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The Situation: When Ford Motor Company came to Northern Virginia with their Driving Skills for Life program in 2016, they were having a difficult time filling their 200 spots for teenagers to learn life-saving driving skills. Having a previous relationship promoting Ford Motors in general in the DC region, they turned to The Casey Group to help promote the program and ensure the had a successful event.  

Our Approach: Having an intimate knowledge of the DC market, The Casey Group reached out to local politicians, school administrators and media to promote the event and introduce Driving Skills for Life and drive attendance and coverage. 

Results: On a cold, wet and miserable weekend, the event was rapidly sold out following TCG’s engagement and coverage was a key part of the success. Having decided that a laser-shot was a better approach than a shotgun blast, we reached out to our contacts at Fox 5 and had one of the hosts of their highly-rated morning show come out to Dulles Airport and go through the course as if he were a teenager. The results were a great bit of video that can be viewed by clicking here >>:

The Situation: The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) system is in the midst of its largest expansion ever. The new Silver Line has been designed to extend from the East Falls Church stop in Fairfax, VA, to Loudoun County, VA, with a critical stop at Dulles International Airport (IAD). With the first phase almost complete and ending just short of Reston, VA, the second phase, with the critical stop at IAD, was endangered when a significant number of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors went on record opposing Loudoun’s inclusion into the system, despite prior decades of support. Without Loudoun County’s support, the project would have been delayed for years or potentially scuttled ending short of the airport.

Our Approach: The Casey Group responded immediately by surveying residents about the public perception of this issue and to identify key opposition messages that resonated best among local citizens. Based on this intelligence, our team worked with the local stakeholders and we responded immediately by creating Loudoun Rail Now (LRN) to guide messaging for supporters of the completion of the critical mass transit project to Loudon County.

It was essential to avoid a conversation surrounding big business versus the people, with a citizens’ group known as Loudoun Opt Out leading the charge against Metro and a newly elected Loudoun County board. It was also imperative to protect supporters of Rail. Utilizing a diverse portfolio of grassroots tools including local media, social media, catchy videos, blogs and a door-to-door effort, LRN became the driving force in the debate.

The Situation: In the middle of the 2014 NASL season, the Second Division soccer league needed a new Communications Director. Following the demise of the Virginia Cavalry in late 2013, the NASL reached out to The Casey Group to serve and the interim Communications Director.

Our Approach: When you aren’t the major leagues, you have to be creative. Being overshadowed by Major League Soccer, and with the 2014 World Cup breaking our season up, we were given the opportunity to push the envelope and be creative. We focused on supporter groups and social media to get our message out including creative graphics and engaging messages. A big focus was NASL’s success against MLS clubs in the national US Open contests and designed a plan for the teams involved to activate and engage their fans and expand interest in their clubs and the League.

Results: We grew the NASL’s Facebook and Twitter followers by double-digit percentages, and we highlighted the international flavor of the league and its growth at the time. We kept Commissioner Bill Peterson top-of-mind with both national and local-market media, and we handed the incoming Communications Director a position with more momentum and focus than ever.

The Situation: As The Mills Corporation continued its attempts to win approvals from the City of San Francisco and the Port Commission for their ambitious plan to convert Piers 27-31 to a retail, office and entertainment complex, D’Onofrio left The Mills and began his own firm. The Mills immediately hired D’Onofrio as a consultant but he remained the lead media, political and community asset working directly with the new Development Director and the EVP of Development leading the project.

Our Approach: The Casey Group travelled weekly to San Francisco and was fully integrated with The Mills team and our consultants. In meetings and in public, he teamed seamlessly with the Company in the ongoing effort to impact the votes before the Port Commission and the Board of Supervisors. we remained The Mills’ spokesperson through difficult times and harsh questioning, as shown in these 2005 San Francisco Chronicle stories (story link 1 >>) and in this very difficult response (story link 2 >>).

Results: Our approach and efforts supported the company fully and the integration as a consultant was seamless. We ran The Mills’ war room efforts as the leader of our wider consulting team that numbered at least a dozen individuals or companies.

The Situation: Sunrise Senior Living, based in Fairfax, Virginia, was making its second attempt to entitle a property in McLean, Virginia. The first attempt had ended in withdrawal of the application and significant negative public reaction to the proposal. Sunrise brought TCG in at the onset of their second effort to entitle.

Our Approach: We had to show that there was a vocal minority, but it was just that: a minority. We activated our “Street Team” which had been used effectively during the Loudoun Rail Now campaign (see below) to exhibit the true feeling in the community and to identify vocal supporters. In two different swings through a one-mile radius of the property, we hit 2,500 doors, garnered 689 data points and showed that exactly 70% of people were either supportive of or neutral toward the new senior living facility. We took this information – all gathered electronically on tablet – and converted it into an easy-to-view Google Map (at right).

Critically for the team, TCG crafted public statements and talking points for Sunrise, worked multiple hostile public meetings, procured adamant supporters from around the neighborhoods, and shared key information with reporters covering the proceedings.

Results: TCG provided the above information and more importantly identified 35 supporters who were willing to speak and had 59 emails to the Board of Supervisors using our proprietary email passthrough system. At the end of the day, Supervisors told Sunrise leadership that we put forth a much more organized, positive effort than many controversial land-use proposals.