Comet Branding - Branding | PR | Social Media

Case Study: PR+Social Media Summit

• The Challenge

  After a successful PR + Social Media Summit in October of 2009, which drew great speakers and 300 attendees to UW-Whitewater using only public relations and social media channels, Comet decided to partner with Marquette University to host a second event in April, 2010.

• Our Solution

  For the new event, Comet developed a strategy to leverage contributing businesses to support the event instead of traditional sponsorships. Each business was strategically selected to offer a key component from each business’ key service offering in a way that was true to their own strategic vision.
  A Web development firm helped deliver a robust Web experience including an event website, event emails, day-of custom mobile site and a seamless registration process. A video production house provided the development of three videos that strategically told the story of the event. A printing company provided branded signage and banners for the event.
  Comet coordinated the structure, schedule and content for the conference and enlisted expert speakers. To fall in line again with the subject matter of the event, Comet developed a strategic approach based on PR and social media to market the event by leveraging only unpaid PR and social media channels that would offer a robust mix of before-, during- and after-event promotion, publicity and engagement.

• The Results

  The PR and social media campaign was launched using an event website, Twitter, Twitpic, YouTube, Vimeo, BlogTalkRadio and StumbleUpon. On the PR side, traditional media relations activities were deployed and a social media news release - hosted by PitchEngine.com - was leveraged.
  In the end, the event featured speakers from IBM, Jockey International, Marcus Hotels & 
Resorts, Trek Bicycle, BlendTec, Marquette University, Radio Milwaukee and other thought-
leaders and drew 350 attendees - increasing attendance by 17% over the 2009 event.
  In addition, significant buzz was generated online and in social media during the day with thousands of Twitter posts referencing the event along with over 30 blog posts, multiple videos and hundreds of photos posted to Facebook, Twitter and
Flickr. The net proceeds of the event - $8,500 - were donated by Comet to Marquette’s PRSSA Chapter in the form of an educational grant for continued learning and professional conference attendance.