For its news media campaign for the $100 hamburger that was “literally and electronically heard and seen ‘round the world’,” to commemorate the debut of the Old Homestead Steak House’s newest location, Kaye Communications, Inc. earned the coveted 2007 Bernays Award presented by the Gold Coast PR Council (GCPRC) at the council’s recent annual awards luncheon.
Kaye Communications, Inc. media debut of the “Rolls Royce of burgers” generated more than $1.7+ million in broadcast media coverage within the first two days from its media introduction (not including its July NBC Today Show live segment from Rockefeller Center in Manhattan), and hundreds of thousands of dollars in print and electronic/internet media, from South Florida and throughout the U.S. and Canada to as far as China and Japan, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Germany, etc.
In the first 48 hours of the debut, the campaign garnered more than $1.7 million in broadcast coverage with an audience of 34 million+ (which does not include the July NBC Today live segment). Broadcast coverage (270 placements in the first 24 hours) included Associated Press Radio, national newsfeeds for NBC (included CNBC and MSNBC placements), CNN, FOX, and ABC, and NBC Today (live on-air).Story/photos were secured/distributed on Associated Press, UPI, Getty Photo, Reuters, and European News Agency wires, with Associated Press (AP) citing its wire story as one of its “most emailed stories of the day” on debut day.
“We put aside the traditional ho-hum grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremonial event, and instead strategized with our client to utilize the debut of its $100 Tri-Beef Burger (made from the most decadent beef from three continents) as a springboard to communicate “the news” that the famed internationally renowned NYC-based landmark steak house is now open in Boca Raton, its first in the Southeast,” noted Bonnie Kaye, founder and president of Kaye Communications, Inc. The Old Homestead Steak House (OHSH) is New York City’s oldest and finest steak house, with three locations in NYC’s Meat Packing District, the Borgata Casino Resort & Spa (Atlantic City), and the Boca Raton Resort & Club.
Media were invited to private debut/tasting at OHSH, where “sense of arrival” was a significant part of the story with the coveted ingredients arrived by Hummer limousine with a security escort to a synchronized cavalcade of uniformed chefs carrying the slabs of beef (over shoulders) to the kitchen. Demonstrating that the burger was not just decadent, but charitable too; 10% of sales to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The burger was to be exclusively served at the newest location, yet available worldwide by phone. First shipments to “burger buffs,” including Jamie-Lyn Sigler, Zach Pozen, Jeremy Shockey, Paul Anka, and David Lee Roth.
Boca Raton Mayor Abrams was the first served with the media poised for the tasting and feedback. As he remarked it was “best burger I’ve ever had” and then completely finished the 22 oz. Beluga Caviar of Sandwiches, the cameras snapped away. His smiling face, burger in hand, with a thumbs up were included in both print and photo wires, and broadcast feeds…that resulted in national and international placements, etc.
“We are known for our innovative atypical public relations, marketing and news-making approaches that drive awareness and business for our clients in a variety of genres,” added Kaye. “Not only do we work to catch the world by surprise, we want to catch it by storm for our clients.”
Kaye Communications, Inc. was the firm that also helped two of its clients “save Halloween” for the Boca Community in the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma when its principals teamed up Town Center at Boca Raton and the Boca Raton Resort & Club to host an indoor Trick or Treat event on Halloween night that drew 8,000-10,000 in attendance with a majority in costume.
“As soon as we could leave our neighborhood, following debris clean-up of fallen trees, we went to check on our clients and their state of emergency,” noted Jon Kaye. “When we learned that the Resort had its warehouse full of Halloween décor while we were in the midst of promoting Town Center’s annual Trick or Treat night, the light bulb went off. Since we were just three days out and not much time to spare, we actually drafted the news release before we presented the concept to our clients, to best explain the concept. We know both clients wanted to reach out to help the community, and their combined efforts truly saved Halloween and gave much needed relief to families in peril. Mayor Abrams, Deputy Mayor Susan Whelchel, State Representative Adam Hasner, Town Center management and Boca Raton Resort & Club President Jean-Jacque Pergant welcomed attendees and passed out the coveted candy treats.
Jon Kaye added that “in just two days, working from our home computer (our staff, unreachable by phone and spread out for safety throughout the state, and office building closed), Bonnie and I alerted the media and our database of community groups, companies, etc. and were thrilled to hear the parking lot was full and that thousands had a Halloween they will never forget.”
“We knew it was exactly the good news that the community really needed and wanted to hear. We could have just stayed home and attended to our personal damage and issues, but the idea was too powerful and too healing to ignore at an unsettling time in the community in which our clients and Kaye Communications, Inc. are based and benefit from.”
Boca Raton-based Kaye Communications, Inc. provides full-service “marketing” public relations including strategic branding, graphic design and content development to community engagement, media relations and crisis communications for companies and nonprofits serving various sectors. Bonnie Kaye is the So Giving expert columnist for South Florida Business Journal’s South Florida Magazine in which she counsels business owners and entrepreneurs on building effective public/private relationships for mutual success. For more information, call Kaye Communications, Inc. at 561-392-5166 or visit www.kcompr.com.
