This summer I had the opportunity to work with Cornerstones, Inc. the only non-profit historic preservation group in Downtown Chattanooga. I worked with Ann Gray, the Executive Director, as well as closely with Amanda Carmichael at Mace + Carmichael. My position has been labeled as a PR/Marketing Intern. I spent most of my time maintaining the Facebook and Twitter pages, editing and designing the Wine Over Water (WOW) website, editing and designing the Wine Over Water App, as well as writing any Public Relations documents related to the Wine Over Water event and also other events happening within Cornerstones, Inc. Wine Over Water is Cornerstones, Inc.’s major annual fundraising event hosted on the Walnut Street Bridge, the first property that they saved in Chattanooga. I had the opportunity within my internship to attend many meetings regarding the website launch, ticket sales, app launch, PR and marketing opportunities with nooga.com and several different magazines. I also have helped set up sponsorship opportunities for the WOW event with different media outlets and businesses. I was hired with the intent of bringing the Cornerstones, Inc. name back into the mouths and ears of the people of Chattanooga, and reminding people why the Wine Over Water event happens and where the proceeds go. I’ve learned a multitude of valuable history and information on the city that I’ve come to love even more. Through this internship, I have had the opportunity to meet and network with many professionals within the city, and have learned how to operate within the professional, outside world thanks to my supervisor and the opportunities I have had within this internship. Below are some of the examples of what I spent my time doing this summer:
Social media pages/event websites:
App:
The updated version of the app for 2015 will not go live until August, so here are screenshots of the service I used to edit the app, as well as previews of this year’s app.
The homepage of the app has a social feed, consisting of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, so if you have the app, you get live updates all in one place. It will be useful for when everyone is on the bridge for the event. This was one of the new app updates for this year that Crowdtorch offered, and I encouraged Ann and Amanda to go with it. Also, the slide out view of the menu is a new update that we decided to go with, instead of the menu being on the homepage where the social feed is now located. It gives a better layout, and better organization, to the app.
I actually had to go through each category under Content and manually enter the information into the CMS. This was one of the cases where I had to speak directly with my supervisor as well as Amanda to get the information I needed for the app. I was also in contact with Crowdtorch and our personal representative for the app quite frequently. I was trained on how to use the CMS and also how to add certain content into the app. I’m excited for the launch and to see all my hard work come to fruition!
Facebook:
Facebook became my pride and joy. The Facebook page is also linked to Twitter, so Twitter is updated with all the same posts. I posted two to three times a week starting in May, and will continue to maintain it through the event this October, and possibly after that. My supervisor is not a Facebook user and Amanda has a full time job, so part of the reason I was hired was to help with social media. The page had not been updated consistently since the 2014 Wine Over Water event, so I increased page reach, likes, and views these past three months. It has been fun engaging the fans and guests of the event, and giving them an inside look into Cornerstones, Inc., the WOW event, and also the wonderful city of Chattanooga.
WOW website:
The website design was created by Maycreate, so I was in contact with them a majority of the summer. After Maycreate taught me how to edit the website, I became an admin so I could get in and edit information. I helped pick out photos to put on the website, I went through and updated content with new dates and times, and also edited the descriptions of Cornerstones, the WOW event, and Best Cellars. We sell tickets through the website, and I was greatly involved in the launch of the tickets. My supervisor and I had to sit down with Maycreate several times to make sure the website was ready, as well as speak and work with Crowdtorch, who sells the tickets and created the app. I had a countdown on Facebook and kept social media users engaged up to the launch. We had the highest first week ticket sales this year than any other year of the event.
PR:
I only ended up having one PR publication throughout the summer, mostly because the event is not until October and all we were able to send out was a press release announcing the event dates and the ticket sale dates. I drafted the press release myself using information from Ann and Amanda. Amanda went back through and edited for me before I sent it out to most of the media outlets in Chattanooga, but also including neighboring cities in Tennessee and Georgia. Below is a copy of my press release as published by thechattanoogan.com and also my own personal draft.
As the event gets closer, we will be sending out more press releases tailored to the bands, restaurants, and wineries involved. We will also send out more publication specific press releases to magazines like Garden and Gun, Southern Living, etc. Cornerstones, Inc. is also working on purchasing another local property and announcing the Sophia Long Awards event that will happen in the spring, so those two events are something I am currently working on and typing up now as I get all the information needed.
 Photos:
Surprisingly, throughout the internship I got to have a little freedom with something I love doing: taking pictures! The pictures I took were of inside looks I got into some of the properties that Cornerstones, Inc. has saved and some of the events I got to attend as an intern. It was so fun learning the history of Chattanooga in such an interesting, and up close, way. I ended up using most of the photos for my social media posts, and they were a great tool to bring the Cornerstones, Inc. name back into the Wine Over Water sphere. I’m hoping I can also find a way to use them at the WOW event, on the WOW website, as well as the Cornerstones, Inc. website.
The future:
Fortunately, I will be staying with Cornerstones, Inc. through the fall and potentially after, continuing to maintain social media sites. I am also currently contributing to an article with Blush Magazine, as well as Georgia Magazine about the Wine Over Water event. Nooga.com will also be running ads for the WOW event throughout the rest of the summer and until the event, which was a meeting that I attended and had a hand in organizing. With the WOW event quickly approaching, the purchase of a new property and potential events along with it, as well as the Sophia Long awards in the Spring, many more marketing campaigns and PR strategies will be coming my way. My last semester will be busy, but will also be exciting and filled with opportunity!
Hannah Kress 