making an impact through earned media

Getting others to tell your story is a challenge if you don’t have a compelling story to begin with, so how do you take an idea and make it relevant and of interest to the news media’s audience? Here are a few examples of some of the big PR wins I was able to achieve during my career.

 

introducing a luxury start-up

It’s not often a new brand comes along that shakes up an industry, but Legend Airlines did just that. While its time was short-lived, it transformed what air travel was supposed to be during its lifetime. I was fortunate to help build and be part of a company that delivered a service that business travelers, particularly, were desiring: business class service at coach fares from a convenient downtown airport. The competition heated up, but I was able to secure quite a bit of favorable coverage from both local and national media of this airline’s time in the skies.

 

Launch of premium brand boltbus

To combat a rise in curbside intercity bus competition, Greyhound designed a premium bus line that offers non-stop service between major cities, leather seats, extra legroom, free Wi-Fi and power outlets, all at fares starting at just $1. BoltBus launched in the Northeast in March 2008, targeting business travelers, college students and those traveling on a budget, and it quickly grew to become a formidable regional bus company. The PR effort around the launch was simple, with a media day prior to launch, where news media could tour the bus. We also shot B-roll footage of the bus to provide to TV stations. The result: more than 250 media placements in print, broadcast and online, including national news outlets. Here are just a few examples of coverage from the initial launch:

making a local splash

While Greyhound is a national company, it was important to work with local media on news-worthy stories about Greyhound that were of interest to people in the markets we serve. Two successful ways we got local attention was when we opened a new terminal or introduced Greyhound Express to a new market.

Terminal Openings

I worked with my communications team to develop a format for grand opening ceremonies that were media-friendly: a Greyhound bus as the back-drop at the press conference, a high-level executive available for interviews and a tour of the facility. We hired a photographer and videographer to attend every event and capture images and video that could be shared with the media afterwards. We also worked with local and state government entities so they would be involved and part of the program.

Greyhound Express Expansion

Greyhound Express was a new type of service and we needed to differentiate it. Since I led the design of Express, it was important to ensure local media didn’t see it as the “old Greyhound,” especially when introducing it to a new market. We focused heavily on the fact it was non-stop between major cities, and that we offered lower prices, modern amenities and a guaranteed seat vs. the regular service. Every expansion announcement received wide local media coverage, and the company saw an average 20% revenue growth in the markets Express served.

Baltimore Sun: “Greyhound Express adding service from Baltimore to New York”

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Greyhound launching express service from Atlanta”

Florida Sun-Sentinel: “Greyhound Express to start service to South Florida”

Los Angeles Times: “Greyhound launches non-stop bus service between Las Vegas and L.A.”

Dallas Morning News: “Greyhound starts express bus service to Houston”

 

seizing an opportunity

Sometimes something happens and you have a split second to seize the opportunity for PR gain. When actor Alec Baldwin was removed from an American Airlines flight, he commented that flying had become like riding Greyhound. I saw an opportunity to take advantage of the situation and show consumers (and Alec) that Greyhound had changed, modernizing bus travel and perhaps even offering an experience that was better than flying. I wrote a press release that was an open letter to Alec Baldwin from Greyhound’s CEO, a little tongue-in-cheek, acknowledging that while we’re self-aware of Greyhound’s reputation, the company really has changed with modern amenities and express service. The result was some nice media coverage - especially with entertainment outlets - with more than 200 stories running over a two-week period, reaching more than 45.9 million people. Estimated publicity value: $1.93 million.

Here are just a few of the articles: