Ponies and rickshaws and bluegrass, oh my! On May 16, 2015, Wendell Falls, a new-home community in Wendell, N.C., hosted its grand opening celebration, a southern-style affair featuring homebuilder models, bands, food, family activities and the unveiling of the all-new Grounds Café. Wendell Falls turned to Clairemont to raise awareness about the grand opening activities and reach the target homebuyer demographic through a series of coordinated pitches and creative invitations.
The Pitch
As part of the outreach, Clairemont connected with a variety of regional and local media outlets through targeted pitches to pique the interest of contacts, garner coverage and secure onsite visits to Wendell Falls. Clairemont brainstormed “out-of-the-box” angles beyond home construction, highlighting green features, holistic lifestyle options, parks and trails, family oriented amenities and the onsite Grounds Café—the city’s only coffee shop.
Execution
– Coordinated Pitches: Media outlets received personalized pitches showcasing unexpected elements of Wendell Falls. For example, Clairemont worked with the daily newspaper’s features columnist to spotlight the custom-designed Asheville Playgrounds structure at Wendell Falls. The local city paper featured the community’s historic tobacco barn quilt while the home magazines received stories about Wendell Falls’ new ecoSelect green building program.
– Blogger Outreach: Clairemont sent VIP invitations to key bloggers and local media to attend a behind-the-scenes tour of the new home community in addition to grand opening. For example, mom bloggers received details highlighting the family friendly amenities and activities at the grand opening. Food bloggers were invited to taste the local coffee and DIY grilled-cheese bar at Grounds Café while beer experts were offered tidbits about the café’s craft brews.
– Media Materials: In addition to a news release, Clairemont provided a “pre-grand opening” prep kit for reporters that included sample tweets, feature photos and hashtags to share. Media guests who attended grand opening left with a “Taste of Wendell” media kit that included pool passes, gift cards to Grounds Café, information about Wendell Falls for future stories and an assortment of local Wendell goods.
The Results
The team secured coverage in several major media outlets, including stories in the Wake County and Eastern Wake News sections of the News & Observer, a front page story in the Sunday edition of the News & Observer, an article in New Homes & Ideas, double coverage in the WRAL What’s On Tap section and two segments on WNCN-TV.
Clairemont also secured articles with prominent lifestyle, parenting, food and beer bloggers, including Durham Foodie, Carolina Parent, The B Keeps Us Honest, NC Beer Guys and Triangle Food Guy. Additionally, we hosted representatives of WRAL, the News & Observer and the Triangle Business Journal onsite before and during the grand opening.
Want to learn more about Clairemont’s work in the real estate industry? Read our posts about real estate PR.