Advance Public Relations COMM 3302

Nicole Gaffney Coley Cooks Rebranding

Service Learning Strategic PR Plan
Spring 2015 Semester

Emily Nazaro
Ashley Lara
Zoe Sorrentino
Casey Zanowic
Kendal Lambert

Table of Contents:
Executive Summary.pg. 3
Background and Situational Analysis..pg. 4
SWOT Analysis....pg. 5
Research Plan...pg. 6
Survey Results..pg. 8
Research Findings....pg. 15
Campaign Plan.....pg. 17
Budget..pg. 19
Implementation....pg. 20
Evaluation............pg. 21
Appendix.....pg. 22

Executive Summary
Nicole Gaffney was a contestant and third runner up on the Food Networks hit television
show, Food Network Star. After coming close to winning, Nicole decided to focus on herself and
is now the face of her own brand, Coley Cooks. Her goal as a celebrity chef is to teach and
inspire others that cooking does not have to be difficult. She promotes Coastal Cuisine eating
which entails clean, fresh and easy ingredients. Nicole needed assistance in launching her new
brand of Coley Cooks and gaining more of a presence on social media accounts such as
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. As a public relations team we decided it would be in her best
interest to execute a cooking demonstration highlighting her skills and services to public. Within
the audience of the cooking demonstration, we felt that it was important to target college students
on a low budget to broaden her target audience. By doing so, this will help her gain more public
interest on social media. We decided it would benefit Nicoles career to execute a media kit
highlighting her services, achievements and media exposure. With this media kit she can present
it to various outlets leading her to achieve her main goal as Coley Cooks becoming a household
name. Since following the cooking demonstration, Coley Cooks has already seen an increase in
social media presence as well as a respectable reputation in the community.

Background and Situation Analysis

Nicole Gaffney, otherwise known as Coley Cooks, has been working as a personal chef
on the Jersey Shore for the past five years. Gaffney got her start by opening The Dinner Belle in
Atlantic City working as a personal chef. Today, she better describes herself as a chef, writer,
and media personality. This past summer Nicole competed on the Food Networks series Food
Network Star where the winner receives their own cooking show. Unfortunately, she was only
the second runner up but thanks to that experience, Nicole has blossomed into a celebrity chef on
the rise focusing on her new blog and brand Coley Cooks. In 2013, Nicole started her first blog,
Too Full for School to share her insights and recipes with the world. However, in February of
2015, she changed the entire blog to Coley Cooks because it better represented her overall brand.
Through her blog, Nicole is able to express herself and this allows people access into her
personal life, recipes, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and her newly launched YouTube channel.
On Food Network Star, Nicole quickly realized that it was more about entertainment than
cooking. In addition to that, she also realized that television is a dying medium and she would
rather portray herself through the internet because that is where most people get their recipes
these days. Nicole calls her style of cooking Coastal Cuisine that most people associate with
seafood, but it is so much more than that. Coastal Cuisine represents a chill, laid back lifestyle
associated with coastal regions around the world. It is food that entails bright clean flavors that
focus on high quality but can all be made with simple techniques and fresh ingredients.
As Nicoles Public Relations team, we were faced with certain challenges and issues that
needed strategic planning in order to be sorted out. Thankfully for us, Coley Cooks was already
launched and Nicole was able to redesign all of her social media on her own. However, getting
the name Coley Cooks out there was our main issue. In addition to that, we needed to narrow
down u what her niche was so from there we could better establish her target audience. In the
beginning, Nicole defined her target audience as women 25 to 45 years of age who enjoyed
cooking. As a PR team, we saw this as way too broad and suggested that Nicole consider college
students since they are the most active users on the internet. Since ending her time on Food
Network Star, Nicole has had a few guest star appearances on shows such as The Chefs Kitchen,
The Rachael Ray show, and even House Hunters. In order to get more exposure and coverage in
the media, Nicole needs to improve on better publicizing herself. With the media kit that has
been prepared for her, Nicole can send it out to outlets in the New York City and Philadelphia
areas, where well-known companies are located. Again, when Nicole finds her niche with a
specific tag line of what she can offer to the public, then she will be better able to achieve that
goal of Coley Cooks becoming a household name.

SWOT Analysis
Strengths

Weaknesses

Established her new brand on her own

Target audience is too broad

Coley Cooks is memorable, laid back,

fun and less common

Nicole needs to find her specific niche

so she can accurately represent what
she can deliver to the audience

Has a previous following from Food

Network Star

Her Coastal Cuisine cooking is still

too associated with just seafood

Well-known in the South Jersey area

from previous cooking adventures e.g.
the Dinner Belle

Needs a better social media presence

that stays constantly updated
Wants to become a household name so
she needs to get her name on TV like
news stations ect.

Promotes a healthy lifestyle through

high quality foods and fresh
ingredients
Stays updated on her blog and answers
to different social media comments.

Opportunities

Threats

Blogs, YouTube channels and other

social media outlets have many users
that allow Nicole access to more
followers

Other celebrity chefs that are already

well established (ample competition)
Marketed as Coastal Cuisine can
turn away some customers

Her Coastal Cuisine cooking is

unique

Too broad of a demographic leading to

ineffective marketing

A lifestyle addition to her Blog,

which will be a compliment to the
dishes

Time and cost constraints among

college demographic
Does all her marketing herself, she
does not have a team to help her.

Win over a newer, younger college

demographic
Become more popular by getting her
name on different news stations

Research Plan
The first step to creating a research plan is understanding ones boundaries and
limitations to ensure the desired outcome is realistic. As mentioned, our goal is to broaden
awareness for Nicole Gaffneys new brand, Coley Cooks. We understand that as a student PR
team, we can only do so much as far as creating a larger social media following. In order to
create a larger following, create brand awareness and reach a larger demographic, the most
sensible plan was to host an event. Aside from the event, we created a new digital media kit for
Nicole so that she could present this when looking for new gigs, which is the ultimate reason for
a PR campaign.
As mentioned, the most sensible plan would be to host an event that showcases Nicoles
talents. Creating an event is a newsworthy idea that can be posted and shared all over social
media, through various outlets, as well as gain mainstream media attention. Creating a larger
social media following for any brand is difficult unless the brand is doing something new,
exciting and original, so we created just that. Hosting an event would increase social media
attention, allow face-to-face interaction with Nicole and allow her to showcase herself and what
her brand represents.
In order to create an exciting, newsworthy event, our group conducted primary research
that consisted of surveys and in-depth interviews. We decided that the most sensible idea was to
host a cooking demonstration on Stocktons campus for a few reasons. As mentioned earlier, we
had to create something within realistic limitations. Next, the student population became our
main demographic because it is an obvious tactic to take advantage of the huge population that
surrounded us. This student population would also represent a new demographic that Nicole was
not previously reaching. Hosting the event on campus falls within our budget, caters to the
student population that we plan to reach and allows easy access for students without
transportation.
Our survey questions catered to the details of the event we wished to plan. Since the
demographic and most of the attendance would be students, we handed out surveys around
campus and in classrooms. The survey answers helped give us an understanding of what our
audience wants and what they expect out of a cooking demonstration. The interviews basically
confirmed some of the questions we put on the survey.
The interviews told us that that main concerns among students cooking is the cost, the
number of ingredients (directly related to cost) and the time involved in cooking. We also found
that the most common way of finding new recipes is online.
Our surveys first asked whether or not our demographic knew who Nicole Gaffney is.
This helps us understand if a demonstration on campus is actually worth it, as well as the
potential to spread her brand to unfamiliar students. Catering to the students, we asked them
what time works best for them and if they were familiar with the prospective location. We sought
to find out what exactly they would like to get out of a cooking demonstration and what variables
matter most (for example, cost and time). Other questions sought to find out whether students
like to cook, what they prefer to cook and if they would like to participate in our demographic,

making it an interactive experience for the audience. Lastly, Nicole stresses the importance of
doing everything for a reason and wanted to make the demonstration a food drive for the Local
Community Food Bank. The surveys targeted the receptiveness of the students in regards to
donations.

Survey Results
51 surveys were completed by Stockton University Students

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Research Findings

Have you ever heard of Chef Nicole Gaffney?

Yes 38%
No
62%

What time slot works best for you on a Wednesday?

3-4
17%
4-5
43%
5-6
40%
Which social media outlet do you use the most?
Instagram
38%
Facebook
24%
Twitter
29%
Tumbler
6%
Pinterest
3%
When looking for a recipe to cook, please rank these 5 details least to most important.
1
Cost
2
Time
3
Easiness
4
Number of ingredients
5
Healthiness
Do you know where the Lakeside Lodge is on campus at Stockton?
Yes 69%
No
31%
Have you ever been to a cooking demonstration or seen one on television/online/etc.?
Yes 49%
No
51%
Would you be more interested to learn how to cook an appetizer, meal, or dessert?
14% appetizer
64% meal
21% dessert
Have you ever seen the show Food Network Star?
Yes 37%
No
63%
Would you be willing to donate canned foods or a small money amount to the
Community Food Bank of South Jersey?
Yes 97%
No
3%
Do you enjoy cooking yourself?

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Yes 66%
No
34%
If a celebrity chef gave a cooking demonstration on Stocktons campus, would you be
willing to come check it out?
Yes 82%
No
18%
In reference to question 11, would you be willing to interact with her on stage?
Yes 71%
No
29%
Would you be willing to participate in a raffle if the tickets were free but $1 for every
additional ticket you wanted?
Yes 93%
No
7%
The average age of the participants was 23 years old and consisted of 56% female and
44% male.

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Campaign Plan
Overarching goal:
To increase awareness of Nicole Gaffney and her new brand of Coley Cooks.
Objective 1: To gain more awareness not only within the community, but within
college students to broaden Nicoles target audience.
Strategy: We felt that appealing to the college students within Stockton University would help
Nicole Gaffney gain more interest in the launching of Coley Cooks. Coley Cooks empowers
others to healthy, clean and easy cooking. Since college students are on a small budget, with a
fast paced life style, easy cooking was perfect to target to college students. By doing this it helps
get Nicole Gaffneys name out to a bigger target audience, so she can one day become a
household name.
Tactic: In order to target a campaign strategy towards college students at Stockton University,
we had to come up with an idea that would get college students attention. Nicole Gaffney has so
much success with her cooking demonstrations, we thought that a cooking demonstration would
be a fun and different kind of event to target students. Cooking demonstrations are not often
done at Stockton, so we decided to put together an event with recipes that were easy enough for
college students to do right in their apartments. Nicole Gaffney would choose cheap ingredients
and recipes that did not even require any appliances. Not only did we come up with a cooking
demonstration for the students, but Nicole Gaffney came up with a great idea, that instead of
paying for admission, we would have a canned food drive and donate the proceeds to the
Community Food bank of South Jersey. Both aspects of our tactic will help her gain more
presence within the community.
Key Message: Cooking does not have to be difficult or expensive! The cooking demonstration
raises awareness to students that easy, simple, fresh ingredients can make fast, healthy and most
importantly cheap meals on the go for those on a budget! Nicole Gaffney was able to implement
a new lifestyle to students while getting her name out there at the same time.

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Objective 2: To inform potential media outlets of Nicoles new branding for Coley Cooks.
Strategy: In understanding Nicoles new brand, she needs to expand herself through new
channels. We need to grab the medias attention in a concise compelling way so that they will
want to contact her for partnership opportunities.
Tactic: Craft a media kit explaining her experience in television, print exposure and live cooking
demonstrations. Identify the most recent social media statistics with her number of Twitter,
Facebook and Instagram followers and unique blog visitors. The media kit needs to tell what
services she is available for, which include brand endorsements, food styling, instructional
cooking videos and more. To enhance her credibility, we chose to add in a few awards Nicole
won. Photos of herself and her delicious dishes add an aesthetic appeal. Lastly, her contact
information and social media handles need to be on there if people are interested.
Key Message: A media kit is like a resume for our client. It is a one-page overview of Nicole,
summarizing who she is and what she does. Its also a living document; she can always update it
with new information as she gains experience in her culinary career.

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Budget
In order to implement the cooking demonstration, various supplies needed to be bought.
Thankfully, Stockton University was able to rent out the Lakeside Lodge free of charge for us to
hold the event in.
Cost of ingredients- $70
Cost of decorations- $15
Cost of raffle prizes- $30 and most were donated by the Stockton Cooking Club
Cost of supplies (forks, napkins, etc.)- $30
Total Cost- $145

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Implementation
Following her success on Food Network Star, Nicole came to us to launch the name
Coley Cooks after the rebranding of her website and social media. On the show, she called her
style Coastal Cuisine and was type casted as a mainly seafood chef, rather than her clean,
fresh, and easy eating she wants to promote and she hoped the launch of her new name would do
so. While Coastal Cuisine was too limiting, her target audience was too broad; so we
suggested she narrowed it down to college students since they spend the most time on the
internet.
In order to assist Nicole Gaffney in the launch, our group decided to create a media kit and
organize a cooking demo.
To increase public awareness as well as gain national exposure our media kit included
Nicoles portfolio, highlight her experience and media reach; allowing Nicole distribute it.
In preparation for the event, we created a survey we gave out to 51 people, 56% female
and 44% male at the average age of 23 years old. After finding that 62% had never heard of
Nicole Gaffney, we decided to host the event at Stockton Universitys Lakeside. Stocktons
Cooking Club partnered with us to host the event that would raise proceeds for the Community
Bank of South Jersey by collecting canned goods admission or $5.00, and $1.00 for every raffle
ticket purchased for prizes.
In promotion of the event we created a press release, wrote an article for The Argo, had a
guest spot on WFLR Radio, and created a flyer to be posted around Stocktons campus and
social media along with the hashtag #coleycooks.

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Evaluation
The cooking demo raised 60 cans for the Community Food Bank of South Jersey and
$50.00 from admission and raffle tickets, due to the publicity created by our press release,
Argo article, and the hashtag #coleycooks. Each of the group members and Nicoles reached
out to their followers in posts sent out before, during and after the event; including Diane
DAmico from The Press of Atlantic Citys article on the event. Along with the cooking demo,
the media kit given to Nicole for distribution helped highlight the launching of her brand and
widen her social media presence.
Previously to working with Nicole, her Reach was
Unique Blog Visitors: 1,100
Avg. Views per Article: 250
Facebook Fans: 3,175
Twitter Followers: 3,378
Instagram Followers: 2,377
After working with Nicole,
Unique Blog Visitors: 3,500
Avg. Views per Article: 500
Facebook Fans: 3,168
Twitter Followers: 3,382
Instagram Followers: 2,432
After completing the event, we realized we should have advertised the cooking demo
more in order to gain more awareness for the event, but regardless the cooking demo was a
success and we feel as if we have accomplished our goals in aiding Nicole with raising
awareness of her re-branding and gaining a better social media presence.

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Appendix
Cooking Demo Flyer

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The Argo Article

http://stocktonargo.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Argo4-6-15web.pdf

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Press of AC Article
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/communities/absecon_galloway_portrepublic/stockton-pr-students-work-for-a-grade-and-a-cause/article_eb5aa784-e24c-11e4a95a-cfdc5670f913.html

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Media Kit

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Press Release

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Zoe Sorrentino, Student of Communication Studies at the Richard Stockton University of
New Jersey sorrentz@go.stockton.edu

Cooking Demonstration: Featuring Chef Nicole Gaffney

Galloway, NJ On April 8, 2015 at 5:30pm 6:30pm, local celebrity chef, Nicole Gaffney
(former Food Network Star contestant and creator/writer of Coley Cooks a lifestyle food blog)
will hold a cooking demonstration in the Lodge at Lakeside, located on the upperclassmen
residential area off Pomona Road on Stockton Universitys campus.
Attendees of the demo will be treated to Chef Gaffneys culinary marvels geared towards
providing fresh food fast. A raffle for prizes like cooking tools, restaurant gift cards, and a
special treat from Nicole herself will be held at the end of the night.
Nicole has spent the last five years working as a personal chef locally, and is always looking for
a way to give back to the community. To do so, we ask you to support the South Jersey
Community Food Bank by donating canned good(s) for free admission, or a $5.00 fee at the door.
Each admission guarantees one raffle ticket, more can be purchased at the event.
You can visit Chef Nicole Gaffney at her website www.coleycooks.com for more of her
delicious recipes and lifestyle blog and follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @ColeyCooks
If you are commuting to the event, please remember to park in North Lot located toward the
back of the campus off of Pomona Road.
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