Opportunity
Cookerly has been tapped by Westin over the years to support the brand in key Atlanta markets spanning downtown, plus the nation’s busiest airport and suburban hubs. A recent example is publicity for The Westin Atlanta Gwinnett, a posh 348-key, full-service hotel in the heart of Gas South District’s 118-acre campus featuring an arena, convention center and theater in Gwinnett County, GA.
Strategy | Execution
- Maintained steady drumbeat of coverage 10 months before opening, targeting local and trades spanning hospitality, conventions and meetings business
- Partnered with Explore Gwinnett, the county’s tourism and film office, to add hotel executives as story sources, highlighting the hotel as the missing piece to boost Gwinnett convention business
- Scheduled media briefings with key reporters to share construction progress for a drip campaign leading up to the opening
- Facilitated media tours of the hotel before the grand opening to generate buzz, highlighting restaurants, rooftop bar, fitness studio, and 27k sq. ft. meeting space
- Created cadence of stories and personnel announcements to keep hotel in the news cycle
- Developed and shared press materials to generate coverage: release, fact sheet and images
Results | Impact
- Secured 78 media placements: 66 million audience reach across trade, local print and online
- Coverage: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta Business Chronicle, The Gwinnett Daily Post, What Now Atlanta, Georgia Trend, Bisnow, Urbanize Atlanta, HospitalityNet, Convention South, Smart Meetings, Hotel Management, Meetings Today, Hotel Executive, Hotel Online
- Media attention helped hotel book $5 million in group and corporate business before opening, with 30% new to Gwinnett County
As design director at Cookerly, Tim serves as the creative lead in the development of branding campaigns, print collateral and digital media for clients across a broad range of industries, including consumer, professional services, healthcare and technology.
As a senior vice president at Cookerly, Mike Rieman is a strategic communications leader specializing in media relations and reputation management. With a proven track record of securing high-profile placements in top-tier outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN and USA Today, he excels at crafting compelling narratives that resonate across print, broadcast and digital platforms.
Mike Touhill is vice president at Cookerly Public Relations, where he helps lead traditional, social and digital media programs for B2B and B2C clients in packaging, telecommunications and technology, among other industries. As a communication leader, he develops and executes public relations strategy, provides proactive and reactive counsel to C-level executives and secures earned media coverage for client initiatives and product.
Andrew Agan is a vice president at Cookerly Public Relations, overseeing the agency’s internship program and leading media relations, content strategy and social media initiatives. He provides counsel and executes campaigns for clients across various sectors, including finance, healthcare, hospitality, technology, automotive and many others. Andrew excels at crafting compelling stories and building media relationships, resulting in clients being featured in notable outlets such as CNBC, Associated Press, Business Insider, Fox Business, HBO, Inc. Magazine, Sirius XM, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today, among others.
As vice president of Cookerly, Sheryl Sellaway uses her extensive corporate communications background to lead consumer PR efforts, deliver strategy for marketing programs and share expertise about community initiatives.