On November 3, 2010, the nonprofit organization Fashion Delivers staged its annual gala fund-raiser at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria. Headlining the filled-to-capacity affair as honorees were three leading executives from the apparel industry: Neil Cole, Chairman & CEO of Iconix Brand Group Inc., Liz Sweney, Executive V. P. & Sr. General Merchandise Manager of JCPenney and Tommy Hilfiger. Supermodel Molly Sims was on hand for red carpet photo ops as Tommy Hilfiger’s celebrity guest. The night’s biggest name, however, turned out to be a surprise guest who presented Neil Cole’s award --- the Material Girl herself, Madonna.
As Fashion Delivers’ pro bono publicity counsel for four years, we were again assigned to generate coverage for the event, its honorees and the exciting A-list celebrity whose identity was not revealed to us until the morning of the event.
In addition to publicizing the gala, Fineberg Publicity took on the challenge of supporting Fashion Delivers’ fundraising efforts by doing double duty as the gala’s journal advertising sales team.
Our Solution:
To maximize visibility for the gala, Fineberg Publicity issued early morning media alerts announcing photo ops with the honorees and Molly Sims to a variety of beat reporters, paparazzi, and television assignment desks. We saturated general news outlets, and contacted celebrity journalists, business reporters and fashion publications.
After learning Madonna was the A-list celebrity presenter later that day, Fineberg Publicity released the information to leading celebrity and gossip reporters, local and national television shows such as EXTRA and Inside Edition. This created a media frenzy at the Grand Ballroom that generated high-profile national and local mentions for Fashion Delivers in media such as The New York Times, The Daily News, The New York Post, television newscasts, and celebrity news blogs.
Supplementing The Gala’s Funds
To augment the total amount to be raised, Fineberg Publicity recommended an advertising journal, wherein industry colleagues would place ads congratulating the honorees. We solicited ads, provided copy as needed and coordinated the production of the glossy journal, which delivered an additional $130,000 to the sum raised by gala ticket sales.
