Pivot PR Ranked One Of The Best PR Firms in Charlotte
Expertise has ranked Pivot PR as one of the top 20 public relations agencies in Charlotte. See link here.
Eat Work Play Q&A w/ Davon Bailey
There’s a good chance you’ve heard of Eat Work Play (one of Charlotte’s fastest-growing millennial-focused online publications) or its co-founder, Davon Bailey (one of Charlotte’s top young professionals under 30). We recently sat down with Davon to learn more about Eat Work Play (EWP) and his vision for the burgeoning platform.
Hi Davon! What brought you to Charlotte?
I moved to Charlotte in 2013 after graduating from Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. I interned at Bank of America as a compliance analyst, which turned into a full-time job.
Nice. How long were you with Bank of America?
Three years, but I recently took time off to pursue EWP full-time. It was one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done, but it was so worth it. I’m able to give EWP more of my time, passion and attention. Since then, it’s really taken off.
What’s your vision for EWP?
When I moved to Charlotte, I didn’t have family or friends in the city; I didn’t know anyone. All my friends on Facebook were in Maryland, and I mainly used LinkedIn for professional purposes. And, I couldn’t meet people. I wanted to find out about the best restaurants and events in Charlotte. I needed a way to connect with people, so I created EWP. Originally, it was a group chat of about 10 people—this was at the beginning of the summer when I moved here. By the end of the summer, there were more than 300 people in the group chat. Fast forward two years later, and more than 60,000 people use EWP to find out about the best restaurants and events in Charlotte.
Wow. Did you ever imagine it would grow to be that big?
I’ve always had the goal of bringing EWP to other cities, so I’ve had my eyes on reaching millions of people. Right now, I’m taking baby steps and following my plan. Eventually, we will launch in other cities.
How do you see yourself competing with other media outlets?
We see ourselves as Charlotteans’ brother or sister. We’re your friends. We’re not journalists and don’t claim to be journalists. Other outlets observe what’s going on in the city, but we’re actually in the city. We’re a part of the young professionals, and we exist to bring people together. Every day, we’re finding ways to bring people together.
How do you decide what to feature on your website and in your newsletter?
I always ask — “Is it a jaw-dropper? Is it something I would recommend to my friends? Would I go to it?” Our whole concept is to drop “fun bombs” throughout Charlotte. If it’s fun and exciting, and we think people are going to enjoy it, we feature it.
If someone wants to pitch you a story idea, what are you interested in?
If it’s a fun bomb and something that would make you run and tell your friends, we’ll cover it. We cover anything from fashion to events to food. I like connecting young professionals outside of the work environment (that’s the work part). We’re all professionals but we can all hangout and have fun.
How can people get connected through EWP?
Join our Meetup group. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook. Subscribe to our newsletter and sign up for our perks.
Thank you, Davon, for sitting down with us. If you’re interested in contacting Davon, please feel free to email him.
PR is an Art, Not a Press Release: Creativity is King
When you think of “creatives” in the world of marketing, you probably conjure up thoughts of people within the walls of ad agencies in metropolitan cities who have titles like art director, creative director, copywriter and graphic designer. But public relations is an art as well, and it requires a heavy dose of creativity. Without the creative juices flowing, you’ll have, well, a standard press release. In our minds, that’s just one tool in the toolbox but certainly not a solution. Meeting our clients’ goals is a combination of strategic planning and creativity, layered on top of the basic tenets of public relations. Let’s go through some client examples so you can see what I mean.
TV, TV & More TV
Dunkin’ Donuts (DD) just opened its 50th store in Charlotte and we needed to get the word out for the grand opening event and day-long food/drink specials. Getting guests in-studio is not easy
and no station is going to have a DD representative in to talk about a grand opening. But, the morning shows love cooking segments. DD has recipes that incorporate popular menu items. So, we came up with the idea to pitch our local culinary celebrity friend, Heidi Billotto, for this segment: Pumpkin Pancakes and Pie with a Treat Inside: Dunkin’ Donuts’ Coffee & Donuts IN the Recipes. We landed WBTV Morning News and FOX’s Good Day Charlotte. Plus, Heidi was able to include the new DD location in her WCNC Charlotte Today Restaurant Round-Up segment. She promoted the grand opening celebration and deals during each segment. (We also got FOX TV to live broadcast for two hours from the event with a different pitch angle.) No press release issued.
Five-Page Feature
The entire Pivot PR team enjoys grabbing a cup of coffee with journalists, influencers and folks from the community on a regular basis. Earlier this year we sat down with the editor of Business NC magazine. During the conversation, we were able to pique his interest when describing AvidXchange, provider of accounts payable and payment automation. The end result: a six-page feature in the September edition. No press release issued.
Potential Clients Galore
Public relations is not just about earned media. Pearl. Dentistry Reimagined (Pearl) just opened their second location and we decided to take a
grassroots approach. Knowing that Pearl’s success has been driven by Uptown workers who can pop in before, during or after work, we targeted 25 mid-sized businesses circling the new location. So that Pearl would be memorable and to create a warm entry to each offices’ gatekeeper, we hand-delivered their invitation to Pearl’s launch party attached to a gift basket that had cake pops that looked like pearls, pearl/clam-designed cookies and Pearl swag. Excited by the basket, each business emailed the invitation to dozens (and in some cases hundreds) of their employees. Read: awareness, more awareness and credibility (because it’s friend-to-friend). Our goal was to have 100 RSVPs. We ended up with 113, and all attendees were extremely warm leads. The awareness alone to the hyper-targeted audience was priceless. But, just in my conversations, I also had many people tell me that they were going to book an appointment. No press release issued.
Are you looking for a way to break out of your press release-only approach? Ready for results like these? Contact us and we’ll get those creative juices flowing for your organization.
Pivot PR Interviewed by The PR Executive
Check out our latest interview with The PR Executive. We had a great discussion about how we position ourselves as an agency and what makes us so different.
Charlotte’s New Lifestyle Show: Morning Break
What a refreshing break from crime, traffic and weather WBTV’s new show will offer Charlotteans. Morning Break will bring more lifestyle-focused stories to the morning news line-up, with segments ranging from cooking to life hacks. The first show is set to air on Labor Day, and since we were curious to learn more, we caught up with WBTV’s News Director, Dennis Milligan.
How did your team decide to launch the new show?
An opportunity presented itself when we learned “Flip My Food with Chef Jeff” and “Fix It & Finish It,” which run from 9-10 a.m., were going away. We had a few choices. Find syndicated programming. Purchase paid programming. Or, come up with something local. We talked about doing more news, but we already have 55.5 hours of news per week on our station. I think that’s enough news. And, since Charlotte has a lot of news, we wanted to try something different. Local TV stations have to start coming up with local ideas for programming because we don’t know how the network affiliate relationship will change in the next 5-10 years. We decided to take a little more local control over our business and our ability to serve our viewers. The show is not a news show; it’s a lifestyle talk show.
Where did the name come from?
The idea is to encourage our viewers to take a break, and that’s why it’s part of our name. We want people to sit down with us at 9 a.m. and take a break from whatever is facing them that day.
What’s the set-up?
Kristen Miranda, Chris Larson and LaMonte Odums will host the show at a table on our main set. We want our viewers to feel like they’re sitting at a kitchen table having breakfast with their friends.
What will be on the show?
A sampling of our show includes:
- Try This, Chris! – Chris Larson will try different things around town, from dancing lessons to cooking to doing your job for the day.
- Let’s Get Digital – Trending stories, what’s big on social media, and what people are talking about
- In the Kitchen – Cooking segment with local chefs
- Home Cooks – People invite Kristen Miranda into their homes to cook one of their favorite recipes with them.
- Wellness Wednesday – Health, fitness and nutrition
- Life Hacks – Taking everyday tasks and making them easier
- Pinterest Project – Finding popular Pinterest pins and trying them ourselves
- Let’s Go Wild – Zoo-like animals from a variety of local attractions
- Talk of the Town – Good places to eat, new places in town and cool things to do
- Throwback Thursday – Sharing pieces of Charlotte’s history
What’s the best way for PR folks to pitch story ideas for Morning Break?
I encourage folks to email Molly Kelleher, executive producer of the Mornings and this show, or Crandall Sims, producer of Morning Break.
Do you ever get involved with the programming?
I attend our morning and afternoon editorial meetings, but the producers and executive producers handle the ebb and flow of the news throughout the day. For this show, I sit in on the rehearsals and weekly update meetings. By the nature of my job as a news director, I handle quite a few things that have nothing to do with daily news, such as research and personnel.
Anything else you would like people to know?
The more community-focused the story idea, the better. We want to show the viewer how to improve their life. Everyone is trying to sell a product or service, but on the receiving end, the good or service should make someone’s life better.
Thank you, Dennis, for sitting down with us and sharing more about Morning Break!