Situation

Siren became the Royal Oak Downtown Development Authority’s strategic communication partner in 2020. Utilizing a strategic communication plan, we focused on building awareness around community initiatives, fostering relationships between the client and local businesses, and promoting downtown Royal Oak as a vibrant hub for residents and businesses. Spanning four years and including the pandemic years when place-based marketing was especially challenging, we positioned Downtown Royal Oak as the ideal community to live, work, and play.

Strategy

During the most recent fiscal year of partnership, we focused on generating sustained media coverage to raise awareness for the client. We coordinated regular communication with staff, stakeholders, and partners to identify opportunities for impact and ensure alignment with communication priorities. From these conversations, we crafted media campaigns, talking points, press releases, and general confidence from the client that strategic communication goals were being met. Media campaigns focused on promoting the client’s events and supporting the businesses that make up the downtown district. Specifically, media campaigns focused on community events and news, such as Wine Stroll, Restaurant Week, Small Business Saturday, new downtown business spotlights, “I Love Royal Oak” drawing contests, and Jolly Days.

Results

In partnership with the Royal Oak Downtown Development Authority, during fiscal year 2024, Siren:

• Earned 193 media mentions across radio, online news, and television.
• Reached an audience of 1.226B.
• Grew followers on Instagram to 11,700.
• Secured more than 25 interviews and more than six television segments.
• Achieved an open rate of more than 30% across all newsletters.