Beacon Communities, Inc. is a full-service senior living management company with expertise in all areas of community management, including sales, accounting, hiring selection, training, and human resources. Based in Boston, Beacon focuses on providing an affordable housing component to each of their properties and asked TrailBlaze to plan and execute a media outreach and public relations for several of their 2023 property redevelopments, while building and maintaining relationships with regional and local media outlets in Western Pennsylvania and Central Ohio.
TrailBlaze determined the best way to manage the media outreach campaign by focusing on specific local markets and larger trade publications. While their headquarters office has a supportive marketing department in Boston, they enlist local firms to plan and execute media outreach and public relations. TrailBlaze worked collaboratively with their local team members to develop the best plan for their event marketing and media relations. We then established a media and communications outreach plan for each of the regions Beacon supports with new and rehabbed developments (The Carina in Pittsburgh, PA, Franklin Manor in Columbus, OH, and Richford Arms in Erie, PA) as well as wrote and distributed press releases and media advisories, as well as managed communications and interview requests with the interested media outlets. By focusing on the unique attributes each property had in relation to their neighborhoods and local communities, TrailBlaze created narratives for successful outreach.
Following the creation of the strategic plan, TrailBlaze began implementing the plan for each market and the respective properties for those markets. In order to peak the media’s interest, we incorporated a special community engagement to each event and focused on the unique attributes of each property. Inviting neighbors to come together with residents in the community spaces Beacon strategically developed, the community felt welcomed and involved.
For The Carina, we wanted to highlight the importance of the building’s historical impact. Because the Carina was previously the B’Nai Israel Synagogue and School located at 327 North Negley Ave, we partnered with the Rotunda Collaborative to incorporate an art-based community event to round out the community-impact narrative of the property. For the event itself, we brought in cookies with the Carina’s colorful logo, we hired a local artist to create a community art piece in collaboration with the ribbon cutting’s guests, and we hired local community members to provide entertainment by playing traditional drums.
For Franklin Manor, local nonprofit organizations joined the local Beacon development team to bring different opportunities and support to the residents of Franklin Manor, tying in the broader community to this important redevelopment. This community event allowed Beacon to leverage their engagement in the Central Ohio community and expand their impact on affordable housing beyond the east coast. As part of the event planning, we brought in community development organizations to talk to the kids and parents in the community about the services that are available to them. We also hired a local cotton candy cart to provide a sweet treat to our attendees.
For Richford Arms, we asked a long time resident to express their thoughts on the project and the changes these renovations brought to their building. She expressed her compelling history with the property and heartfelt words about what the community meant to her at the event, which captured the attention of many local news outlets and the Richford Arms opening received coverage from multiple articles publicizing the redevelopment. In addition, we gave each attendee cookies that said “Welcome Home” to finish out the event.
TrailBlaze managed press release and media advisory distribution, executive talking points/remarks and interview requests, and ribbon cutting event logistics for these three redevelopments. TrailBlaze custom built media outreach lists and monitored all media coverage as a team. We provided real-time updates to our client as interview requests came in and reporters confirmed their coverage during our follow up calls.
After each event, TrailBlaze monitored the press coverage of the events to track how successful each event was in maintaining a relationship with the local media.
Coverage of The Carina’s opening resulted in various local television stations and print/digital media outlets sharing their story with their readers. The release received media attention from at least seven outlets in the Pittsburgh area highlighting the importance of Beacon’s work in the community with spots on KDKA Television in the 7:00pm news. The culmination of the coverage resulted in The Pittsburgh Post Gazette running a Sunday edition, front page feature article about the property on June 16, 2023. Other coverage included but not limited to:
Coverage of the The Franklin Manor redevelopment received two articles in Central Ohio’s leading business publication:
Coverage of the The Richford Arms redevelopment received media attention from at least three different outlets in the Erie market on the day of and then TrailBlaze conducted follow up media relations when a fire broke out in one of the apartments several weeks later. Senior reporter, Kevin Flowers, commented on how professional and knowledgeable the TrailBlaze team was in their interactions with them and looked forward to covering future Beacon redevelopments based on his initial experience with the team.
