MACIAS PR led the media and publicity campaigns for the national nonprofit veterans organization, VAREP, for more than 4 years. The nonprofit organization educates veterans on how to take advantage of their VA loan benefits.
VAREP presented a challenging media narrative because it targets a small consumer niche: home buyers who served in the military. Every local media market is different and must be approached based on their local news narrative. In the case with VAREP, we launched local media campaigns in Hawaii, San Diego, Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Orange County, Phoenix, Tucson, San Antonio, Washington DC, Miami/Fort Lauderdale and Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida.
An independent mortgage lender needed help raising the profile of his lending services so he approached MACIAS PR.
The CEO wanted to introduce his mortgage services to homeowners and potential homebuyers in two different media markets. Presenting an even larger challenge, his message targeted veterans and military families in Arizona and California.
MACIAS PR came up with the concept of The VA Loan App. The mobile app would help veterans and military families learn within minutes whether they qualified for a VA loan. Our in-house team created and developed the mobile app and branded it as The VA Loan App. We also submitted it to the App Store and Google Play and got it listed with the influential app platforms.
Our strategy led to six TV segments across California and Arizona, as well as online and newspapers. The media coverage also spread to other media markets.
You can see the media placements MACIAS PR secured for the VA Loan App on the following pages. If you click on the logos, you can read or watch the story.
MACIAS PR was founded in 2009 by Mark Macias – an Executive Producer with NBC and Senior Producer with CBS in New York. City & State Magazine named Macias one of the top 50 best PR pros in New York in 2022 and 2024. Finance Monthly named MACIAS PR the 2017-2020 Strategic PR Firm of the Year, and PR Firm of the Year. Message us if you’d like to get a customized strategy.
Telling stories is not limited to the entertainment or news business. It impacts all of business.
If you can’t tell your story to customers or clients, how can you convince them to buy your product or service? Statistics won’t close the deal, and personality will only touch the surface. If you’re promoting a complicated brand or service that involves any depth, you need to identify the story to sell it.
I was reminded of the power of storytelling while seeing – of all things – an infographic on IG. It was a simple chart that showed the rise of Tequila sales over the last two decades, in comparison to Whiskey and Rum. Nothing fancy. In fact, I don’t even remember the brands that were listed on the chart.
But I do remember the story that accompanied the chart. (Sadly, I don’t remember the person who posted that story or I would be giving him/her credit).
The Rise of the Tequila Story
Did you know 22 years ago, Rum was tops in sales when compared to Tequila and Whiskey. In fact, for every Tequila shot sold at a bar or restaurant, customers bought two shots of Rum. The buzz was strong for Rum but it didn’t last.
Over the next 20 years, Rum sales remained stagnant, while Tequila went from under $10 million a year in sales to more than $30 million by 2024, according to Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.
So what changed? The way Tequila told its story.
Celebrities, artists and entertainers all started launching their own Tequila brands, and they knew how to tell their story to customers. These new entrepreneurs took an entirely new approach to selling Tequila by inserting their brands into stories on TV and through the media.
I remember this time period well because I was living in Manhattan and was definitely their targeted customer. I don’t remember ever seeing a Tequila ad during this time, but I do remember seeing Tequila product placements on the hit HBO series, Entourage. And of course, I remember reading about George Clooney and his new venture into Tequila. These new brands reached me by telling their story in a different way.
Maybe your brand doesn’t have a celebrity or artist to tell your story. It’s okay. You can always perfect your story once you realize and understand the power of it.
Proof Storytelling Helps with Sales
Year ago I worked with the CEO of a hedge fund who was a numbers guy at the root. He knew the financials behind his fund, but when it came to telling the story behind his fund, it was a lost cause. His story was long winded and never had a narrative. I didn’t follow the direction of his story even though I knew where the story was going to end.
After I got him on CNN and Bloomberg, he thanked me — not for getting him media coverage, but for helping him see how he could tell a better story to investors. I was happy when he told me he was using our narrative to sell his fund to potential investors.
To buy, we must feel and experience – and that usually comes in a moment when we see the world differently. Maybe that’s a lesson for the Rum industry, and a reminder for you to always keep the story front and center. Your brand might be on top now, but if you don’t continually find new ways to tell your story, the void will be filled by others.
Message or call me if you’d like to talk about narratives for your business.
About MACIAS PR
MACIAS PR was founded in 2009 by Mark Macias – an Executive Producer with NBC and Senior Producer with CBS in New York. City & State Magazine named Macias one of the top 50 best PR pros in New York in 2022 and 2024. Finance Monthly named MACIAS PR the 2017-2020 Strategic PR Firm of the Year, and PR Firm of the Year. Message us if you’d like to get a customized strategy.
I wrote an article last year that took a deeper look at why Airbnb was headed for extinction. Today, the Daily Mail wrote a story with the headline, The End of Airbnb? – after the stock plunged 14 percent on Tuesday.
This is a business case study on government regulation and the role strategic messaging can play in combating it.
