Case Studies:

Canada Goose – Establishing Authenticity and Boosting Visibility at a Key Industry Event

Situation: Canada Goose, already an iconic performance brand in Canada that crosses into the fashion world, was looking to establish its authenticity in the U.S. outdoor community. CGPR decided that a “coming out event” at the largest U.S. outdoor industry trade show would provide both the desired exposure and message, as its first steps to be taken seriously in the industry. The brand turned to its country’s national past time by hosting a game of street hockey, inviting competing CEOs to play in a fun environment.

Tactics: A brainstorming session produced an overall plan for the Canada Goose Cup that established details around specific goals, measurement, timeline for execution, criteria for success and a marketing plan. CGPR incorporated a worthy cause as the beneficiary of the event, and reached out to The Conservation Alliance who enthusiastically agreed to take part. The firm leveraged a close relationship with show management that would prove to be instrumental to the success of the event. CGPR executed the marketing plan, made outreach to the industry, developed rules and regulations for the event, and secured equipment. Marketing and PR was crucial for the success of this event, as it was the first time a street hockey tournament was hosted at this show. This event was about incorporating a mainstay of the Canadian culture, and providing a healthy and competitive format to bring together industry CEOs while connecting with a leading conservation group.

Results: The event was a solid success and the talk of the show; there was so much interest in the event that slots for the next game were quickly filled and some groups had to be wait-listed. Every team sported incredibly creative outfits and uniforms. In the end, $4,800 was raised for The Conservation Alliance, and new business relationships that Canada Goose previously didn’t have were created. The result was a new level of visibility in the industry and an established tradition at the industry's largest trade show. For the coming event, at Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2011, the brand already expects a doubling of the number of participating teams.

Yakima - Getting Creative to Boost Visibility at a Crowded Trade Show

Situation: Yakima, an innovator in vehicle racks for boats, bikes, winter sports gear, and cargo solutions, was looking for ways to stand out at Interbike, the largest cycling tradeshow in the U.S. taking place in Las Vegas. The show, due to the passion behind the sport, has an energetic, lively, edgy atmosphere. How could the brand rise above the already elevated noise and chatter to make an impact at such a colorful event while staying on message and adequately communicating the culture of Yakima?

Tactics: Leveraging an eighty-foot tall, fire breathing “praying mantis” (constructed from an industrial dump truck) that would be present at CrossVegas, an evening event, CGPR developed an online and traditional PR strategy targeted at the trades (e.g. retailers and buyers) and the media. This included creating a concept for posters modeled after a 1950’s horror flick, in addition to a full blown social media initiative, starting with sneak peak pictures of the Praying Mantis, and finally, showcasing the full mantis in picture and video.

Results: The Yakima Mantis created a buzz on the floor during the show, and at CrossVegas, the Mantis was a major attraction. Yakima gained invaluable “street-cred” for its eccentric addition to Interbike and the Las Vegas skyline. The Mantis gained coverage for Yakima when it popped up all over Twitter, and was mentioned on numerous blogs, including being featured in a Velo News video segment as the “the coolest thing at Interbike.” CGPR helped Yakima reach 435,000 viewers.

GORE-TEX – Protecting the integrity of a brand thrust into the media spotlight at an international sporting event.

Situation: On Friday, October 1, 2010, during live coverage of the Ryder Cup, Mike Tirico from ESPN made reference to the malfunction of the U.S. Team's rainwear, calling the incident "GORE-TEX GATE". However, the U.S. team was wearing uniforms that did not contain GORE-TEX. Mr. Tirico's comments began to take on a life of their own with the phrase GORE-TEXT GATE being repeated in blogs, Twitter and throughout the Internet. Shortly after he made those comments, Gore associates from around the globe felt it was important to address ESPN's comments and set the facts straight.

Tactics: CGPR immediately began to investigate the story and, acting in concert with Gore and Gore Europe, CGPR drafted a short statement addressing the facts. Next, CGPR reached out to the PGA (to address a statement they made on the wires) and ESPN (regarding the comments of the announcer) media relation teams to discuss the gear malfunction and clarify Gore’s role in the issue. CGPR then distributed a statement on PR Newswire. Finally, contact was made with the PGA liaison onsite in Wales to keep the media at the event tuned to the facts.

Results: In the end, this was about taking action to protect the integrity of the Gore brand. Gore had no choice but to clarify the facts, as the original ESPN statement ran on live TV (the only station covering the Ryder Cup that morning), and this was a global sporting event. By acting quickly, Gore was able to present the true facts of the situation in the same news cycle and mitigate any damage to brand.

Woolrich Elite Series Tactical – Establishing a Social Media Presence with a Successful Facebook Launch

Situation: Woolrich Elite Series Tactical (www.woolricheliteseriestactical.com), a leading provider of tactical clothing that performs under demanding conditions and specialized needs, faced a void with its social media presence relative to its competitors.

Tactics: CGPR completed a comprehensive report on the company’s competitors that detailed the social media presence from both an empirical and qualitative standpoint. It was then determined that social media in the form of Facebook would be the ideal launching pad for Woolrich’s push into new media. CGPR developed the desired message and tone for the brand’s new Facebook page, crafted the page, and created content for daily postings. Next, CGPR connected with other key industry pages such as FMG Publications, Police One and American Riflemen on Facebook to establish initial visibility and build the fan base. To further the fan push, CGPR ran several contests on behalf of the brand to attract more consumers to the page.

Results: Starting from scratch, CGPR created a Facebook presence (www.Facebook.com/WoolrichEliteSeriesTactical) for Woolrich that is on point with the brand’s desired message and content. The page continues to attract fans at a steady rate and provides pertinent content to the key demographic in a manner that is both timely and helps to drives sales. The added interactivity of the page has created a highly visible forum to connect with its consumers. Since its launch, the page has experienced a rate of 20% monthly growth.

180s – Leveraging Grassroots Marketing and Social Media at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics  

Situation: 180s, a leading manufacturer of wintersport performance accessories including gloves and ear warmers, was looking to leverage its involvement with U.S.  freestyle champion and Olympic hopeful Patrick Deneen at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games.

Tactics: CGPR created a three-day grassroots marketing initiative that included a strong social media component, in addition to traditional media and grassroots product marketing. Detailed research was done prior to arrival, including which high-traffic areas would be most appropriate for product distribution and restrictions that would impact on-street activities.   CGPR distributed more than 500 ear warmers in high-traffic areas and seeded product to “Today Show” hosts and crew, resulting in exposure during the popular morning’s show’s review of Olympic gear. An accompanying social media campaign was added to compliment the onsite effort, and the brand's Twitter and Facebook presence provided followers with live updates from the Games.   In addition, custom branded outerwear was created to raise brand visibility.

Results: The grassroots campaign ultimately resulted in one of the brand’s highest days of online sales for the company’s website that year. In addition, the products' visibility on the Today show and its hosts served as excellent fresh content for the accompanying social media effort.

Perfect Pushup – Moving Quickly to Generate Results to Support Key Buying Seasons

Situation: Perfect Pushup, a brand known mostly for its original Perfect Pushup product, needed to communicate the fact that the brand was evolving and adding several new products to its product line. The brand was “stuck” in its perception from its late-night infomercials and print ads in the back of “muscle and fitness” magazines. The company brought CGPR on board to elevate the brand to the next level of consumer awareness. One of the many strategic tactics that CGPR is utilizing is a focused media relations effort. This includes a targeted media relations push that included a media tour in New York City with relevant media outlets to introduce the brand and its products to key mainstream consumer editors.

Tactics: CGPR conducted three weeks of outreach to over 50 media outlets to secure appointments with Associated Press, Brides, crunchgear.com, Exercise for Men Only, Forbes.com, Fortune Small Business, Men’s Exercise, Men’s Vogue, National Geographic Adventure, Natural Body Building and Fitness, Popular Mechanics, Self, Shape, Sports Insight, Town & Country Travel, Urban Climber and US Weekly. CGPR and Perfect Pushup CEO Alden Mills conducted desk-side visits that lasted an average of 30-45 minutes, an above-average amount of time to spend with editors. Product requests were taken onsite for follow-up and each editor was given a Perfect Pushup Mobile unit product to test.

Results: CGPR secured placements that supported one of Perfect Pushup’s two key buying seasons. These included Associated Press, “The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet” (Fox), Men’s Health, Self and US Weekly with additional placements in crunchgear.com, Men’s Journal, Playboy, Shape, and Women’s Health. The Associated Press story generated an additional 98 placements, reaching 2.5 billion in audience value/impressions. In addition, Jennifer Love Hewitt raved about the product in US Weekly, further showing that the brand has momentum. This media tour, a basic PR tactic, accomplished three goals very quickly; generated visibility for the client, introduced the new company and its wide range of products to key media; and lastly, showed that Perfect Pushup is at the “tipping point” with regard to the company’s evolution.

Eastern Mountain Sports – Using Media Relations and Special Events to Restore A Brand to its Roots

Situation: Eastern Mountain Sports, a leading national outdoor retailer, was in the midst of returning the company to its authentic roots and climbing heritage. Management was in the process of re-energizing its apparel, gear and accessory lines, shutting down undesirable retail locations, introducing a new store format, and opening retail locations better suited to its core consumers. CGPR was tasked with handling store openings in addition to generating visibility for its refocused business philosophy – returning to its original mission as an authentic community retailer, which had been an integral part of its success. Eastern Mountain Sports needed to be perceived as a leader in the outdoor retail category, not just a retailer with a good selection of products. CGPR played an integral role in a two-pronged PR strategy that successfully achieved the above goals and supported the opening of six stores.

Tactics: CGPR utilized two strategies: event planning/media relations and positioning Eastern Mountain Sports as an expert in retail trends. CGPR worked closely with the client to develop a turnkey process to support each opening. CGPR handled everything from community relations, organizing events, researching relevant promotional opportunities and partnerships, invitations and follow up with government officials, talking points for speakers, to basic media relations. CGPR generated media coverage for all Eastern Mountain Sports retail store openings using a combination of print, radio and broadcast television outreach tactics. In addition, CGPR utilized online and new media tools such as event sites (e.g. meetup.com) and reaching out to bloggers in order to target a wide array of media outlets reaching a diverse consumer base.

Secondly, to coincide with store openings, CGPR interviewed the company’s general manager to solicit information on key retail trends, e.g. what was selling, why consumers were choosing particular products, and what products would resonate with consumers in the future. CGPR distributed this information in the form of easy-to-read bullet points to key media across the board that covered retail trends. This resulted in the president, Will Manzer, being quoted in the New York Times. This is an ongoing process that is not meant to generate publicity per se, but rather, to keep Eastern Mountain Sports top of mind for media covering retail trends, an important topic in today’s environment.

Results: Working side by side with the client, CGPR executed the successful opening of six new Eastern Mountain Sports retail stores by securing media placements in each market, and driving consumer traffic to the stores during each grand opening weekend. Over the course of all six store openings, CGPR’s tactics increased brand visibility by reaching an audience of 8.4 million in circulation and 25 million in impressions, resulting in record store opening media exposure numbers in the history of the company.

Gore in the City – Brand Building Gore Tex® in the world of Fashion

Situation: W.L. Gore & Associates, manufacturers of Gore-Tex, faced a unique challenge. While Gore-Tex is a well established brand in the sports and outdoor industries, many consumers were not aware of Gore Citywear, in which Gore-Tex fabrics were used in high fashion brands including Hugo Boss, Prada and Rainforest. W.L. Gore wanted to showcase and grow its visibility in the fashion category.

Tactics: To raise brand awareness and generate media coverage, CGPR recommended that Gore hold a fashion show in New York City, with an expert in the fashion community. CGPR invited top fashion, gear and business journalists from long-lead and short-lead publications. The “Gore in the City” lunch was held at Aquavit, a trendy New York restaurant, with over 60 journalists in attendance. CGPR secured James Fallon, executive editor at WWD, as the featured speaker.

Results: “Gore in the City” resulted in brand awareness for Gore Citywear among national consumer media, along with coverage including hits in BusinessWeek, the New York Post and USA Today.

Winter Feels Good/SIA – Building a National Consumer Outreach Campaign

Situation: CGPR worked with SnowSports Industries America for ten years. CGPR played an integral role in the planning, development and execution of “Winter Feels Good”, a national consumer awareness campaign designed to educate consumers on the health and fitness benefits of wintersports activities.

Tactics: CGPR planned and executed a national media relations program. In addition, CGPR established a partnership with the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (PCPFS) to launch the first winter clinic in the President’s Challenge, adding snow sports and snowshoeing to its extensive list of sports programs.

Results: In its best year CGPR’s proactive efforts resulted in AP coverage of the program, which ran in over 70 newspapers across the country, with over 12,228,296 reader impressions. The Winter Feels Good press kit won an Award for Excellence from the Public Relations Society of America. CGPR secured the equivalent of over $759,673 in media coverage, and consumer visits to the Winter Feels Good website, tripling coverage from the previous year.

MBS Mountainboards: Building A Sport

Situation: MBS Mountainboards, a small company in Colorado Springs, needed to execute a media relations campaign that was both consumer based and business to business in order to educate its customers about the new sport of mountainboarding, basically “snowboarding for the summer.” It had no budget for advertising. MBS had to not only build a sport, but also, sell product.

Tactics: CGPR devised an aggressive media relations campaign that involved a tour of New York consumer editors and proactive outreach to editors via phone. The PR campaign also involved supporting grassroots events and appropriate trade shows. Finally, CGPR used its existing client relationships to form marketing partnerships that were beneficial to both clients.

Results: CGPR generated substantial media coverage raising the visibility of the company and reinforcing the credibility of the sport. Coverage included: the Associated Press, The Boston Globe, The Denver Post, The San Diego Union Tribune, the Seattle Post Intelligencer, USA Today, and a number of other consumer publications including Maxim, Men’s Journal, Stuff, and Wired, among others.

Pharmacia & UpJohn "Nicorette" - Fastest monohull sailboat crossing of Atlantic

Situation: Pharmacia & Upjohn sponsored the racing yacht Nicorette in order to highlight visibility for its anti-smoking gum. Nicorette was trying to break the record for sailing from New York to Lizard’s Point in the UK. The challenge was generating visibility for this adventure when many news stations wouldn’t cover the event because of the name of the boat.

Tactics: CGPR positioned this as an adventure, focusing on the human interest side of the story and the equipment the crew was taking, e.g. freeze dried foods, infra-red night glasses and the survival suits they were wearing.

Results: The Today Show did two segments, once before the crew left and when they arrived. CNN, countless other television stations and national and local newspapers covered the event with worldwide distribution. In the U.S. alone, CGPR generated over 800 million impressions during a 3-week period worth over nine million dollars.

Backpacker Magazine – Positioning the Magazine as A Leader in Its Field

Situation: Backpacker magazine, a respected resource in the outdoor industry, needed to increase its visibility in a marketplace that was becoming very competitive.

Tactics: CGPR devised a public relations strategy including a media roundtable in Manhattan for consumer magazines and national editors, leveraging a Backpacker reader survey and positioning Backpacker’s editors as a resource for the media.

Results: CGPR generated an article in The Wall Street Journal, positioning Backpacker’s Thom Hogan as an expert in travel; a nationwide wire story which ran on AP about the trends in the outdoor industry (using Backpacker’s own reader survey); and a 4-minute segment during the summer of ’99 on Good Morning America with a Backpacker editor.