Case studies
Here is a collection of public relations case studies to help you understand the results of our work. You can select cases based on the categories at right or simply page through the list below...
Smashburger sizzles into Iowa
Situation: Smashguys, LLC, the Iowa franchisee of Denver, Colo.-based Smashburger, a fast-casual restaurant designed to be everybody’s favorite burger place, retained Hanser & Associates to manage their day-to-day communication and marketing in Iowa.
PR Action: Smashburger’s first Iowa location opened in September 2009 in West Des Moines. To build pre-opening awareness and word [...]
Express bus service builds explosive sales and profitability
Situation: Paramus, N.J.-based Coach USA, a subsidiary of UK-based Stagecoach Group, turned to Hanser & Associates in 2005 to launch Chicago-based megabus.com, the first company in North America to offer intercity express bus service with fares as low as $1 via the Internet. Megabus.com launched service in March 2006 from its Chicago hub to eight [...]
Building public consensus regarding health priorities
Situation: Polk County Health Department is charged with delivering public health services in Iowa’s most populous county and implementing health improvement programs as defined in an ambitious ten-year plan. Elected officials and Department management were charged in 2008 to create a new road map – Healthy Polk 2020 – to identify future health priorities while [...]
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 [...]
Building PR helps build homes
Situation: Habitat for Humanity is a not-for-profit, Christian housing ministry which partners with the community to provide affordable housing for low income families. Each home is purchased by the family for the value of the materials without charge for the volunteer labor or allowance for profit. Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity (GDM Habitat) was [...]