Cirque du Soleil
Cirque's touring production of Varekai premiered in April -- and Markowitz Communications, not to mention a lot of prominent Pittsburghers, was there. The evening started when a solitary young man parachuted into the shadows of a magical forest, a kaleidoscopic world imbued with fantastical creatures - and that was just the first act. It seems the word Varekai means "wherever" in the Romany language of the gypsies - the universal wanderers. After the show, we all wandered into the Tapis Rouge tent for a whimsical evening of eating, drinking and mingling among the stars.
Fatburger
What if you had a party and only the Bergers, Frys and maybe a few Pickles showed up? Then you would know you were in the right place - Pittsburgh's first-ever Fatburger restaurant in Robinson Township. Our Fatburger Mixer and Condiment Party hosted the likes of Mr. and Mrs. Meyer Berger and the entire Fry Family of Lower Burrell. Also on invitation list were Steelers Hines Ward and Ben Roethlisberger, as well as WTAE-TV's Kelly Frey and Bob Mayo and Saturday Light Brigade's Larry Berger.
The Big Fatburger (the president of the company) was so impressed with the mixer that he decided to offer the concept to other franchise owners. In addition, the event made the front page of the corporate newsletter. By opening day, the constant stream of hungry customers added up to record-setting sales for Pittsburgh's Fatburger. In fact, during its first month of operation, our location became the second highest grossing Fatburger in the country.
Krispy Kreme / Greensburg Opening
Greensburg-area art teacher Raphael Pantalone wanted to teach his students a lesson. He wanted to show them the importance of following your dreams no matter where they might take you. So on Friday, December 13 at 3:56 p.m., Pantalone parked his pick up truck in front of the side entrance to the Krispy Kreme Doughnut store in Westmoreland County. Actually, it all started months before when Pantalone asked his students to design and paint his truck in a Krispy Kreme theme.
The kids responded with cartoon doughnut figures gracing the side panels and tailgate. They also loaded his truck bed with paper-mache doughnuts and even made doughnut-inspired hats and goggles. Then the kids issued a challenge of their own. "Mr. Pantalone," they said, "Maybe you should be the first in line." And so it was that Raphael Pantalone, surrounded by many of his students, helped turn on the Greensburg Krispy Kreme store's "Hot Doughnuts Now" sign at 5:30 a.m., Tuesday, December 17.
Cirque du Soleil / Opening Night
A key component to our overall public relations strategy centered around the success of the opening night performance and party. To that end, we were empowered to make sure the right people - the city's movers, shakers and talkers - were on the invitation list. In addition, we set out to have the mayor's office proclaim May 9 Cirque du Soleil Day in Pittsburgh.
After taking the stage to make that announcement, Mayor Tom Murphy sat down to enjoy the show. He was joined by Mario Lemieux and other sports luminaries, corporate executives and media people and their families. And no one was disappointed. The show was incredible. The ovation, thunderous. The party, fabulous. Quidam was glowingly reviewed in all the papers and the party was prominently featured in the society columns. The night was tres phénoménal, if we do say so ourselves, in French.
AT&T / Opening
When we took charge of the opening of AT&T's National Relay Center in New Castle, PA, we arranged for then Governor Tom Ridge and other state and local dignitaries to attend. The media from Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia followed our lead.