Testimonials

“JoTo is an ancient Japanese word that means "excellent; the best, very high class." That is the standard that we apply to Public Relations and Marketing.

“Today we are living and working in a “New Economy” - are you prepared?

“Have you adjusted your marketing, public relations and sales cycles to meet the requirements of today’s business and economic landscape? If your business isn’t growing, that’s the reason why.

“The new economy means that we as entrepreneurs need to be smarter and leaner and get more out of every resource available to us.

“How do we do that?

“From my experience, there are two types of entrepreneurs - those that market and continue to find better ways to market... and those that don’t or give up the instant some marketing “bright idea” did not turn out as expected.

“The first, continue to grow and exceed-even in today’s New Economy.

“The latter... don’t.

“In this New Economy you need to leverage your marketing dollars - how do you do that? Through the correct and powerful use of PR.

“60% of Inc 5000 businesses surveyed say they want PR to help them be visible and kept known (stay in your public’s thoughts or not forgotten). The key word is ‘kept.’ Even if you’ve already had some visibility, you need on-going PR to remain visible and keep your company out there.
“What I’ve learned over the years about Business PR is how to do it the right way.
“I helped a company get onto the Inc 500 list and then through a specific PR strategy that I developed I made them into a PR Rock Star. Today they are leaders of their industry.
“You can take control of your reputation through PR. And when you do, people will be more comfortable and more interested in doing business with you.

“So why then, do 84% of those same entrepreneurs worry about the cost of PR?

“Because the way it is typically done today, is done wrong. Yep, I said it. Wrong.

“PR should result in more reaches for what you do. That means more prospects interested in what you are selling. Period. Plain and simple. If that is not happening - it is not being done right.”

--Karla Jo Helms, PR Strategist & JoTo CEO

Our Clients Believe in PR!

2010 Bright House Clearwater Super Boat
National Championship Festival

Challenge: To help increase the popularity of the 2nd Annual Bright House Clearwater Super Boat Festival by getting even more media coverage than the previous year for more visibility and higher credibility.

How handled: Used a specific PR strategy that kept the media informed continuously for 12 weeks before the event including topics of the history of the event, the success of the last year’s festival/races and the upcoming particulars of the 2010 event.

Results:

  • 70,000 people viewed the races on Sunday from 5,200 boats on the water along the race line as well as on the beach, at Pier 60, the hotels and private residences.
  • Hotels reported record bookings the weekend of the festival; many sold out.
  • An estimated $7-$8 million dollars was generated for the area.
  • Total attendance for the three day festival was a in the neighborhood of 100,000.

“This was a tremendous boost to the tourism industry and the surrounding businesses and a fun family-friendly event that highlighted Clearwater’s best assets, our beautiful beaches, Beach Walk and the many wonderful resorts, hotels, restaurants and tourism activities!!”

Brian Aungst, Sr.
Senior Director PR & Government Relations, Bright House Networks
Co-Chair, Bright House Super Boat National Championship Festival

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FNB Pasco

Challenge: To portray image of safety for a community bank during the recession when large banks were going under and mass media was creating an atmosphere of distrust.

How Handled: Used local Fox News station to air a unique piece on the power of knowing your community banker, like visiting someone's home

Results: 1.2 million dollars in deposits resulted from the news clip

Bob Sumner
President
First National Bank of Pasco

Clearwater Regional Chamber of Commerce

Challenge: Needed to change the public image of long-standing organization who got minimal press attention.

Results: Publicity gotten in an array of business publications portraying the Chamber's back-to-business roots and plans for helping local businesses.

Bob Clifford
President
Clearwater Regional Chamber of Commerce

PDF Click Here to Read This Testimonial

Clearwater’s Super Boat National Championship Festival

Challenge: Football season which overshadowed new sport event coming into town; all media news slots taken up with existing sporting events.

How Handled: Press Conference replete with “stunts”: rides in one of the screaming-fast boats for the media to attract sport stations to air the boat races.

Results: Every major media station showed up at the press conference, resulting in an editorial endorsement by the St. Petersburg Times “Clearwater Beach sees offshore powerboat race weekend as thundering success”

Clay Ratcliff
VP Sales
Mystic Powerboats

Clearwater's Super Boat National Championship Festival

Challenge: Tourism at a lull-time of year. Campaign needed a grass-roots boost to help the advertising dollars work harder.

How handled: Social Media engaged specifically to attract people interested in boating, i.e. powerboat races, boat clubs, poker runs and jet-ski clubs.

Results:

  • Over 3100 social media fans
  • Over 2,500 boats came out to see the races that weekend purchasing more than $1million in fuel.
  • Race teams alone purchased over $100,000 in fuel.
  • 25,000 plus people total on all the boats over Saturday and Sunday; marinas ran out of fuel, food and beverages.
  • Business on the beach that weekend was up 40% over the prior year.
  • Hotels reported business for them from 10-30%, some were sold out.
  • An estimated $4-$6 million dollars was generated for the area.

Frank Chivas
Owner of BayStar Restaurant Group
Co-Chairman of Clearwater's Super Boat National Championship Festival

Team AMSOIL

Challenge: Only 6 weeks to promote a beach-wide super boat event.

How handled: PR Strategy of press releases implemented to attract all media in the area along several different angles: economy, sports, attendance predictions, safety issues for marine life and how the event would boost tourism dollars.

Results:

  • Over 40 media outlets, online and off-line, carried the Super Boat story, sometimes with multiple media pieces.
  • Over 1000 links back to the Super Boat website from news sources, articles, bloggers, social media forums and chat groups.
  • Over 600 online video views.
  • An estimated 60,000 people attended the event over the entire weekend.

Bob Teague
Owner, Teague Marine Offshore Boat Racing
Throttleman, Team AMSOIL Super Boat racer

Clearwater For Youth

Challenge: Get word out to media on charity function...

How Handled: Press Conference with All-star Baseball Pro, Jamie Moyer, and Hall-of-Famer, Angelo Dundee

Results: Several major media outlets covered the press conference for a goodwill message of how playing sports through CFY can prevent juvenile crime.

“Kudos for the P.R. job...[The campaign] definitely adds an additional level to our creditability and makes people aware of just how long we have been a strong force in providing positive support for Tampa Bay Youth. I have received quite a few comment from a “I didn’t realize that about CFY!”

Fred Miller
SVP Commercial Lending, Old Harbor Bank
CFY Board of Trustee

Clearwater Downtown Partnership

Challenge: Get word out regarding a new set of events to help revitalize the historical area of Downtown Clearwater

How Handled: Publicity repeatedly gotten in every major local publication and news station in the area.

Results:

  • An average of 2000 people attended every event.
  • Attracted Bright House Networks as the event's major TV media sponsor.
  • 6 new restaurants opened up in the downtown core over the course of that year, equaling more business for the area.

Bill Sturtevant
Chairman of Board of Directors
Clearwater Downtown Partnership

PDF Click Here to Read This Testimonial

Spine & Sport, an Inc. 5000 winner

Challenge:  Faulty perception of industry and a lack of branding was inhibiting the acquisition of new patients.

How handled:  Market Research to determine the viewpoint of their target market so that promotion could be communicated on that level of understanding making their brand known.

Results:

  • First press release from the Market Research data landed owner on the most popular TV news show in their area. 
  • Print media was also obtained and the increased brand awareness was a contributing factor to 6 weeks uptrending statistics in revenues and patients.

"The Market Research & Strategy gives us actionable steps to improve our New Patients."

Jacques Beauchamp
Owner
Spine & Sport

Divino Restaurant

Challenge: New fine Italian restaurant opening up in downtown Clearwater in the middle of the recession.

How Handled: “Social Media Reality TV” Campaign was implemented in tandem with traditional publicity to show the progress of the construction, the menu creation, the expertise of the owners AND to keep people excited about the opening of the restaurant so there would be a steady stream of new customers once the doors opened.

Results:

  • 3,222 views on YouTube
  • 15 media stories
  • 100’s of links created on Google and other search engines to their website
  • Soft-opening had 150-plus people in attendance
  • Average of $10,000.00 per week in sales immediately upon opening the doors!
  • 100 people dining on Saturday of the first week!

Dmitry Lisovitsky
Entrepreneur and Owner
Divino

Boys and Girls Club of the Suncoast

Challenge: Boys & Girls Club need help from the community after hem bereft of educational equipment and food intended for kids' summer reading camp.

How Handled: Major media stories gotten immediately following the incident, focusing on the solution and the need for community help.

Results:

  • Big community players stepped up to help:
    • Tampa Bay Rays baseball team donated $5000.00.
    • Best Buy matched the Rays' donation in products.
    • Sand Pearl Hotel on Clearwater Beach also contributed.

"Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast has great stories and successes to share, however until working with Diane Stein and JoTo Extreme PR we never had much luck having our press releases picked up by any media.  Lately, BGCS has been seen, read and heard of in all the media outlets, and it's thanks to Diane for getting us out there."

Carla Mattern
VP of Resource Development
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast

Wealth Advisory Associates

Challenge: To ramp-up and establish a second financial-planning practice in a brand-new industry.

How Handled: Full-scale PR campaign including market research, website, online publicity, email marketing, joint ventures and speaking engagements.

Results: In the first year, the second practice;s expansion exceeded the previous practice's 10 years in business.

Christopher Music, MBA, RFC, CWPP, CAPP
President
Wealth Advisory Associates

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Water's Edge Luxury Condo Tower

Challenge: To help facilitate sales in a down real estate economy for a luxury condo tower in Clearwater, Florida.

How Handled: Used correct use of PR, in tandem with the marketing campaign, to create national credibility through a steady diet of news releases and articles to the media.

Results: Water's Edge reached 50% sold in just 8 months after its Grand Opening.

Grant Wood
Managing Member
Stingray Asset Management, LLC

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Beachside Health Studio

Challenge: Steve Ryland's practice was doing well, but had hit a plateau. The new-patient and returning-patient numbers into his office were no longer consistently rising. Ryland knew that he was on the verge of an "explosion," but was not able to break through. He knew the buying habits of his clientele had changed and he no longer had the right buttons to use in his PR & marketing materials to his target market.

How Handled: JoTo executed market research to identify what Ryland's target market truly wanted from his profession and practice. JoTo stopped the guessing game and found the exact likes, dislikes, services and go-buttons that his target market wanted and would respond to. A strategy was then developed across all communication channels in Steve's practice to put that market research to work, and thereby make his marketing more effective.

Results: After the market research, Beachside and Ryland say they have been able to focus their efforts less on the constant question of, "What are people looking for in health and wellness?" and more on targeting those "buttons" that are guaranteed to draw in motivated new clients.

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Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast

Challenge: The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast is a regional branch of a national non-profit. The organization falls under the umbrella of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, however, they are responsible for their own fundraising. Their public relations and media coverage was vital in their success in this.

Letting the public at large know of the programs offered by The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast had always been a challenge for the organization. They had been trying to get media coverage for two years, but despite having interesting stories to tell and a worthwhile subject matter, their press releases never got any pick up. The staff at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast were about to give up on media coverage altogether.

How Handled: JoTo Extreme PR took over the publicity for the BGCS and decided the best way to keep the non-profit in the public eye would be by informational stories to the press on what the organization was up to. This included everything from their summer reading program, to their annual fundraising gala to a student-created music video to raise funds for fallen police officers to announcing their new CEO.

Just as the BGCS was starting to gain ground on their public relations image, the North Greenwood Club in Clearwater was robbed over the 4th of July weekend, 2010. Their computers, televisions, Wii system and children games were stolen; the petty criminal even stopped as low as pilfering the children's snacks.

To combat the unfortunate incident, JoTo launched an aggressive media campaign to be the first to break the story, and forward a call-to-action for the community to help in replacing the items.

Results: The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast has been receiving consistent coverage in every major local media outlet since JoTo took over their PR campaign.

In addition, the specific robbery story was picked up by all of the major news channels in the area and the St. Petersburg Times. Because of the media exposure, the charity received thousands of dollars in donations, enough to replace the stolen items and put security measures in place to protect the club's premises. Major community players, including the Tampa Bay Rays, the Sandpearl Hotel and Best Buy, stepped up to the plate and helped the BGCS in their time of need. This was a direct response to the media coverage.

"Most people have heard of Boys & Girls Clubs and probably recognize our logo, but most don't really know what we do. With JoTo we have been able to get our story (stories) out in the media increasing our visibility and our fundraising opportunities."

Carla Mattern
Director of Resource Development
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast