Retail/Hospitality Case Study

The Rouse Company

THE GOAL

In 1984, The Rouse Company identified a need for a public relations firm to build a media relations program to create center-based brand loyalty and position the merchants of these respective centers as authorities in the field of retail. The PR campaign for Rouse includes all of the urban and suburban shopping centers in the Baltimore Metropolitan area including Harborplace & the Gallery, Mondawmin Mall, Owings Mills, White Marsh, The Village of Cross Keys, The Mall in Columbia and TowsonTown Center. These centers wanted to be the only place for consumers to shop during peak shopping seasons.

THE APPROACH

  • Since all these centers are owned and managed by affiliates of The Rouse Company, the media relations approach is individualized as the nuances of each center are different. For instance, Mondawmin Mall offers a unique combination of national retailers, individually owned specialty shops and service offerings including BGE, Motor Vehicle Administration, Social Security Administration, banking and health services. The Village of Cross Keys is almost wholly comprised of one-of-a-kind shops.
  • WHA developed the persona of a Retail Trends Consultant to exclusively shop the centers and offer the top gift ideas for each respective media audience. For instance, the area light pop radio station, with a primarily female audience, will learn about gift items for men, teens and coworkers.
  • During peak shopping seasons, the team works with marketing managers to maximize the center's exposure during the holiday season through media relations messages that include the Premier Shopper Club and its benefits, gift ideas via a Retail Trends Consultant and special holiday events.
  • WHA serves as an advisor during times of crisis at all the shopping centers.

THE RESULTS

  • For the past eight years, the Baltimore media community has looked to the centers of The Rouse Company as the leaders in retail and shopping trends. Each year on "Black Friday," the day after Thanksgiving that is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year, television stations, radio stations and print reporters begin their respective coverage at 6 a.m. when the malls open.
  • While the façade of Harborplace & The Gallery is internationally recognized as Baltimore's Inner Harbor, locals once viewed the center as a tourist destination. Today, through media relations efforts, merchants have enjoyed a 14.5% sales increase in traffic from the downtown office workers and area residents.
  • Cumulatively, the centers average more than $250,000 in non-paid media annually. Harborplace & The Gallery's annual print media impressions are more than 20 million.

 

The Classic Catering People

THE GOAL

In setting a standard of excellence that is not based on the competition, but rather on a history of perfection, The Classic Catering People (Classic) and its sister company, Classic Restaurant Management, LLC, were in a quandary on how-to:

  • Grow the business for the next generation without compromising the measure of what has made Classic a successful company.
  • Support the efforts of the sales team via news of exclusivity contracts and publicity of premier events.
  • Improve communications to current customers and create tools to entice new accounts.
  • Maximize current sponsorship opportunities and forge new partnerships with citywide attractions/agencies therefore creating awareness of the continued commitment to the community.
  • Drive traffic to the restaurants of Classic Restaurant Management via the creation of in-store point-of-purchase materials, press relations and broadcast cross-promotion opportunities.

THE APPROACH

  • Created a regional media relations program, aimed at to increasing the instances of non-paid media exposure via the development of Classic food experts.
  • Develop a quarterly newsletter and launch a website that provides the latest developments to the current constituency of clients as well as potential customers.
  • Maximize mutually-beneficial sponsorship and concessions opportunities with a variety of audiences.
  • Target the restaurant's predisposed clientele via direct mail and articles in the neighborhood newsletters.

THE RESULTS

  • For the past seven years, WHA has consistently kept the names of The Classic Catering People, Alonso's and Loco Hombre on the lips of the general public through an aggressive media relations program that includes the regular radio feature "Entertaining Eddie" with Principal Eddie Dopkin offering his vast knowledge with a call-in segments, appearances on affiliate television cooking segments two-three times a month and interviews with regional food and lifestyle publications.
  • While a direct link to sales has never formally been quantified, the incidents of calls for reservations at the restaurants and immediate responses for recipes and menus have continued to incrementally increase annually.
  • Cumulatively, The Classic Catering People have garnered more than $1 million in non-paid media in seven years.

American Craft Council Craft Show

THE GOAL

Since1976, the American Craft Council Craft Show in Baltimore has enjoyed consistent attendance and supplemental increases in consumer spending. However, beginning in 2000, the event team and artists perceived a decreased interest from the City of Baltimore and its hospitality industry and feeder travel markets (Philadelphia, Wilmington and New York). The show's February dates offer an opportunity for downtown area tourism-driven business to flourish during a time that is typically flat as well as position the city as the host to the only juried craft event of its kind on the Eastern Seaboard.

THE APPROACH

Weinberg Harris & Associates organized a meeting with the Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore Area Convention & Visitors Association (BACVA), Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts and Downtown Partnership of Baltimore to discuss the following initiatives:

  • To maximize local and regional opportunities for hotel/restaurant bookings and attraction attendance.
  • Increase international exposure using the show as a catalyst.
  • To better inform the local hotel concierge, restaurant staff and tourism professionals about the magnitude and economic impact of the event.
  • To include the American Craft Council Baltimore Winter 2003 Craft Show in all local, regional, national and international outreach efforts.
  • To create cross promotion opportunities.

THE RESULTS

All of these efforts must translate to the vision of the American Craft Council as a whole to redesign the public information about craft. Action items include media relations opportunities targeted specifically to regional newspapers, television and radio as well as winter feeder/travel markets including Delaware, Southern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.
In addition to general press materials, WHA also included information about various artists' participation to their hometown markets and created a "Winter Travel Advisory" to inform potential visitors of other events happening in Baltimore during the same timeframe.
The results

  • The Winter Show added 150 artists in 2002 to answer the demands of new audiences for work in additional categories such as fiber and sculpture.
  • Based upon increased attendance, the American Craft Council added public days to the show's formerly trade-only Summer Show, hosted every July, in 2002. This show, featuring more than 200 juried craftspeople, brought forth new audiences via the "exclusivity" billing generated by media relations.
  • The Winter and Summer 2002 Shows combined for more than $100,000 in non-paid media exposure, an increase of 15% from the years.