CNN Showcases 200 Years of Beam Family Bourbon

Recently, LCWA worked with CNN International to profile the storied history of JimBeam in a segment for the station’s “100 Club” program. Featuring brands rich in history with legacies dating back more than 100 years, the “100 Club” segment was a perfect chann

el to seed key brand messages and further position Jim Beam as the world’s No. 1 selling bourbon.

To help tell this story, LCWA arranged one-on-one interviews for CNN producers at the historic Jim Beam Distillery in Clermont, Ky. with Seventh Generation Master Distiller Fred Noe and his son Eighth Generation Distiller Freddie Noe. Together, they spoke about the family’s history, sharing tales of the generations before them, and the bright future of both the brand and bourbon category.

 The segment also shared moments of Beam’s faithful fans touring the Jim Beam American Stillhouse – the first stop along the infamous Kentucky Bourbon Trail – and highlights from Fred and Freddie’s interactions with them as they tasted the history found in all of Jim Beam’s fine bourbons.

LCWA supplemented the interview with drone footage of the distillery, behind-the-scenes b-roll, and never-before-seen post-Prohibition footage from the Beam family archives featuring Jim Beam. The added visuals helped bring the story to life.

The segment aired globally across CNN.com and quickly sparked attention from bourbon fans as far as Singapore. Cheers!

You Can’t Hide From Beyoncé, the Brady’s and Bachelor Nation

This week we watched as the Bachelor finale stirred a mix of reactions, the iconic Brady Bunch house balanced a bidding war and Beyoncé graced the world with her historic Vogue cover. Read along for some of my favorite finds:

• Beyoncé Slays, Again – The September issue of Vogue, the most important issue of the year, hit shelves this week with Beyoncé gracing the cover. Fans bowe
  
  d down all over Twitter, and not just to the Queen herself, but to her history making photograph Tyler Mitchell. He’s the first African American to shoot a Vogue cover in the magazines 126 year history.
• “Try My Bowls” – Jack in the Box is in the hot seat this week. Their latest ad brings sexual innuendos into the workplace with Jack trying to spread the word about his new teriyaki bowls. But in the #metoo era, many are questioning if this was the best creative angle for the team to take.
• Intentional Facebooking – Facebook and Instagram announced they will soon be releasing new “Time Management” tools so you can see just how much time you’re spending everyday mindlessly scrolling through your feeds. We can’t imagine what those numbers will look like for those of us actually working in the social media world.
• Wanted: to BORROW an Orange Cat – Yes borrow, not buy, and just for a quick 24-48 hours. The interesting headline of an ad that went viral on Reddit this week was posted by an “an increasingly desperate (but not crazy) mom” who just wanted to help her two young kids have a lasagna dinner with Garfield. No word yet on if she was able to find an orange cat but stay tuned, she promised Mashable an update…
• Bachelorette Mayhem - Bachelorette Becca Kufrin picked her winner, uh I mean fiancé, Monday night in the season 14 finale – and fans were not happy. The internet reacted poorly to her picking Garrett Yrigoyen, though he does have a way with words coining the new phrase "You give me like...eagles" to express his feelings. A new season of Bachelor in Paradise kicked off this week too, so there’s no shortage of drama for Bachelor-franchise fans to decipher these days.
• A Very Brady House Sale – “Here’s a story of a shady Brady,” Instagrammed Lance Bass this week when he found out he, in fact, did not place the winning bid for the iconic Brady Bunch house. Though he showed no hard feels a day later when he found out the winning bidder was actually HGTV who promised to restore the house to its 1970s glory.
• Deep Dish vs. NY Style Pizza – New Yorkers did not take the news very well when it was announced this week the U.S. Pizza Museum would be popping up in Chicago and not New York. They’re arguing the museum belongs with their thin-crust slices, many even saying the location made as much sense as a Museum of Snow in Miami. Don’t worry about us though, we’re just over here enjoying our Giordano’s and watching this age-old debate play out.

Talking Trends with HGTV’s Kate Campbell

TV Celebrity carpenter Kate Campbell is defying stereotypes as one of the stars of HGTV home improvement shows “Decked Out,” “Disaster Decks” and “Holmes on Homes.” She’s found her calling and encourages other women to make their way into a field overwhelmingly dominated by men. Recently, she also tackled her own home renovation – proving that even the most intimidating DIY projects are within reach!

At a time when many homeowners are looking for ideas on how to spruce up their backyards, we took Kate’s message of empowerment to potential DIYers across the country by coordinating a television and radio satellite media tour with Kate for our client Trex Company. Broadcasting from her very own Trex deck at her home outside of Toronto, Kate offered viewers tips on the latest trends in outdoor living – from using low-maintenance materials like composite decking to incorporating design trends such as “hygge”(pronounced hoo-gah), a Scandinavian term that means “comfy and cozy.

In addition, she also took away the “fear factor” by educating viewers on a variety of DIY projects – such as deck resurfacing or installing a pergola – for any skill level.

It’s a message that was well received by media – a record 27 separate media outlets booked interview time slots with Kate, resulting in placements in markets across the county during the hot summer season!

Avocados, Birthdays and Viral Videos Take Over Twitter This Week

Social media was full of interesting trends this week – from bankruptcies to birthdays, here are my favorite finds:

• Every Millennial's Favorite Holiday – National Avocado Day on Tuesday inspired many people to share their love for avocados (and Antoni Porowski), through memes and videos on social media. However, National Avocado Day didn’t go as planned for Chipotle… customers who ordered a side of guacamole via the Chipotle App or on its website, could use a coupon code and get a free side guac. Unfortunately, the online orders resulted in an unprecedented increase in new digital customers – which crashed their app and in turn, customers could not get their free guacamole.
• Speaking of Avocados… – Bachelor and bachelorette parties might be the new avocado toast. A study from Zillow shows that many members of wedding parties are spending too much money on pre-wedding parties. This may be a new reason why millennials are finding buying a home to be difficult.
• Happee Birthdae, Harry Potter – Harry Potter fans celebrated his 38^th birthday, many using the coined “Happee Birthdae” from the kind, but illiterate, Hagrid on July 31^st. Tributes to Potter were all over twitter as were tweets to J.K. Rowling, whose birthday was also Tuesday.
• All Good Things Must Come to an End… – Virgin America has merged with Alaska Airlines which means the end of Virgin America’s legendary safety film. In honor of the video being retired, one flight attendant decided to put on a show for his passengers, dancing along to the video. I’m sure he was viral before the flight even landed.
• Including Brookstone – Shoppers will have to look elsewhere for massage chairs and headphones. Brookstone filed for bankruptcy, and will be closing all of their mall stores. The chain is hoping to keep 35 of its remaining airport stores open. With the loss of Brookstone, how will people waste time at malls?

Catapulting Content to Consumers: DAP RapidFuse Out with the Old, In with the Glue Campaign

A broken coffee cup. A loose earring stone. Or even a thrift store upcycling project. These

are just a few examples of how DAP’s RapidFuseAll Purpose Adhesive can bond nearly everything to anything, for both fixing broken items and creating special projects. In order to communicate this functionality to consumers, the LCWA home PR team designed the Out with the Old, In with the Glue campaign to inspire and educate them on ways to use this handy adhesive with real-life project examples.

First, we tapped DIY influencer and creative upcycler Dinah Wulf of the popular blog DIY Inspired to develop the content--relatable, shareable RapidFuse project ideas. Dinah developed two blogs posts and videos to demonstrate “fix” and “create” uses: 

• Three Easy Thrift Store Upcycles, which featured three ideas for upcycling thrift store finds like turning a cup and saucer into a birdfeeder
• The Best All Purpose Glue for DIY Fixes, which demonstrated how to fix items like the handle of a coffee mug.

Next, a multi-pronged distribution plan amplified the content to consumers:

• On Social Channels: Dinah and DAP shared all content across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest. Plus Dinah hosted a Facebook Live during which
  
  she conducted live project demonstrations and engaged participants;
• Through editorial content with a DIY-focused MAT release (that earned above-average placements) touting the easy DIY projects and a 3-project editor mailing that delivered quick and easy projects for editors to test the product;
• And across digital platforms with paid content discovery, extending the reach of the content even further.   

Overall, the Out with the Old, In with the Glue campaign delivered 138MM+ impressions and 10k+ engagements across traditional and digital platforms. The right influencer partnership can be an efficient spend when leveraged in multiple ways to creatively deliver brand key messages, project ideas and usage tips with high quality photos and video.

Here Come the Dog Days

This week, millennials say “buh buy” to work, Facebook gets worked and that $27 you spent on a bottle of Gwyneth Paltrow’s “… protective mist designed to shield you from negative energy and safeguard your aura” probably isn’t working. Luckily, Michael Scott and some partyin’ pups are here for the nightshift. 

• Beats the Break Room: While the LCWA office is far more functional than the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin (trust us), starting today Replay Lincoln Park is hosting a “The Office”- themed pop-up bar. Replay says there will be “… themed drinks, photo ops, and hidden Easter eggs to find.”
• Network Disconnect: The Cambridge Analytica scandal (among others) appears to be catching up to Facebook’s bottom line. With executives warning that profit margins will decrease for years due to costs infringed by improving privacy and implementing other safeguards, shares lost as much as 25 percent of their value this week.
• Goop-Oops: From bee-sting therapy and lymph flow-slowing brushes, to salt shampoo and $80 rose quartz water to give you “positive energy,” Gwyneth Paltrow’s often criticized – and extremely profitable – wellness company Goop has hired a fact-checker after its products’ health claims continue to be denounced as modern-day snake oil.
• Raise the WOOF: Help your “Hound Dog” get ready for the weekend with this pooch-packed Spotify playlist, courtesy of Mashable. If your party turns into a “Three Dog Night,” you may be inclined to ask your neighbors “Who Let the Dogs Out?”
• “It was just sooo awkward”: Millennialls (sorry) are at it again! “Ghosting” – an act usually reserved for a bad Tinder date, has now moved into the workplace. From not showing up on the first day of a new job, missing interviews with no notice and even just disappearing from a current role, things are getting spooky – potentially forcing changes in hiring processes.

Rolfe Pancreatic Cancer Foundation Dashes for Early Detection

LCWA recently helped our client the Rolfe Pancreatic Cancer Foundation raise awareness for its annual DASH for Detection 5K walk/run to help fight for an early detection test for pancreatic cancer, which is the third leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., with the lowest survival rate.

Early detection of pancreatic cancer can significantly improve survival rates for this deadly disease. While survival rates for other major cancers have significantly increased thanks to early detection research, basic research grants for pancreatic cancer are lacking. Funds raised during the DASH for Detection help advance the development of early detection.  

To reach our target Chicagoland audience, LCWA launched a three month media outreach and social media campaign. We identified two local spokespeople with impactful personal stories involving pancreatic cancer and the Rolfe Foundation to highlight in pitching and participate in interviews. Through outreach to top Chicago media, we secured multiple interviews, feature stories and roundups leading up to the event.

LCWA also supported the DASH on social media, including targeted Facebook content and ads that led to high engagement and hundreds of clicks directly to the event’s registration page. We also tapped one of our spokespeople to share her story and promote the DASH during an encouraging Facebook Live chat.

The 2018 DASH for Detection on the beautiful Chicago lakefront was a big success for our client. It was attended by families who have lost loved ones to pancreatic cancer, those currently fighting the disease and supporters. We’re proud to play a role in driving awareness for this emotional and high-energy gathering of those passionate about funding early detection research for pancreatic cancer. Stay tuned for more Rolfe Foundation events and programs and learn how to get involved in this vital cause here.