Blog
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.
Blog
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.
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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.
Blog
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!
Blog
You’ve worked hours writing your corporate e-newsletter creating snappy blurbs to catch your audience’s attention. Once it hits your readers’ inboxes, you breathe a sigh of relief. As you wait to see who opens the newsletter, you may wonder if you’re truly connecting with your customers. While email marketing may be a piece of your strategy, there’s a better way to approach digital communications to foster a relationship between your organization and its stakeholders. It’s called brand journalism, and you’ve likely heard of it if you follow the latest trends. But it’s more than a trend, it’s a way to turn customers into loyalists.
In 2004, McDonald’s former chief marketing officer, Larry Light, shifted their corporate communications strategy to brand journalism, defining it as a way to chronicle “what happens to a brand in the world.”[1] Light noted an important turning point in digital communications, moving away from putting the focus on the company’s products and accolades to placing the audience at the center—not just the company. In the “selfie” era, your audience might not care about your latest award or newest product; they desire captivating stories to satisfy their own interests.
So, how do you get started? Below I’ve outlined a few steps to utilize brand journalism in your corporate communications.
#1: Creep your peeps.
To create consumable content, you need to have a good understanding of who your “peeps” are and what they find interesting. What type of stories will your audience find compelling? What information are they seeking? You can explore your audience’s interests through surveys and focus groups to see what type of content attracts your readers. You might even create a buyer persona that compiles demographic information, attitudes and behaviors. And, if you don’t have a buyer persona, Pivot PR can certainly help you create one (insert shameless plug) to establish a foundation for your program.
#2: Summon your inner Walter Cronkite.
Once you know what type of content your audience appreciates, put yourself in the shoes of a journalist. Think of how renowned journalists, like Cronkite, told (or tell) gripping stories. Think through the riveting stories that might live behind your company’s walls. Research and report on human interest stories while avoiding content that puts the focus on the organization.
#3: Share. Share. Share.
Once you know your readers and a content plan, think through the channels you will use to reach your audience. Some organizations like Duke Energy and Coca-Cola maintain their own news websites that operate like a media outlet. If you don’t have the ability to create a news site, think through the different digital tools you currently use such as e-newsletters, blogs and social media. Take an integrated approach to sharing your stories through these outlets.
#4: Test and learn.
As you start to share these stories, be sure to measure how well they perform. The number of page views the story receives and the number of times it’s shared on social media will help you understand what’s performing the best and resonating with your readers. Engage with those who comment on your stories, and be sure to take note of the sentiment of the comments to help adjust your writing style or subject in the future.
[1] http://adage.com/article/news/mcdonald-s-pulls-mass-marketing/40403/
Blog
We know that “PR” is still a bit confusing to most because we often get asked, “What exactly is PR?” So we thought, what better way to explain than to give you a real life example. June 3 marked National Donut Day and our client, Dunkin’ Donuts, tasked us with making a big splash in Charlotte to build positive brand awareness and generate restaurant foot traffic to the 50 (approx.) stores in the metro area. Challenge accepted! We developed an integrated public relations campaign comprised of these key components: partnerships, media relations, event marketing and social media.
Partnerships
To show our commitment to the Charlotte market and surprise and delight Charlotteans, we partnered with WFNZ to host a live radio remote at the WFNZ Coca-Cola Doghouse. As the radio DJs encouraged folks to swing by, Cuppy and Sprinkles greeted commuters while we surprised unexpected drivers with free donuts and coffee. Not only did we see happy faces galore from donut-eating commuters, but we also had tons of folks snapping pictures and we even snagged on-air TV coverage from a local station. The event also served as a great lever to make Dunkin’ stand out from other donut shops in print/online coverage.
Media Relations
Localize, localize. Sure – the donut deal appeals to everyone (who doesn’t love a free donut?) but we knew we had to make the news local to our market to gain earned media coverage. How? Local spokesperson and local event (see above). From there, we followed a traditional media relations approach and pitched in-studio interviews, landing a spot with WBTV. We also secured coverage through targeted pitching to outlets, including The Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Five, Charlotte Agenda and Charlotte Restaurant Traffic. Our mascot Sprinkles even recounted the day in the Charlotte Five newsletter.
Event Marketing
A sold-out Charlotte Knights Friday night game was the perfect way to connect Dunkin’s fun-loving brand with an audience of more than 10,000. The partnership kept Dunkin’ Donuts top of mind throughout the game starting with a pre-game interview and first pitch thrown out by a franchisee. With a huge inflatable coffee cup in the concourse and the mascots all over the stadium, attendees couldn’t escape the brand. After they experienced a game full of Dunkin’-themed activities, including a t-shirt toss, gift card giveaway and coupons (to drive them in store of course!), they received free coffee tumblers to keep them running on Dunkin’.
Social Media
Tying it all together with social media, we leveraged Dunkin’s own channels, @DunkinNC and @DunkinSC Twitter, to share updates throughout the day and engage with donut day revelers. Local media outlets, including Creative Loafing, shared the local donut deal. And, our friend and Charlotte Knights announcer, Mike Pacheco shared a selfie with Cuppy and Sprinkles during the Game.
So, what were the results? Targeted, quality earned media placements. Positive brand awareness. Foot traffic in stores. A social media reach of more than 96,000 users. Check, check and check!
*Since sharing this case study with our Charlotte network, we’ve received the following feedback:
“Fun newsletter! June 3 was actually my birthday, and I experienced all of your PR campaign for Dunkin Donuts. I passed the Dog House on the way into work (though I was taking a left from Mint onto Morehead so wasn’t in the right direction to get my sweets); I read about the promotion in the Charlotte Agenda; and I received a tumbler when walking out of the Knights game. Great work! I hope your client is happy.”
“I witnessed the awesome PR behind this. Great job!”
“What a great and fun campaign. Nice work!”