#markowitz communications

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Cirque du Soleil: Varekai - It's Almost Here!

We are gearing up and rehearsing our role – Cirque du Soleil’s VAREKAI will be in Erie, PA this August and your Markowitz Team is spearheading the PR for the show!

Varekai is a brilliant touring show about an enchanted forest and the whimsical creatures that inhabit it.  The Cirque performers take the audience on an unforgettable journey that is sure to mesmerize spectators of all ages.

We had a great time in Erie not long ago promoting the show at a media day with some of the performers.  Reporters, bloggers and TV stations came to the Erie Art Museum to catch a sneak peek of some of the incredible acts.  This is the first time Cirque du Soleil will be performing in Erie and they will not disappoint!

Be sure to buy your tickets to Varekai before they are all sold out!  Varekai will be showing at the Erie Insurance Arena from August 13 to August 17.  This is a show you cannot miss!  Purchase your tickets through Cirque du Soleil’s website.

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As an added bonus, follow this link to preview some of Varekai’s music!

[markowitzcommunications]

PR 102: Unique Promotions

In the communications line of work, firms are always coming up with new, exciting, and engaging ways to make their company and clients stand out.  Here at Markowitz Communications, we believe in thinking outside the box to make our unique clients stand out among the rest.  (As the boss always says: “Whatever they teach you in school, do the opposite.”)

As a small, intimate firm, the MC team enjoys collaborating with each other to create and invent new ways to promote our clients.  Let’s take a look back into the Markowitz Communications Vault to see some of the one-of-a-kind events we came up with.

  Cirque du Soleil’s “Varekai” Cast serves Primanti Brothers Customers

It’s not every day that a world-class acrobat is serving you at a Pittsburgh classic.  In March 2014, some of the performers from Cirque du Soleil’s “Varekai” made a pit stop at the Primanti Bros. location in the Strip District to add some spice to Pittsburgh’s favorite sandwich shop.  The restaurant is a local landmark in the great Steel City, so what better way to promote an upcoming Cirque performance than featuring them at a Primanti Bros. lunch hour?  With a few phone calls to our media friends, soon local TV station and newspaper reporters were at the restaurant snapping photos and taking in the spectacle.  Not only was the event a success, but it also reminded Pittsburghers around town of the upcoming Cirque performance.

  Fatburger’s Berger and Frye Mixer

 When the West Coast burger sensation Fatburger decided to expand its restaurant chain into Pittsburgh, it relied on Markowitz Communications to help make its grand opening a smash hit.  With the variety of food options that Pittsburgh has to offer, the MC team had to ask itself – how can we make this grand opening different from the rest?  To stir up some attention about the new burger joint, the MC team invited the Berger family, and the Frye family, and the Relis(h) family, and all other burger-and-fry-kind-of people to a mixer at the new Pittsburgh Fatburger.  To make it even more interesting we invited Pittsburgh’s own Ben Roethlisberger and Hines Ward.  What we expected to be a small gathering of Pittsburgh families enjoying some free Fatburger food ended up being a great party.  Those families then told their friends about Fatburger, who told their friends, and so on.  By the time Pittsburgh’s Fatburger location was ready to open its doors, there was a line out the door waiting to be let in.  To this day, the Fatburger franchise occasionally uses the Berger and Frye Mixer as a way to promote new stores.

  When it comes to promoting a unique client, the marketing and public relations have to be just as unique.  We value thinking outside the box and working as a team to come up with new and exciting ideas.  Communications as a field is always changing and it requires firms like Markowitz Communications to always be brainstorming about innovative publicity techniques.  It may be a lot of hard work, but we make it look easy and have fun doing it!

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The three interns posed for this group shot!

From Left to Right: Alicia, Mara and Emily

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Week in Review

This week was a whirl of red noses, good music, and spoonfuls of sugar for the Markowitz team.

Betty Buckley

Betty Buckley rocked Monday night at the Cabaret at Theatre Square, and the Markowitz team made sure she performed for a full house. The Broadway legend of Cats and Sunset Boulevard killed it as everyone from Harold Hill to Sweeney Todd in her wildly wonderful one woman show, Ah Men! The Boys of Broadway.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/ae/music-reviews/concert-review-betty-buckley-show-intimate-delightful-657836/

Mary Poppins

When you wake up to chimney sweeps dancing on your roof, you know Mary Poppins is in town. With the extraordinary Broadway show returning to the Benedum this weekend, the Markowitz team worked to share the magic with everyone in Pittsburgh. WTAE's Michelle Wright even got a Mary Poppins makeover: http://www.wtae.com/news/entertainment/WTAE-s-Michelle-Wright-transforms-into-Mary-Poppins/-/9680792/17048196/-/qsa5kkz/-/index.html

Looking for a "practically perfect" weekend? Get your tickets here: http://trustarts.culturaldistrict.org/production/32871

Cirque du Soleil's Saltimbanco

By Thursday, the Markowitz crew was flipping for Cirque du Soleil's Saltimbanco. From a morning with the Ringmaster on Pittsburgh Today Live to an afternoon greeting the media at an open rehearsal, it was a genuinely enchanting day.

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: http://triblive.com/home/2760385-74/saltimbanco-act-athletes-troupe-ability-buckland-ciobotaru-cirque-clowning-final#axzz29f171JUU

From October 18th through the 21st, you can step into the Saltimbanco cityscape. Find tickets here: http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/saltimbanco/tickets/pittsburgh.aspx

Dick's Sporting Goods

To cap off an incredible string of awesome events, Dick's Sporting Goods opened a new store at the South Hills Village Mall today! While the ribbon cutting was at 8 this morning, sports superstars will be visiting the store all weekend: Emmanuel Sanders today, Jerome Bettis on Saturday and Phil Bourque, Mike Lange, Iceburgh and sport fisherman Skeet Reese on Sunday. 

More info here: http://www.dickssportinggoodsonline.com/Grand%5FOpen/South%2DHills/

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Great news! We've got a new account: Latitude 40.

Opening soon at 200 Quinn Drive in North Fayette, this entertainment complex has everything our team loves: games, food, bowling, and live music! From the sports theater (with giant HD projection screen) to Cinegrille (a dine-in movie theater), Latitude 40 is going to blow your mind.

Robin, Saul and Jordan took a hard hat tour of the new facility today.

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Interns Alicia (front) and Brittany taking care of business.

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Spend part of your Friday with the king.