The story of Abell Auction Company, Los Angeles’ first permanent auction house, dates back a century. Its history is deeply connected to Los Angeles history – from being founded in 1916 by a Russian immigrant, to burning down in 1992 during civil unrest, to auctioning off distinctive pieces of Hollywood history. Now in its fourth generation of family operation, it faces increasing competition from global brand name auction houses.
The Geere Group used the celebration of Abell’s 100th anniversary to tell the story of how a homegrown company has enabled generations of consumers to own a part of Hollywood history through the uniquely American tradition of the public auction. Media results included a broadcast segment on CBS News, as well as feature stories in the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Business Journal, Angeleno Magazine and other affluent lifestyle publications. By telling compelling stories about Abell’s Los Angeles connection, long-term employees and clients, and unique auction items, we successfully landed editorial coverage in top tier publications and generated new client leads.
In today’s changing healthcare environment, there are many choices when it comes to group insurance coverage. To successfully position PacFed Benefit Administrators, LLC as the best and most expert source for employee benefits during implementation of the Affordable Care Act, The Geere Group helped launch a coordinated marketing campaign aimed at decision-makers.
We positioned PacFed as a leading voice on employee benefits issues, accepting the challenge to keep clients in the entertainment, nonprofit and public entity sectors “a step ahead” of new changes and mandates. Tactics included interior advertisements in high-traffic airport terminal areas, targeted print advertisements, direct mailings, event sponsorships and a redesigned website. This approach successfully helped increase overall brand awareness, client contacts and company growth.
The University of North Dakota John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences (UND Aerospace) offers the most technologically advanced flight training complex of any public university in the world, drawing aspiring pilots from across the globe. It is also the first educational institution in the nation to offer a fully accredited undergraduate major in unmanned aircraft systems.
Despite its role as a primary center for aviation education, training and research, UND Aerospace’s accomplishments remained largely unreported. To position the organization as a center for aviation excellence, we announced its launch of the nation’s first unmanned aircraft systems research and compliance committee amid growing national privacy concerns. Our team achieved the client’s ultimate goal of securing national coverage on top tier outlets such as CNN, Associated Press and Wall Street Journal, as well as positioning it as an expert source to the media for future trend stories.
The Van Nuys Airport Association (VNAA), representing more than 100 businesses and 10,000 employees at the nation’s leading business airport, desired to become a credible, influential voice for the aviation industry in Los Angeles. The group needed to mobilize quickly to increase its membership and advocate business-friendly policies during a severe economic downturn.
Through a mix of public relations, community engagement, government affairs and media outreach, The Geere Group helped transform the VNAA from a small tenant membership group to a strong business aviation advocacy organization. We unveiled a new brand identity and website, launched a membership drive, and conducted ongoing outreach to key stakeholders and elected officials. Overall, our efforts resulted in the successful re-phasing of a major runway project to mitigate negative operational impacts, the negotiation of fair and reasonable rental rates, the re-establishment of U.S. Customs services and the continued operation of an aircraft mechanics school threatened for closure during budget cuts.
In today’s luxury sharing economy, there has been a surge in the number of travel apps and sites offering discounted private jet booking services. A narrowing of the affordability gap makes more options available to fly by private jet for a wider range of people than ever before. Seeking to reach an untapped market and differentiate itself from the competition, the new luxury start-up VolJet.com approached The Geere Group to publicize its consumer launch.
Promoting the advantages of booking an elite seat in a minute, we captured media and market attention through outreach to national travel, luxury lifestyle and mainstream media outlets. In collaboration with VolJet.com’s leadership team, we established the company CEO as a thought-leader, innovator and business aviation entrepreneur. This resulted in dozens of print, broadcast and online media placements, including Yahoo Finance, which drove more than a thousand visitors to the site in one day. The client is rapidly establishing its brand identity as the ideal online booking service for value conscious premium travelers, with plans to expand internationally.
Specialty Restaurants Corporation is a pioneer in the industry, known for its themed destination restaurants. Since its founding by a World War II veteran and aircraft collector in 1958, it has developed a reputation for food, service and unique views. Today, it is still family-owned and operates 21 restaurants, many which were inspired by its founder’s experience as an aviator.
While Specialty Restaurants Corporation is well-known for its unique vistas, it also operates a full-service production company available for corporate and special events. The Geere Group was engaged to publicize a milestone in aviation history to help grow this segment of the business. A welcome home ceremony was held at The Reef Restaurant in Long Beach for the “Holy Grail” of military aviation, a legendary B-17E Bomber that was recovered from New Guinea and repatriated to the U.S. by Specialty Restaurants Corporation’s CEO and a leading archaeologist. The event attracted major media attention and resulted in an Associated Press feature story that appeared in publications across the nation.
