Case Study:

BIA Parade of Homes

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What We Did:

Irvin Public Relations led the organization’s PR activities including writing, securing earned media coverage and social media marketing with the following goals in mind:

  1. best explain the new concept behind the neighborhood’s highly anticipated design;
  2. support BIA’s mission of highlighting the importance of homebuilders, designers and tradesmen in the region; and
  3. promote the qualities of the 2019 Parade unique to it’s 60-plus year reign.

Focus was put on initiatives leading up to the Parade such as Trades at the Parade*, the Plan Book Magazine*, the Muddy Boots Tour*, the annual Foundation Home, Realtor Day, celebrity appearance (HGTV’s Drew and Jonathan Scott), and never-before-seen features crafted by local landscapers, builders and designers.

Results:

The 2019 BIA Parade of Homes received 147 individual pieces of broadcast coverage, and more than 35 separate print and online pieces of coverage through earned media from March – August 2019. Articles were found in Columbus Underground, The Columbus Dispatch, Delaware Gazette, CityScene, Sunbury News, Columbus Business First, and Columbus Monthly. Calculations suggest the earned media resulted in an ad value of nearly $168,000, a publicity value of nearly $500,000, and an audience of more than 20,000,000.

As mentioned, this was Irvin PR’s first year providing services to the BIA of Central Ohio. Our efforts resulted in a 160% increase in earned media compared to the year prior (led by another central Ohio-based communications agency).

* Trades at the Parade was a day where more than 140 faculty and students from construction technology programs throughout the region’s career centers were invited to tour the Parade site while homes were being built.

*The Plan Book Magazine provided Parade-goers an inside look at the year’s event through home descriptions, feature articles including an Evans Farm overview, architecture and design trends, landscape ideas, and more information to enhance the guest experience. In collaboration with the Columbus Dispatch, Irvin PR developed each of the 14 home descriptions and a 400-word article focused on the Foundation Home to see the magazine come to fruition.

* Muddy Boots Tour was an invitation-only self-guided sneak peek of the Parade site at Evans Farm approximately one month in advance of opening day. Members of the media received a press kit upon arrival enclosed with all pertinent information and collateral (facts/figures, maps, builder backgrounds, digital access to images, etc.) to support advanced media coverage.