teamworks was brought on to handle the national Macy’s Believe letter-writing campaign, benefiting Make-A-Wish® America.
This two-pronged media relations campaign included markets where we promoted the Believe Campaign (Macy’s donates $1 for every “letter to Santa” dropped into the Santa Mail Letterbox at any Macy’s location, up to $1 million), and selected Santa Bus Tour markets, in which Santa visited cities across the United States in his own “rock star style” motor coach. The program also included National Believe Day, a day on which wishes made possible through this program are awarded to Wish Kids in 50+ markets across the country.
Highlights
- In 2010, teamworks managed media relations efforts using PR consultants in 20 markets. The team generated 1.6 million letters to Santa, an 18% increase over the previous year.
- 2011 brought 24 markets on board, and generated more than 1.95 million letters, a 19% increase.
- In 2012, teamworks managed PR consultants in 29 markets, and generated 2,787,256 letters, a 43% increase. Of these letters, more than 833,000 were collected specifically on National Believe Day. That year, we generated 155 broadcast TV segments (not including corresponding internet coverage) in those 29 markets.
Our team of PR consultants supported this initiative by developing news stories featuring:
- Past and present Wish Kids
- School letter-writing campaigns
- Wish grants on National Believe Day
- Santa’s visit in bus tour markets
Reno, CA: Santa made a two-hour visit to KOLO TV (ABC), including two interview segments on the morning show, followed by a return appearance for the mid-day news. A visit to a preschool, complete with the bus arriving and Santa’s entrance, was covered by KTVN TV (CBS) and KRNV TV (NBC).
Houston, TX: Believe Campaign segment aired on KHOU TV’s (CBS) “Great Day Houston” to announce a wish granting and celebrate the Wish Kid’s birthday in-studio.
Phoenix, AZ: When an industrious teacher decided to get her entire school involved in a letter-writing campaign, FOX-TV spotlighted the story with a live segment in the classroom on National Believe Day. We also secured a partnership between Macy’s and the top-rated Jonjay and Rich Radio Show, which simulcasts in five markets, to provide a shopping spree for their annual holiday baby contest. This included extensive on-air promotions valued at $49,000 and an online presence to encourage letter writing.
Washington, D.C.: Our D.C. PR consultant used her connections with McClatchy News Service to run a Believe campaign news brief that was picked up by more than 14 publications nationwide.
We needed a way to implement effective media relations strategies in small and large markets across the country for the 2010 Macy’s Believe Campaign benefitting the Make-A-Wish® America. We found a turnkey solution with teamworks – they managed 15 PR Consultants covering 20 different markets, with great results.