By The Pollack Group
In collaboration with Miles Partnership and the Louisiana Office of Tourism (LOT), The Pollack Group coordinated PR, event management, and media relations for the debut of LOT’s “Celebration Gator” float in the 95th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
With efforts to promote tourism and recovery to the bayou state, LOT’s “Celebration Gator” float featured a colorful street view of Louisiana; a blend of the New Orleans French Quarter architecture, as well as participants dressed in baby gator costumes, a team of stilt walkers, and a live performance by Louisiana native and Grammy-nominated singer, Jon Batiste. The 60-foot-long float, one of the longest in parade history, celebrated Louisiana’s history of jazz, Cajun, Creole cuisine, and Mardi Gras flair, dispensing confetti throughout the parade route.
The agency worked extensively with Louisiana Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser, securing coverage on both Cheddar and Yahoo Finance. It also handled the national deployment of the official LOT press news release, announcing their highly anticipated participation in the parade. Additionally, the team sent personalized packages with the Lt. Governor’s favorite Louisiana King Cakes along with a media advisory, and Mardi Gras beads to local and national NYC-based media station outlets, inviting local reporters to experience the “Celebration Gator” float firsthand.
LOT received renowned prominent attention from the media during the event, with specific call-outs from Today Show co-anchor and Louisiana native, Hoda Kotb, and a high-profile interview between Batiste and Al Roker.
LOT’s “Celebration Gator” generated over 5 billion media impressions from more than 1,709 individual pieces of earned media coverage, which resulted in an estimated earned media value of $9.5 million.
