Three affordable housing agencies merge to create People’s Housing+

Written By Alicia Vial

Situation

Three affordable housing organizations, Home by Hand, Crescent City Community Land Trust and Tulane/Canal Neighborhood Development Corp., merged into a new entity, People’s Housing+ (PH+), a stronger, more effective organization helping low to moderate income New Orleanians. The merger process was made possible by a grant from the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

PH+ partnered with Gambel Communications for a press conference announcing the merger to publicize the PH+ brand, news of the merger and its aims to improve housing for vulnerable families.

Strategy

In partnership with PH+ leader Oji Alexander, Gambel Communications developed a campaign whose goal was to increase positive public awareness for the new organization and its unique program.

The campaign key messages envisioned housing advocates pivoting from the models of the past, engaging a new business model and moving forward into a successful future, making affordable housing a reality for generations to come.

The strategy included an orchestrated event plan for the press conference itself as well as media relations leading into the event, onsite during the event and post-event coverage.

With the event plan well under way, the team honed in on reporters and news outlets that had written about housing with a pitch aimed to introduce the new approach to affordable housing and offer an opportunity to learn firsthand at the press conference about the new paradigm from its new CEO as well as perspectives from Andy Kopplin as CEO of Greater New Orleans Foundation and officials including city council and housing authority leaders.

Results

Despite a torrential driving rainstorm that began just as the press conference started and ended just as the last speaker finished their remarks, the PH+ press conference succeeded in its aims to present a highly professional press conference amid the visual environment of the abandoned firehouse, with media coverage resulting from the event.

As a direct result of Gambel Communications public relations counsel, the PH+ name, image and key messages were covered extensively in the local media including WDSU, iHeart Radio, Biz New Orleans, New Orleans CityBusiness and Louisiana Weekly.

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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