case studies prepared by ripson communications l.l.c. may 1, 2015

Case Studies

Prepared by Ripson Communications L.L.C.

May 1, 2015

Confidential and Proprietary – Ripson Communications L.L.C. Copyright 2015

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Case Studies

Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce

Village of La Grange and La Grange Business Association

Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce

Opportunity: Small and medium-sized businesses located in the Lincoln Square and Ravenswood Chicago neighborhoods were looking to dramatically boost their marketing and promotions with consumers on the north side of Chicago during the Holiday season.

Solution: In 2012, The LSRCC implemented a comprehensive program for the holidays tied with the Shop Local Program with the City of Chicago, and American Express Small Business Saturday. In 2014, the program grew to include dozens of businesses and American Express choosing Lincoln Square for a Main Street Makeover and a large heavily attended tree lighting.

Results: Black Friday and Small Business Saturday were a huge success. Crowds were so large on SBS you had to wait to get into stores. And people spent money. One local retailer saw a 62% increase in revenue over 2013. Another retailer saw a 52% increase and still another a 23% increase.

Media: NBC 5 Chicago Live Coverage 5:00-7:00 am, 5:00 PM. ABC 7, FOX 32, CBS 2 Chicago, DNAinfo.com, Chicago Tribune Sunday Front Page article, WGN-AM radio

Businesses With Holiday Media Exposure: 15

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The Village of La Grange and La Grange Business Association

Opportunity: The Village of La Grange and LGBA wanted to expand it’s one day Hometown Holiday Saturday program in December 2014 from year’s past to a season long campaign that helped businesses increase their bottom line between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.

Solution: With the leadership of Ripson Communications, the Village of La Grange and LGBA implemented a comprehensive program for the holidays in 2014 tied with the Shop Local Program with the City of Chicago. The program also featured Small Business Saturday with American Express and included the creation of their own program fueled by media relations, digital, and online marketing.

Results: The Unwrap La Grange for a Hometown Holiday campaign helped to bring nearly $152,008 in local retail sales tax revenue to the Village of La Grange in December 2014 through March 2015. The amount is $18,072 or 13.49% more than a year ago. This is the highest overall monthly receipt amount during the past six-year rolling report period.

Media coverage: NBC 5.com, CBS 2 Chicago, WBBM Radio, WGN-TV and WGN Radio, The Suburban Life, Pioneer Press and Chicago Tribune.


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Philosophy

Our philosophy at Ripson Communications is “success stems not only from knowing what to say –

but how to say it, when to say it, and who you want to reach.” We develop messages that

influence your key audiences and determine the right time for action. In today's competitive

environment, conveying complex messages to informed audiences can be difficult. It is essential

for companies to cut through the clutter with clear, concise and compelling messages. With

more than 20 years of combined journalism, marketing, social media and public relations

experience, Ripson Communications possesses the knowledge and expertise to present your

message to the appropriate audience.

Our vast media expertise will give your organization an unprecedented advantage over the

competition. We have the skills and inside knowledge to help you build compelling news stories.

We have years of experience to let you know when a storyline will work and when it won’t.

We work hard to maintain an unparalleled level of contact with our clients, while working to

continually identify opportunities to highlight your business or organization.

As the principal of Ripson Communications, Lisa Ripson prides herself on delivering results for her clients. She spent the first half of her career as an Emmy-award winning broadcast news producer at WMAQ-TV NBC 5 in Chicago. In 2006, she took her story telling skills to the world of public relations. First at Edelman Worldwide and currently as the principal of Ripson Communications. Ripson has a passion for not-for-profit organizations and small businesses. For the past six years she has handled the public relations and marketing efforts for the Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce and Old St. Patrick’s Church, among others. Ripson has also worked with national brands such as the National Religious Vocation Conference, CVS Caremark, Runner’s World and Men’s Health Magazine. Ripson received a Bachelor of Arts degree in radio, television and broadcast news from Drake University and has served on the alumni advisory board at the Des Moines-based University.

Lisa Ripson


As executive vice president of Ripson Communications, he has spent two decades as a seasoned public relations and marketing professional based in Chicago working most recently for Clearwire as the national director of media relations and social media. During his tenure at Clearwire, he oversaw the launches of 4G mobile internet markets across the country, numerous product launches and was also the director of social media. Prior to joining Ripson Communications, Comes has worked for numerous telecommunications clients including AT&T, Cingular, AT&T Wireless and Sprint PCS. Since joining Ripson Communications again, he has worked with the Village of LaGrange, Toronto based Retailcommon and Learn to Live. His U.S. public relations agency experience includes both Golin/Harris and Fleishman-Hillard.

ChrisComes


Sheldon Ripson


Sheldon Ripson is a consultant with Ripson Communications. He owns R5 Communications, a firm providing businesses integrated communication strategy, content and consulting services. Notable clients include Husky Corporation, Roeslein & Associates Inc., Roeslein Alternative Energy LLC, MedPlus Health Care LLC, Gannon International LTD, and VirPack.An accomplished journalist, Sheldon was a reporter and news anchor in seven Midwest cities. He's interviewed and reported on a wide variety of people including presidential candidates, Nobel Peace prize winners, Fortune 500 CEOs, labor union presidents and entrepreneurs. As an executive leading large news operations, Sheldon's teams delivered content that resulted in local and state laws being changed, received numerous honors including regional Emmy awards, and earned high ratings and revenue.Sheldon holds an Executive MBA from Washington University in St. Louis, where he graduated in the top 20 percent of the class and was voted Most Inspirational by his classmate peers. He received his undergraduate degree at the Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication, where he was named Alumni of the Year in 2006.

Michelle is co-owner of SilverGrass Marketing, working directly with clients such as FLOR, Maui Jim, Chicago Cut Steakhouse, Lincoln Square-Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce, Professional Counseling Services, and many others. She has more than 15 years experience working with IT teams to develop solutions to meet customer needs, as well as 12+ years developing and implementing marketing technology applications. She works with clients to define and set program goals, to implement and perfect processes to ensure delivery toward those goals, and to integrate data to measure against benchmarks throughout the process.

MichelleCollins


Jay has nearly 20 years of marketing and advertising experience directing digital and print teams for B2C and B2B clients.

He has worked in strategic planning and project management in for a variety of sectors such as retail, food/beverage, automotive, and software. Currently he is working on a new iteration of SilverGrass Marketing’s wine inventory and ordering application, used by restaurants throughout the United States.

JayClark



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case studies prepared by ripson communications l.l.c. may 1, 2015

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