s face.

Free Cone Day also serves as a fundraising day for Duke Children’s Hospital and Health Center (but a donation isn’t required to participate.) Triangle Dairy Queen has raised more than $120,000 during the past 10 years through a series of annual events — and we think that calls for an ice cream celebration!

 

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