Excitations
Situation Analysis
Founded in 2005, Excitations was created to capitalize on the experiential gift-giving void in the U.S. gifting market and to revolutionize the way people view gift-giving. When Excitations entered the marketplace, the founders recognized that while experiential gift-giving was firmly entrenched in Europe, it was a relatively new concept in the U.S. This inspired their entrepreneurial spirit and fueled their motivation to launch this concept in the U.S.

Upon the launch of Excitations in the DC-metro area, the company founders were challenged to establish the trend of experiential gift giving and to project superiority over its competitors, who were already better established in the marketplace.

Excitations chose Live Wire to create a multi-faceted public relations campaign to distinguish both its offerings and its brand as the premiere experiential gift-giving company in the D.C. metro area.

PR Challenges

• Excitations was a new company poised to enter a national market and had little brand recognition
• The company’s competitors had a foothold in the DC metro area
• Experiential gift-giving was a relatively new concept in the U.S.

• Establish experiential gift-giving as a developing trend poised to explode in the coming years
• Substantiate the company’s role in making experiential gift-giving a reality to D.C. area residents
• Reinforce the company’s partnerships with top-tier local vendors
• Secure coverage of Excitations in top-tier media outlets in the DC metro area
• Promote Excitations as a recognized source for journalists preparing stories related to the experiential gift-giving trend, holidays and gifts for special occasions in DC metro area

• Redefine the art of gift-giving and promote Excitations as the premiere company with the best selection of experiential gifts
• Engage local media coverage (print, broadcast and Internet) through targeted media outreach
• Conduct media outreach to regional magazines and lifestyle publications—reinforcing Excitations as the go-to place for experiential gifs

• Live Wire secured 31 media hits totaling 19.1 million media impressions in top-tier publications such as the USA Today, U.S. News and World Report, Washington Post, Washington Examiner and the Washington Post Express
• Excitations was featured in eight TV segments for local NBC, CBS, and Fox affiliates, resulting in 7.5 million media impressions
• The earned media exposure Live Wire garnered from Excitation’s PR campaign is equivalent to $800,000 in adverting
• Excitations is now considered the go-to company by reporters from top-tier publications, such as the Washington Post and USA Today, for information on experiential gifting and industry trends
• Through Live Wire’s media relations efforts, Excitations is now considered the preeminent experiential gift-giving company in the DC metro area

Summary

Through an intricate partnership with Live Wire, Excitations has successfully propelled itself into the public eye as a leader of the experiential gift-giving industry.   Additionally, Excitations has established the “experiential gift giving trend” and convinced many consumers to move beyond traditional gift-giving. Increased exposure across all levels of the playing field has helped to ensure Excitations as the dominant player in the experiential gift-giving industry in the DC-metro area.

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