The challenge
A city rebuilding its story.
Years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans was still rebuilding. Its tourism board, hospitals and businesses needed the country to see a city coming back.
Swipe to see how ›
2013 – 2015. Communications, New Orleans.
Follow Your NOLA.
The award-winning tourism campaign that drove a record $7.05B in visitor spending.
As Account Director, Adrian ran 20 accounts during the city’s recovery, and led tourism work that earned The New York Times coverage and Gold and Silver ADDY Awards.
$7.05BRecord visitor spending
20Accounts run during the recovery
GoldAnd Silver ADDY Awards
NYTEarned coverage in The New York Times
01 · Tourism
The city and its music, nationwide
As lead strategist for New Orleans tourism, he worked alongside artists like Alvarez “Big Al” Huntley of the Hot 8 Brass Band. The work earned coverage in The New York Times and Gold and Silver ADDY Awards.
Photo to come: food truck activation
02 · Tourism
A food truck that took the city on the road
A New Orleans food truck activation met people face to face: 2,000 interactions on the street.
Photo to come: satellite media tour
03 · Tourism
A satellite media tour
A satellite media tour took the city’s comeback story to TV stations around the country.
04 · Commerce
The city’s first online store
He built the New Orleans Official City Store, the city’s first online merchandise shop, with designs that played on local lore, and a new revenue stream for the client.
05 · Health
A hospital reopens after ten years
He directed communications for the reopening of New Orleans East Hospital, closed since the storm. One ad led with a single word, gephyrophobia, the fear of crossing bridges: residents no longer had to cross one to reach care.
06 · Brand
Two rebrands, start to finish
He led the rebrand of Spears Group itself and of client Greenup Industries.
2014
07 · Community
NBA All-Star Game, and Leah Chase’s foundation
He led local media for the 2014 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans, and ran marketing for Leah Chase’s family foundation, helping launch its annual fundraiser.
More
The tourism story, in depth.
How a city recovering from a storm got the country to come back.
2011 – 2013. SBP, now Strongward. Disaster recovery.
Rebuilding homes, one volunteer at a time.
Strongward, formerly SBP, has rebuilt more than 6,000 homes after disasters. Adrian joined as an AmeriCorps site supervisor and became Associate Director of Development.
$3M+Raised a year, by a team of three
10,000Volunteers a year
$60KNew revenue in five weeks
100+People a week reached as spokesperson
The challenge
Thousands of families still waiting.
Years after the storm, families across New Orleans were still out of their homes. A small nonprofit needed money, volunteers and attention to rebuild faster.
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$3M+
01 · Funding
Raised a year, by a team of three
He helped secure multi-million-dollar commitments from UPS, Toyota and Zurich Insurance.
02 · Volunteers
10,000 volunteers a year
He started as an AmeriCorps site supervisor, then ran the volunteer program with four coordinators and applied the Toyota Production System to how houses got built.
03 · Full circle
Rollins Relief, building with SBP
Volunteer groups from across the country built with SBP, his old college group among them.
$60K
04 · New revenue
Raised in five weeks
He launched a participation fee for spring-break volunteers, a new source of earned revenue.
05 · Voice
The face of the story
As spokesperson he spoke to 100+ people a week and gave TV, radio and print interviews, like this live WWL-TV spot from an MLK Day build.