Posts by kellee

Reinforcing America’s first online grocery delivery company as a brand of choice

Posted by on Aug 27, 2019 in General | 0 comments

While the value of the online grocery market doubled from 2016 to 2018 with Amazon/Whole Foods, Walmart and Target entering the delivery space, Peapod needed a brand strategy to differentiate itself. Peapod turned to Ballast Group to help the company stand out in its home market of Chicago, creatively reminding the market that Peapod is a local company and the original player to transform the way people think about grocery shopping, opening 30 years ago. A strategic, integrated campaign by our team placed Peapod in front of millions of existing and new customers and drove hundreds to sign up...

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In honor of the 110th Race to Mackinac, see how the Ballast Group connects many similarities between PR & sailing

Posted by on Jul 15, 2018 in General, Lessons, PR Methodology, Sailing | 0 comments

  As an integrated communications firm founded by an avid sailor, the Ballast Group team often finds inspiration in the strategy and tactics of planning, executing and measuring initiatives that have unpredictable forces like Mother Nature does. Like sailing, public relations requires the skilled management of many variables at once to take ideas to the next level. Using a balanced approach, we act as a boat’s ballast for clients, keeping their goals and objectives moving in the right direction. On July 20-21 sailors from across the world will set sail in the 110th Chicago Yacht Club...

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Planning for the fourth quarter of life

Posted by on May 28, 2018 in General | 0 comments

One in five Americans aged 70 and older say they can’t live independently or accomplish daily tasks without assistance. To accommodate this ballooning U.S. population, more than 1.3 million new paid caregivers are needed to meet demand by 2027. With more than 765 home services agencies in Illinois (500 non-medical) how does one company distinguish itself? Open Arms Solutions (OAS), a home care agency based in Chicagoland, turned to Ballast Group to help build its brand. Since 1959, the Publicity Club of Chicago has been recognizing outstanding communications campaigns in the Midwest with...

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Do valedictorians need a mentor?

Posted by on May 13, 2018 in General | 0 comments

Growing up in a single-parent household in the 70s, my twin and I had many mentors whether we called them that or not – teachers, coaches, pastors, mom’s boss, her friends and neighbors. Reaching my early 30s, I finally thought I’d learned a bit about life. It was time to join a board and give back. A nonprofit in Denver focused on higher education for inner city youth approached me about a role. I requested first getting to know one of the students it served.  It took awhile to pair me which was confusing. It wasn’t until three months into our formal year-long relationship that the...

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Define Success before a PR Engagement Begins

Posted by on Apr 25, 2017 in General, Lessons, PR Methodology | 0 comments

A question that I like to ask CEOs or sponsors at the beginning of any new project is: “How will you define success at the end of this project? If your definition was a news headline, what would it say?” A former Baxter executive founded a medical education start-up company that taught physicians how to practice a simulated procedure instead of practicing on a real patient. He answered my question with a commanding: “I want to be on the cover of Fortune magazine as the most feared man in medicine.” Alrighty I thought — a very articulate and focused leader. He continued, “If hospital...

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