Drive-in movie theatres are back in vogue this summer, as Fountain Tire hosts the Open Road Cinema Tour to celebrate its 60th anniversary.
Calgary-based boutique PR firm Brookline Public Relations is driving awareness for the 12-market drive-in movie tour as part of its recent Fountain Tire account win. Fountain Tire, a tire and automotive service retail network, has 160 locations from Victoria, B.C. to Vaughan, Ont.
“To celebrate their 60 years they want to look back and pay homage to where they came from,” says Shauna MacDonald, Brookline principal and founder.
It’s just one of four recent account wins for the 13-employee agency.
The agency, which won a competitive bid for the Fountain Tire account, is working with key influencers and bloggers, and is also using PR, advertising, social and digital campaigns to promote the campaign.
Mattamy Homes, North America’s largest privately owned homebuilder, has also hired Brookline to increase its awareness in Western Canada. The company recently opened an office out west and Brookline has been tasked with getting the Mattamy name out in the Alberta market.
Brookline, which pitched for the business after being referred, is providing project-based media relations, event management and social media strategy support.
Russell Gillespie, general manager, Comrie’s Sports Equipment Bank; Bill Comrie; Al Coates, chairman, Comrie’s Sports Equipment Bank.
This month, Brookline also helped launch Comrie’s Sports Equipment Bank which provides no-cost sports equipment to qualified Southern Alberta children.
Bill Comrie, founder of The Brick, “had this phenomenal idea to take used sports equipment – because a lot of people go through it so quickly – and have that accessed to people who cannot afford it,” says MacDonald.
The venture started with hockey equipment, but has expanded to include such sports as golf, baseball and soccer. “It’s been a huge success with phenomenal media awareness,” MacDonald says.
Brookline has worked with Al Coates, who is the chair of the sports equipment bank’s board, on a variety of projects. Coates is an NHL alumnus and former Calgary Flames coach.
The agency is doing the work on a not-for-profit discount basis.
In addition, Brookline recently helped with the launch of the Osten & Victor Alberta Tennis Centre, an eight-court centre in the south-east area of Calgary. The agency obtained the account through a referral and is using traditional, digital and social media as well as key influencers to spread awareness for the centre.
Despite Alberta’s volatile economy, Brookline has had a strong year, MacDonald says.
“We diversified out of the energy business six or seven years ago. We still work in it, but it’s not a core competency.”
Aside from a satellite office in Edmonton, the agency is also doing more work out of Vancouver and Toronto.
Brookline has also promoted Leanna Kruk to account supervisor from senior account executive and hired Tammy Mandelbaum as public relations assistant. She was formerly a PR consultant at Vancouver-based Peak Communicators.
