
In-depth PR case study materials follow. Last Updated 30 January 2025
Unique insights and actionable ideas from The Darnell Works Agency’s daily quest for greatness.
DWA principal Roger Darnell had the great honor of serving as a judge for the 2021 World Wildlife Day Film Showcase: Forests. “It is a wonderful feeling,” he said, “knowing that so many gifted storytellers and supporting organizations are dedicated to informing and educating the world on the importance of forests and conservation.”
Read moreExperience the 2021 World Wildlife Day Film Showcase on 3 March
Cutters Studios, Another Country on Facebook: “Check out all of this year’s Super Bowl spots, via the USA Today Admeter. At Cutters Studios, we’re beyond grateful and extremely thrilled to have been a part of numbers 1, 5, 13, 22, 27 and 38.” Read on: https://admeter.usatoday.com/results/2020
Read moreJeep, Bill Murray win USA TODAY’s Ad Meter with hilarious ‘Groundhog Day’ commercial
Read moreVisual Timeline and PR Case Study: Splash Worldwide
This case study appears in Roger Darnell’s new book on communications consulting, coming in 2021.
Back in 2011, my clients at specialized creative agency Leviathan joined together with some very talented colleagues to help the pioneering electronic musician and producer Amon Tobin and his record label, Ninja Tune, promote what would become one of the decade’s biggest musical tour stories. Immediately after its premiere in Montreal, Adrian Covert of Gizmodo called it “the concert of the future, today.” In retrospect, to me, there were a few key aspects that made ISAM Live so phenomenal. First, Mr. Tobin had a 15-year history of pushing the creative boundaries in sound recording, sound design and music production as part of Ninja Tune, a London-based indie record label known for visionary innovation. With that ground situation, the expectations of anyone on the outside looking in were already very high.
It was just another summer day in 2017 when I picked up my 13-year-old son Riley and a few of his friends after a movie. On the drive home, they made the decision to call their buddy Quinn Sforza, known as a bad-ass on the bass guitar, to invite him to join their new band. The offer was quickly accepted. Fast forward a few weeks, and a new band dubbed Uncle Kurtis was officially on the bill for a showcase performance organized by Asheville’s Experience Music (EM) at one of the city’s premier music venues, Salvage Station.
For the parents of young, aspiring musicians, EM is a dream come true. Dedicated to supporting the development of young musicians, EM’s principals and mentors – drawn from the vibrant local music industry – engaged Riley as a drummer for his first band, Breaking Point. Over the previous year, they had rocked stages at Salvage Station, The Grey Eagle and Pisgah Brewing Company as the headliner for several bands comprised of kids ages eight through 16.
Read moreTales of Originality: Asheville’s Uncle Kurtis Drops New Album, “Let’s Kill Uncle Kurtis”
If you haven’t already read it, I also encourage you to review this candid interview with my dear friend Lisa Cleff Kurtz, who is a philanthropist, education and arts activist, and a bona fide rainmaker.
Many other noteworthy experts also offer sage business development advice that you can easily find online… often for free. Here are five more that are definitely worth subscribing to right away.
I have a longstanding working relationship with a CEO who recently changed jobs. Coming into his new company, he told me that his mantra was this: He intended to center every marketing initiative around PR strategy. In virtually every industry, I’m seeing many wise marketing industry leaders endorsing this idea. Another prominent example from the past several years comes from Jason Harris of San Francisco- and NYC-based Mekanism, where in an interview with HubSpot.com, he described his agency’s framework for creating shareable content.
“Our approach is to always think about the PR headline. Why will the idea, content, innovation, etc., travel? Why will people care, and why will they want to talk about it and share it? If there is no PR headline, the idea won’t be shareable. That is our goal on every project.”
The video I’m embedding with this article perfectly demonstrates the increasing focus on PR, presenting the 47-minute “Content & Storytelling: Is the PR Landscape Shifting?” session from the 2014 CDO Summit in NYC.
Read moreMarketing Imperatives: Center Everything Around Your PR Strategy
Creators was VICE’s arts and culture platform, covering every aspect of the creative process. Its mission was to make art more accessible to a wider audience with diverse voices reporting on emergent arts and artists.
From sculpture and light projections to street art and dance, the platform’s curators and contributors immersed themselves in cultural hotbeds and travel to the far corners of the globe to explore the spectacle and color of making art today.