Access Communications

Acting Fast to Catch a Breaking News Story

When Access client, CREDO Mobile, informed us that they would be helping organize protests in San Francisco during the Olympic torch procession, time was in short supply. The Access team determined that CREDO’s participation in the event would yield a great opportunity to further position the company as an expert in supporting action-oriented social causes. Our goal was simple – land an interview for a CREDO executive on broadcast television to discuss CREDO’s vision. Given all the noise surrounding the torch procession, we knew it wouldn’t be easy.

The Access team developed a targeted pitch to local media outlets. We then hit the phones to garner interest among the Bay Area’s broadcast outlets in interviewing CREDO’s political director, Becky Bond. We piqued the interest of KGO (ABC-7) veteran reporter, David Louie by pitching him on a broader story about corporate social responsibility (CSR).

We persuaded David to come to CREDO Mobile’s headquarters and interview Becky about the company’s actions surrounding the Olympic Torch protest as well as all the other efforts CREDO undertakes as one of the country’s most socially responsible brands. Becky eloquently explained the company’s actions regarding the protest and told the story of CREDO’s founding principles and progressive political agenda.

Just hours later, Becky’s interview aired on ABC 7’s Evening News, with CREDO branded posters and signs abundantly noticeable throughout the story’s duration. The coverage provided tremendous positive visibility for the client and the Access team proved that, once again, composure and poise under pressure can lead to great results.

Plymouth Gin

Gin connoisseurs across the country, raise your glasses. Plymouth Gin’s highly anticipated and award-winning Sloe Gin is now available in thirteen markets across the United States. To announce it’s US debut, Access staged bi-coastal launch parties in New York and San Francisco, for media and influencers in the spirits world, including top bar owners and bartenders in New York City and San Francisco.

In order to establish the appropriate perception for our client’s brand, we set about creating an image and vibe that would reflect Plymouth’s distinction and tradition and showcase it is a trendsetter in the cocktail world – leading a resurgence of classic cocktails and an appreciation for well crafted libations. We selected The Back Room in New York and Bourbon & Branch in San Francisco, both of which are special, authentic locales renowned for their mixology.

The obvious key for success with events like this rests with the strength of your media RSVP list. Scintillating conversations over sophisticated spirits against a backdrop of refined urban style are one thing…if the media isn’t present to record the happenings the ensuing vacuum is not good for either agency or client. Our stellar media relations specialists lived up to their advance billing; joining us for our parties were folks from diverse, demographically strategic publications including 7x7 Magazine, Complex, DailyCandy, Food & Wine, Gourmet, GQ, Men’s Fitness, Paper, San Francisco Chronicle, Saveur, Splendora, and Town & Country.

Plymouth’s Head Distiller was our guest of honor at both the New York and San Francisco events and together with the respective mixologists offered up educated insights on the distilling, aging, presentation, and serving of fine spirits, to the delight of the guests and continued edification of the media.

With the events behind us, we concentrated on the actual introduction of the product into the marketplace, working to secure coverage timed to the arrival of Plymouth Sloe Gin in select bars in mid June. We drove ongoing media momentum, with platinum coverage hitting in key markets like New York (The New York Post), San Francisco (The San Francisco Chronicle) and Washington DC (The Washington Post) as well as in national publications like Newsweek.

And next time you’re out on the town and pondering what cocktail to order, ask your bartender for The Wibble or the Gin Genie– you will be glad you did!

Taking It To The Streets, How Media Got From A2B

With gas prices on the rise, traffic congestion growing and parking spots increasingly rarer to find, commuters and short day trippers are do constant battle getting from point A to B. Urban planners, technologists and entrepreneurs are all seeking practical yet dynamic alternatives to directly address and mitigate these issues; one such innovative new product is the A2B electric bike from Ultra Motors.

Access has a storied trove of high profile, highly successful consumer product launch campaigns, and we have a particular fondness and affinity for the quirky and offbeat. It was this expertise that drew Ultra Motor to Access, presenting us with a two fold challenge: get traction and visibilityfor the A2B with U.S. mainstream media while the summer was still sizzling and consumers were more attentive totwo wheel transport; and help the Ultra Motor sales staff build a stronger case to get inside the doors of dealers. Drawing on our experience with big market media campaigns and recognizing the strong summertime appeal of the product, we recommended taking the A2B right to the hot, hip streets of New York City,the mecca of urban dwellers and consumer journalists.

The hallmark of our continued success is our focus on the fundamentals: solid research to understand the market, strong media relationships, creative methods for communicating product and service messages to the media, and persistence in following up to ensure the coverage has impact and delivers business results. This begins with crafting the right messages to take into the marketplace and then wrapping them into compelling narratives that resonate with the media. For Ultra Motor we did our research (around product innovation, design and performance) and developed a strong narrative that could easily be broken down into three parts, the category – (why an electric bike), the product (the A2B) and of course, the company (Ultra Motor.) We then media trained the company’s CEO to effectively articulatebike design, style, comfort and performance, and the vice president of marketing, to put an accessible “face” on the product and enhance the authenticity of the A2B’s appeal with a variety of demographics.

Then, we created the Ultra Motor "Curbside Media Tour" and our powerhouse media relations team went to work. Armed with timely research, demographic-specific data points, and our OnMessage spokespeople, the team secured appointments with a broad array of outlets including the Associated Press, USAToday, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, San Jose Mercury News, CNET, Maxim.com, Town and Country, Playboy, Time Magazine, Popular Science and Coed Magazine (a college magazine geared for the product obsessed student). The curbside dynamic enhanced the impact of the tour: no matter where we were, the A2B drew crowds of curious onlookers that added to the excitement and spectacle and drove home the visceral appeal of the product.

Launch day for the A2B commenced with an above the fold column in USAToday's "Technology LIVE" section (and also ran on USAToday.com.) Other notable coverage to-date includesa live, podcast review on WSJ.com (Wall Street Journal) and to-date the A2B has generated more than 94 million impressions in print, online and in the blogosphere.