Across the Generations, Homer Laughlin's Role in One Woman's Family History

After catching a glimpse of a magazine cover on CBS Sunday Morning featuring her mother hard at work with bright Fiesta dishes, Suzanne Cross came back to where it all started -- Homer Laughlin China Company in Newell, WV.

Suzanne traveled all the way from Texas to present both an original copy of the magazine, as well as additional memorabilia to be placed in the company's museum, and we were thrilled to help make it a trip to remember!

Cover Story Communications was excited to share Suzanne's story of her family's 117 year history working at Homer Laughlin and got the ball rolling with a visit to Pittsburgh Today Live. Suzanne and Liz McIlvain, Executive Vice President and fourth generation of this family-owned and operated iconic brand, did an amazing job bringing to life this fascinating story for the show's morning viewers.

On Wednesday, July 18 Suzanne met with the Homer Laughlin China Company to hand-off her family heirlooms for the museum, and was treated to her very own surprise -- a personalized plate for a special edition soup tureen. Local newspapers The Review and The State Journal were on hand to memorialize this event for others to enjoy. The story was also picked up by the local Associated Press reporter and broadcast across the country!

We had a blast getting to tour the facility with Suzanne and her friends, having a chance to view each process up close and personal.

We're always thrilled to hear great feedback after putting our hearts into a story, and even more estatic when its coming from such a wonderful person such as Suzanne.

"I had the time of my life touring Homer Laughlin and meeting everyone." Suzanne said. "Many thanks to Meghan and Danielle for making this a huge success. You are the greatest."

To learn more about Homer Laughlin China Company's pivitol role in Suzanne's family history, visit:

•  Pittsburgh Today Live
•  The Review
•  The State Journal 
•  Associated Press

Feeling the PR Community Love!

In January, we shared the exciting news that Cover Story was being honored with a Golden Thinker Award for our Fiesta Dinnerware feature press release that received more than 1,100 placements in less than one year. (Read more here.)

Now, we are honored and humbled all over again that two of our favorite news sources for all things PR, communications, and media have shared our exciting news with their readers.

Last week, the Bulldog Reporter, the leader in media intelligence, wrote about Cover Story's achievement in this article, "PR Features Success Story: How Fiesta Dinnerware Scored 1,220 Placements with Its 'Nostalgia Makes a Comeback' Campaign."

This in-depth, (5 page!) feature article was so exciting for us to read, and we can't thank the Bulldog Reporter enough for helping us share this honor with the PR community. Our President and CEO, Danielle Elderkin, was interviewed and got to share a lot of the strategy and work that went in to the nostalgia campaign created for Fiesta Dinnerware last year.

And today, PRBlogNews, a site which has been bringing its online audience the latest in PR news and commentary since 2005, covered the announcement in this post "Golden Thinker Goes to Cover Story Communcations."

Big thanks to both the Bulldog Reporter and PRBlogNews for helping us celebrate and share the news of our Golden Thinker Award. While we are certainly proud of this honor, it is so nice to feel supported by the PR community and have these great media outlets available to share this news with fellow communications professionals. We love reading all about what's going on in the PR world, what other agencies and professionals are accomplishing each day, along with PR news and trends - and we wouldn't be able to do this without mediums such as the Bulldog Reporter and PRBlogNews.

Nothing like feeling the PR love!

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Cover Story Visits Editors in New York!

Last Friday, the Cover Story team had the privilege of traveling to New York City to visit with editors from a few of our favorite magazines: Good Housekeeping and O, The Oprah Magazine.

Our agency takes a lot of pride in developing personal relationships with the media, which is why we make it a priority to meet face-to-face with editors several times per year.

Another perk to these particular editor meetings is getting the chance to visit the historic Hearst Tower - it's so beautiful!

Home to the Hearst Corporation, the Hearst Tower hosts so many of the world's greatest magazines under one roof, including Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, and O, The Oprah Magazine and Good Housekeeping, of course!

We were lucky enough to tour these magazine's gorgeous offices, and get a sneak peek at their day-to-day lives. Overall, it was a great trip and another opportunity for in-person relationship building with the editors we work with on behalf of our home and lifestyle clients every day. It's days like this that we love our jobs at Cover Story Communications even more than usual!

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Daddy Blogger (and Fiesta fan!) takes a trip to Newell, WV

We are all very aware of the "Mommy Blogger" phenomenon, and the impact they've had not only had on the internet, but on the way companies are choosing to market and share their products with real consumers in an online, social way.

And while we love (and work with!) Mommy Bloggers nearly every day, there is something very refreshing about seeing a man going out and doing something similar with his blog. Ohio native Mike Vrobel created DadCooksDinner, a blog that takes you along in his journey as a self-proclaimed "food-obsessed dad who cooks dinner for his family every day" - how sweet is that?!

As a man who certainly knows what he's doing when it comes to cooking, preparing and serving great food - it was so exciting to read about what an avid Fiesta Dinnerware fan Mike is! Recently, Mike took a trip to the Homer Laughlin China Company Fiesta Factory and Homer Laughlin Fiesta Retail Outlet, located in Newell, WV.

Read all about Mike's experiences at the Fiesta factory, and view some great photos of Mike serving up dinner of his favorite Fiesta pieces here.

Thanks for making the trip to Newell, and for being such a Fiesta fan, Mike! We can't wait to see what delicious meal you come up with next on DadCooksDinner!

Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market

Don't hate us for being so behind on this post - 2012 has already proved to be a very busy year for the Cover Story team!

In January, two of our clients, Wendell August Forge and Tervis had the pleasure of exhibiting at AmericasMart Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market.

The size of AmericasMart is pretty hard to put in to words, so maybe this image will help put it in perspective. Keep in mind, however, that is just showing up to the 10th floor of ONE of the AmericasMart buildings - there are 3 buildings and each has 20+ floors - talk about a lot to see in one show!

One of the coolest things about AmericasMart is the vast variety of companies that exhibit here. Everything from colored glass, to rugs, to shrubs sculpted with celebrity's faces - there is definitely something for everyone.

We were very proud of both Wendell August and Tervis for the excellent presentation they put on in both of their showrooms. This was Wendell August's first year entering in to wholesale and first year exhibiting in Atlanta. The reception by retailers, media, buyers, and colleagues was even better than we all could have dreamed for; it was so exciting to see first-time reactions to Wendell August's handcrafted aluminum giftware pieces!

Wendell August and Tervis are both American-made companies, and both got a chance to celebrate this unique quality in Atlanta. Wendell August exhibited in the all new "Made in America" section of AmericasMart, and Tervis celebrated 65 years of being a Made-in-America company by hosting a super fun "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happy Hour" Party for AmericasMart guests - complete with a live band playing American classics and red, white and blue cocktails!

View photos from both the Wendell August and Tervis showrooms here. Can't wait for the next AmericasMart show!

Cover Story Communications Honored with Golden Thinker Award

We recently received news that we were being honored with a Golden Thinker Award by the North American Precis Syndicate, Inc. (NAPS) for excellence in creative writing and press release placement results!

The Golden Thinker Awards are given each year to individuals who have created feature press releases that have received the most pick-up by America’s newspaper editors.

Our feature press release was written on behalf of Cover Story client Fiesta Dinnerware, the most collected china in the U.S. and best-selling line of The Homer Laughlin China Company. It was titled, “Nostalgia Makes A Comeback,” and offered ideas for creating a feeling of reminiscence while entertaining, or hosting a family gathering or dinner party.

This theme was not only a popular, cultural entertaining trend at the time, but also fit nicely in to Fiesta Dinnerware’s initiatives. In 2011 the American-made dinnerware company celebrated 75 years of making its colorful, iconic dishes. Fiesta is also well-known as a popular collector’s item, passed down from generation to generation.

The feature release received an extraordinary 1,152 placements over the course of one year, a measure of the releases’ success and wide range of reach.

"This article generated results that are well above and beyond what would typically be expected. The award is given to those that are the superstars in Public Relations and for the success that this project achieved, the recognition is well deserved,” said Dorothy York, President of NAPS.

“Although it is an honor to receive this prestigious award, we are equally excited to see the tremendous number of placements and reach we received for our client with the help of NAPS!” said Cover Story founder and president, Danielle Elderkin. “As those within the industry know, the true best award a PR professional can ever receive is seeing a client’s name in print and knowing we helped to get it there. We’re lucky to work with high-caliber clients such as Fiesta, and know their success is our success.”

Danielle founded Cover Story Communications in 2006, and has since grown the company in to an agency specializing in the promotion of consumer home and lifestyle products and services. Cover Story Communications has represented The Homer Laughlin China Company’s Fiesta Dinnerware brand, Tervis, Wendell August Forge, and Arhaus Furniture, among others.

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About Cover Story Communications
Cover Story Communications is a public relations and design agency specializing in the promotion of lifestyle products and services. Our leadership team brings more than fifteen years of expertise in leading lifestyle, home, dining and wellness. Cover Story has established the best media contacts and relationships within the lifestyle sector, and consistently receives placements for clients in the world's most prominent media outlets. For more information on Cover Story Communications, visit www.coverstorycom.com or find us on our social networks: Twitter @Coverstory and Facebook: Cover Story Communications.

About North American Precis Syndicate, Inc.

North American Precis Syndicate, Inc. (NAPS) distributes releases for some of the best and brightest minds in public relations, including Fortune 500 companies, largest national advertisers, 20 largest U.S. PR firms, more than 100 associations and many government agencies. For more information on North American Precis Syndicate, visit www.napsnet.com.

Ubiquinol Sponsors Willner Chemists Event

In New York June 4? Be sure to stop by the Grand Hyatt Hotel, next to Grand Central Station, from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. for the Willner Chemists Health Fair and Educational Seminar to celebrate Willner's 100th anniversary. Ubiquinol and Solgar Vitamin & Herbs are sponsoring the event. Check out these links for more information:

www.willner.com

http://events.nydailynews.com/new-york-ny/events/show/188410065-willner-chemists-health-fair-and-educational-seminar

http://events.newyork.cbslocal.com/localevents/event/100/11045-Willner-Chemists-Health-Fair-Educational-Seminar