Today marks the end of the second session of Summer House 2010, hosted by Boston PR Agency Cercone Brown & Co.  And after beach games, water sports, exploration and plenty of great food and cocktails, we’re ready to do it all over again…

The Summer House (and its Park City-based Winter House) brings the best of the national lifestyle media together with some of the the year’s best new products in a setting that can’t be beat.  They get to really experience these products in a real-life setting, literally living with them for three-day “sessions.”

The second session of Summer House welcomed editors from O, Oprah Magazine, Ladies Home Journal, Glamour and more, kicking off with a sail on the Endeavor and watching the sun set in PF Flyers during a game of Bocce Ball. Their next morning began by taking on the waters of Nantucket, sea kayaking with Columbia Sportswear and continued with a challenging cross-island scavenger hunt, all while outfitted in New Balance, head to toe. A cocktail party hosted by Jambu soon followed along with a delectable dinner with the lovely ladies of Vineyard Vines. The media ended their session with massages provided by Palmers and boarded their planes with an endless amount of product knowledge and the memories of an island retreat.

Next up, we’ll host journalists from NBC Today, Good Morning America, Maxim, Men’s Health, Outside and others.  32 outlets in all.

Time and time again, we hear how unique the Summer House is. Brands and journalists have both continually acknowledged the difference in our approach to experiential marketing. Companies gain the benefit of enhanced personal relationships with press, while journalists gain positive brand impressions and new brand introductions, all while enjoying everything the island has to offer.

Education through real life experience…it works, and the last five years continue to confirm what our vision was five years ago: to create something different, something that truly changes consumer PR.  Here’s to the next five years.

Full Metal Jackasses?  Not exactly…

The Orvis Media Shootout is one of the full brand immersion media relations events we do each year at Cercone Brown & Co. The idea is to give the media an authentic experience that encompasses every aspect of our clients’ brand: the product, the culture, the people … all without hard selling.

For the Shootout, everyone from the Wall Street Journal and CNN to NBCToday and Self take a step inside the legendary world of Orvis.  They shoot, flycast, eat game, see bird dogs in action … you get the point.

Anyway, MAXIM had such a great time they went back to for another shot at the clays.  This “Full Metal Jackasses” video says it all.

Social media ROI — especially linking social media ROI to sales and real business growth — has been elusive… until now.

Through our partnership with Overdrive Interactive, we now offer the industry’s first social media ROI system. This Social Media Dashboard compiles all social media touch points, from Facebook to Twitter to YouTube Channels.

But what’s more, you can also bring in feeds from Google Analytics, your call center, e-commerce sales and event retail sales.   The result is an overlay that ties together your social media efforts with the real-time results that will make any CFO happy.  Contact Anne Houseman for a demo.

For several years, CBC Summer House (Nantucket) and Winter House (Park City) has seen producers and editors from the likes MTV, NBC Today, the New York Times live with the best new products from companies ranging from Ford, Honda and Subaru to Columbia, Pepperidge Farm and Wente Vineyards.  The result is an indelible, authentic experience that fuels coverage online and off.

Now the scene moves to a Net-Zero community in Boulder, Colo. for the Green House in August and feature all eco-friendly products ranging from innovative building materials, smart appliances, electric cars and many other objects of Smart Living.  We expect the elite of the green media in attendance, and many household names are getting on board (we’ll drop names soon.)

More than a media experience, the Green House will also feature the results of an ambitious research project conducted by our partner on the program Kickstand that seeks to identify the trigger points for companies to move consumers from green intentions to green buying.  The results and house products will also be reach the masses through a consumer-facing, multimedia website and social media campaign.

Visit cbcgreenhouse.com or contact Caroline Budney at to learn more.

Read more

Green marketing (including organics) and outdoor gear are two main areas of emphasis for our business at Cercone Brown & Co., and Q1 saw both categories grow with the addition of the new clients Green Mountain Coffee, Orvis and Dr. Kracker.

Green Mountain is working with our brand activation group (events and online promotions) to push their social responsibility initiatives, including its commitment to Fair Trade.  While Orvis is working with our lifestyle PR group to extend it reach through online and traditional media coverage.

The company you may not recognize is Austin-based Dr. Kracker, but chances are that you’ve tasted work of the founder, George Eckrich.  George started Whole Food’s bakery program back in the 80s, where he remained for nearly 25 years.  He left and created Dr. Kracker, a line of organic flatbreads and crackers available nationwide and building a fanatical following.  Cercone Brown recently hosted a bread-making seminar with some of the best food-press in the nation in NYC.  Check out some photos from the Whole Foods event!

Stay tuned, as more new business news is imminent!