Danlee/DHM Gives Association a 'Smoking' Backyard Name
A niche-oriented approach can help cook up innovative new ways to publicize an old market.
That's the recipe New Jersey-based PR firm Danlee/DHM took to bring home the gold for The Backyard Barbequer newsletter, part of its outdoor grilling marketing strategy for the Barbecue Industry Association (BIA). The BIA represents about 55 national manufacturers of barbecue equipment and accessories. It is one of a handful of national associations representing the outdoor grilling industry.
With backyard, patio, deck and balcony grills ignited 2.7 billion times annually, DHM launched the barbecuing newsletter a year and a half ago to educate consumers and raise sales in this market. It's the only publication regularly produced by the PR firm. The 12-page publication runs $24 for six issues a year.
"I started the newsletter in hopes of educating the consumer on proper cooking techniques often overlooked in industry publications," says Donna Myers, DHM president and publisher of The Backyard Barbequer. BIA market studies show that if consumers know proper grilling techniques, they are more apt to purchase high-end grills.
"No one in the industry was covering technique. Most publications offer only recipes and news, but the average person needs to know how to properly execute them," Myers says.
Cooking Up Interest
The gas grill had just been created and cooking outdoors was reserved for special occasions when DHM took on the BIA as a client more than 30 years ago. Since 1987, barbecue grill sales have increased steadily. Charcoal briquet sales have grown nearly 18 percent during that period.
The first year with DHM yielded 25 million consumer impressions for BIA. Former BIA Director Jamie Harrod says, "with what they had to work with, DHM has done well with proactive as well as reactive PR."
Today, 84 percent of American families barbecue and more than half of them grill year around.
The DHM campaign for BIA, with the addition of the newsletter, helped the association yield more than one billion impressions this year including more than 100 magazine placements, thousands of newspaper articles, more than three hours of television time on major networks, and nearly 50 trade publication placements.
DHM used the BIA to:
- Forge deals with companies such as Kingsford, Masterbuild and Newbraunfels to include newsletter subscription offers in the grills themselves, reaching consumers at their most receptive time with tips on how to properly use new purchases.
- Offer the Backyard Barbequer to retailers to sell in-store for $4 a copy or to give to consumers who purchase high-end grills or barbecuing merchandise.
- Secure media coverage by sending issues of the newsletter to the press.
Myers decided to launch the newsletter as a campaign vehicle because it is a convenient, ever-green resource to grillers. "People can collect the issues and keep them in a three-ring binder for future reference," she adds. This infinite shelf life is a strong promotional tool for the industry.
Where There's Smoke, There's PR Fire
Out of all the other campaigns DHM has done for BIA in 30 years, The Backyard Barbequer is one of its most successful.
"We total 3,000 subscriptions with a goal set for 20,000 over the next couple of years," says Myers. DHM received an overwhelming number of customer letters in response to this campaign asking for grilling tips and techniques. This year, The Backyard Barbequer received the Jersey Shore Public Relations and Advertising Association (JASPRAA) Gold Award in the external newsletter category.
There are only a handful of non-book publications relating to this industry. Myers says competition for this market is low. "This is our independent publication covering a niche that is overlooked by others-tips and tactics on proper grilling," says Myers. In addition to its grilling techniques, The Backyard Barbequer also offers recipes and consumer book ordering.
Myers produces the $5,000-an-issue newsletter with help from three members of the 14-member DHM staff. Myers writes about 85 percent of each issue. Other contributors are Vice President Stephanie Richardson, Account Executive Jane Homer and Account Coordinator Susan Wikoff.
Myers said it took DHM a few issues to get up to speed. In hindsight, she would have scrapped the first six issues. For a PR firm, the biggest challenge is to budget enough time for adequate research, she says. "I check and double-check facts and confirm these are the latest trends for the industry," says Myers. "I would like more time to go even more in-depth for the higher-end consumer and keep ahead of the trends."
Future DHM plans for this campaign involve a regional editorial focus. "We would love to do in-depth coverage of, let's say, the Pacific Northwest barbecue or Memphis barbecuing," she says.
DHM also hopes to expand the newsletter from 12 to 16-pages and expand the vendor outlets to cover more areas. "This industry has a domino affect, starting out with only charcoal, moving into gas grills, and now accessory and cookbook companies are making a bigger presence in the industry."
(DHM, 732/450-9223; BIA, 630/369-2404)
DANLEE/DHM
Founded: 1979
Headquartered: Edison, NJ
Employees: 14
Billings: $1.4 million in 1997