Headlights PR & Marketing is excited to be working with Chicago-based Amaze Travel for their marketing needs.

Amaze Travel (www.AmazeTravel.com) is a luxury-focused travel agency providing the highest level of service while offering amazing travel experiences across the globe. It’s run by Julie and Jim Welch who have decided to turn their love of travel into a full-time experience for them. Jim has been to 28 countries and Julie is not far behind having visited 20. Their experiences are broad and varied. Jim fondly recalls sitting in the private residence of the recently-sainted Pope John Paul II for Mass at the Vatican and also meeting his brother at a local orphanage for the first time during the Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Julie recently spent time in Cuba, experiencing a culture frozen in time on an island so close to our country. Understanding what they craved and desired from their own travel experiences helped them forge Amaze Travel.

I’ve had the personal privilege of knowing Jim for over 20 years and when we ran into each other last April, he explained to me how he and Julie were undertaking a dream to start their own company. In July, they quietly set that dream a sail.

What they’ve discovered is that they have spent an inordinate amount of time working on the marketing basics that they need to fully launch their company: business cards, letterhead, envelopes, note cards and folders before they even turn to other promotional materials that they need as part of their portfolio for trade shows and events. While they dealt with delays with graphic designers and various printers, they simply felt frustration.

Last week over the course of two days, while the couple was in Detroit to visit family, we spent time working with Amaze Travel. We helped them get the essentials they needed and removed some of the concerns they’ve been experiencing. We figured out the papers stocks and styles they wanted and discussed how it all can be a seamless process. We listened to their needs and offered suggestions. Now, we’re off and running in working with them as they start to plan some of the bigger projects that will come once we polish off the basics.

There are two takeaways for readers here:

1. The frustrations of new business owners getting their company launched is common-place. The lists are seemingly endless simply from the marketing end. As Julie said, she spent more time worrying about paper quality or colors than what is her main objective: setting people up for a memorable vacation experience. When she left our office, she felt we moved the ball down the field quickly and brought lots of relief. Having the opportunity to manage the graphic design and print aspects in one location makes the process seamless and efficient for small-business owners who work with Headlights PR & Marketing. A small business startup marketing plan sounds easy to check off yourself with internet designers, internet printers and an idea of what you hope to accomplish.  It’s not reality though.

2. If you are looking to create a memorable honeymoon, romantic getaway, philanthropic trip or family vacation – at home or abroad – think about contacting Amaze Travel. With the contacts and partnerships they have already established in addition to their own travel experiences, they can offer you an itinerary that you simply could not plan on your own. With a quickly-growing list of satisfied clients, you can expect to be amazed by the client-focused, luxury-centered, experience they offer.

The post New client Amaze Travel opens doors for travelers to experience the world while working through marketing frustrations appeared first on Headlights Public Relations & Marketing.

It is an initiative that I’ve watched first hand over the years, when I served as the Admissions Director (over 20 years ago) at a local Catholic high school. I visited many Catholic elementary schools personally and saw the good work they did. But I witnessed their sagging enrollments, and ultimately, either at the time or in the time since, saw the announcement that they closed.

So many of my friends now say they attended a Catholic grade school that is no longer around while raving about the education they received.

I personally made the Catholic tour of duty – attending Catholic grade school for eight years and completing the circuit with four more years at a Catholic high school. I strongly believe in the merits of Catholic education and currently consult and work with two local Catholic high schools, including my alma mater. My children attend a Catholic elementary school.

Catholic schools continue to produce outstanding results in a results-driven world. In addition to a values-added education, the academic results and successes are striking at all levels of the economic ladder. While they are still bare-bones operations without a lot of administrative fat, they thrive in producing outstanding kids with good test scores and character.

What they don’t thrive in is marketing themselves to consumers.

Catholic schools need help marketing themselves. In the old days, placing a notice in the parish bulletin announcing that registrations for the coming year were now being accepted might have been suffice. Now though is different. Competition for students amongst all types of schools (public, charter, private) is fierce. Public schools are now actively recruiting and marketing for students. No one takes the “throw open the doors and see who shows up” approach anymore.

Creating a resonating and attractive message, pushing it out to the public and repeating it over and over, is one key. Being focused and targeted in your message is another. Finding ways to make your message find its way to a prospective parent is a third. In the meantime, other schools, with more resources and expertise, are winning the PR and Marketing battle that ultimately reflects in enrollment numbers.

Catholic schools are behind in the game. With our latest initiative, we’re hoping to help schools bridge that gap, to tell their story, and to ultimately, help their enrollment efforts.

There are outstanding public schools. There are outstanding charter schools. There are outstanding private schools out there. It is wonderful that there are many viable options for parents to select. This initiative is to make sure that when searching for a school, the option of selecting a Catholic school is one that is heard and considered.

It is a cause we are excited to undertake.

To read more about the initiative, you may click here.

The post Our thoughts behind the “why” of our Catholic school marketing effort appeared first on Headlights Public Relations & Marketing.

The program will provide significantly discounted rates normally charged for public relations and marketing assistance to allow schools to increase their exposure to prospective students and families.

With the program, schools commit the basic tuition rate charged for one student to join the program for one school year. In return, they receive a customized marketing program tailored to fit their needs and desires.

“As a whole, Catholic schools have a wonderful story to tell, with statistics that prove outstanding academic performance while nurturing a child with a values-oriented education,” said Mike Gill, President of Headlights PR & Marketing. “We want to better tell this story because it can truly make a difference in a young person’s life. We realize that budgets are tight. With a focus on marketing, we believe we can grow the school’s enrollment.”

Schools that participate in the program will be able to choose any number of initiatives from crafting a strategic plan, developing a marketing message, to creating printed marketing materials, direct mail pieces, or web site development. “This is not a cookie-cutter plan,” said Gill. “We’re customizing to meet each individual school’s wants and needs.”

“There is a great deal of competition out there for students today,” Gill continued. “We hope to help Catholic schools better tell their story so people realize the advantages of a Catholic school education.”

The program, not affiliated with the Archdiocese of Detroit, is offered to any Catholic elementary school in the Metro-Detroit area that chooses to participate. The program may be expanded to include other dioceses in the future.

Headlights Public Relations and Marketing is a decade old firm based in Royal Oak that serves non-profits and small businesses. It currently works with two Detroit-area Catholic high schools consulting in their marketing and development departments. Those interested in the program may call 248.632.1827 or visit www.headlightspr.com/catholicschool

###
Contact: Mike Gill
248.632.1827

The post Headlights PR & Marketing Launches Special Initiative to Bolster Catholic Elementary Schools’ Marketing Efforts appeared first on Headlights Public Relations & Marketing.

Without a doubt, Chicago is a great city. While I did not have time for sight-seeing or experiencing the city, it brought back memories from my younger days. Often in college, and shortly thereafter, I traveled with friends and visited other friends living in the Windy City. The days were adventurous and the nights were long. On Sunday, the long car ride on I-94 back to Detroit awaited us.

While leaving town and the great memories, we would travel along Lakeshore Drive and Lake Michigan. There a bustling lakefront bid us goodbye on one side and soaring architecture and fountains stood on the other. More times than not, it led to the comment and discussion, “Why can’t Detroit be like this?”

It’s not a conversation that was exclusive to my car. It is a refrain that many Detroiters have echoed over the years.

I recalled those sentiments as I left town yesterday driving through a picture-perfect autumn Chicago postcard. And my thoughts were a bit different this time.

No, Detroit will never be Chicago. Never has been and never will.

But the idea that Detroit could have a bustling riverfront and an exciting downtown is now not just a pipe dream. I’ve spent more time in the past five years on Detroit’s RiverWalk than I ever did before. Downtown has its moments where it has a distinct, vibrant personality.

Most importantly, there are true rays of hope that many of the reasons that drew us to Chicago in my younger years are already – or soon will be – on display in Detroit.

The post My Kind of Town: Chicago… and Detroit appeared first on Headlights Public Relations & Marketing.

We’re excited to debut our new look and will be adding to this blog and other parts of the website as we go on in an effort to communicate with our clients, potential clients and friends.

We’ll communicate through our blog various news or thoughts on things in the PR and marketing world.  We’ll also share any new initiatives or other relevant news about our company.

Our goal is to keep the website simple and not overwhelming.  We feel it is a great first step to get to know a bit about our company.  But just as a front door does not make a house, we feel it is most important for you to walk through that door and meet whomever is inside.

If you have questions about your small business or non-profit, browse the website but then pick up the phone and give us a call or drop us an email. We still believe in that old-fashioned thing called “personal contact.” We relish the opportunity to sit down and share ideas, brainstorm, and most importantly, listen to what you want and need.

So  yes, we have a new website – a new front door to our business you could say.  We really hope to personally invite you inside.

The post Our new front door — we debut our new website appeared first on Headlights Public Relations & Marketing.

The post Create your destiny appeared first on Headlights Public Relations & Marketing.

The post Too little time, not much money appeared first on Headlights Public Relations & Marketing.

The post Possibilities are endless appeared first on Headlights Public Relations & Marketing.

The post Who are we? appeared first on Headlights Public Relations & Marketing.

The post Motor City Values & Work Ethic appeared first on Headlights Public Relations & Marketing.