Planned Community Developers – Event Planning


Event Overview
Client: Planned Community Developers (PCD)
Industry: Commercial Real Estate
Event Name: Digging for Dollars for Office Groundbreaking
Location: Sugar Land Town Square (SLTS)
Date: January 2006
Attendees:

  • PCD employees
  • City of Sugar Land council members and Mayor
  • Building architects and construction team
  • SLTS tenants
  • Local media celebrities

MMI Strategy and Implementation
To help Planned Community Developers celebrate the groundbreaking of a new office building at Sugar Land Town Square, MMI created and choreographed the Digging For Dollars event. After researching what typically occurs at a groundbreaking event, the team elected to develop an event with unique visuals and a unique payback. The event featured local “celebrities” and community leaders participating in a treasure dig for cash, and  the dollars they dug up were contributed to their local charities. To create this visual, MMI dumped several yards of dirt on the site, creating a “sand box” (without the box) to bury $5,000 in cash. The “celebrity diggers” had a set amount of time to get down and dirty and dig for their charities of choice. MMI coordinated and managed all aspects of the event to engage the local community, including:

  • Creating an event invitation, name badges, signage and an HTML invitation
  • Researching and securing media celebrities and charity partners
  • Coordinating all rentals and the sandbox area
  • Coordinating the catering
  • Developing speaking points for the client
  • Obtaining pre- and post-event press coverage

Event Results

  • “Digging for Dollars” received extensive media coverage, especially for an office building groundbreaking event.
  • Publicity value reached over $100,000 while Sugar Land Town Square and  its retailers received maximum exposure.
  • The event also helped to reinforce PCD’s image as an involved community leader that supports charities in the Fort Bend area.