Facebook in the Foothills

In 2010, Facebook announced it would construct a new $450 million data center in Rutherford County, just outside Forest City.  To help build relationships, launch new programs and tell its North Carolina story over the long term, the social media giant turned to GBW Strategies.

In November, we coordinated a gala groundbreaking involving Facebook execs, state and local leaders and community members.  There, Congressman Patrick McHenry famously took out his Blackberry and instructed everyone to get online and post that Facebook "likes" North Carolina.

As the data center has developed, GBW Strategies has worked to advance and update Facebook’s evolving story.  This has included an acclaimed video tour as well as:

• Proactive communications with media on everything from construction updates to the company’s pioneering Open Compute project
• Getting to know state and local leaders
• Maintaining a vibrant local data center Facebook page with more than 8,500 fans
• Launching programs such as the Facebook-Rutherford Community Action Grants, an initiative in which local leaders advise Facebook on distributing $200,000 in funds for area nonprofits.

Startup Story: From Bunker to Bustling

In what was once an abandoned cigarette factory, the American Tobacco Campus in Durham, NC has become a hub for world class companies like Burt’s Bees, innovative ideas and irresistible ways to beat the 9-to-5 grind.

But getting there took more than the massive and meticulous remaking of a vintage industrial stronghold. It also required marketing smarts.  Especially in the transformation of a former warehouse space into the startup hub now known as The American Underground.

In 2010, shortly after the idea of creating a startup mecca was hatched, GBW Strategies helped organizers announce the news with an attention-getting media event designed as a late night talk show.  “Guests” included tenants such as the Council for Entrepreneurial Development, a gaming incubator and a tech incubator.

The Underground’s mix of resources and amenities -- ranging from an arcade to ongoing media relations and events -- attracted a remarkable roster of startups, as well as the attention of Time, Fast Company and The Atlantic.

In 2011, Jeff Immelt, Steve Case and Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg visited the Underground on behalf of the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.  And in 2012, TechCrunch announced American Tobacco as the site for its first visit to the Research Triangle Region.  

The Underground is Mark Zuckerberg meets Mark Twain. Geek with a Southern drawl.  And, in just two years, a model of success.   

Fairness for Black Farmers: From Home Towns to the White House

In a cluttered world, nuanced issues require special creativity and energy to break through.  

Such was the case of the National Black Farmers Association, which, by 2009, had been work diligently for years to secure funding for a settlement to right decades of discrimination by the USDA.   

Farmers and their advocates were now determined to move this important issue to the front burner.  

GBW Strategies joined the team, and helped craft a renewed outreach effort that brought rallies to towns throughout America, a mule to Wall Street and millions of eyes to the issue through coverage on CNN, The Washington Post, NPR and countless local media outlets.  Our message eventually became one of the most recognized of two Congressional cycles.

On Dec. 10, 2010, President Obama finally signed the historic black farmers' settlement.  Our success in reinvigorating and amplifying the message involved:

• Emphasizing our most compelling messages --  justice, responsibility, action -- in all communications, from press releases to op-eds.  
• Explaining complicated issues clearly and concisely for reporters, editors and others, with an eye toward next steps.
• Embracing strong visual elements to make key points and inspire action.  When the association’s president rode a tractor to Capitol Hill, for example, we made sure press followed.  

From 'Deadville' to Destination: The Raleigh Convention Center

When Forbes Magazine described downtown Raleigh as 'deadville,' many agreed. But fortunately, that wasn't the end of the story. Greg and Billy led the marketing team that went to work for downtown's new Raleigh Convention Center. As the massive public works project ramped up, so did the marketing team's efforts to inspire community support. Top priorities included turning area business leaders into an adjunct sales force for attracting conventions and creating credible buzz around downtown as a dynamic destination. Intense community and media relations followed. Two years later, the convention center opened with a business pipeline well ahead of official projections. The center also became the focus of a massive annual street party, Raleigh Wide Open, which continues to bring 80,000 people downtown -- turning Forbes' description on its head.