Google

The Garrity Group’s ability to secure targeted media coverage resulted in a successful and well-attended event.

Challenge

When Google prepared to bring their small business website program, Get Your Business Online, to New Mexico in 2012, they partnered with The Garrity Group to create widespread event awareness and generate media coverage. Part of Google’s national effort to get more small businesses online, New Mexico Get Your Business Online offered small businesses a free Intuit website, free customized domain name, free web hosting for one year and free online tools and training. The Albuquerque launch event included a free website class for small business attendees to learn the process of building a website and promoting their business online.

Solution

The Garrity Group helped create event and program awareness by generating significant pre-event media coverage, placing the event on appropriate online and news calendars, distributing media advisories to the targeted media list and booking interviews for preview pieces. The Garrity Group also identified small business attendees for media interviews. On-site and last minute event interviews were coordinated with local media and the Google spokesperson. The Garrity Group also identified and contacted local elected officials and community opinion leaders to engage via HTML and phone invite. With help from the local chamber of commerce The Garrity Group placed an emphasis on identifying and raising awareness among New Mexico’s small businesses.

Results

The Garrity Group’s strategic timeline and approach generated significant media coverage of Google’s New Mexico Get Your Business Online event, and resulted in:

Full capacity small business attendance at both the morning and afternoon training sessions
The event was promoted on more than 10 online and news calendars
Pre-event media coverage by local print publication New Mexico Business Weekly
On-site media coverage from the local NBC and CBS television affiliates