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These following client case studies illustrate some of the results we have been able to achieve for MFC clients. Generating Ink for Hotels:
Client: The Saunders Hotel Group (SHG), Boston, MA. Overview: SHG is the parent company of The Lenox Hotel, the Copley Square Hotel, the Comfort Inn Boston Airport, and (dba) the Headquarters Hotel, a boutique property currently under development in the heart of the Hub. Objective: With a sterling local reputation as hotel owners, operators and pillars of the community, SHG sought to further enhance its local profile, while spreading the good news even farther, telling the story of the Saunders family, its hotels and its community-oriented initiatives to a national audience and selling room nights for its hotels. Strategy: MFC created a multi-tiered PR program to penetrate the local, national and hotel/travel industry media. Results: Functioning as SHG’s “in-house” PR arm while leveraging its own Manhattan location, MFC PR placed dozens of feature stories on SHG in 2001. In addition to national publications such as the New York Times and the Orlando Sentinel, trade magazines such as Hotel Business, Hotel & Motel Management, Travel Agent and Travel Weekly have run feature stories on SHG, its properties and its environmental program. Each story has kept the Saunders family “Happy to be a Lodging Legend in Boston,” (Hotel Business, 7/6/01). MFC also created a “Celebrate Historic Boston” travel package which teamed SHG’s hotels with the oldest operating restaurant in the country and other Boston-area attractions. Publicized in the aftermath of 9-11, it has sold more room nights since that time than any other package offered by the hotels. Financial PR for a Public Lodging Company Client: FelCor Lodging Trust (NYSE:FCH), Dallas, TX Overview: FelCor is the one of the largest hotel real estate investment trusts (REITs) with a market capitalization of more than $3.3 billion. The company came to MFC to increase awareness through media placement and for strategic guidance in branding and corporate positioning. Strategy: MFC drew upon its contact in the national financial media to arrange several media tours for FelCor’s CEO in a period of a few weeks. We also provided strategic counsel in the re-formulation of the company’s corporate positioning platform and the re-design of its annual report. Results: Within weeks of MFC coming
on board, feature articles on FelCor appeared in outlets including Reuters,
Dow Jones, Real Estate and Finance and Hotel Business. Additional high-level
placements are expected, and the company’s re-branding process is nearing
completion.
Creating National “Buzz” for
a Resort Destination –
Client: Quechee Lakes Resorts, Quechee, VT. Overview: QLR is a resort development and real estate company that is developing more than 5,200 acres in the four-season recreational community of Quechee, Vermont. The development will include 1,000 luxury vacation homes and an upscale hotel, resort and spa. Objective: With limited experience in destination marketing and the travel industry, QLR turned to MFC for a full program of PR, marketing communications and business development support. Strategy: MFC designed an integrated consumer media program to “brand” Quechee in key markets – Boston, New York, Connecticut and selected other metropolitan areas –, and generate “buzz” and national publicity. Results: A New York City media tour brought QLR executives to the offices of Travel & Leisure, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fitness, Town & Country and more. Feature coverage of the destination has appeared in the Daily News, the Boston Herald, the Boston Globe and Boston magazine. The Herald articles ran more than 1,400 words – unprecedented for a development at this stage of completion. MFC also arranged for a Quechee Lakes home to be featured on twelve
(12) episodes of Bob Vila’s Home Again, a program broadcast in more than
forty U.S. cities on the CBS television network and seen by more than 30
million consumers each week. The “noise level” and excitement generated
by the opportunity has been truly amazing. The phones have not stopped
ringing, and home sales have picked up markedly.
Positioning an International Luxury Brand Client: Audemars Piguet (North America), Inc., New York, NY Overview: Audemars Piguet is the ultimate luxury timepiece for the discerning consumer. Objective: The brand has all the “right stuff” to be positioned as the ultimate accessory for the discerning American consumer – a rich heritage, superior workmanship and the ultimate in quality and service. However, Audemars Piguet has traditionally had a low profile among the American media, and a marketing budget to match. Strategy: MFC created a short-term “guerilla PR” campaign to generate coverage around a tour of Audemars Piguet watches that visited ten cities in the summer of 2001, including one on one meetings and interviews with the most important editors in New York, showcasing the watches’ substance, style and history. Keeping the company in step with the spirit of the times, MFC followed the tour by helping forge a unique partnership between Audemars Piguet and *N SYNC, one of the world’s most popular musical acts. Through the creation of a special line of watches, autographed by the band’s members, Audemars Piguet helped raise more than $500,000 for children of the victims of the events of September 11th. Results: Within weeks of the summer watch tour’s kick-off, the Audemars Piguet CEO made a feature appearance on CNN, and was interviewed by Conde Nast Traveler, Vanity Fair and GQ. Coverage of the watch tour appeared in industry publications such as Womens Wear Daily and In Sync. The *NSYNC partnership proved even more successful, generating millions
of media impressions in newspapers across the country, plus news coverage
on ABC, NBC, CBS and feature footage on Access Hollywood.
Establishing a Hotel’s Positioning
and
Client: The Jackson House Inn & Restaurant, Woodstock, VT. Overview: The Jackson House Inn is an exclusive, historic 15-room inn in the village of Woodstock, Vermont. Objective: The hotel has all the “raw material” and potential for positioning itself as one of New England’s elite small hotel destinations – a warm, friendly, service-oriented atmosphere, classical architecture and top-of-the-line antique furnishings, a stunning garden and one of the finest four-diamond restaurants in the country. The owners asked MFC for a strategy to highlight the inn’s offerings and publicize it as a luxury destination for the discriminating traveler, and to drive business. Strategy: MFC designed an integrated outreach program to media, opinion-makers and Manhattan cognoscenti to appropriately position the Jackson House in key markets – Boston, New York, Connecticut and selected other metropolitan areas –, and guide the inn in selecting the right marketing partners. Results: With media coverage quickly obtained in Boston Magazine, Robb Report, the Boston Herald and the New York Times, MFC arranged for the Jackson House executive chef, Andrew Turner, to make his debut at New York’s famed James Beard House in May 2001. An audience of food critics and media influentials was on hand, creating a buzz about the chef, the hotel and its exquisite culinary offerings among those gourmands who are most “in the know.” A New York City media followed the evening event, bringing Jackson House personnel to the offices of Travel & Leisure, Bon Apetit, Food Arts and more. National television exposure on the CBS television network is expected this fall, which will introduce the inn to more than 30,000,000 viewers nationwide. Putting a Start-up Company “On the Map” Client: Generational Targeted Marketing Corp., New Orleans, LA. Overview: GTM provides research data, marketing expertise and training services to corporations and government entities that seek to enhance revenues by targeting business growth from different age-based consumer segments – eg., Baby Boomers, Gen Xers. Objective: A small company in a promising niche market, GTM sought MFC’s support in creating a national identity, establishing the company as a thought leader, and generating new business opportunities. Strategy: MFC created a program of targeted outreach to opinion-makers in the media and the online world. Tactics included nationwide distribution of opportunistic press releases, one-on-one meetings with editors and outreach to a variety of online editors and business-to-business purveyors. Results: Press coverage of GTM has
been outstanding. GTM and its President, Ann A. Fishman, have been featured
in outlets including Entrepreneur magazine, the Chicago Tribune, the Los
Angeles Times, USA Today, NPR and Kiplingers. Thanks to a personal meeting
arranged with an editor at the New York Times, Ms. Fishman was featured
as an authority on trends in retirement in the Sunday Times in three different
articles. One - on Ms. Fishman and the “Silent Generation” - drew
the largest outpouring of positive letters in the column’s history. Also
a result of MFC’s efforts, several companies have contacted GTM to contract
for GTM’s services. Speaking engagements and additional new business relationships
are being formed for GTM in the Hotel, Travel and Hospitality areas.
Our programs have generated results for clients in many industries. We develop long-term relationships with our clients, becoming more than just “another PR agency.” We strive to become true partners in ensuring our clients’ success. MFC clients are a select group of diversified, industry-leading consumer
products companies, business-to-business enterprises and cause-related
organizations.
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Lifestyle Brands Audemars Piguet (North America)*
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and Technology Companies The Carino Collection*
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Michael G. Frenkel - President 230 Park Avenue, Suite 1000, New York, New York 10169 (212) 808-6556 (p) (212) 808-6564 (f) Email: michael@mfcpr.com Web Site: http://www.mfcpr.com |