Small PR House and New Company Take Risk, But Score Big

Trusting a vendor is always a business risk. Yet two companies, one a new-sprung PR firm, the other its start-up client, each took on a larger-than-usual gamble when they decided to sign off on a brand campaign for a $20 million hotel barge yet to be built.

The West Coast agency decided not to make the client pay a monthly retainer since the fledgling New Orleans-based company had only a meager marketing budget. And the client took the risk of hiring a small PR shop when it wanted a big bang. These variables alone would have stopped a lot of business execs from taking business negotiations to the next level.

But Skinner, Dunlap & Stevens had faith in the tour concept, RiverBarge Excursion Lines, and knew one of its principals, President Jeffrey Krida, after working with him on another PR campaign for the Delta Queen steamboat. So in late summer 1997, the companies closed a deal allowing RiverBarge to pay a delayed 18-month project fee over $100,000.

The incentive for SD&S was that Krida agreed to an end-of-project bonus of $35,000 if publicity goals were met (and they were). A formula for what Bellevue-based SD&S needed to do to reel in the bonus outlined the various components.

The backbone of the campaign was an approximate 800-foot-long barge, three decks high, to traverse the waters in the style of European barges, which are all the rage.

First Foray

Betting on expected deliverables was the first time either company had ever entertained such a notion, but the contract was inked because the agency wanted to know it would be paid for its efforts and RiverBarge didn't want to be stymied by its lack of PR funds.

Skinner, Dunlap & Stevens, nonetheless, had faith in the concept and believed they could drum up support in the travel industry as well as among the trade press because travel journalists are always seeking fresh ideas to rival the high-dollar-cruise-lines angle.

"We were coming up against new cruise lines such as Disney," says Krida. "But we had a way of juxtaposing our trips against theirs by saying, 'We're the Davids - they're the Goliaths.'"

The twist, however, was that the barge hadn't been completed and was under construction in a shipyard miles from the virtual PR boutique in charge of pitching its attributes. (After several delays, the barge finally hit the Gulf IntraCoastal Waterway in September 1998.)

Using backgrounders, media kits and computer-generated graphics, execs at both companies wooed constituents at key trade venues, including the American Society of Travel Agent's "World Congress in L.A." and "Cruise-a-Thon," a Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. event attracting trade show suppliers and vendors in December 1997.

In London, they also courted foreign journalists at the "World Trade Mart" during the autumn of 1997. RiverBarge paid out-of-pocket expenses, but SD&S execs weren't being paid for their time and efforts, hoping the revenue bonanza would come months later.

"We couldn't have afforded to have them do the work for us they did if we hadn't had this provision," Krida recalls. "The firm softened up the market and got it ready for us." Had it not been for earlier dealings with the firm and his knowledge of Rich Skinner's expertise (Skinner worked for the upscale cruise line Hollard America for nine years), Krida says he may not have taken the risk of going with an unknown.

Today, the RiverBarge has already made 28 trips and landed some high-profile press, including coverage in the Miami Herald, Seattle Times, Newsday, The Washington Post and Atlanta Journal/Constitution, all reaching the target PR markets: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Houston and New Orleans, among others. These are the regional nooks where residents seem open to spending $240 per person, per night, to enjoy a river trip to the backdrop of regional entertainment - Cajun storytellers and bluegrass.

Krida says the goal of the campaign wasn't impressions or immediate sales. The purpose was to build the barge's brand name in the long-term, not just in passing. So far, bookings are inching close to what execs want. The first trips, which began in the fall of 1998, were about 35 percent booked; the ones going out now are about 55 percent booked; and the ones already slated for October through December will hit the 80 percent mark, which is Krida's goal. (Rich Skinner, 425/688-8512; RiverBarge, 888/691-8512)

Here's the blueprint Skinner, Dunlap and Stevens and client came up with to make the prospect of a bonus counter the firm waiting for payment. If the agency earned 100 points, it would get the $35,000 bonus in full - which it did.