Cocktails fuel press coverage for accounting firm

Cover of cocktail book

Essential but seemingly unexciting professional services businesses often have trouble getting media attention—especially if they’re regional firms rather than industry-dominating behemoths whose actions demand coverage.

To overcome this problem, we turned to drink. Specifically, we created a custom cocktail promotion to help our client, the Silicon Valley finance and accounting consulting firm RoseRyan, get recognition for its 20th anniversary. It’s an important milestone for the firm, but not exactly something that would catch a journalist’s attention.


WHAT WE DID

  • Thinkshift commissioned 10 cocktails and 10 nonalcoholic pairings from our friends at the Bull Valley Roadhouse. (And tested them, because we felt it was our duty.)
  • We then named and described the collection—which any cocktail connoisseur would love—with business and accounting humor.
  • We also outlined a slate of ways to package and share the cocktails, including a postcard series, a bar book and a client party.


TOP RESULTS

  • Press coverage for a company milestone
  • Enhanced esprit de corps
  • Ongoing promotional opportunities

HOW IT WORKED

  • The promotion landed CEO Kathy Ryan a feature interview in the Silicon Valley Business Journal.
  • The project generated excitement among the company’s 50 or so employees. We asked them to suggest names (the Per Diem and 10K-O, for example, made the final cut), and the crew sampled the drinks at regular company meetings.
  • The cocktails enlivened the company blog (we rolled out recipes in a Friday Cocktail feature), and the company created a recipe booklet that served as a long-lasting giveaway and is available online.

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