An iconic restaurant and tavern since 1782, The Stissing House asked Bang + Collins PR to reposition their brand and refresh their image and appeal. The agency consulted on website redesign, provided content and menu redesign options, handled advertising and public relations, and created buzz through special events.

BCPR worked with proprietor Patricia Jean to create a Holiday Shopping bazaar dubbed “Le Shopping Holiday Market”. The two-day curated event invited the community to browse and shop among the area’s top artisans, designers and other vendors who lack a retail presence in the area.  A preview cocktail party and fundraiser reaped $2,000 for Adopt-A-Family, an area non-profit organization dedicated to helping families in need.

To draw in a more literary minded crowd that would appreciate the restaurant’s sophistication and heritage, and to raise awareness of the restaurant’s upstairs private event space, BCPR launched the Stissing House Literary Series.  Top local authors were invited to speak and sign books, organized with the help of Merritt Bookstore in Millbrook.  Three best-selling authors attracted audiences from throughout the region: Michael Korda presented Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia;  author and financial insider William B. Cohan spoke about Money and Power: How Goldman Sachs Came to Rule The World; and recently Susan Orlean read from her biography of Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend.

The Millbrook Independent (TMI) approached Bang + Collins PR to grow the readership for this local newspaper beyond its namesake community.  A market analysis determined there was growth potential by extending into Amenia, Pine Plains, Stanford and Dover Plains.  BCPR made numerous editorial content recommendations to capture this audience and conceived an innovative direct mail campaign.  A flyer was created showcasing recent headlines that captured the essence of the paper’s coverage – and offered a free trial subscription for four weeks.  Humor helped the flyer generate a 12 percent subscription increase:  the cover of the direct mail piece reported, “Publisher Temporarily Loses Mind, Gives Paper Away for Free”.

Beyond direct mail, BCPR created a series of special events to reinforce TMI’s profile and gain additional grassroots exposure within the community: sponsorship of and a table at the Millbrook Farmers Market, and the creation of a “Gallery of Windows” pop-up venue in a large vacant storefront, enabling businesses without a brick-and-mortar presence in the Village to participate in Millbrook’s high-traffic Community Day.  BCPR also helped TMI secure a weekly radio spot on NPR affiliate WHDD 91.9 FM.