Bonner Gaylord is the City Councilor for District E of the Raleigh City Council. With an upcoming election and a desire to expand his reach among Raleigh voters, particularly those in the innovation sector, he approached The Publicus Community to assist with the planning and promotion of a recent campaign event.

“Our first task was to find a unique space in Raleigh that could serve as an appropriate venue for an innovation-themed event,” says The Publicus Community’s Senior Marketing Executive. He adds: “When we entered HQ, a shared downtown workspace designed by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, we knew we found it.”

The Publicus Community secured the space, handled all planning and logistics, and then went to work on energizing and motivating people to attend.

“Our approach consisted of an aggressive email and social media campaign targeting the Triangle’s. We really went after the people who are making it happen.”

He adds: “We tapped into a comprehensive organic email list and pushed out notices and updates through our own social networks. We also reached out to over 80 media outlets. Then, the best that thing that could have happened, did: the key influencers in our social spheres carried the message to their friends and followers and got people fired up to attend.”

Leading up to the event, The Publicus Community relied on Eventbrite to communicate with attendees, and sent out timely reminders via Facebook and Twitter. The agency even had a contingency for those who couldn’t physically be there, offering a live broadcast and chat over the web via Ustream.

The results were beyond successful. Attendance exceeded expectations. He gained 120 valuable new email subscribers to be used for future outreach and fundraising opportunities. “It was refreshing to see so many people engaged in the future of our city and eager to further Raleigh’s push toward being seen as a center of innovation,” says Gaylord. “The work that The Publicus Community did was central to that engagement.”