Stockyards Heritage
of Fort Worth Stockyards
Community Image Campaign
The Challenge
For two years, public opinion and misinformation had thwarted Stockyards Heritage’s plans to redevelop Fort Worth Stockyards. When the redevelopment plans became known, it unleashed a torrent of anger and protest among business leaders, preservationists and residents. City Council meetings pertaining to the matter quickly grew contentious. The problem was Stockyards Heritage had no intention of robbing the 70-acre district of its history. Their mission was to safeguard and perpetuate it by improving safety, developing new attractions, preserving everything possible and consciously repurposing the rest.
The Solution
We wanted to do more than mitigate the negative sentiments directed at our client. At J.O., we know how to leverage “published opinion” in order to change public opinion. We knew we had to find a way to tell our client’s real story. So, we created a comprehensive PR plan including broadcast and print media outreach, social media and viral video. We also redesigned and rewrote a temporary website and launched in less than three weeks. We hosted an Open House — a live event where concerned citizens and Stockyards Heritage were able to discuss the issues one-on-one, face-to-face.
The Result
Every news station covered the Open House event. The campaign earned substantial positive media: 28+ individual pieces of coverage amounting to more than 82,000 views, 6,000 social shares and millions of impressions. Two months later, Stockyards Heritage hosted an international longhorn auction, bringing more than 100 longhorns and 1,000 visitors to their newly renovated arena. The auction garnered international attention and lead to viral Facebook activity with the most positive growth the client has ever seen, adding 5,000 likes and nearly 27 million impressions! The goal of the campaign was to reverse public opinion, and we succeeded.
2017 PRSA Award of Achievement for Special Event
2017 PRSA Award of Achievement for Crisis Communication
