Marketing Case Histories

Case Histories

Maine Township Senior Expo
The Challenge: Launch a new expo in the face of established competition.

The Results: Barton Marketing Group organized Maine Township's first "Swing into Spring" Senior Expo in 2007. It was a huge success by any measure. Approximately 1000 seniors attended and enjoyed the Expo's health screenings, raffles, entertainment and informative presentations. The Expo was bursting at the seams with seniors and 55 enthusiastic exhibitors, providing great services and information. The Township staff, from several departments, enjoyed talking with all the seniors who dropped by to take part in the fun.

The Expo was moved to Golf Mill Shopping Center in 2008 and proved to be a sustainable winner.

Liberty Bank's New Branch
The Challenge: Open the bank's first new branch in 20 years in an already crowded market.

The Results: Despite being the 22nd bank in Park Ridge, Liberty Bank enjoyed a wildly successful opening of its newest branch. Barton Marketing Group was hired in the fall of 2004 for the summer launch in 2005. We created Lady Liberty who was featured in advertising, made personal appearances, including several parades on a float, and visited schools to explain how the Statue of Liberty came to be.

Other activities included a senior appreciation picnic with trolley tours guided by the local historical society. Seniors left the picnic and went directly to open accounts at their new favorite bank. Deposit and loan activity has been strong at the branch ever since, as Barton &Barton; continues a sustained public relations and advertising campaign.

Summit Name Change and New Image
The Challenge: Summit Square established itself as a senior residence in the mid-1980's and enjoyed a profitable time until recent years when the rundown state of the facility started to affect business. In addition, the City of Park Ridge had undertaken a large mixed use development which would surround Summit. During the course of planning and city actions for the new project, Summit management found it necessary to sue the city to protect itself and its residents. In addition, several Summit residents sued the city to stop the development.

The Results: Over the past two+ years, Barton Marketing Group has undertaken a strong marketing and public relations campaign to 1) overcome a negative perception of Summit by many local citizens who thought the law suits were hurting taxpayers, and 2) assist in a rebranding to The Summit of Uptown as a prelude to a massive remodeling project.

The Summit of Uptown's image has vastly improved in the last 18 months and it is well-positioned to reintroduce itself when the remodeling project is complete early in 2009.

What the Heck Is a Township?
The Challenge: USA Today attacked the notion of Townships in a series of articles about seven years ago. More recently, Pioneer Press ran a series of articles questioning whether Townships were necessary.

Maine Township was challenged with 1) a lack of understanding by the taxpaying public of what it is and why it is valid in today's environment, when some of its original functions have been assumed by other taxing bodies, and 2) being able to successfully promote its events and services on a regular basis.

The Results: Barton Marketing Group created an award-winning video "This is Maine Township" which was widely circulated through libraries, other government agencies and various sources. In addition, a strong public relations campaign kept the Township, its elected officials and Township programs/activities in front of the public.

Barton Marketing Group also upgraded the Township's quarterly newsletter, Mainely News, to be the largest circulated publication in this area and one that is full of solid information.

Today, Maine Township is widely recognized as a vital entity and has expanded its presence in a variety of ways, including support of municipal events such as The Taste of Park Ridge. Members of the Township staff have also received prestigious awards for community involvement by numerous organizations.

Saving The Taste of Park Ridge
The Challenge: The annual food-fest lost nearly $30,000 in 2004 and was declared "dead" by the organizer, the Park Ridge Chamber of Commerce, in February, 2005.

The Results: Barton Marketing Group's President was asked in April, 2005 to be part of a committee formed by the newly elected Mayor to bring The Taste back and make it profitable enough to sustain itself year to year.

The publicity, sponsorship and advertising efforts organized by Barton Marketing Group proved to generate strong commercial and public support for the 2005 event. Efforts have been continued for three subsequent events, so that it was not only profitable but is now considered the premier event in this community as it continues to grow and become more successful every year.

Launching a New Tradeshow
The Challenge: Launch a first-time tradeshow targeted to the public and the wholesale hospitality trade. Fight for wine vendors against a larger event organized by Mayor Daley and the Illinois Restaurant Association on the same weekend.

The Results: Barton Marketing Group accepted the challenge in April, 2008 to help launch a show in November of the same year. Due to a change in format, show dates had to be moved up to September giving only about six months to accomplish the task.

Barton Marketing Group has been able to establish the Chicago & Midwest Wine Show as a viable, profitable tradeshow for both the individual consumers and the wholesale trade. The event will become annual, and will very likely be taken to other cities in 2009.