LATEST NEWS FROM KURMAN COMMUNICATIONS

• Kurman Communications to spearhead "Smoke Free Chicago" campaign publicity
  
  Kurman Communications is teaming up with the Chicago chapter of the American Lung Association to publicize the "Smoke Free Chicago" campaign. The goal of the campaign is to encourage Chicago and the State of Illinois to pass legislation which would bar smoking in all public places, including restaurants, bars and nightclubs. The pending legislation, which will be voted upon in November, is similar to that implemented in New York and Los Angeles. New York recently published a study that demonstrated, after two years, the many benefits to the city.
  
• " Politically incorrect" publicity campaign for Max's Italian Beef becomes national phenomenon
  
  " Got Ghetto?" This became the talk of Chicago and much of the country when our campaign to publicize the delicious Ghetto Fries at Chicago-based Max's hit the streets. Whether or not journalists and the public liked the name of this delicious, uniquely-Chicago side dish, everyone was talking about Ghetto Fries. Those that ate them loved them.
  A full page commentary by columnist Mark Brown of the Chicago Sun-Times was followed by coverage on WBBM-TV, WMAQ-TV, Fox-TV and the weekend edition of the Today show. Chicago talk radio was abuzz about Ghetto Fries and blogs across the nation were pondering the correctness of the name. Both WMAQ-TV and WFLD-TV conducted viewer polls on their websites: "should the name be changed?" In both polls, more than 80% said the name should stay.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the story is the generatation gap. Young people don't find the name particularly offensive - they think it is cool, in fact. Older folks have much more trouble with it.

Either way, this marvelous recipe is a pleasure to eat and business is up "big time" at Max's Italian Beef. Stay tuned for more details on this phenomenon as the story continues to unfold.

• Kurman Communications wins 2005 PRSA Skyline Award of Excellence for second consecutive year.

For the second year in a row, Kurman Communications has earned professional recognition from the Public Relations Society of America. Our 2004 media relations campaign surrounding the launch of the beautiful yet casual Prairie Grass Cafe in Northbrook, Illinois was noted for its success in creating a clear brand identity for the restaurant as well as for re-positioning its two stellar chef/owners, Sarah Stegner and George Bumbaris, as masters of the casual kitchen. In the past, both had achieved fame for their exceptional fine dining talent. Prairie Grass Cafe has been one of the hottest tables in the Chicago area ever since its first week.

• Houlihan's chooses Kurman to help launch next-generation restaurant concept

Breathing new life into its classic brand with a contemporary new décor, stylish uniforms, “mood” music and an updated menu format, Houlihan’s Restaurants, Inc. will introduce a new prototype design for all future locations that taps into the latest dining and entertainment trends. A Pittsburgh location will be the first to open featuring the new prototype. Kurman will handle all pre-opening publicity and manage opening events.

• Kurman wins 2004 Public Relations Socity of America (PRSA) Skyline award of merit for work on behalf of Quiznos Sub

  Kurman's media relations campaign in support of Quiznos Sub's 2003 Super Bowl TV commercial garnered extensive additional media exposoure for Quiznos throughout the United States—on television as well as in print. National TV coverage included discussion of the ad on MSNBC, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Access Hollywood, E! Entertainment, CNBC, The Early Show (CBS), CNN In the Money, CNN Pinnacle, CNN Sunday Morning, CNN "America Morning with Paula Zahn."

  Local TV coverage about the ad included local stations in Chicago, Denver, Milwaukee, Salt Lake City, West Palm Beach, Palm Springs, Las Vegas, Green Bay, Honolulu, Cincinnati, Minneapolis St. Paul, San Diego, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Washington DC and others.
  
  Kurman secured print media coverage in the Wall Street Journal, The Denver Post, the Dallas Morning News, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Chicago Tribune, Columbus Dispatch, and others.

Advertising Age reported that Quiznos Sub’s brand/product awareness increased by 8%, advertising awareness increased by 48% and intent to purchase/use/view increased by 18%, from before the Super Bowl to after the Super Bowl. Kurman Communications accomplished these exceptional results for Quiznos with very limited resources—our budget for this type of nationwide campaign was only a fraction of what many companies pay large agencies for a project of this scope. By using advanced technology to distribute a digital video to 2000 media, rather than distributing videocassettes, we saved Quiznos many thousands of dollars and made had accessible to many, many more journalists and producers.

HIGHLIGHTS OF RECENT TV APPEARANCES BY KURMAN CLIENTS (check here often; we update frequently)

• Canoe Club on WLS-TV (Windows Media)
• Harvest Restaurant at Pheasant Run Resort & Spa on WLS-TV (Windows Media)
  Canoe Club on television magazine show 190 North in Chicago (Windows Media)
  Canoe Club on Fox-TV in Chicago (Windows Media)
  Canoe Club onWGN-TV in Chicago (Windows Media)

VISIT OUR TV CLIPS ARCHIVE, a collection of memorable TV hits from the past two decades arranged by Kurman Communications:

• Gale Gand and chef Rick Tramonto are featured on national TV: CBS This Morning (Windows Media)
• Lee Iacocca appears on Phil Donahue Show; previews new minivan (Windows Media)
• King Richards Renaissance Faire on Good Morning America (Windows Media)
• Jay Leno jokes about Quiznos Sub Super Bowl TV Commercial on the Tonight Show (Windows Media)
• Relax the Back store appears on the Today show (Windows Media)
• Dean Richards previews Burrito Beach Celebrity Chefs Burrito program to benefit the Greater Chicago Food Depository on WGN-TV (Windows Media)

OUR GREATEST TV BLOOPER:

• Scoozi! Tomatofest tomato stomp on WBBM-TV (Windows Media)