Success Stories
BACKGROUND
In late August 2021, aware of Inside Edge PR + Media’s success in generating publicity for other Guinness World Records attempts—including a prior dog wedding ceremony in 2008—leaders of the Villa Park Community F.U.N. (Focus on Unifying Neighbors) Commission retained Inside Edge.
Their challenge: with only four weeks before the Sept. 25 event, spark media coverage that will:
*Help spur on registrations at the Paws & Claws in the Park fundraising effort;
*Attract sponsors who can provide financial and in-kind support;
*Raise awareness of participating rescue groups seeking to grow their own support base while fulfilling their respective missions
PR STRATEGY
Inside Edge crafted a news release that placed the story in both local and international contexts. The positioning needed to abide by Guinness World Records’ guidelines while also conveying compelling elements, such as the history of the unusual, quirky record; the key organizer’s personal involvement in the 2008 record attempt; and the distinct name of the government agency that was behind it all: the Villa Park Community FUN Commission.
Inside Edge disseminated the release to local, regional and national media outlets. Local and regional coverage ensued quickly, including a front-page story in the Villa Park newspaper and a feature story in suburban Chicago’s most prominent newspaper, the Daily Herald. In mid-September, Inside Edge also secured an interview of event organizer Leslie Allison-Seei by WGN Radio host Steve Dale, the syndicated Pet World personality. The interview led to Dale serving as the event emcee.
In the last few days before the event, Inside Edge also secured a special-guest segment with two organizers and their dogs on Daytime Chicago, an hourlong WGN-TV program. By waging another round of tailored media outreach at this point, international coverage occurred through a preview story by the UPI wire service. In addition, multiple Chicago television outlets expressed interest in receiving an update on the day of the event.
RESULTS
Though organizers did not break the record, extensive regional and global media coverage ensued. The Fox and ABC network stations in Chicago broadcast a report, featuring B-roll video provided by M & L Productions.
In addition, Leslie Allison-Seei was interviewed by two WGN Radio program hosts and a FOX 32 morning news host, among other post-event appearances. The coverage provided a platform for her to emphasize the fundraising focus for animal rescue groups, as well as to announce plans for another attempt to break the record.
Other media coverage included gaining a mention on Real Time with Bill Maher, as the renowned HBO program’s host jocularly suggested that he should get invited to any future attempt. Of course, he’s been invited.
QUOTING THE CLIENT
“When it was decided that we were going to attempt to break the Guinness World Records title for Largest Dog Wedding Ceremony, I knew the first person I needed to call was Matt Baron at Inside Edge. Matt not only is a magnificent writer and PR specialist but he also has a lot of experience with Guinness World Records.
With just the right mix of professionalism, genuine excitement and calm determination, he was a pleasure to work with. He set up interviews, wrote press releases and acted as our media liaison the day of the event. I can’t imagine a more important team player!”
~Leslie Allison-Seei
Chairperson, Villa Park Community F.U.N. Commission
BACKGROUND
In late-December 2006, Corporex retained Inside Edge to provide public relations services for two of its seven Five Seasons Sports Club locations: in Burr Ridge, Ill., and Northbrook, Ill. The corporation’s stated goal was to receive two press “hits” per month as it sought to educate its surrounding communities about the facilities’ transitions from country club to sports club. Despite being open for six years to that point, the club had little name recognition in its own communities.
PR STRATEGY
Inside Edge recognized a mid-January Guinness World Record attempt by Burr Ridge club member George Hood, for a stationary “spin” cycling marathon, as a major opportunity to raise the club’s profile in the region. Inside Edge developed information for e-mail updates (at least three times daily) to pique and increase the interest of a growing regional and national media distribution list.
RESULTS
Within four days, Inside Edge helped secure global coverage for the Five Seasons brand. In addition to all the major Chicago television, radio and print media, the story of Hood’s effort appeared in hundreds of outlets, including USA Today, the New York Times, ESPN.com, Saturday Night Live, and Sports Illustrated. The momentum of the event has spurred on frequent regional coverage of other club members, employees and programs, including a front-page Chicago Sun-Times story on a club member headed to Iraq to help the U.S. military effort. Three Chicago television stations also covered that story, with national outlets such as Inside Edition and Fox News also seeking interviews.
QUOTING THE CLIENT:
“I wanted to congratulate and commend you on your role with the promotion surrounding our grand re-opening here at the Five Seasons Burr Ridge. It was a complete success by any measure I care to use. The cost of this kind of coverage would have been astronomical…thanks again for taking a good idea and making it a great story.”
— Tom Galzin, then-Chief Club Officer, Five Seasons Burr Ridge
BACKGROUND
In April 2007, Chicago Women’s Health retained Inside Edge to develop the written content for the ob/gyn practice’s new website, including biographies and a summary of services provided, as well as to promote a procedure known as NovaSure, or endometrial ablation, a non-invasive alternative to hysterectomies.
PR STRATEGY
Inside Edge recognized the importance of gathering testimonials from patients who had undergone the NovaSure procedure. Inside Edge crafted three before-and-after patient accounts noting the impact that NovaSure had made in their lives, and conducted a thorough review of research findings that showed many women are unaware of their health options. Inside Edge then used those testimonials to anchor regional media outreach that positioned the story as a public-health awareness issue for women. In addition, Inside Edge obtained data from the NovaSure manufacturer to gain data showing the procedure’s rising popularity—a vital “trend” element that helped create the foundation for the story’s newsworthiness.
RESULTS
Within a month of the outreach, Inside Edge secured two feature stories, both quoting Dr. Takhsh and telling one of the patient’s stories. One story appeared in La Raza, a Spanish-language publication based in Chicago with a circulation in excess of 200,000. Another story appeared in the Daily Southtown, with a daily circulation of more than 50,000.
QUOTING THE CLIENT:
“Through Matt Baron’s leadership and insight into how to effectively position a story, Inside Edge identified how we could differentiate ourselves from our peers, and communicated that difference on our website and to the media. I was struck by Matt’s ability to conceive great story ideas, and then take the steps necessary to enable those ideas to come to fruition.”
— Dr. Eden Takhsh, Chicago Women’s Health
BACKGROUND
In May 2007, Oak Park, Ill. mortgage banker Kate Hlava had just begun her business with a niche that parlayed her experience as an adoptive mom to help guide prospective clients also looking to adopt a child or children. She called her program “Fund Your Family” but word had not spread beyond her immediate sphere of influence and a handful of people who had attended a seminar she gave the previous month.
PR STRATEGY
Inside Edge immediately saw the media potential of Hlava’s story—the compelling “hook” of an adoptive mom using her mortgage-banking enterprise to help others with financial and other issues related to adoption. However, Hlava’s story had one particularly vulnerable element: she had yet to actually help someone finance an adoption through a refinancing of their home. Inside Edge developed an initial press release that provided an overview of Hlava’s background and how that had prepared her for this new venture. The release included comments from Hlava, her husband, Jeff, an adoption attorney and a fellow adoptive parent. Inside Edge also anticipated and counseled Hlava on effective responses to prospective media inquiries, including whether Hlava had yet helped someone to “fund their family,” as she had labeled her program. Based on material that Hlava covered in a mid-June 2007 seminar, Baron also created a second press release timed to coincide with November as Adoption Awareness Month.
RESULTS
Within two months, Inside Edge secured a feature-length story with photograph of the Hlava family in the Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest; a full-page feature in Neighbors magazine, a regional publication; and a one-hour guest appearance on a local radio station. In addition, Baron raised awareness of Hlava among hundreds of families by facilitating internal communication with the Chicago Area Families For Adoption (CAFFA).
QUOTING THE CLIENT:
“Inside Edge spurred on a flurry of positive media coverage about my new business that exceeded my most ambitious expectations. To anyone embarking on a new venture, I urge them to consult first with Matt Baron and his partners. They know how to get you where you want to go!”
— Kate Hlava, Fund Your Family
BACKGROUND
Taglia Advanced Dentistry, an Elmwood Park, Ill.-based practice, retained Inside Edge PR + Media to provide public relations and media relations support. Led at the time by Dr. Louis Taglia Sr., one of the most senior dentists in the state of Illinois, the practice was in transition. Nearing retirement and gradually handing over the reins to his son, Dr. Louis Taglia Jr., spurring on regional awareness of the practice was a top priority.
In the midst of the Great Recession, “Dr. Lou” Sr. recognized the significance of heightening brand awareness in this extremely crowded and competitive sector of healthcare.
PR STRATEGY
Inside Edge dug in to understand the variety of offerings at the practice, as well as the professional background and certifications of the father-and-son office. On a project basis over a two-year span, Inside Edge parlayed that research to identify a variety of angles that would distinguish the practice from numerous competitors that targeted the same regional pool of prospective patients.
RESULTS
One clear marketing edge possessed by Taglia Advanced Dentistry: a compelling father-and-son theme, especially given the elder Taglia’s nearly half-century in practice.
Inside Edge crafted a narrative of their multi-generational story, tied in the pitch’s timing with Father’s Day, and generated multiple media placements. The story’s resonance with local media included feature treatment in the local section of the Chicago Tribune that helped highlight their legacy. Subsequent media coverage included features on the practice’s expanded offerings.
Dr. Taglia Sr. credited the coverage for attracting a number of new patients that resulted in a manifold return on the practice’s PR and media relations investment.
QUOTING THE CLIENT
“I never considered using a publicist before meeting Matt Baron, and the editorial coverage he gained was a great way to strengthen our practice and expand our patient base. If I were to try traditional advertising to match the marketing reach that Inside Edge got for us, the cost would have been astronomical.”
-Dr. Louis Taglia Sr., founder, Taglia Advanced Dentistry
BACKGROUND
In mid-June 2007, one month before the release of the 7th Harry Potter book, Chicago author Laura Ruby retained Inside Edge to promote her most recent children’s fantasy, “The Chaos King,” a sequel to the highly acclaimed “The Wall and The Wing,” which had been optioned into a movie currently under development. Despite her critical and commercial success, Ruby was among the many authors seeking to gain some limelight while in the shadow of literary titan J.K. Rowling. After conferring with Ruby, who had previously done much of her own media outreach, Inside Edge decided to position Ruby as an engaging, entertaining alternative to Rowling and the Potter series. Inside Edge crafted an email media pitch that offered numerous potential angles.
PR STRATEGY
Inside Edge waged a high-quality, high-volume media outreach in which more than 200 publications, ranging from mainstream dailies to parenting magazines, received phone calls and follow-up emails suggesting “The Chaos King” as a worthy candidate for a review, and Ruby as a compelling prospective feature subject. In addition, Inside Edge contacted area library officials to recommend Ruby as a guest speaker.
RESULTS
Reviving a prior relationship with the author, the Chicago Public Library subsequently booked Ruby to lead creative writing workshops for teens. In addition, more than 25 publications, including the Chicago Tribune and the Albuquerque Journal, requested copies of the “The Chaos King,” as well as “The Wall and The Wing” for review and coverage.
BACKGROUND
In April 2006, Wells and Christine Hutchison retained Inside Edge to spearhead a public relations campaign to raise awareness of their new company, an importer of bamboo handbags made in Bali. The couple had befriended their tour guide during their honeymoon in Bali. They learned the man’s life had been transformed nearly 50 years earlier by another American couple who gave him five dollars monthly, hidden inside Reader’s Digest editions they mailed to him. When Christine Hutchison saw bamboo handbags that she knew would be a trendy hit in the United States, the couple began to take steps that resulted in the business launch a few months later. The cornerstone of their business: donating five dollars from every handbag sold to a foundation in Bali, with the tour guide overseeing the bags’ production and the foundation’s philanthropy.
PR STRATEGY
Inside Edge developed a plan that not only distinguished this wonderful story, but also sought ways in which the story could be a creative fit for a variety of media outlets, including those:
- Focusing on the fashion market
- Addressing travel-and-leisure industry matters
- Appealing to audiences that thirst for entrepreneurial developments and successes
- Targeting socially conscious and responsible themes
RESULTS
Within four months, Inside Edge helped secure coverage from a Chicago television station (Mother’s Day gift idea), a Chicago fashion magazine (Chicago Social), a Texas newspaper where the tour guide’s benefactors hailed from, a regional magazine (Shore), a national magazine (Looking Good Now) and online fashion blogs that helped drive traffic to the company’s web site at www.fiveaccessories.com.
QUOTING THE CLIENT
“There is no one word that adequately captures Matt Baron’s prowess in PR, marketing and name-building, because his skill set is so strong across the board. His oral presentations are incisive, dynamic and attention grabbing, and his written work is absolutely top-shelf. But what sets him apart more than anything is his ability to see connections where others do not–to draw productive links between different people, places and businesses so as to maximize your exposure and tap sources that others in the field simply do not contemplate—and to then aggressively and tirelessly pursue them. There’s no “cruise control” mentality at Inside Edge. Every day brings an effort to improve the process, to think beyond yesterday’s methods and to bring fresh ideas to the concept of getting your company’s name and product offerings out there—where they need to be.”
— James W. Hutchison, Co-founder and co-owner, FiveAccessories.com
BACKGROUND
Three times in an 18-month span, Azure Horizons, Inc. retained Inside Edge to write press releases and perform media outreach for the computer-consulting firm. The first time, Azure Horizons had recently earned a contract with the General Services Administration (GSA), enabling the company to engage in a variety of high-tech, Information-security and Homeland Security work for government bodies. About a year later, Azure Horizons wanted to promote that it had become the first Small Business Specialist, as designated by Microsoft Corp., in its region. Several months later, Azure Horizons again hired Inside Edge to promote the company’s ability to install Windows Home Server and Windows Business Server.
PR STRATEGY
Inside Edge developed press releases that injected vitality into the topics, conveying the stories with clarity and communicating the impact that Azure Horizons was providing its clients. Each time, Inside Edge then delivered a targeted media outreach.
RESULTS
In all three instances, stories gained prominent placements in local publications as well as on websites affiliated with the Chicago Tribune and the Sun-Times News Group. The most recent effort resulted in two new clients who, within two days of the story’s publication, became ongoing clients for Azure Horizons.
QUOTING THE CLIENT
“Inside Edge’s skill translates into bottom-line business results: media coverage the firm has secured has directly led to tens of thousands of dollars in new and continuing business. When Matt says he offers the `inside edge,’ you can take him at his word.”
— Keith Carrizosa, President, Azure Horizons, Inc.
BACKGROUND
After attending an Inside Edge workshop in January 2007, Bentron Financial Group founder Jim Flanagan retained Inside Edge.
PR STRATEGY
After consulting with Flanagan, Inside Edge focused on these primary goals:
- Increase Bentron’s media exposure, largely through the firm’s own public workshops;
- Edit and update Bentron’s written materials, including the Bentron website and a series of informational booklets Flanagan had authored;
- Raise Flanagan’s profile as a retirement planning expert.
RESULTS
Inside Edge developed engaging, timely press releases on Bentron workshops that offered a link to ongoing national news trends. Inside Edge also coordinated media outreach with and served as a Bentron liaison for organizations hosting the workshops. At the same time, Inside Edge provided extensive editing and revisions to Bentron written materials, elevating their clarity and flow. The approach has resulted in consistent coverage throughout the various sub-media markets in the Chicago region and has helped grow workshop attendance, which generates more prospective clients for Bentron. In addition, Inside Edge has successfully placed Flanagan as an expert in national and regional publications, including the Chicago Tribune.
QUOTING THE CLIENT
“You have helped me clearly identify my public-relations goals and implement a plan that is succeeding at reaching them. I appreciate your willingness to do whatever it takes to get the job done. Your can-do attitude is missing all too often in many of the business relationships I have. I also appreciate your guidance and the time you have taken to get to know my business and me. I am sure that is directly correlated to the results we have achieved.”
— Jim Flanagan, Founder, Bentron Financial Group
BACKGROUND
Pamela Polvere Designs retained Inside Edge in July 2007 to increase the kitchen and bath studio designer’s profile in the near western suburbs of Chicago. The firm’s president, Pamela Polvere, had previously retained PR support only occasionally, and hiring Inside Edge represented her first sustained public-relations commitment.
PR STRATEGY
Inside Edge sought to accomplish two major goals: identify differentiating qualities about the firm generally, and develop timely and topical story ideas that would spark local media coverage and reach Pamela Polvere Designs’ target audience.
RESULTS
Inside Edge identified distinctive qualities about the firm that resulted in the development of a variety of marketing materials, including:
- Case Studies with client testimonials;
- A palm card checklist-style marketing piece dubbed the Pamela Polvere Designs Difference;
- Stories, commentaries and letters to the editor highlighting the firm’s design prowess and commitment to “green” environmental stewardship;
- Story placements that included local newspapers in the firm’s target market, as well as the Chicago Tribune, WBBM Radio, and an hour-long segment on a WGN Radio talk show
- Updated written content for the firm’s website.
QUOTING THE CLIENT
“Matt Baron has great energy and has always been very professional in how he operates. He really knows how to take an idea and run with it—I’m so impressed with how his mind works. Matt continually comes up with innovative ideas to help promote my business.”
— Pamela Polvere
BACKGROUND
In December 2007, the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association, retained Inside Edge to lead a national public relations and media outreach campaign for the group’s annual Youth Media Awards, to be announced in mid-January. In mid-February 2008, YALSA again retained Inside Edge to promote Teen Tech Week during the first full week of March, including a survey through the end of March that sought input from teens on their technological needs and interests at libraries.
PR STRATEGY
For the Youth Media Awards, Inside Edge first crafted an overarching press release and then developed more than a dozen distinct press releases, tailored to different media markets and based on prior and current geographical locations of award winners. For Teen Tech Week, Inside Edge executed three rounds of media outreach: the week before the specially designated week to raise awareness of a media event in Arlington, Va.; during Teen Tech Week itself; and two weeks later, to promote the teen survey’s availability on the YALSA website through March 31. For each outreach, Inside Edge contacted over 250 media outlets, via e-mail and follow-up telephone calls.
RESULTS
Both campaigns resulted in extensive media coverage for YALSA, with placements in dozens of print publications and online literary sites, including the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, The (Portland) Oregonian, Topeka Capital-Journal, St. Paul Pioneer Press, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Chicago Parent, and Newsday’s Parents & Children. The Teen Tech survey outreach resulted in a significant increase in respondents (nearly 200) during the last week of March.
QUOTING THE CLIENT
“Inside Edge has truly helped us expand coverage of our awards and helped us greatly increase our publicity during our second Teen Tech Week. Matt is tireless, flexible, and truly engaged. I recommend Inside Edge highly.”
–– Stephanie Kuenn, Communications Specialist, Young Adult Library Services Association