Case Studies

Client
Premiere Estates Auction Company

Client Spotlight
Premiere Estates Auction Company, an industry leader in the disposition of unique and luxury real estate in the United States and internationally, is changing the way auctions are perceived. Traditionally sellers have relied on real estate agents to handle their negotiation process. Over the course of the past decade, real estate auctions have primarily been held to sell off properties for probate, in bankruptcy or in foreclosure. Today, however, the auction process, which was once used to sell undesirable property is now an innovative opportunity to move property in a changing housing market.

Goal
Premiere Estates contacted Synergy Media & Consulting, Inc. Media & Consulting, Inc. with an idealistic task. The firm’s goal was to create visibility for an auction in Sunset Beach, CA – both before and after the event. With just one week before the auction, Synergy Media & Consulting, Inc. was able to deliver.

Result(s)
Pre Coverage: The Long Beach Press Telegram (front page business section)

Post Coverage: The story appeared on the front page of the local section of the Orange County Register along with a large photo. It was also featured on the front page of The Long Beach Press Telegram. Each of the publications covered the success of the event and highlighted attendees, including actress and producer, Sandra Bullock.

Client
Talega Associates, LLC

Client Spotlight
Talega of San Clemente is a community of residents in Southern California situated on 3,500 acres of pristine land just up the hill from the Pacific Ocean.

At Talega, homes embody a whole new level of coastal luxury and sophistication. This vibrant community includes more than 2,000 acres of open space tucked around and throughout the neighborhood homes. Builders offer diverse options including casitas, bonus rooms and libraries, with features like outdoor decks and interior courtyards. Lot sizes are generous, range ranging from 5,000 to 11,000 square feet.  Homes are priced from $1 million to $4,000,000.  

Goal
To position Talega as a premier Southern California community, resulting in home sales.

Result(s)
Talega is featured in a positive light in building industry and select consumer media nationwide. The community has also been covered extensively in the Orange County Register, as well as other local publications – its target demographic.

Client
Carno & Carlton, LLP

Client Spotlight
Carno & Carlton, LLP is a business, real estate and litigation firm with a specialized focus in construction law. As partners in the firm, Anna Carno and Andrew Carlton have over 40 years combined experience in law, construction and real estate. The firm’s core strengths are in construction disputes both public and private works, payment disputes, licensure issues, change order and differing site condition claims, protest issues, construction defect litigation, indemnity, surety and insurance disputes.

Goal
To increase visibility for their law firm by capturing the media spotlight locally, regionally, nationally and in trade media. To direct attention to their specific expertise in construction law through their legal accomplishments and results. To become known as the definitive experts in their practice area.

Result(s)
Leveraging a significant win from a trial against the Saddleback Valley Unified School District, the firm gained exposure for their expert litigation skills with several placements in law, construction and local publications including The Orange County Register, OC Weekly and The National Law Journal, as well as secured byline article placements in construction trade media.

Client Spotlight
Pára Me, a cosmetic line exclusively for Latinas, was created and founded by Maria Cristina McShea. For years, McShea established herself in the retail market while representing such notable cosmetics lines as Lancôme, La Prairie, Sisley, and Donna Karan. McShea performed makeovers as a professional makeup artist, listening to Latinas discuss their inability to find products that enhanced their skin types and color tones. She became inspired to develop her own line of cosmetics that would specially cater to the needs of Latinas, thus tapping into an untouched market.

Goal
To create a full-service public relations campaign with extreme focus on media exposure, while strategically targeting beauty magazines, business publications and Hispanic media. Capturing speaking engagements were also a goal of McShea, as she wanted to continue her outreach to those in the beauty industry, and inspire other entrepreneurs with her personal success story.

Result(s)
The effort resulted in prominent media placements, including Jane Magazine, Marie Claire, The Seattle Times, The Orange County Register, Orange County Business Journal, and San Francisco Chronicle. She was also invited to appear on NBC on several occasions. Latina celebrities were contacted and networked to offer their support of Pára Me in the public relations campaigns, as well.
The media exposure created resulted in thousands of hits from curious consumers on the Pára Me website. McShea was invited to participate in national conferences, where she served as the keynote speaker. The positive response from Latina celebrities and the media also attracted the interest of leading mainstream cosmetic companies.

Client
Bradford Hall, Hall & Company, Certified Public Accountants and Consultants, Inc.

Client Spotlight
As the managing director of the Hall & Company, Bradford Hall is actively involved in all aspects of taxation and business planning. He has over 27 years of experience in public accounting. Hall’s core strengths are in the areas of strategic tax planning for high-net-worth individuals, including corporate owners and executives, closely held corporations, partnerships, LLCs and trusts. He has significant experience negotiating corporate sales/mergers, acquisitions and divisional spin-offs. In addition, Hall spends a great deal of time consulting in the area of business management, business succession planning, estate planning and preparation of comprehensive personal financial plans. He represents clients before the IRS, FTB and other taxing authorities.

Goal
To gain exposure on a national level and become known as a tax and financial expert in the accounting and financial arenas.

Result(s)
Hall quickly became known on the local level in publications, such as the Orange County Register. Today, savvy publications, including BusinessWeek and Entrepreneur Magazine, are seeking his expertise on a regular basis.

Client Spotlight
The Concord Group is a real estate advisory firm specializing in market analysis for developers, homebuilders, institutional investors, public agencies and universities. The company’s broad range of clients includes prominent Orange County and nationally-based entities.

Goal
To build relationships with the important reporters in the industry in order to become the first point of contact for expert opinions on real estate issues; and to be nationally recognized as industry experts in the real estate field and the economic issues associated with land use and development.

Result(s)
The media campaign has progressed positively over the past 11 years. Executives at The Concord Group are regarded as experts and sought out regularly to comment on real estate and related issues. Publications include national trade magazines, such as Builder and Southern California Real Estate; and newspapers, including the Orange County Register, The Chicago Tribune and syndicated newspaper articles. Additional exposure has been garnered through high visibility broadcast placements.

Client Senario
The Bethany Group LLC, an Irvine-California-based company, which owns apartment complexes throughout the U.S. filed for bankruptcy on behalf of many of its holding companies. Leading up to this point, The Bethany Group had made a series of large acquisitions. The majority of the purchases were conducted during the peak of the commercial real estate marketing, by obtaining financing from Lehman Brothers.

The Bethany Group was under media scrutiny, which was exacerbated by their not responding to media inquiries and refusing interviews. As a result, reporters interviewed disgruntled employees and misread the facts in the case filings. Articles and TV news reported the unsubstantiated problems at The Bethany Group’s complexes in many areas of the country, including Arizona, Maryland and Florida. The Bethany Group sought Synergy’s help to reverse some of the damage to the company’s reputation.

Goal
To use the media as a vehicle to articulate The Bethany Group’s side of the story and to clear up any misconceptions about the issues associated with the bankruptcy. To restore positive media exposure by highlighting the proactive activities the company had attempted to minimize loss.

Result(s)
Synergy leveraged media opportunities to secure an article in GlobeSt.com and Multi-Family Executive, as well as other consumer media. By working with The Bethany Group’s Chief Executive Officer and preparing press statements in advance, the company was able to articulate a true and accurate account of the facts. The result was positive coverage for the company. The articles included The Bethany Group’s perspective and steps they had taken to minimize loss during the bankruptcy process.

Client Spotlight
Weiland, Golden, Smiley, Wang Ekvall & Strok, LLP is a Costa Mesa-based boutique law firm specializing in bankruptcy law, business workouts, creditors' rights, business and commercial litigation, appellate advocacy and corporate and real property matters. The firm is dedicated to providing responsive, effective and cost-efficient service. Combining the sophistication, experience and scholastic excellence of a large law firm with the efficient, high-energy hands-on attitude and focus of a specialized boutique, the firm prides itself on learning the nuances and intricacies of the client's business and industry, and in bringing the right talent and resources to bear on the client's issue. The firm's first and foremost objectives are to identify and effectuate practical solutions and produce outstanding results for its clients.

Goal
To position the firm as a leading bankruptcy boutique firm in Southern California.

Result(s)
Over the last decade, Synergy was able to and still continues to gain media exposure for the firm in such publications as The Orange County Register, The Los Angeles Times, Metropolitan News-Enterprise, The Los Angeles Daily Journal, Business Week, Bankruptcy Court Decisions News and Comment and others. Firm attorneys have also been interviewed in Los Angeles-based news segments on KCAL, KCBS and KNBC, as well as for radio segments on KFWB and KNX.

The firm was able to achieve recognition for its bankruptcy expertise

Client Spotlight
Jeri Lynn Sunok is an innovator in the fitness industry, empowering minds and bodies of people of all ages, physical abilities, shapes and sizes. As the owner of Fitness Intuitive, Jeri expertly trains the who’s who of Orange County and has developed over 10,000 signature workouts, each one specifically designed for a particular client, audience or readership. Jeri has been involved in the fitness industry as a body builder, trainer, journalist and expert source for more than two decades. She prides herself on intuitively understanding the essence of what it truly means to be fit.

Goal
To update her image, revitalize her marketing program and re-brand her company. To publically launch her brand’s new look, logo and to elevate Jeri’s visibility via the media.

Result(s)
Synergy worked in an overall capacity to assist Jeri --- from finding a patent attorney to content development for her website to developing a new marketing and media kit. In addition, Synergy’s relationships with the media were leveraged to secure several top-tier features for both local and national exposure. Media placements include Glamour Magazine, highlighting Jeri’s brand and expert fitness advice on a national level. Locally, Jeri was placed in Location 3, a magazine geared specifically to her Newport Beach clientele.