Mfa Results Mfa consults with clients to identify communications goals then gets to work accomplishing them. The following profiles highlight some of the arenas in which Mfa has achieved targeted results for clients. Launch of the Spa of Colonial Williamsburg In an exciting twist on the traditional, The Spa of Colonial Williamsburg opened in spring 2007, celebrating five centuries of American wellness inspired by colonial, African and American Indian health practices in a 20,000 square foot former museum space. Mfa worked to launch the Spa as the final component of the re-developed Resort Collection of Colonial Williamsburg, garnering beautiful coverage in the Spa's first year that included a cover and ten-page spread in AMERICAN SPA, as well as news items in THE NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, THE BOSTON GLOBE, SPA MAGAZINE, CONDE NAST TRAVELER, DELTA SKY, ABOUT.COM and many more. Launch of Kidrobot's Miami Store in the Heart of South Beach Miami just got a lot more colorful and cultural. After conquering the mean streets of New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, Kidrobot opened their fourth store in Miami this past November with great success. Kidrobot captured the attention of cool kids, fashionistas, art collectors and toy fanatics in town thanks to coverage in every major Miami media outlet including DailyCandy.com, Miami Modern, Luxury Magazine, Six Degrees, Nikki Style and the Miami-Herald. Fresh Air Fund trip to the Cayman Islands To commemorate the launch of Cayman Airways non-stop service to Grand Cayman from NYC's JFK Airport in 2007, Mfa facilitated and continues to maintain a partnership with the NY-based charity the Fresh Air Fund. A group of inner-city youths from the program visited the Cayman Islands in August 2007, to experience the unique culture and hospitality that make up Cayman. The 14-16 year olds spent the week staying with local host families and were able to visit Cayman's famous and interactive attractions including Stingray City, Boatswain's Beach, home of the Cayman Turtle Farm, and QE II Botanic Park. They left city life behind to kayak through the mangroves, snorkel in Cayman's pristine waters, and jet set on a day-trip to Cayman Brac. This partnership has brought Cayman Airways to the forefront of NY's social and financial elite who support the Fresh Air Fund, and has since been recognized as one of the organization's most valued partners. Sponsorship opportunities with the Fresh Air Fund for its bi-annual benefits have led to increased mindshare with this audience of tastemakers and trendsetters proving that this relationship remains an important tool in Mfa's PR and marketing arsenal on behalf of the Cayman Islands. Jose Cuervo Rocks Summer '06 On May 18th 2006 Mfa launched Jose Cuervo's new Flavored Tequilas by pouring hundreds of brightly painted models onto the streets of New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. Mfa created National Flavors Day, a day to celebrate the unofficial start of summer and the fun, mischievous lifestyle that Jose Cuervo represents. NBC's "The TODAY" Show, CBS's "EARLY SHOW", THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, TIME OUT NEW YORK, HOWARD STERN TV, and MAXIM RADIO were just a few of the vehicles that drove Cuervo's colorful, flavorful novelties onto the national radar. Timex Keeps Its Consumers Connected Timex asked Mfa to launch the Timex Internet Messenger, a watch that receives e-mail and Web content. By leveraging Timex's alliances with Motorola and Skytel, Mfa reached out to the high-tech community at the massive Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and later formulated an extensive product-testing program to put the Timex Internet Messenger on the wrists of the nation's most influential journalists. Mfa helped draw a younger demographic to Timex and shifted perceptions about the brand itself. The 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy presented the opportunity to once again showcase the sport of snowboarding and Burton’s athletes, products, and Jake Burton himself, to the world. Mfa was thrilled to spearhead the brand’s mainstream media outreach, which encompassed an on-site presence, along with Victory Tours for Gold Medalists – and Burton riders – Shaun White and Hannah Teter. By capitalizing on all aspects of the company’s involvement, from designing the US Snowboarding Team’s uniform to sponsoring more athletes on the snowboarding team than any other company, the agency developed a story arsenal and strategic plan to gain as much coverage for the sport and Burton as possible. The team’s aggressive outreach resulted in an unprecedented level of coverage, including key placements with NBC’s "The Today Show", THE NEW YORK TIMES, MTV’s "TRL", "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN", "MARTHA", the WALL STREET JOURNAL, "TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO" and the covers of ROLLING STONE and SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. Burton selected Mfa as its communications partner to provide a full spectrum of strategic consulting, grass-roots marketing, public relations and special-events management in both the trade and consumer sectors. Mfa's efforts have ensured that Burton's cool factor remains high among these hard-to-capture segments. Mfa ran an onsite news bureau at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City to educate and raise the profile of snowboarding among the general public, while positioning Burton as the industry leader, innovator and preferred brand for professional snowboarders. Mfa succeeded, using the trickle-down effect by targeting the larger media outlets first and letting the buzz filter through the system. The Burton team and Mfa generated over 3,676 hits excluding broadcast and online. A Visiting Journalist Program ensures quality journalists experience destinations and resorts first hand. A key component of Mfa’s media outreach strategy, the VJ Program has been a successful vehicle for establishing relationships with many influential journalists, resulting in increased exposure for the destination or resort through a variety of multi-media channels, via national, regional and trade journalists. From proactively seeking media to itinerary planning and story development, Mfa has created an integrated effort that provides our travel clients the chance to showcase their destinations, highlight new and special attractions and add even more depth to a variety of stories. Special events are a great way to connect with consumers and media. As part of ongoing efforts to market the Cayman Islands, Mfa has masterminded a series of targeted events. Two events targeted the city of New York, mass-media capital and home to the new Cayman Islands’ U.S. headquarters: Cayman Cares, a charitable event supporting 9/11 survivor families and a gala office grand opening, which attracted 150 influential New Yorkers and lent the opportunity to communicate the country’s benefits first hand. Nature Tourism on island was showcased at a lush event at the Museum of Natural History, while upscale tennis fans in the Hamptons were the targets of sponsorship and benefit event, catching this crowd as they were beginning to make winter vacation plans. Through a variety of creative outreaches, Mfa has raised awareness of FIJI Water via coverage in an array of publications. By emphasizing both the water’s unique attributes—purity and beneficial mineral content—and namedropping some of the top-tier restaurants, hotels and celebrities that won’t drink anything else, Mfa has been able to make FIJI Water stand out in what many consider a commodity field. Mfa has successfully traversed the challenge of reaching elite consumers by building brand interest while gracefully avoiding ubiquity. To reinforce Girard-Perregaux's reputation for mechanical performance and ingenuity and hone in on an elusive target, Mfa has pursued an event-marketing strategy focusing on sponsoring upscale events, such as the annual Concorso Italiano, which attracts racing fans from around the world. Being headquartered in New York has proved a positive for Mfa clients based in locations around the world. Mfa manages events, publicity and related marketing for clients like The Little Nell, nestled in the heart of the Rockies. Mfa is broadening The Little Nell's already stellar reputation stateside to international audiences by staging events around the property's restaurant, Montagna, and encouraging feature coverage in fashion and lifestyle outlets. Two-person teams of intrepid skiers race around the clock for charity at the spectacular "24 Hours of Aspen." Mfa was on-hand to welcome participants as well as other notable visitors from around the world to a Bertolucci-sponsored Gala Ball. The event was a glittering success and mementos came courtesy of PEOPLE MAGAZINE, which covered it in a lavish spread. Mfa was brought on board to help resurrect tourism in lower Manhattan - specifically the South Street Seaport area including the quirky South Street Seaport Museum. By strategizing and then promoting a range of consumer events, foot traffic increased in the once overlooked destination. Media highlights included the South Street Seaport Santa winning "Santa of the Year" and receiving full-page coverage in TRAVEL + LEISURE.