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Case Studies

Acciona's Nevada Solar One Grand Opening-Boulder City, Nevada

CHALLENGE
In 2007, after 16 months of construction, Acciona Solar Power's 64-MW Nevada Solar One project was ready to be unveiled as the first concentrating solar plant built in 16 years and third largest solar power plant in the world. Acciona Solar Power's parent company Acciona Energia wanted the grand opening and dedication of Nevada Solar One to be the biggest event in the company's history. The Ferraro Group was asked to lead the effort in Nevada to announce that over 14,000 homes in Las Vegas would be powered by clean energy produced by Nevada Solar One.

IMPLEMENTATION
When Nevada Solar One began producing power in June 2007, The Ferraro Group was asked to assist producing a turnkey special event inviting 200 local, national and international media outlets as well as 500 guests. Political dignitaries as well as local, regional, national and international media were invited to join special guests Ed Begley Jr., Sally Ride, and Steve Wozniak at the event celebrating the beginning of a new era in renewable energy generation.

RESULTS
The Nevada Solar One grand opening and dedication was featured in numerous print, broadcast and online outlets throughout the world, including:
NBC Nightly News, The Today Show, FOX News, CNN, CBS Marketwatch,  NOVA, NPR News, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The International Herald Tribune, The London Telegraph, The Economist,  Forbes Magazine, Bloomberg News, National Geographic, Discovery Channel US and Canada, France 2, La Gaceta de los Negocios, Finanzas, Los Tiempos and The Toronto Star,  Arizona Star, Las Vegas Sun, Las Vegas Review Journal, Las Vegas Business Press, Las Vegas' KVBC-TV Channel 3, San Francisco Chronicle, Las Vegas City Life, Renewable Energy World, Renewable Energy Access, Planet Ark and Monga Bay.

Dunkin' Donuts - Southern Nevada Launch

CHALLENGE
In 2007, Dunkin' Donuts, the largest coffee and baked goods chain in the world, announced plans to open more than 60 locations in Southern Nevada. DD hired impress communications, now The Ferraro Group, to develop a launch plan that promoted DD's emergence in the Southern Nevada market in a positive light, by building credibility through community and charitable efforts, and by maintaining consistent media and overall community exposure.

IMPLEMENTATION
impress communications/The Ferraro Group created a strategic communications plan for DD's Southern Nevada launch to create a consistent, positive public perception of the retailer. Prior to the official opening of DD's first Southern Nevada location on Oct. 16, 2007, the firm coordinated a teaser campaign to promote excitement among the local media and the community. Week-long radio/TV drops of DD's menu items were conducted, and a media day was coordinated for local reporters and editors to sample menu items. The firm also coordinated street teams to conduct menu item samplings at local events and distribute bounce back coupons announcing the location opening. Grand opening day tactics included a live radio remote, costumed donut and iced coffee characters dancing on the street, product sampling, a ribbon-cutting ceremony with corporate executives and local politicians, and radio and TV product drops. The firm also coordinated a $1,000 check presentation to Soldiers' Angels, a non-profit organization that provides aid and comfort to members of the armed forces and their families.

RESULTS
The Southern Nevada launch of DD was a true success. Awareness of DD's Southern Nevada launch was generated through media placements resulting in ad equivalency of at least $11,958. Awareness of DD was also generated through menu item sampling at various local events and distribution of bounce back coupons for the retailers. Redemption of the bounce back coupons and sales at the store opening resulted in a new national record for DD. Following the opening of Southern Nevada's first DD location, the chain announced that the restaurant set a new opening week sales record, making Las Vegas home to the most successful store opening in DD's 57-year history. The new store broke the record for first-day sales by 16 percent and broke the record for first-week sales by 41 percent. Additionally, the campaign won the 2008 Public Relations Society of America Pinnacle Award for Marketing Communications.

Blue Heron Properties-Stone Canyon Luxury Loft Homes Launch

CHALLENGE
In 2005, Blue Heron Properties, a luxury homebuilder, entered the Las Vegas market, retaining impress communications, now The Ferraro Group, to help position the company as a quality, innovative homebuilder within the Southern Nevada community, as well as generate press for the firm's debut project, Stone Canyon Luxury Loft Homes. The Ferraro Group was charged with making the unique property stand out amongst all of the other residential projects in the Las Vegas Valley and enticing target audiences to visit the project and learn more about the value it would bring to them as homeowners.

IMPLEMENTATION
The firm began public relations efforts in March 2005, creating a strategic public relations plan to generate excitement and buzz for the loft home community. The Ferraro Group knew it was important to highlight the project's uniqueness among current home options, and to target a specific demographic by promoting the idea of a cosmopolitan lifestyle, the flexibility of an urban loft, and the benefits of a single-family home away from the hustle and bustle of the Strip.

Key to the campaign's success was highlighting the look of the loft homes. Without the benefit of model homes, we aided in the creation of highly visual media kits and garnered feature-story coverage accompanied by colorful renderings of Stone Canyon lofts. Additionally, the firm focused heavily on the availability of online virtual tours through the homebuilder's website and the opening of the company's sales office.

In Oct. 2005, Blue Heron broke ground on the first phase of the community, where we implemented a successful, highly attended groundbreaking event for Stone Canyon Luxury Loft Homes. At that time, more than half of the community's homes were pre-sold. During the following months, we coordinated mail campaigns, placed Blue Heron principals in front of influential business members though speaking engagements, and researched beneficial associations/organizations for them to join.

In Aug. 2006, Stone Canyon sold out before the project had been completed.

RESULTS
Our firm had steady success in branding the Blue Heron company and its principals, as well as promoting Stone Canyon Luxury Loft Homes. Throughout the campaign, we garnered a vast amount of publicity for both the builder and the development, which sold out before it reached the second phase of construction. Press articles appeared in such prominent publications as the Las Vegas Review-Journal, In Business Las Vegas, Vegas magazine, Las Vegas Business Press, Luxury Las Vegas, 215 South Magazine, Southwest Magazine, Nevada Business Journal, as well as regional and national real estate trade magazines.