PR Campaign for Unical Aviation Relocation

About Project

Background:
Client:
Unical Aviation, Inc. is a leading provider of aircraft parts and components to the global commercial aerospace market.
Situation:
In July 2023, Unical Aviation relocated its global corporate headquarters and parts warehouse at the recently built Falcon Park 303 in Glendale, Arizona. Previously, the headquarters were located in Greater Los Angeles, California.
Goals:
By relocating to Arizona, Unical Aviation has the opportunity to harness the strength of Arizona’s workforce and reliable infrastructure, with a goal of fueling the growth and prosperity of the aviation industry in the Greater Phoenix region. Alongside the move to Arizona, Unical Aviation set a goal to hire for dozens of new positions in Arizona across many departments, including warehouse, finance, aircraft repair, human resources, IT, and more.
Planning:
Objectives:
Amplify positive messaging around this relocation to support Unical Aviation’s hiring efforts.
Establish Unical Aviation as a trusted global aircraft parts supplier in the Phoenix market.
Research:
Researching local media targets (Greater Phoenix region)
E.g., Phoenix Business Journal, AZ Big Media, Glendale Independent, West Valley View, and more.
Researching aviation industry media targets
E.g., Aviation Week, MRO Management, Simply Flying, Aviation International News, and more.
Researching common strategies used to retain and recruit employees through employee engagement activities
Preparation:
Draft media relations plan to share with Unical Aviation to align on objectives and key messaging
Brainstorm company culture activities to help retain current employees and assist in recruiting new employees
Connect with local government representatives and partners to gather quotes for a press release announcing the move to Arizona
Connect with the HR team at Unical Aviation to develop internal messaging that aligns with their strategy and timeline, develop a list of potential issues that could harm Unical Aviation’s reputation, and support messaging to begin shifting to a new company culture.
Execution:
External Communications:
Formal Announcement of New Headquarters: Draft and distribute a formal announcement of the new headquarters location to local and industry media. Key messaging included why the move will enable Unical Aviation to grow and expand and the impact the move will have on the aviation industry and local economy. This press release included quotes from Glendale Mayor Jerry P. Weiers, President and CEO of the Greater Economic Council Chris Camacho, and President and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council Steven Zylstra.
New Hire Announcement: Draft and distribute a formal announcement of Unical Aviation’s recent hire, David Vollrath II, as the new Chief Operations Officer. Key messaging included how this appointment strengthens Unical Aviation’s executive leadership team and solidifies their commitment to bolstering Unical Aviation’s position as a leader in the global aerospace aftermarket.
Executive Biographies: Draft executive biographies for the C-Suite executives at Unical Aviation, to be shared on Unical Aviation’s website, social media, marketing materials, and any media relations purposes.
Social Media Consultation: Draft and publish social media posts across all available platforms (Instagram, X, Facebook, and LinkedIn) focused on moving to Arizona, such as growth opportunities, investment in the company's future, and building strong customer relationships. This also included assisting in trade show participation, drafting posts outlining the details of an upcoming conference, including where to find Unical Aviation, who from Unical Aviation will be in attendance, and more.
Internal Communications:
Customer Communication: A headquarters relocation involves communicating this move to customers. Our team drafted a letter to customers outlining the reason behind the move, how this is for their continued benefit, the updated physical address, and financial and payment updates. Our team also drafted a similar letter outlining the reason behind the move to Unical Aviation’s vendors. Our team drafted a shipment delay letter to Unical Aviation’s customers, detailing their commitment to their customers despite a shipment delay.
Employee Engagement Initiatives: Alongside the move of the headquarters location, some employees were also making the move from California to Arizona. A strategy behind retaining and recruiting new employees was creating a welcome week for employees during the first week in the new Arizona office. This included drafting a plan that included resources to be shared with employees (such as Arizona income tax details, how to set up an Arizona MVD account, how to register to vote in Arizona, and more), welcome basket ideas (branded water bottle, gift cards to local restaurants, plants local to Arizona, and more), and company outing ideas (Arizona sports, Top Golf, escape rooms, and more).
Trade Shows: An initiative at Unical Aviation to recruit new employees and customers was to exhibit and participate in aviation industry trade shows. Our team would prepare talking points for the Unical Aviation sales team to prepare for conversations with customers. This included sample responses to negative and positive conversations that may arise, and talking points about Unical Aviation’s services.
Results:
Internal Communications: Goals and objectives were met, as our customer, vendor, and internal communication documents were shared with the appropriate audiences, assisting in Unical Aviation’s goals of amplifying positive messaging around this relocation to support Unical Aviation’s hiring efforts and establishing Unical Aviation as a trusted global aircraft parts supplier in the Phoenix market. Our social media posts to help potential customers and new hires learn more about Unical Aviation and where to find them at upcoming trade shows were posted across all social media platforms, helping Unical Aviation meet new customers and build new relationships.
External Communications: Goals and objectives were met, as our team was able to secure media placements in local media for the formal announcement of the move to Arizona, including the Phoenix Business Journal, ABC15, Daily Independent, Greater Phoenix Economic Council, Glendale Arizona, AZ Big Media, West Valley View, Glendale Star, and Glendale Independent. We also secured placements in the Los Angeles market, LA Business First, and an industry publication, Connect CRE. For the new hire announcement, David Vollrath, our team secured placements in industry publications Aviation Week, MRO Management, and local publication Arizona Digital Free Press. These placements included key messaging objectives, positioning Unical Aviation as a leader in the aviation industry, and elevating a new hire announcement to recruit and retain employees.
The company also reported that they were able to hire for most of the open positions that they had available.
Media Placements:
Daily Independent: https://www.yourvalley.net/stories/glendale-licenses-35-new-businesses-in-june,410870, https://www.yourvalley.net/stories/aviation-supplies-manufacturer-moves-headquarters-to-glendale,415921
Phoenix Business Journal: https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2023/07/18/unical-aviation-aircraft-glendale-303-phoenix.html, https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2023/07/18/evie-networks-tcrt-valley-hq.html
Greater Phoenix Economic Council: https://www.gpec.org/news/unical-aviation-inc-moves-hq-and-parts-warehouse-to-arizona/
LA Business First: https://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/news/2023/07/18/unical-aviation-aircraft-glendale-303-phoenix.html
ABC15: https://www.abc15.com/news/business/california-aircraft-parts-provider-unical-moves-headquarters-to-phoenix-metro
Connect CRE: https://www.connectcre.com/stories/aircraft-parts-giant-ditches-la-for-new-phoenix-hq/
Glendale Arizona: https://www.glendaleaz.com/cms/One.aspx?portalId=15209085&pageId=19681573
AZ Big Media: https://azbigmedia.com/business/unical-aviation-brings-new-jobs-to-falcon-park-303-in-glendale/
Costar: https://www.costar.com/article/294245836/aircraft-parts-provider-to-open-new-headquarters-in-glendale-near-phoenix
West Valley View: https://www.flipsnack.com/CC65D9DD75E/west-valley-view-west-zone-07-26-23.html
Glendale Star: https://www.flipsnack.com/CC65D9DD75E/glendale-star-07-27-2023.html
Glendale Independent: https://www.yourvalley.net/glendale-independent/stories/aviation-supplies-manufacturer-moves-headquarters-to-glendale,415921
Aviation Week: https://aviationweek.com/mro/workforce-training/gallery-mro-industry-leadership-moves-2023
MRO Management: https://www.aviationbusinessnews.com/mro/latest-news-mro/former-safran-power-usa-president-joins-unical-aviation/
Arizona Digital Free Press: https://arizonadigitalfreepress.com/unical-aviation-david-vollrath-as-coo/