Heron Agency

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Sports Entertainment Firm. My position is Event Manager & Head of Athlete Management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Heron Agency?

Assist in the marketing and PR of our event. Which was a two and a half month long campaign that culminated with our professional boxing event on October 12th at Wintrust Arena.

What were your goals for this project?

Create interest/noise about our event. Raise brand awareness on the event as well as our company in the market and to secure good PR and media opportunities for the event participants.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They were recommended by Wintrust Arena staff and we asked around about the work they had done previously with the UFC when they had an event in Chicago

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

PR and Marketing. Secured media hits (Radio, TV, Newspaper, Magazines) for the event participants. Assisted in promotional activation's leading up to the event and during the live event on the 12th.

What was the team composition?

Worked with their entire team from top to bottom.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The event was one of the biggest selling live gates that we have had since we started promoting boxing events in the US in 2017.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Amazing. Couldn't have been any better or run more smoothly.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their communication, hard work and attentiveness to detail stood out.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not that we felt.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Executive Director of First Folio Theatre, a midsized Equity theater located in the Chicago area.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Heron Agency?

We are always looking to expand our audience reach to bring in new patrons from throughout the Chicago area.

What were your goals for this project?

To increase our visibility and presence through both social and print media.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We have been working with Heron Agency for over a decade. We originally chose them because of the quality of work we observed them providing other theaters in the Chicago area.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Heron Agency reaches out to their vast network of media contacts to obtain numerous professional reviewers to attend our productions; to obtain feature articles in both online and print media; to obtain opportunities for live interviews and performances on both radio and TV stations ranging, including WGN, WBBM radio and TV, Fox 32, and many more.

They also work to assure we have listings in dozens and dozens of websites, ranging from the Tribune down to all of the family friendly "What to do this week" websites that have proliferated. In all, they cover all of our media presence.

What was the team composition?

I have specific members of the agency assigned to my account who work closely with me and my staff, but I am also frequently in touch with Noreen Heron, the agency director, who is clearly monitoring the work being provided for all of her clients.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Attendance at our current season is at an all-time high. I am also constantly being asked by other theater companies how we obtain the consistently excellent media presence our theater has, something that all but the largest theaters struggle to maintain.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

I could not ask for better communication and cooperation.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The ease and pleasantness of working with the company stand out. Despite the fact that all work of this nature involves a great deal of pressure and is always time sensitive, Noreen and the entire staff maintain the most pleasant and positive demeanor I have ever seen.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I cannot imagine asking for more.