Hey, Ladies! Feel Like a Gerbil on the Wheel? How About Some Girl Power...

Sometimes, and perhaps too often, life feels like that old plate-spinning act at the circus... Aging parents; the endless demands of children; managing a career; and keeping up with housework, car repairs, the dog that needs walking, and a million other responsibilities. The daily grind takes its toll on everyone but, here, I speak specifically to the women out there: how often do you think about your own future, your own goals and dreams, and the financial stability it takes to achieve them? If you are anything like me, those things pop into your head now and again, and you vow to give them some thought, but they are far from front-of-mind. Further, how often do you actually feel empowered, strong and confident, instead of like a gerbil on the wheel? Again, if you're like me, not often enough...

I recently found myself in a planning meeting with client Tomgirl Tours, and Tomgirl's partner in several of new 2010 tours: Ameriprise Financial. Tomgirl Tours specializes in adventure tours for women--upscale travel that includes mildly adventurous (read: you don't need to be an Olympic athlete) activities like zip lining, hot air ballooning, and hiking the Grand Canyon. Tomgirls' tours promote relaxation, exhilarating outdoor activities, bonding with new and old friends, and confidence building adventure. In a nutshell: Girl Power.

Client or no, I find the concept fabulous for today's stressed-out, going-through-the-motions women. And, I find these new 2010 Vermont tours even more exciting: they combine the physical/mental empowerment of challenging activities (inherent in all Tomgirl Tours) with what women all too often neglect: planning for a future of financial empowerment. And lest you think these are yawn-worthy financial planning sessions that would intrude on an "adventure" vacation... the program focuses on fun, creative, and thought-provoking activities, like identifying your dreams, visualizing them through old-school activities like collage-making, and developing an action plan for making those dreams reality. Better yet, the two Ameriprise planners (profiles here and here) who are working with Tomgirl are down-to-earth, fun and, frankly, absolutely hilarious.

Along with the financial planning elements, each tour (dubbed Green Mountain Escapes) features a sunset hot air balloon ride, a challenging ropes course and zip line adventure, a chance to try out a Segway, pampering at a fabulous spa, and culinary delights (including a cooking and wine pairing evening led by the New England Culinary Institute). I don't usually use this forum to promote client activities, but as I work on planning the PR for this new tour, I keep thinking about all the friends and colleagues who, like me, fit into the "Oh, man, do I NEED this sort of getaway" category. So, I thought I'd give you all a sneak peek and chance for an early sign up. For specifics, check out Tomgirl Tours.

How PR Works for a Small Biz (Let Miamore Count the Ways...)

By now, if you are a regular reader of this blog, you already know about my client Tomgirl Tours. Tomgirl's CEO, Lori Carr, is a dream client for a boutique PR firm: she runs a small (relatively new) business that has a fantastic story and an innovative niche (all-inclusive adventure and culinary girlfriend getaway tours to the most AMAZING places). Better, she understands that, regardless of the economy at the moment, a higher-end company that doesn't get its name out there and doesn't remain true to its upscale image has little hope of surviving, much less growing. Better still, she gets both the importance of social media marketing and the fact that even a small business needs to delegate and can't do everything on its own.

Miamore Communications has been working with Tomgirl Tours for 10 weeks. In that time, Miamore hit the "traditional" media, of course, but also encouraged Tomgirl to experiment in the social media realm. Lori gave me a relatively loose leash (did I mention that she's a dream client for a publicist?!) and stepped outside the small business comfort zone.

So, after just 10 weeks, what does Tomgirl Tours have to show for their investment in Miamore Communications and a public relations campaign? Here are some are some highlights:

Traditional media:

• An extensive on-air interview with Stephanie Abrams, the world's foremost radio travel expert (who boasts syndication in every major and minor U.S. market). Click here.
• Major coverage in both the leading travel trade magazine (here) and one of the New York metro area's top leading daily newspaper (here)

Social (or online) media:

• A dedicated Twitter media account that is not only followed by, but has established communication with, travel-specific reporters and bloggers
• A new blog that generated 100+ hits in just its first couple days online
• Mentions in 200+ (ok, honestly: I'm not a statistician; I stopped counting around 180, when my eyes blurred) travel websites and blogs
• A doubling in traffic to Tomgirl Tours' main website the weekend the blog launched (and was promoted via various social medium)

Big public relations firms love to "spin"--everything from facts to numbers. I am a fan of neither the traditional PR machine nor "spinning". As a former journalist, I instead advocate transparency in publicity efforts. However, if I were to play that game--and, with clients always reporting back to me with big-firm "spin"--I will play that game for a moment: in little more than 1 month, we have achieved more than 65,000 online impressions for Tomgirl Tours. For a brand like Chanel, that's child's play. For small companies that (be honest) rarely generate more than 25 impression a day? That's pretty major.

My point: clearly, times are tough. But, if you are a small firm, you don't need a million-dollar marketing budget, nor a slick PR firm, to grow your reputation and business. But you do need to delegate and find a specialist--devoid of spin--who understands both the nuances of the rapidly evolving public relations world, and the financial challenges you face as a indie business in a tough economy.

Bravo to Upscale Boutique Firms Who Create Their Own Opportunity

Clearly, this is not a good economy for small, luxury, boutique firms. Or, wait. Is it? Well, it all depends on your frame of mind, I say. If you think creatively and find solutions, these economic times can be spun from gloomy to bright. Opportunity, afterall, can come in strange disguises.

Last night, one of Miamore Communications' clients, Tomgirl Tours, proved this truth. A little background: Tomgirl Tours is an upscale, boutique travel firm specializing in culinary and adventure travel for women. Tomgirl founder (and dynamo) Lori Carr loves to travel; but she also loves her hometown (and my new one): Providence, RI. As such, Tomgirl is offering three culinary tours of this gorgeous, quintessential New England town this summer. Click here for details on the tours (al fresco cooking course on the rooftop of a boutique hotel, anyone? How about a progressive dinner in Federal Hill, an Italian neighborhood with restaurants that can whup the best any larger city may claim to boast?). 

Despite the obvious appeal of these tours, as we all know: this is a rough year for the tourism (and most other) industries. But Lori is not deterred. Instead, she is inspired... so she joined forces with the Hotel Providence (you MUST check out this hotel. I had a tour and, forget visiting... I'd like to live there) to host a special event last night. The guests: travel

agents. From afar? Notsomuch. About 20 agents from the local region attended. The payoff, aside from learning about Tomgirl Tours and the gorgeous Hotel Providence? A colorful narrative and conversation with Providence icon and former mayor Buddy Cianci (right, with Carr). Now this, my friends (if you've been under a rock for the past 20 years) is a man who can sell the region. 

The result? Well, for starters, busy travel agents who agreed to come from 6-7:30 p.m. happily lingered til 9. Notes were scribbled, press kits devoured, and, I'm confident, some New England "staycations" will be sold. 

The moral: Lori and Tomgirl Tours, along with the Hotel Providence's incredibly gracious Mark Feinberg, are two spectacular and inspirational examples of upscale boutique firms taking the economy's lemons and making sweet, sweet lemonade...