Tabletop Media Group 2021 Public Relations Round Up
As we go straight into 2022, we wanted to reflect on what a fun (and busy!) year 2021 was! This is a little taste of our clients’ accomplishments this year in public relations. We love what we do and can’t wait for more adventures in 2022!
January:
NC SweetPotato Commission Launches #TeachSweet
Our first major project of 2021 was helping the NC Sweetpotato Commission with their #TeachSweet social media campaign. With the launch of their brand new school curriculum online and free for teachers K-12 to use, the Commission wanted to spread the love by creating a social media campaign for a huge winning prize. For 3 months, they asked teachers to share photos of them teaching the curriculum for a chance to win a large Amazon gift card for themselves and their classroom. There were multiple submissions from several different states and even a few different countries!
February:
Coronato x Sassool Pizza Collaboration
Our clients, Coronato and Sassool, came together for a special pizza collaboration! Using Coronato classic ingredients mixed with special ingredients from Sassool’s deli case - it was a huge success! Part of the proceeds were donated to TABLE. The pizza special was made with spicy lamb sausage with raw crushed tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, fluffy ricotta, and fresh mint. Finished with pecorino and Sassool’s labneh and zaatar.
Tonbo’s #RamenticwithTonbo Social Media Contest
We combined Valentine’s Day with delicious ramen for this fun social media contest with Tonbo! Participants were asked to share pictures of their datenight from Tonbo using #RamenticwithTonbo. The couple who posted the cutest photo won a $50 gift card to Tonbo.
March:
Clara Dermatology Grand Opening
We had the honor of helping Clara Dermatology open up their very first location in Cary, NC! We enjoyed working with doctors Hooten and Bialas for their grand opening event and social media strategy.
Photo credit: Beck Eats World @beckeatsworld
New Client: 13 Tacos & Taps!
In March, we welcomed 13 Tacos and Taps to the Tabletop Family! Chef David and his wife Marilyn were our first fusion tacos + cuisine client and we’ve enjoyed helping them during the last year with blogger promotions and public relations strategies.
April:
Vitis House Raleigh Magazine Article
We adore working with Raleigh Magazine and had so much fun helping Doreen Colondres of Vitis House secure an article in their April Issue. She chatted about her favorite store bought wines and where to find them in Raleigh.
Vitis House on Charlotte Today
In light of her brand new Charlotte location, we secured Doreen Colondres a live segment on Charlotte Today with Mia Adkins and Eugene Robinson. Doreen cooked a delicious steak dish and paired it with some of her favorite wines.
Asali Desserts & Cafe Cary Living Article
Anytime one of our clients lands a two-page magazine spread, it’s a big deal! We were thrilled to see Hanadi Asad of Asali Desserts & Cafe within the pages of Cary Living in April. After a difficult past year with staffing and the pandemic, she continues to shine within the community with her fabulous desserts and hospitality.
May:
Carolina Brewery Announces Rebrand
Last summer, we had the pleasure of helping Caroling Brewery with their rebranding campaign. With a new logo and brand mission, they launched a huge social media campaign with close to 100 blogger collaborations all throughout North Carolina and South Carolina. Coordinating swag boxes and complimentary beer, we asked the bloggers to share their adventures on social media drinking and enjoying delicious Carolina Brewery beer. It was a big project that our team tackled head on - and we met so many new bloggers along the way!
NC Wine + NC Bloggers Project
North Carolina Wine, what’s not to love? In May of 2021, we worked with NC Wine to coordinate many NC local bloggers and some VA bloggers to visit wineries in all of the different regions of NC. It was a blast to see how many different wineries there are in NC and the different variations of wine they produce and sell. The bloggers loved this collaboration, too!
Sassool’s Hummus Mix Off!
Each year, Sassool’s Hummus Mix Off is something our team looks forward to! We had to skip this fun event in 2020, but were so excited to bring it back in 2021 although it looked a little different. We had 11 local bloggers to participate in the challenge of creating their own homemade hummus. Tickets were sold to try take-home sample portions of each hummus entry and ticket holders voted for their favorite hummus. Ahn-Tuan Tran won with his amazing Caramelized Onion Hummus and it was featured in Sassool’s case for the entire month of June.
June:
Photo credit: Linda Nguyen
Big League Waffles Grand Opening
In June, we welcomed a new client as well as helped them with their Grand Opening! Big League Waffles & Scoops is located in the Morgan Street Food Hall and makes homemade liege waffles with ice cream. We coordinated a grand opening event and since have been coordinating monthly blogger visits.
AC Hotel Raleigh Opens + Influencer Project
We were thrilled to help AC Hotel Durham with their grand opening in June. We coordinated a Hard Hat Tour with local press and arranged staycations with local travel influencers.
Il Palio Opens New Patio Event Space + Cocktail Collaboration with Chapel Hill + Carrboro Foodies (Carrie Brogren)
We all know that outdoor events were very popular this past summer! Il Palio opened a brand new patio space just in time for a super fun cocktail collaboration with Carrie Brogren of Chapel Hill + Carrboro Foodies. Carrie created a few featured cocktails to be sold at Il Palio and we had a patio party to launch the delicious new sips. Proceeds from the cocktails went to Meals on Wheels.
July:
13 Tacos and Taps’ Margarita Battle with Nancy Thapa and Cece Moreno
Who doesn’t love a good margarita? We had so much fun working with local food bloggers Nancy Thapa and Cece Moreno on this project with 13 Tacos and Taps. These two influencers hosted a friendly competition by working with Chef David to create their own margarita specials at the restaurant. The margarita that sold the most won and part of the proceeds went to The Food Bank NC. Nancy’s delicious OOO: Out of Office Margarita took home the win with hints of delicious mango and lime with a black salt rim.
Asali Desserts & Cafe Announces High Tea
In July, Asali Desserts & Cafe launched their High Tea experience! You can now book their cafe for a delicious pot of tea and homemade pastries and finger sandwiches.
August:
New Client: Sarge’s Sauce!
We welcomed Julius West and his delicious Shrimp & Grits Sauce to the Tabletop Team in August! Sarge’s Sauce is the very first jarred shrimp and grits sauce to hit the shelves of local grocers. We’ve loved getting to know Julius and helping him with his social media strategy.
September:
Coronato Pizza Goes Sober!
In September, Coronato made the huge announcement that their restaurant is going completely sober and released their delicious 0% cocktail menu. This was a major move in their industry, but the feedback has been absolutely wonderful.
October:
Pictured: STIR’s very popular Dole Whip cocktail in collaboration with WRAL and the NC State Fair.
NC State Fair Collaboration with WRAL Out & About
For the second year in a row, we partnered with WRAL Out & About and our clients to bring NC State Fair inspired dishes to their menus! We always have so much fun with this collaboration and people come far and wide to try the specials that our clients serve. WRAL Out & About shares the recipes on their blog and posts about them on social media.
13 Tacos and Taps #NationalTacoDay on My Carolina
We love working with the ladies at My Carolina and had a blast landing a television segment with them for our client, 13 Tacos and Taps, for #NationalTacoDay. Carly and Joanna, the hosts of My Carolina, joined Chef David to make some of his most popular tacos!
Asali’s Fall Media Night
Every October, we look forward to Hanadi’s delicious fall treats that she releases at Asali Desserts & Cafe. This year, we hosted around 15 media contacts to come out and try her menu. We love hosting media at our clients’ restaurants so they can get a true feel of the brand and get to meet the people behind the brand. This night was a pumpkin-flavored success!
CFFC Fall Farm Tour w/ Local Bloggers
For another fall adventure, we hosted around 10 influencers at Hubb’s Farm in Clinton, NC with our client, Cape Fear Farm Credit. Their team hosted us with a hayride and pumpkin picking as they explained how they benefit their client, Hubb’s Farm. It was a great learning experience paired with fun fall adventures.
November:
Carolina Brewery Annual Oyster Roast with NC Coastal Confederation
What better way to enjoy fall than with an oyster roast with one of your clients? Carolina Brewery asked us to help with their annual oyster roast this past November by coordinating invites to the media + sending a press release about their dedicated partnership with the NC Coastal Confederation. It was a great night by fire pits eating delicious oysters.
CFFC + Prime Barbecue Veteran’s Day Lunch
For Vetran’s Day, we helped coordinate a Veteran’s Day lunch at PRIME Barbecue, sponsored by our client, Cape Fear Farm Credit. They were able to feed over 100 veterans and gave away a gift basket to one local veteran. It was a great day of giving back for our client.
STIR + Oak City Cares Collaboration
Giving back is a big part of what makes STIR who they are! For the entire month of November, a percentage of their proceeds went to Oak City Cares. This charity based out of Raleigh has been STIR’s charity partner since they opened in 2019. At the end of the month, they were honored to give nearly $7,500 to the charity.
December:
Crabtree Holiday Influencer Promotions
It was a busy but fun December coordinating influencer promotions with Crabtree Mall! In the month of December, our team helped deliver 52K+ post impressions and 6.2K+ content interactions for Crabtree. We also helped secure 45 influencer visits in 68 days throughout the entire holiday season (Thanksgiving included).