Carmel Swim Academy + PMG

In 2022, the Carmel Swim Academy team reached out to PMG for our marketing services as they planned for the grand opening of their 10,000 square foot multi-use facility. When we first started this project, our team quickly realized that Carmel Swim Academy needed more than just public relations and event strategy, but needed a refreshed brand of its own. Carmel Swim Academy needed to help distinguish the organization as the non-competitive arm of the well-known Carmel Swim Club. 

Construction on the new facility started in 2021. Carmel Swim Academy’s training pool has six 25-yard swimming lanes and a zero-entry instructional area, designed with the swimmer and caretaker experience in mind. The facility includes a mezzanine where parents can watch swim lessons, as well as family-friendly locker rooms.  

During the months leading up to the facility’s opening, PMG was tasked to create and execute a strategic plan that involved:

• Brand Development
• Public Relations
• Event Planning Execution 
• Influencer Marketing + Management
• Photo + Video Production

The project was led by PMG’s Jennifer Bostrom and Melissa Mattingly who guided the PMG and Carmel Swim Academy teams through a successful grand opening, production shoot, and rebrand.

Brand Development

As the non-competitive arm of Carmel Swim Club, our team discovered that Carmel Swim Academy (CSA) brings fun to swimming, making the community safer through lessons, healthier through aquatic fitness, and stronger by offering access to the entire community. The Carmel Swim Academy was inspired by the need for families in the area to have a safe place to learn lifelong skills, such as water safety, swim lessons, and the value of wellness. After an insightful brand discovery session, we crafted a unique brand for Carmel Swim Academy, one that had a clear distinction from, but hinted at the Carmel Swim Club roots. 

Public Relations

Through a strategic public relations campaign, PMG helped Carmel Swim Academy earn coverage in key media outlets such as the the Indianapolis Business Journal, Indy Now on Fox 59, the CBS4 Morning Show, WISH8 Morning Show, WTHR, and more local news outlets to spread awareness of the academy’s new facility and grand opening events. PMG’s public relations efforts were valued at more than $62,718 in advertising value equivalency (AVE), and estimated unique visitors per month for the online/digital properties where Carmel Swim Academy stories were shared was more than 6 million.

Event Planning + Execution

We wanted to make a SPLASH to celebrate the official grand opening of the new facility, so our team of experts planned and executed a private ribbon cutting ceremony for donors and friends of Carmel Swim Academy as well as a grand opening celebration that was open to the public. Our team managed the invitations and pre-event communications plan, including graphic asset creation, identifying the most strategic paid advertising opportunities to reach the target community audience, developing the run of show for the events, and coordinating activations to engage guests. 

For the ribbon cutting event, PMG provided on-site media support, Lexie Manor captured photo + video assets, and Nicole Pence Becker was the emcee. On the day of the grand opening celebration, PMG’s Emily Sullivan was onsite to run the organization’s social media efforts and capture content for Carmel Swim Academy to use in future marketing efforts. CSA’s new tagline is #forthecommunity, and it was special to see the community show up to celebrate! We were thrilled to see RSVPs to the event max out at the 550-person limit and see strong support from the local community with the Carmel mayor and president of the OneZone Chamber of Commerce in attendance, along with local print and news media. 

Influencer Marketing + Management

At PMG, we work with influencers to create compelling campaigns and manage those campaigns to ensure maximum audience reach while adhering to your brand. For Carmel Swim Academy, our team created and managed an influencer strategy that involved inviting our local network of influencers to the grand opening celebration and in exchange for social media promotion, we offered free swim lessons for their children.

When PMG manages any influencer campaign, we track and report measurable results so the client can understand ROI and campaign effectiveness. Through PMG’s influencer outreach and campaign management, Carmel Swim Academy partnered with Chelsea Kopelman, Jordan Underwood, Maria Baer, Jaazz Mary, and Ashley Underwood and had a reach of over half a million follower accounts.

Photo + Video Production

PMG is a Telly Award-winning team that takes brands to the next level and we applied our experience and expertise to visually tell the Carmel Swim Academy story. The first step was to create a production shoot document that carefully outlined the client’s goals, necessary details, and deliverables for the shoot so all parties (client, vendor & PMG) were aligned. PMG completed a bidding process among select preferred vendors and enlisted Carmel Swim Academy alum, Devon Mason for photography and Michael Durr for videography. Our teams worked collaboratively to capture new headshots, photos of the new facility and instructors interacting with swimmers in the water, employee and parent interviews, and b-roll to be used as evergreen assets throughout Carmel Swim Academy’s social media channels, website, and marketing materials. 

Watch Carmel Swim Academy’s new brand video here. 

#Consideritdone with PMG! 

We’re honored to accompany our amazing clients in their successes. With expertise in branding, web, digital, content creation, and public relations, Pence Media Group would be honored to partner with your business to elevate your brand! Consider it done.