Brand Development
Mitas Tires rolls into USA with public relations
Situation: Mitas, based in Prague, Czech Republic, is one of Europe’s leading producers of agricultural and industrial tires, operates three production facilities in Eastern Europe and maintains a global distribution network. The company (formerly named CGS Tyres) was prepared in 2010 to announce construction of the Mitas Tires North America’s first ag tire production facility [...]
Super PR for super-park
Situation: The State of Iowa’s legislature and Department of Natural Resources set public policy in 1999 to develop a “Super-park,” a publicly owned year-round resort facility to be operated by a private management company. Centerville, Iowa-based CVRC&D, the local economic development agency in Southern Iowa on the shores of 11,000-acre Lake Rathbun, needed to build [...]
Institutional rebranding via engagement and conversation
Situation: Upper Iowa University (UIU), founded in 1857, is a Fayette, Iowa-based private university providing undergraduate and graduate degrees to 6,000 students at campuses and centers worldwide. UIU in 2005 hired a new president and wanted to build its brand and increase enrollment. UIU sought a public relations firm to help them get closer to [...]
Hospital mergers improve profitability
Situation: Catholic Health System, a five-hospital healthcare-provider network in Western New York, was under significant financial distress in 1998. Shrinking Medicare reimbursements coupled with shorter patient stays and fewer overnight admissions due to new technologies and therapies had put Buffalo, NY-based CHS at a crossroads. Management at CHS decided to “retask” three hospitals – providing [...]
PR transforms University division into fee-based enterprise
Situation: Strategic Marketing Services (SMS), a unit of the Cedar Falls, Iowa-based University of Northern’s Iowa College of Business in 1997 found it necessary to move from a federal grant-funded organization to a fee-based enterprise. SMS’ client base for its market research services was Iowa manufacturing companies. Having very little time to make this transition [...]
International media relations drives record sales and profits
Situation: Scottsdale, Ariz.-based RSC Equipment Rental, the leading provider of equipment rental services for the construction, industrial/petrochemical, manufacturing and government sectors in the United States, Canada and Mexico, sought to increase awareness of the benefits of rental equipment vs. ownership. PR Action: Hanser & Associates created an international media relations program targeting national trade and [...]
Manufacturer expands out-of-state – protects and builds reputation
Situation: Bayport, Minn.-based Andersen Corporation is the world’s largest manufacturer of wood windows and patio doors. Des Moines, Iowa-based EMCO Doors—Andersen’s wholly owned subsidiary since 2001—manufactures and distributes all-season/storm doors, is a top supplier to national retailers such as Home Depot, has an 80-year history in Des Moines and is a respected member of Iowa’s [...]
Computer manufacturer increases international sales and marketplace awareness
Situation: Des Moines, Iowa-based HandEra (formerly named TRG Products) is a manufacturer and marketer of the TRGpro handheld computer and related Palm OS software. The tech company retained Des Moines-based Hanser & Associates in 2000 to create a global public relations program. The company delivered the TRGpro at the end of 1999 and, shortly, the [...]
Brand message, worldwide news coverage launch first digital X-ray technology
Situation: New York-based Swissray International pioneered the world’s first direct digital X-ray (ddR) technology that delivers high-quality radiographic images in just seconds. Swissray hired Hanser & Associates from among 170 U.S. healthcare public relations firms in 1997 as the company sought FDA approval for the first ddR and prepared to launch sales in the USA. [...]
Publicity, testimony and events prepared industry for Y2K
Situation: As the year 2000 approached, nearly every mortal on the planet had heard about the Y2K computer problem … yet Y2K had special implications for the healthcare industry, when a Y2K malfunction could have meant life or death. Recognizing the industry in general was not prepared or coordinated in its Y2K compliance efforts, Minneapolis-based [...]