Ronald McDonald House unveils new home at Children’s Hospital

Written By Alicia Vial
Ronald McDonald greets a girl and her mother at an event for Ronald McDonald House Charities

Situation

Ronald McDonald House Charities of South Louisiana (RMHC-SLA) has been making an impact on tens of thousands of families in Louisiana and across the globe for nearly 40 years. With the help of the local community, RMHC-SLA helps ease the financial and emotional burdens families face as they access critical care for their children. RMHC-SLA is a home-away-from-home, offering free accommodations, volunteer-provided meals, transportation, a food pantry and a support system like no other.

Gambel Communications partnered with RMHC-SLA to help increase positive public awareness for the nonprofit ahead of and after the grand opening of their new 17,500-square-foot house on the campus of Children’s Hospital New Orleans through an integrated public relations campaign that featured media relations, special initiatives, ambassador program, grand opening ribbon cutting ceremony and community relations efforts.

Strategy

Based on research, Gambel Communications identified critical story lines that would be incorporated into the campaign strategies. These included topics like stories from RMHC families that are within the Greater New Orleans area, the importance of the family centered care that RMHC-SLA offers, the expansion of RMHC-SLA into its new larger facility on the campus of Children’s Hospital New Orleans and the ongoing community events taking place at the newly opened facility. Gambel Communications took all these story lines and crafted key messages for each. Additionally, Gambel Communications recognized that the executive director was relatively new to the community, but highly respected in her field nationally. Strategies were incorporated to elevate her profile locally.

Gambel Communications conducted strategic media outreach offering sneak peek tours of the new house, upcoming community events and success stories. To complement earned media efforts, Gambel Communications negotiated and secured sponsorships and paid media placements that allowed RMHC-SLA to promote the opening of the new house and highlight was the public could support the mission.

Given the RMHC-SLA board of directors was traditionally made up of McDonalds owner/operators and lacked a multitude of well-known local community names, Gambel Communications created an ambassador program whereby its development staff had an opportunity to engage and leverage the social connections of local philanthropists and civic leaders to champion and advocate for RMHC-SLA’s mission.

Gambel Communications planned and coordinated the grand opening ribbon cutting press conference featuring keynote speakers including Ronald McDonald himself, live entertainment and Cirque du Soleil fanfare.

Results

Over the course of the campaign, Gambel Communications secured more than 140 story placements, including six placements in the daily paper, dozens of interviews and multiple feature stories, reaching an estimated 33.7 million people.

The executive director was recognized for her leadership in the community and received CityBusiness’ Women of the Year. Gambel Communications also secured multiple community speaking opportunities as well as a podcast interview.

Complimenting the earned media, paid media placements were viewed by more than 34k readers and received nearly 560 online story views with more than190 minutes read.

In addition to traditional media relations, Gambel Communications developed a framework for and connected RMHC-SLA to strategic prospects in the community for building a community Ambassador Program.

The grand opening ribbon cutting was attended by more than 200 people. The event was emceed by beloved local on-air personality Sally-Ann Roberts and special entertainment was provided by Grammy-award-winning musician Kermit Ruffins. Cirque du Soleil fanfare was prevalent during this magical day with guests interacting with a cotton candy princess and juggler while taking photos under the big top façade.

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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