CORAL ROCK ACADEMY OPENS IN MIAMI

CHALLENGE:
To showcase the opening of Coral Rock Academy, the first-of-its-kind school in Florida, which educates children with neurological, psychological, and socialization disorders. Symmetry Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded by prominent Miami attorney Marty Steinberg, was created to develop Coral Rock Academy. 

The foremost goal was to inform the community about Coral Rock Academy and the many vital resources offered for teaching special-needs children.

APPROACH:
EvClay pitched the school’s opening to local reporters specializing in education. A press release was distributed in English and Spanish to local media about the new school and a media alert was sent out on the day of the open house. 

RESULTS:
The education reporter and a photographer from The Miami Herald attended the Coral Rock Academy Open House. 

A two-page article with photos was published on the front page of the Metro section of The Miami Herald. It featured interviews with the Academy’s founder, as well as parents who were interested in enrolling their children. It detailed Coral Rock’s individualized curriculum to meet the needs of every child enrolled. The article was also translated into Spanish and published in El Nuevo Herald.

EvClay generated over $47,000 in news coverage for Coral Rock Academy.

THE HISTORICAL MUSEUM OF SOUTHERN FLORIDA (NOW HISTORYMIAMI) PRESENTS: THE FLORIDA HOME EXHIBIT

CHALLENGE:
The Historical Museum of Southern Florida exhibited “The Florida Home: Modern Living 1945-1965,” focused on domestic architecture in Florida during the post-World War II period, and featuring a reconstructed, interactive home inside the museum. The museum approached EvClay to gather publicity for the event and other programs and events at the museum. Their main goal was to increase traffic and awareness. 

APPROACH:
To increase visitors, numerous opportunities for guest interaction with the exhibit were offered. Events included lecture/slide presentations, panel discussions, film screenings, family activity days, and tours of postwar neighborhoods and homes in Miami. 

The firm wrote press releases and pitched print and broadcast media for the pre-opening event and exhibition. Releases were also distributed to Spanish-language media.

EvClay also pitched home and garden writers and travel trade publications. The firm drafted post-press releases and distributed with event photos to all society sections of local media.

RESULTS:
EvClay secured interest from The Miami Herald. The reporter conducted interviews with the architect of the exhibit and the curators of the museum. The firm also secured interest from all the major daily and weekly newspapers in South Florida including El Nuevo Herald, Sun-Sentinel, The Palm Beach Post, Miami New Times, Coral Gables Gazette, Community Newspapers, Florida Today, and Miami Today.

Other hits included WPBT-Ch.2 (PBS) and WLTV-Ch.23 (Spanish TV) which did stories on the museum and the exhibit, and Travel Weekly which featured the exhibit in its Florida section.

The firm secured an interview with the museum’s curator on Spanish-language Ch.51.

The exhibit’s information was placed in calendar and event listings in all local publications and local websites.

SECURE MEDIA COVERAGE FOR THE HOME DEPOT IN FLORIDA FOR ITS COMMUNITY OUTREACH PARTNERSHIP WITH KABOOM!

CHALLENGE:
Increase awareness of The Home Depot as a leader in social responsibility and a partner in the community.

Highlight its long-time commitment to volunteerism in Florida by focusing on community programs such as KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit organization that builds new playgrounds or renovates existing play spaces in one day.

Seek media awareness and coverage for The Home Depot for its active role in providing the building materials and labor for construction of the playgrounds.

Highlight the knowledgeable, hardworking, and caring qualities of Team Depot, a store associates volunteer program where employees volunteer in the building of playgrounds for needy neighborhoods.

APPROACH:
Work closely with the organizers of KaBOOM! and The Home Depot store and Team Depot volunteers involved in each project to produce press releases and media alerts along with key details of the needs of the community. 

Pitch media, particularly community newspapers and local TV stations, on each KaBOOM! project, emphasizing the labor and time involved in building these playgrounds in one day.

RESULTS:
Secured exceptional media results in various Florida markets with stories in local newspapers, the majority of which carried a photo of Team Depot volunteers building a playground for a needy neighborhood. 

Established The Home Depot as a community partner, not only in the eyes of the community, but with the media as well. As a result, Home Depot stores across Florida were approached by community organizations for assistance with their projects.