Tag Archives: Revenue

The Inside Story of DO|AC

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DOACThe Inside Story of DO|AC held last week was an anticipated program for PPRA members. Atlantic City, a destination for tourists and a home away from home for some PPRA members went through some major shakeups at the end of 2014. Many members asked “What is Atlantic City going to do?” prior to the presentation and speakers from the Atlantic City Alliance did not disappoint.

Jeff Guaracino (Executive Director), Nicole Cashman (Public Relations) and Melanie Sole (Public Relations) provided PPRA members with an in-depth power point presentation that promoted the positive of Atlantic City and how the Atlantic City Alliance was the reinvention of the city’s tourism and marketing campaigns. While Atlantic City produced $2.5 billion in gaming revenue last year and can fill 15,000 rooms on a weekend, the Atlantic City Alliance’s goal is to attract the leisure tourist to the entertainment capital of the Jersey Shore.

In 2014 alone, the Atlantic City Alliance had:

  • 500+ media trips through FAM tours or visiting journalists
  • Good Morning America
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live
  • Philadelphia and New York Advertising
  • 13,000 radio ads
  • The Miss America Pageant’s return to Atlantic City
  • Two free concerts on the beach that attracted more than 20,000 attendees
  • The DO|AC experience on wheels campaign
  • Toll Free Tuesday
  • Return customer rates increasing to 68%

While last year’s destination marketing campaign led to an impressive roster of placements and content integration, the audience asked what is next in 2015? Jeff Guaracino said they had no idea and that the next 30 days will be eye opening as the state has sent in emergency managers to evaluate how to fix the issues in Atlantic City. The Atlantic City Alliance staying true to their message “promote the positive” is focused on summer and Memorial Day Weekend. Nicole Cashman and Melanie Sole applauded Jeff and told the audience it’s amazing to work with and have a boss or client who has such optimism and drive for their organization.

To our tourism neighbor at the Jersey Shore, we are rooting for you and thank you for sharing The Inside Story of DO|AC.

Jade Barnes is the Marketing Coordinator for The Shops at Liberty Place and a proud Atlantic City native. While handling all of the traditional and digital marketing for The Shops, Jade runs all of the events from concept to execution. While writing her own personal blog, Jade works with Femme & Fortune an online magazine for ambitious women and the Temple Women’s Network. Connect with her on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Communicating the Value of PR: Stop Dodging, Start Measuring

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Recently I was out to dinner with a digital strategist friend and she raised a question that, admittedly, caught me off guard. “What is it that you do?” she asked. From one communications professional to another, the question seemed unapologetically sarcastic. Then, as if to add insult to injury, my friend ever-so nicely followed up with, “Ok, how do you measure what you do?”

Oh no, the “M” word.

In all my years in PR, I’ve essentially been able to dodge the “M” word. How? Easy. By hiding behind media clippings, fancy media reports, shares, “likes,” tweets and elaborate, but successful, events. If this is you, it’s time to come out, come out wherever you are. Not only is it time to stop dodging; it’s time to start measuring.

Translating news releases and news hits into dollars and cents
Given the sheer amount of data that’s available to us nowadays, PR pros have ample opportunity to quantify their efforts and show executives what’s working and what’s not. As hard as it is for me to succumb to, it’s also high time that we get comfortable showing how our efforts affect the bottom line.

Data, where have you been my whole life?
By creating key performance indicators (KPIs) and specific metrics tied to “awareness,” I now have even more ammunition to communicate the value of public relations to organizational leaders. For the first time, our PR team has a dashboard which provides a monthly analysis of not just media hits and news releases, but things like tone and message quality. What’s more, we use tagging links and Google Analytics to track conversions tied to our press releases, proving that PR does indeed help drive company revenue.

Getting started
To say that quantifying PR efforts beyond the typical vanity metrics makes me uneasy would be a huge understatement, but embracing it has enlarged my perspective on the power of analytics and given me a newfound love for data. There are a plethora of dashboard tools and tips out there to get you started. For instance, check out Dashboard Junkie or the PR Measurement solution offered by Meltwater. Warning, once you’ve been bitten by the PR data bug, you’ll likely want to track any and everything. However, it’s best to start small, be strategic and continually iterate.

Already measuring your PR efforts and showing value to your execs? Share your tips and tools with me in the comments below!

Andrea Carter is a Public Relations Specialist at AWeber, a certified news junkie and an aspiring world traveler. Check out Andrea’s back story here then follow her on Twitter @SheLuvsPR and connect on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/carterandrea/.

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