Your Words Matter. Make Sure You're Heard.
Charleston PR & Design is an integrated public relations and marketing communications firm supporting businesses and professionals.
- We increase awareness of our client’s companies.
- We improve our clients’ communication with their customers.
- We guide leaders in times of corporate crisis.
Focus
Portfolio
- All Seasons Mulch & Landscape Supplies
- Driwood Moulding
- Kolter Homes, LLP
- BPR Properties
- Commonwealth Contracting, LLC
- The Fuller Pile
- Holly Herrick, Food Writer/Cookbook Author
- Lowcountry Residential Builders
- 360 Yoga Charleston
- New Homes Guide Charleston
- West Ashley United
Driwood Moulding Branding, Website & Video
Driwood is a manufacturer of architecturally correct mouldings, millwork, cornices, doorways, and paneling, cabinetry and custom architectural designs. The firm has been in existence for over 100 years.
We worked with Driwood to get back to their core DNA and present their legacy of more than 100 years of exquisitely crafted mouldings. In conjunction with that, we brought back their hand lettered logo which was created in the 1920s.
For this complex website project, we created a site to display the firm’s 500 stock mouldings and allow for online quotations. Using customized WooCommerce processes, the site allows customers to submit to quote, create accounts, save products, and review their history. Products may be filtered by hundreds of attributes, providing everyone the ability to search and order the mouldings needed for their job.
As a component of this project, we produced, wrote, and directed a video to tell buyers about Driwood and their products.
Our full project team was composed of graphic designer / Woo Commerce integrations specialist Jeffrey Schierer, account manager Dale Aren, developer Bill Smithem and genius copywriter Jenny Badman. The Driwood videos about the company and their legacy were shot and edited by Meredith Browne of See It All Media. Voice over narration was done by Richard Lubash of 2K Plus who also supported post production. Anna Stein wrote the more than 500 product descriptions with precision and professionalism.
PG Preservation Media Relations & Representation
A conservation minded group purchased the last undeveloped tract of land between Georgetown and Pawley's Island from the University of South Carolina. Our firm assisted the buyer by representing them and announcing the news. The project earned highest accolades and many news stories from South Carolina media, including this editorial from The Post & Courier.
Publicity for Cresswind Charleston Recognized as Top Master-Planned Community
Cresswind Charleston at The Ponds was selected as a 2019 Top 50 Master-planned community. We assisted them with getting the news out and featured in local news outlets. This coverage in The Post and Courier is from the Real Estate business column by Warren Wise.
The Ponds Conservancy spotlighted in national magazine
The Ponds, a master-planned community in Dorchester County, is home to more than a thousand acres of conserved land. The Ponds Conservancy guards the land, programs public and community events and increases awareness related to environmental and history associated with this nationally valuable site. Our pitch to a national magazine earned them a feature story in the summer 2017 edition.
Comfortable Cuisine Logo
Doug and Dale Beard established their special event personal chef and catering service to provide the highest quality chef-prepared meals in your home for special events. They required a logo that embodied the special nature of having a professional chef cook exclusively for you at home. While they wanted their food to be elegant, they did not want to be stuffy. After exploring their core brand DNA, we developed their unique logo which presents the specialness of a professional chef in your home. "Our Chef, Your Table" tagline amplifies the concept.
Logo for Voice Actor Bill Shelton
Bill Shelton, a Charleston based voice actor, needed a logo to represent his brand. After a development interview to get to the core of his brand DNA, we chose to embody one of the stories he told about his childhood. We derived his tagline, "The Voice of Possibility" from that story - of sitting with his dog, looking to the stars.
Dorchester District Two Foundation Big Event Logo
Dorchester District Two schools is supported by contributions from the non-profit DD2 Foundation. The Foundation holds a major fundraising event annually. We developed a logo to represent the annual party. The logo embodies all the joy and delight that comes from learning as well as celebration the sparkling nature of the fun evening event.
RN for Me Website
June Thorpe Galy established RN for Me to provide individuals professional health monitoring by an RN. Nurses make weekly visits to the home and help supervise your health. Her new enterprise needed a website that would match the bold colors of the logo and feature a prominent call to action to get a no-charge initial meeting. The site has a multi-section home page highlighting each of the service’s aspects and benefits to clients of the firm’s services. The site is built on WordPress with BoldGrid as the framework.
West Ashley United Website
West Ashley United is a nonprofit organization in the Charleston area with a mission to bring all elements together to support the community. Their goal is, “to engage all neighborhoods, businesses, and governmental agencies to enhance the many aspects of our suburban community with a commitment to communication, civic education, diversity, advocacy and conservation.” Charleston PR & Design designed and developed the website under a very tight timeline and on a relatively small budget. Specific requirements included the ability to post events which could be sorted into categories as well have an easy to update site. The organization wanted to be able to post regular stories about the people, places, and history or the community. We suggested that the site be WordPress using the BoldGrid framework. This allowed us to bring the site together efficiently and to meet their budget and timeline. The organization provided all their photos and content.
One of the board members said of the new site and our work, “[they]…did an absolutely stellar job in the website…not to mention such a quick turnaround in getting the site built and established. It looks so professional and is definitely something that we can be proud of.”
All Seasons Mulch Market & Landscape Supplies Website
All Seasons Mulch Market and Landscape Supplies on Johns Island sells to home gardeners and professional landscapers. The firm’s custom WordPress e-commerce website was developed to sell all their bulk materials online. In the spring of 2018 we launched a new site for them incorporating new custom post types for their delivery trucks and retail products.
The 2018 site was a partnership with Kathy Miley Hallen who developed the site graphics and color palette. We produced all photography, wrote copy, designed and coded a totally custom e-commerce solution to allow each product to be sold based on its type and allows All Seasons to set minimum quantities. The system also allows for delivery fees per geographic area.
Sherry and Gregg Tucker of All Seasons, have found that the site has enhanced their online sales and boosted revenue. We thank All Seasons Mulch for allowing us to partner with them for many years for their marketing and website.
Reviews
the project
Marketing Strategy for Resource Management Company
"The best part about working with them is their expertise in dealing with growing, smaller businesses."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the president of Deandro Resource Management. We provide timber audit and security services.
What challenge were you trying to address with Charleston PR & Design?
We hired Charleston PR & Design to help us update our marketing plan and create a better strategy to move forward with.
What was the scope of their involvement?
For the first phase of the project, Charleston PR & Design conducted customer and market surveys to better define our marketplace. Once we had that information, we retooled our marketing message. Their team helped redesign our existing site to change the messaging and increase our security profile. They also provided support to improve our newsletter. We’ve finished phase one, and we’re waiting to begin the next part of the project.
What is the team composition?
Cheryl (President & Founder, Charleston PR & Design) is our main point of contact. I also speak with Bill (Owner, Charleston PR & Design) and another teammate, as well.
How did you come to work with Charleston PR & Design?
Charleston PR & Design came recommended by a trusted friend.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve spent between $5,000–$10,000, so far.
What is the status of this engagement?
We’ve been working together since the fall of 2018 and have an ongoing relationship.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
My website is much more straightforward and it’s easier for my customers to quickly see our services. The site’s security profile has significantly increased, too. Lastly, our newsletter has improved with their support.
How did Charleston PR & Design perform from a project management standpoint?
Their team communicates very well. All of our deadlines have been met, too. They’re a very professional organization to work with.
What did you find most impressive about them?
The best part about working with them is their expertise in dealing with growing, smaller businesses. They’ve demonstrated their experience in that area as we look to grow to a mid-tier business.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, there’s nothing I can think of at the moment.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
I’d highly recommend you share and review your goals with Cheryl. She’s great at hearing the client’s needs and tailoring her services to meet those goals.
the project
Marketing, Branding & Web Dev for Woodworking Company
"They’re an excellent business, and they have good people that will go the extra mile."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
We're a family-owned custom woodworking company. We’ve been in business for about 100 years now. We make all kinds of high-end custom and architectural woodwork. I'm the vice president and general manager.
What challenge were you trying to address with Charleston PR & Design?
We had a marketing firm before them that I felt wasn't doing a great job for us. We decided to start looking for a new partner and new avenues to generate revenue. At the time, we were also considering having a new website built to incorporate some e-commerce capabilities.
What was the scope of their involvement?
They did all of the development and design of the website in house. Before they started the design work, we had multiple meetings to sit down and discuss what we wanted to achieve. During these meetings, we mapped out the flow of information on the site and talked about other design elements. After we finalized a plan, they went back and created some mockups and wireframes so that we could come to an agreement on the design.
In addition to managing the website, Charleston PR & Design takes a holistic approach in terms of their implementation of our marketing strategy. The team does our web marketing and print advertising while also assisting me with Facebook marketing and managing our newsletter program. They’ve even done some branding work, including a new logo. They do a little bit of everything for us.
What is the team composition?
We have four or five people working on the project. I communicate primarily with Cheryl (President & Founder), and Bill (Web Designer & Engineer) handles web development.
How did you come to work with Charleston PR & Design?
I interviewed quite a few people before meeting Cheryl and her team. I came across them online while we were looking for a new marketing firm. We wanted to find a smaller organization that could focus on our project. Our previous firm was a sizable outfit that had some pretty large clients, and their team didn’t dedicate any time to us.
When I reached out to Charleston PR & Design, they seemed like they knew something that the others didn't know. The team had a completely different take on the project, which we liked. They came up and did a presentation for us, and I was impressed with Cheryl’s vast knowledge of architectural elements and other aspects of our industry. That alone made them a natural fit.
It seemed that the other firms that we interviewed wanted to treat our project as no different than any other. Charleston PR & Design was more focused on sitting down and figuring out what we wanted to accomplish so that they could formulate a strategy that works for us.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve invested somewhere between $75,000–$100,000
What is the status of this engagement?
The project began in August 2014 and is ongoing.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
I can barely put into words the increase we’ve seen in traffic and leads since they redid the website. We also regularly get calls from people who’ve seen our targeted ads online. Their work has been effective, and the analytics support that sentiment as well.
How did Charleston PR & Design perform from a project management standpoint?
The quality of their work is very high as far as organization and project management. The team is very clear in communicating with us about what they're doing and the changes we should implement. It's a step-by-step process to reach our goals, and they’re great about showing us the steps we need to take. It’s very nice to work with someone like that, to be quite honest with you.
When it comes to technical issues, I deal with Bill, and he’s usually the person that’s doing whatever tasks I have questions about. It’s really helpful being able to reach out directly to the individual, rather than having to go through a third party.
I communicate with their team mostly through phone and email. We prefer email, but that has nothing to do with their responsiveness. They always pick up the phone when I call. They're available whenever I need them.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Their attention to the smaller details and the fact that they tailor their strategy to our specific business are noteworthy. I can't speak to their partnerships with other companies, but I would assume that they probably use tailored strategies for everybody that works with them.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, I'm very satisfied with everything they've done. I can't think of anything to say that’s negative. When you're in a creative environment, there's going to be differences of opinion, but they’ve always been very attentive to what we want. The team also does a great job of letting us know what they think we need to do. We find a balance, which is beneficial for everybody.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Don't overlook them. Give them a shot. They're an excellent business, and they have good people that will go the extra mile. They certainly show us that level of dedication in how they work to accurately represent our company.
the project
Community PR for Real Estate Developer
“I’m impressed with their collaborative nature and open communication.”
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
Kolter Homes develops new residential communities throughout the southeast US. As VP of marketing, my team and I manage our brand and community advertising, marketing, and communications.
For what projects/services did your company hire Charleston PR & Design, LLC?
We hired them to provide PR support for an age-targeted community in Charleston.
What were your goals for this project?
Our goal was to better promote our active-adult community to the local market.
How did you select this vendor?
We found Charleston PR & Design, LLC through references.
Describe the scope of their work in detail.
They help promote our local events, new products, and development achievements, thanks to their established media contacts in the local market.
What was the team composition?
We work with Cheryl (Founder & Principal, Charleston PR & Design, LLC) and her staff.
Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
Their media releases and outreach on our behalf consistently generate exposure for our marketing and community outreach events. They have also fostered interview and story opportunities with local and regional media for our property.
How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?
It has been smooth and clear.
What did you find most impressive about this company?
I’m impressed with their collaborative nature and open communication.
Are there any areas for improvement?
They could still improve their reporting on results.
The efforts resulted in a more effective marketing strategy and a more secure, easy to navigate website with a more effective marketing strategy. Charleston PR & Design’s success with the first phase of the project makes them a great continued asset moving forward. Their niche expertise with growing businesses is appreciated.