Feeling Grateful

We’re keeping it sweet and simple this month by sharing with you what we’re grateful for. At Touchpoint, we’re grateful for YOU. Yes all of you! The community of people we surround ourselves with each and every day. Charleston is a special place, but it’s the people who live in it that make us wake up every day excited to live, work, and play here. It’s our colleagues, clients near and far, neighbors, family and friends who make this place so special.

In this season of gratitude (shouldn’t every season be?) we thought we’d share a few personal anecdotes from our team:

I always told my mom I wanted to grow up and “know everybody in the world.” She just encouraged me to try. Today, I’m grateful to have found a career that is strengthened by “knowing everybody.” I get to express my innate curiosity about the world every day by asking impertinent questions, helping clients navigate their markets, and conjuring up ideas for our amazing team. I’m truly so fortunate! - Colleen Troy

I am grateful that I live in a community where I can make a difference. I am a part of this city - and, that’s pretty cool. Outside of work, I’m extremely proud to be the host of CreativeMornings Charleston, a free monthly breakfast lecture series for the creative community. It allows me to shine a light on difference-makers and connect with like-minded people. Our company values community engagement, and I’m encouraged to get out there and make each day count. - Cristy Armstrong

I’m blessed to work for a company where I’m encouraged to be creative, where my ideas are heard, and where I am constantly challenged to grow! I feel fortunate to work alongside individuals who are passionate about our clients and the community we live in. Touchpoint has shaped me to become a better version of myself, and for that I am forever grateful. - Olivia Saber

I am grateful for the unconditional love shared by the pets and animals in my life. The Touchpoint team is lucky to have two awesome office pups, and I always look forward to hanging out with my roommate’s kitty. These animals provide joy and warmth that can sometimes be taken for granted, but nothing lights up my day like they do. Always adopt! - Will Dodge

How Place Making Makes Sense for Communities

As a collection of people with big- and small-town experiences, Touchpointers all share an affinity for authentic places populated by awesome people.

We’ve been proud to create robust campaigns for emerging neighborhoods and long-established cities. And while each place is surely unique, we like to dig in and figure out what’s really, really going on.

There’s an art and science to showcasing the essential promise of a place. Whether that’s bringing a place to life through events, or through media coverage, our goal is always to serve our clients’ goal.

Recently, we completed a campaign for the City of Walterboro, focused on putting that city in the minds of potential relocators. We spent a good bit of time in town, learning what really makes it tick. And then we worked with pals at Hank Productions and McLaughlin Design to capture that essence.

Walterboro offers so much more than we imagined, so it was easy to say as much to others. We found that videos captured the essence of the place, as sound and movement often will!

Meanwhile, we’ve just launched a campaign focused on Dorchester County’s abundant recreational assets. Surprised? Well, that’s what prompts community leaders to invest in communication.

We’ve developed a digital ad campaign, layered in with some out-of-home and social media platforms. It’s a small start, but it could bring big returns to the county.

But does it work? Well, we think it does. Just ask Lake City, the tiny agricultural town in the Pee Dee. We partnered with their ArtFields art festival for five years, generating millions of dollars of coverage and placing copious campaigns…all designed to bring folks to town for 10 days in May.

It worked. Lake City has generated amazing awareness nationwide, culminating in being named most cultural small town in America in 2018, by USA Today.

Is your real estate project, town or city in need of some fresh eyes and abundant energy? Well give us a call; let’s see if we can help put –or keep – you on the map!

Leave the Catering to the Professionals This Holiday Season

Holiday Entertaining Made Easy with Local Catering Options

Thanksgiving may be over, but the holiday parties are about to kick off. We’re not stressing this holiday season because our friends (and clients) at Thurston Southern Catering have us covered.

Local Charleston caterer, Thurston Southern Catering, is busy dishing up some serious eats fit for the season. This is always a jam-packed event season in the Lowcountry, and the team at TSC is a part of some of Charleston’s best celebrations.

If you are throwing a holiday party or corporate event, let TSC cater. From product launches to holiday soirees, their professional staff will ensure your company’s event is the hot topic at the workplace for days to come. Take a look at some of their signature hors d’oeuvres here.

Here’s one of Thurston Southern Catering’s recipes that we love making for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Root Vegetable Au Gratin

This dish is sure to impress your house guests this holiday season!

Ingredients:
3 cups heavy cream
1 heavy Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
5 cloves roasted garlic
4 lbs. root vegetables (Yukon gold and sweet potatoes, and rutabaga) - sliced 1/3″ thick
4 cups shredded gruyere or Swiss

Instructions:
1) Bring first four ingredients to a simmer. Remove from heat, add roasted garlic, and allow to cool 1 hour. Strain into a large bowl.
2) Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Add sliced root vegetables and 1/2 of the cheese to strained cream bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste and toss together.
3) Line a 9×13″ casserole dish with parchment and lightly grease pan.
4) Fill pan with the vegetable mixture and level out. Top with remaining cheese.
5) Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes.
6) Remove foil, rotate, and bake another 15-20 minutes or until center is fork tender. Enjoy!

Adult Memory Care Day Center First of its Kind in South Carolina

Caregivers Will Get Assistance with New Memory Care Day Facility Close to Opening in Mount Pleasant

Alice’s Clubhouse, the first medical model memory care center in the Lowcountry will open on Bowman Road this fall. Alice’s Clubhouse is open to adults with mild to moderate memory loss, including but not limited to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases and other forms of dementia. Open to adults with mild to moderate memory loss, the 3,100 square-foot facility will host up to 30 members per day, and is now accepting applications.

The co-founders, David AvRutick and Diane Sancho (pictured) hosted a Dusty Boots Tour on October 18 to offer doctors, locals and potential members a first look at the facility and the chance to learn more about membership.

Two local residents, with a desire to improve quality of life for both the Clubhouse’s members and their caregivers, developed the facility from concept through creation. Diane Sancho, MSW, a 30-year veteran of elder care will serve as its executive director. David AvRutick, whose mother, Alice, has Alzheimer’s disease, is its president.

“We are excited to launch the first medical model memory care day center in South Carolina – and one of only a few in the United States,” said AvRutick. “Alice’s Clubhouse will allow those struggling with the disease to live at home longer and be more stimulated socially and cognitively, while at the same time helping their caregivers better maintain their own lives and health.”

The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that:

Every minute, an adult is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in the United States
One in 10 seniors are living with dementia from Alzheimer’s disease
By 2025, the number of people with Alzheimer’s is expected to grow in every state by at least 13 percent. In South Carolina, that number is expected to grow by 35 percent

“Alice’s Clubhouse offers comprehensive services, enabling both its members and their caregivers to live less stressful, more fulfilling lives,” said Sancho. “The goal of our center is to offer support, stimulation, socialization, and relief to our members and their families who are shouldering these challenging conditions.”

The center will have a team of licensed medical professionals on site to assess each club member, administer medications and assist with daily care. Staff includes registered nurses, a physician liaison, a certified nursing assistant and a recreational technician. Dentists, podiatrists, physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists will be in rotation. White linen food service will also be featured at lunch and snack time.

AvRutick envisions opening multiple locations of Alice’s Clubhouse to meet this tremendous growing need, as well as partnering with researchers and hospitals in the field of memory care to contribute to the body of knowledge on dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and the many other conditions that rob individuals of their cognitive abilities.

The structured environment of Alice’s Clubhouse will prioritize therapeutic and recreational programming tailored to each member’s interests, including art therapy, horticulture, baking, music, word games, guest lecturers and reading – all for cognitive stimulation. Salon services, exercise classes and visits by therapy animals will also be offered.

Alice’s Clubhouse is open to adults with mild to moderate memory loss, including but not limited to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases and other forms of dementia. A comprehensive assessment for care plan development must be completed before being accepted as a Clubhouse member. The Clubhouse is private pay, although some costs may be covered by a member’s long term care insurance.

Alice’s Clubhouse is located at 1156 Bowman Road, Suite 105, Mount Pleasant, SC 29646. Hours of operation are Mondays through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

To learn more, contact Diane Sancho at diane@alicesclubhouse.com or visit www.alicesclubhouse.com. Alice’s Clubhouse is located at 1156 Bowman Road, Suite 105, Mount Pleasant, SC 29646.

Travel Tips from our Wanderlusty Team

The first half of 2018 has found Touchpointers traveling near and far for business and pleasure. (Heck, for us, those are often the same thing!)

We’ve logged thousands of miles by plane, car, bike and foot. We’ve stayed in dozens of hotel rooms. Eaten scores of road meals. Gotten lost a few times (some of those on purpose). Adventures have been had in SC’s Aiken, Augusta, Hilton Head, Bluffton, Lake City, Florence, Santee, Columbia, Greenville, Walterboro and beyond. And we’ve jetted to Vegas, Denver and NYC. We’ve hiked mountain trails and walked the floor of the U.N.

And here are some lessons learned or relearned along the way:

Be nice to everyone – especially the frontline staff you encounter. In the last months, front desk pros at hotels have rescued us withband-aids,toothbrushes and umbrellas. One loaned us a personal phone charger and another stayed after her shift to ensure a shuttle driver retrieved us from 8-below Detroit weather; then greeted us with a local craft beer. Countless bell hops, hosts/hostesses, housekeepers and desk workers areunsung heroes of their industry. Respect!
Trust a good font. We’ve been misled by Yelp and Trip Advisor plenty of times, but we’ve never been let down by good design. It’s true: arestaurant or retailer who values quality art direction will value culinary arts or unique merchandise. If the sign looks yummy, proceed!
Eat a salad. No, really. They sell them everywhere. You’ll be glad you did.
Bring your best self to the party. We often travel with one another, or with our beloved clients. Road weariness can take its toll, but try hard to avoid showing it. We heard recently of a young professional being relieved of her position after a poor showing on a trip with her supervisor.Pretty sobering.
Sitting in your hotel room for more than a half hour is a sin (unless it’s almost bedtime). You’ve arrived somewhere that other people choose to live, work and play. Go out and figure out why! Our favorite picks when visiting new places: breweries, local cafes, dive bars and grocery stores.
Be ready for a technological failure. Your laptop will die before your big presentation (have a thumb drive!). Google maps will die in the middle of a forest (pre-sage your route or invest in a paper map). Your guest of honor will arrive really late (perfect your tap dancing routine). Be ready to MacGyver your way out of any situation.
If you’re booking space for a group of any size, try to visit first. We’ve learned the hard way that websites fib. You can’t always tell how big, refined, comfortable, well-lit or accessible a space is when planning from afar. Make time and resources available for site visits. If you can’t, then work with a local event planner who “gets it.”
Talk to strangers. It’s so easy to sidle up to a bar and bury your nose in your phone. But lift your head and look around and you might just find real human connection of the kind we enjoyed pre-anti-social media. (And of course, always be safe. If the strangers get weird, ask the bartender tocall you a cab!)
Schedule time for serendipity. Sure, that sounds mutually exclusive. But the only way to make travel something more than just transportation is to allow time for a little magic. Channel your inner child, and approach every trip like a first-timer does Disney World. After all, it’s a big, magic kingdom out there. If you remember that, you’ll win at the road warrior game.
Start planning your next trip the minute you get home. Better yet: do it on your way home; adventure awaits!

Colleen Troy Wins 2018 Atlantic Peace & Dialogue Award

Atlantic Institute Honors Colleen Troy and Two Others

Congratulations to Colleen Troy for being awarded the Media and Communications Award at the 2018 Atlantic Peace & Dialogue Awards Ceremony hosted by the Atlantic Institute.

Congratulations to the other honorees, Jennet Robinson Alterman and Tina L. Singleton.

This award is given to an individual or an organization that uses their abilities toward bettering the community, bringing awareness and action to a social problem or play a prominent role in the community for an advocate of change.

We believe that Colleen checks all of those boxes.

She founded Touchpoint Communications in 2005 to help organizations tell their stories. With decades of industry experience, her tenacity has helped organizations reach their goals whether it be breaking the Guinness book of world records for the World’s Largest Sweet Tea or helping One80 Place raise over $40,000 for its annual Turkey & a $20 donation drive, the list goes on.

Colleen serves the marketing community as a frequent adjunct professor at the College of Charleston and a freelance magazine writer; and she sits on the boards of the Coastal Community Foundation and One80 Place.

This year, Colleen was also named Marketer of the Year by the American Marketing Association.

Colleen Troy Named Marketer of the Year

Hooray! Our boss was named Marketer of the Year by the American Marketing Association

Colleen Troy, founder of Touchpoint Communications, has been named Marketer of the Year by the Charleston chapter of American Marketing Association. The Spark! Awards celebrate creative and marketing excellence in the Charleston area.

Touchpoint is a public relations and media firm in downtown Charleston. Troy was nominated by her colleagues and awarded the honor at the March 8, 2018 awards ceremony in Mount Pleasant. Touchpoint was also a finalist for Best Public Relations for Scotty’s Ride for Water.

Colleen Troy founded Touchpoint Communications in 2005 to help organizations tell their stories. With decades of industry experience, her tenacity has helped win contracts with international and in-state hospitality/tourism, economic development and enterprise clients.

Colleen serves the marketing community as a frequent adjunct professor at the College of Charleston and a freelance magazine writer; she serves on the boards of the Coastal Community Foundation and One80 Place.

Take a look back at the Spark! Awards we won last year.

Charleston Fashion Week Hosts NYC Designers & Top Media

We always say that PR never sleeps and that’s been the case this month. We found ourselves hustling at Charleston Wine + Food Festival followed by Charleston Fashion Week. March is a month when folks in the city never seem to slow down.

We had the opportunity to handle media relations for Charleston Fashion Week^® (CFW). The annual event took place March 13-18 in Marion Square in historic downtown Charleston.

Showcasing Charleston’s most fashionable boutiques & trendsetters, and emerging designer and model talent across the country, CFW has fast become one of the premier events in North America since its founding in 2007. Held under the tents in Marion Square, this true multimedia event showcases collections from nationally renowned designer runway shows, glamorous on-site and citywide activities, shopping, chic after-parties, and much more.

We worked with traditional media, bloggers, social media influencers and photographers before, during and after the event to secure media coverage. We arranged on site TV interviews for the featured designers who came in from New York City: Yeohlee and Yigal Azrouel and lead fashion panel judge, Fern Mallis, creator of New York Fashion Week.

Top hits include:

Charleston City Paper - Charleston Fashion Week’s featured designer has dressed Madonna and Kendall Jenner

The Post and Courier - ‘Project Runway’ star and 12-year-old among Charleston Fashion Week designers

Encore Atlanta - 3 Atlantans, Including ‘Project Runway’ Alum, Among Semifinalists for Emerging Designer Competition at the March Event

Arizona Foothills Magazine - Meet Scottsdale’s Own 12-Year-Old Fashion Protégé

Art Mag - Slow Fashion: How Charleston Emerging Designer Heather Rose Johnson is Taking Responsibility to Change the Fashion Industry

TOWN Carolina - Emerging Designer Tygerian Lace delivers novel styles for Charleston Fashion Week

To learn more about CFW, please visit the official website for links to the fashion and model judges panels, emerging designers bios and schedule of events.

PR Agency of Record for South Carolina Tourism

We’ve already hit the ground running as the new PR agency of record for South Carolina Parks, Recreation and Tourism (Discover South Carolina)! Follow along as we #DiscoverSC.

We worked with South Carolina Parks, Recreation and Tourism before at the James Beard House in New York City and two media marketplaces at the South Carolina Governor’s Conference. If we’ve learned anything, it’s that planning events takes teamwork.

SCPRT NAMES SC-BASED PUBLIC RELATIONS FIRM AGENCY OF RECORD

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Touchpoint Communications, a Charleston-based boutique public relations agency specializing in effective public relations strategies for clients in hospitality, tourism and economic development, has been named the public relations agency of record for the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism (SCPRT).

“The cultivation of positive media coverage for South Carolina’s outstanding leisure travel offerings, unique Southern flavors and numerous cultural experiences all aid in helping drive visitors to the Palmetto State,” said Duane Parrish, executive director of SCPRT. “Our internal team has exceeded every PR goal we set in recent years, and we are excited to see what can happen when we forge the passion and expertise of our new partners to generate even more attention on South Carolina.”

To support the state’s robust public and media relations goals for both domestic and international media efforts, Touchpoint Communications is collaborating with Mindy Bianca Public Relations, a Pennsylvania-based firm specializing in hospitality and tourism. Bianca is an industry veteran who formerly headed up public relations for the state of Maryland’s tourism office.

For more information on South Carolina’s many tourism offerings, please visit DiscoverSouthCarolina.com.

###

About the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism/Discover South Carolina:

Discover South Carolina, the marketing brand used by SCPRT, aims to promote leisure travel and tourism to the state of South Carolina. For more information on the Palmetto state’s 47 state parks, bustling cities, charming small towns, festivals and events, authentic cuisine and beautiful coastline, please visit DiscoverSouthCarolina.com. South Carolina…Just Right!

About Touchpoint Communications:

Touchpoint Communications provides public relations, event activation, social media and paid media strategies for organizations focused on economic development, hospitality and tourism. Founded in 2005, the 100 percent female-owned, Charleston-based firm has garnered regional and national recognition for its earned and social media programs.

About Mindy Bianca Public Relations:

Mindy Bianca Public Relations is a small public relations agency that caters to travel and tourism-related clients – destinations, hotels and resorts, and attractions of all types. Collectively, the MBPR team offers nearly 50 years of experience in various fields of communications. Each member of the agency combines expertise with passion for travel, and they have blended strengths to form a “dream team.”

Marketing Lessons from the Past Year

Resolve to take action in time for it to matter

The new year dawns, as it always does, full of hope and promise.

2018 marketing tips Touchpoint Communications — It’s a new year and the clock is ticking to take action on your resolutions

If the end of 2017 is any indication, we’re looking forward to a vibrant 2018. But we don’t think anything is guaranteed, so we push forward, daily, on numerous fronts.

That’s probably true for your business, too. You put your nose to that old grindstone on a daily basis, working toward goals, meeting them, and moving the finish line forward time after time.

Marketing tips for the new year

In the spirit of new beginnings, we wanted to share a few marketing lessons of the past year, and welcome any you’d like to share:

Market when you’ve got a healthy business on your hands! We’re seeing plenty of coverage in national media about the healthy global and national economies. Hurray! Sometimes, upward trajectories can be so comfortable we pull back on outreach efforts. That’s always a mistake: market while you are healthy, and you’ll be in a better position when things change.

2. Marketing can’t save the day if you wait too long to do too little. We are huge believers in the value of marketing promotion for just about any business. But we also know it takes time to make things happen. Sometimes, clients come to us very late in a downward cycle, hoping a new website or a few ads can fix what ails them. If that’s you, level with your marketing partner, so they understand what sort of lifeline you’re hanging onto.

3. There is no such thing as sudden stardom. PR, advertising, marketing, social media…they all take a bit of time to build toward your desired outcome. Don’t expect that you can go from unknown to famous in three months. (Infamous, maybe. But that’s not what we want to see happen!)

4. Choose a marketing partner with whom you can be really frank. Tell them what’s happening with your business. Tell them how they are, or are not, satisfying your partnership needs. The best work happens when people are pulling together in a spirit of trust and cooperation.

And that’s it, our Marketing Resolutions check list for 2018. Here’s hoping you end this year in an even better place than you started it!

« Previous