Launching McCord Butchery

Written By Alicia Vial

Situation

McCord Butchery is a locally owned and operated meat, seafood and provisions market opened by Chef Samuel McCord and his wife Jackie. McCord Butchery offers the “old school” butcher and chef-driven experience that used to be the norm so many years ago. The European style shop sells premium 30+ dry aged USDA prime and Wagyu beef as well as all-natural pork, poultry, veal, lamb and fresh seafood. In addition to the protein selections McCord’s offers wine, locally sourced beer, unique liquor, and selection of specialty provisions like oils, dry rubs, brine and more.

McCord sought partnership with Gambel Communications to help them execute a grand opening/ribbon cutting, launch social media pages and define the brand in the market.

Strategy

The vision statement of McCord Butchery is to provide the finest quality meats, seafood, specialty items and other provisions to our customers while partnering with local farmers, fishermen and suppliers, creating a sustainable business supporting our community. McCord’s is committed to its customers and the community it serves, their mission is to offer high-quality products as well as suggest Chef-Driven cooking methods and applications while educating them about where our food comes from.

To ensure the Grand Opening and brand received the attention they deserved, Gambel developed a strategic plan integrating both traditional media relations, community outreach and social media launch. Gambel built an editorial calendar with key storylines including the store opening, business profile of McCord social media branding, and education of what the store experience would bring to consumers.

For the branding Gambel connected McCord with Studio Mundi.

Gambel Communications organized a grand opening/ribbon cutting event engaging community and business leaders from Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission (JEDCO), Jefferson Parish President, Jefferson Parish Council and the Louisiana Small Business Development Center. To increase earned media for the shop opening Gambel developed and pitched storylines to secure media mentions and attendance. Gambel secured media coverage including broadcast television segments featuring meats and products that would be available at the shop. Gambel also coordinated media tours and a “Friends & Family” soft opening prior to March 9.

Gambel also executed the launch of McCord Butchery Instagram and Facebook pages. Gambel’s strategy included strategic content themes that align with the goal of increasing foot traffic to the store following the opening. Gambel identified short-form video as the ideal post type... In addition to building posts for the news feed Gambel trained store employees on the use of Instagram stories for daily specials. Gambel identified that due to algorithms changes running daily specials in the 24-hour story would be more effective than running in newsfeeds.

Results

As a direct result of Gambel’s media and community relations efforts, McCord Butchery received nearly 2 dozen story placements reaching an estimated 2.2M readers, including featured placements in Louisiana Cookin’ Magazine, Eater NOLA and CityBusiness New Orleans.

The launch of McCord Butchery Instagram and Facebook pages was also highly successful with the following organic content key performance indicators.

Instagram

  • Audience: 867

  • Total published posts: 103

  • Engagement rate: 4.48%

  • Impressions: 52,915

Facebook

  • Audience: 631 followers

  • Total published posts: 82

  • Engagement rate: 13.04%

  • Impressions: 54,568

Alicia Vial

Alicia Vial is a New Orleans native with more than a decade of experience elevating client stories and leading crisis response. As the senior director of strategy, Alicia acts as a leader within the Gambel Communications team ensuring each agency team member is positioned to deliver strategic public relations services that meet the highest standards of the industry. In addition to supporting the agency’s long-term business growth and development, she coordinates day-to-day account services and oversees strategic direction while staying abreast of best practices and industry trends to provide innovative solutions to meet client’s needs.

Before joining Gambel Communications, Alicia served as the communications director for the Louisiana SPCA, the oldest and largest animal welfare organization in Louisiana that impacts more than 74,000 animals per year. During her nearly eight-year tenure, Alicia oversaw numerous crises, served on national communication taskforces, oversaw all aspects of internal and external relations and worked alongside the development department to raise critical funding. Prior to that, she worked in the fast-paced New Orleans hospitality industry focusing on digital public relations for multiple hotels.

Alicia is a member of the Public Relations Association of Louisiana (PRAL), Southern Public Relations Federation (SPRF), a board member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) New Orleans Chapter and a member of the New Orleans Regional Leadership Institute. An accredited public relations practitioner (APR), Alicia is also certified in crisis communications, organizational leadership, content marketing and social media.

A well respected and trusted public relations practitioner, Alicia has been recognized by SPRF as a ‘Senior Practitioner of the Year’. Dubbed early on in her career as one to watch, she also received the ‘Rising Star’ award by PRAL and was profiled in St. Charles Avenue Magazine as part of their Young Bloods series. Most recently, she was recognized at PRSA’s annual Fleurish Awards and received four Awards of Excellence for her work along with the ‘Plate Spinner’ award for her efforts on the board of directors for the chapter.

An LSU graduate, Alicia received a bachelor's degree in mass communications with a concentration in public relations and minors in business administration and leadership development. She is a frequent speaker and presenter on public relations topics, most recently presenting at the Jefferson Economic Development Commission and SPRF annual conference.

When Alicia is not at work, you can find her at the ballpark with her three boys or cheering on the Tigers in Death Valley.

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