PR Media Kit, Vineyard Vines

media kit

POWER HOUR PR

ITHACA, NY

news release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 19, 2015

Media Contact: Emma Silen Power Hour PR 578-555-0218 emma@powerhourpr.com

POPULAR PREP RETAILER COMES TO ITHACA

Vineyard Vines brings East Coast prep classics to college students on The Commons ITHACA, NY (October 19, 2015)- Ithaca College and Cornell students will soon have a new source for classic prep fashions. Opening October 20th at 11am, the retailer promises a chance to meet their CEOs, live entertainment, and plenty of fashionable finds. The first 50 guests will receive a necktie featuring the Ithaca College and Cornell logos.

A longstanding cult favorite of the North East, Vineyard Vines specializes in athletic, lounge, and professional attire in luxurious materials and trendy cuts. Serving up their signature prep style, the founders are excited to enter the Ithaca market as they continue to expand nationwide.

“Our new location in Ithaca will reflect our motto & company mantra, ‘Every day should feel this good’,” said Ian Murray, Vineyard Vines CEO & co-founder. “We always strived to make Vineyard Vines a great place to shop and work, and we’re thrilled to be able to punctuate that effort this year with our new store.”

About Vineyard Vines Vineyard Vines was founded in 1998 on Martha’s VIneyard, after Shep and Ian Murray quit their corporate jobs to produce the now iconic neckties featuring their signature pink whale. Vineyard VInes is dedicated to representing the Good Life, and offers clothing and accessories for men, women, and children available in over 600 locations worldwide. ###

backgrounder The Success Story of Vineyard Vines: Totally Prepped

Growing tired of their everyday routine, brothers Shep and Ian Murray cut ties with corporate America and started making ties that represented the finer things in life—the Good Life. On Martha’s Vineyard in 1998, the brothers started the company that is best known for its elegant neckties and smiling pink whale logo: Vineyard Vines. In July of 1998, Shep and Ian received their first shipment of eight hundred ties, and within a week they had sold out and re-ordered. To keep up with skyrocketing demand, the Murrays hired a few friends and moved from the back of their Chevy Suburban to an office.

Vineyard Vines has since grown to over 600 specialty and department stores worldwide and its products are sold through a seasonal catalog, online, and currently at twenty-one free-standing stores nationwide. In addition to selling neckties, it has ballooned into the new face of contemporary prepware that offers a variety of clothing and accessories for men, women and children. It also offers more specialty items such as holiday clothing or patchwork patterns to keep customers making purchases beyond the basics.

For example, for the Kentucky Derby collection, the company went beyond horse motifs and created dresses and jackets with intricate patchworks made of jockey-silk patterns.

The brother’s base their success on the idea that when they founded the company they wanted to do something that represented the good life; and this has translated into the work environment that Vineyard Vines has become. Shep says, “Your good day is different from my good day, and when we build a store or put out an ad, we try and live up to that.” Although the Murrays’ version of a good day and good life has changed over the years, their desire to transmit the philosophy—that life is too short not to enjoy—has not.

fact sheet Vineyard Vines is a clothing and accessory company that sells higher end clothing such as button down shirts, ties, khakis, belts and other items for all ages and genders. The company’s style is classified as a business casual or preppy style.

Company: Headquarters Address:

Main Telephone: Date Founded: Date of IPO: Number of offices/stores: Number of Employees: Revenue: Stock/Ticker Symbol: Key Executives:

Vineyard Vines 37 Brown House Road Stamford, CT 06902 203-504-5788 1998 Privately Held 1 corporate office, 55 retail stores 2,000 employees 308 Million in 2014 Privately held Not available CEO: Shep and Ian Murray VP of Women’s Wholesale: JoAnn Slattery Vice President of Mens Wholesale: Jeff Wheeler

fact sheet Event Name: Location: Date and Time: Purpose of Event:

Expected Attendance: Prominent Guests:

Vineyard Vines Grand Opening of Ithaca Retail Location Downtown Ithaca October 20th, 11am To celebrate the grand opening of Vineyard Vines 56th Retail Store and introduce students and residents to merchandise in a retail environment.

150+ Shep and Ian Murray, Tom Rochon, Elizabeth Garrett, Svante Myrick, Tom Reed, Jennifer Tavares, Gary Ferguson, Kris Lewis, Allison Graffin, Tatiana Sy, Shannon Williamson, Evan D, Williams

contact

Paul Shaw Emma Silen

Power Hour PR Power Hour PR

610-999-1234 578-555-0218

paul@powerhourpr.com emma@powerhourpr.com

pitch letter October 19, 2015 Dear Editor,

I think your readers would want to join Vineyard Vines on October 20th for its grand opening in Downtown Ithaca, New York. The new store location, which offers a College Collection, is giving the first 50 customers a free necktie customized with a Cornell University or Ithaca College logo.

In addition to the tie giveaway, the opening of the Vineyard Vine’s Ithaca store will launch a variety of custom clothing and accessories for men and women that offer the best contemporary school looks. Representing the nearby schools in their entirety, the prepware styles attract young people who are savvy shoppers and proud students.

“Our customers are always looking for custom college products,” said CEO and Co-Founder Shep Murray. “People love supporting their alma maters while wearing their favorite clothing brand. We’re excited to have the opportunity to make these products more accessible to our customers and we think they’ll be excited in return.”

I would be happy to send you a product sample from Vineyard Vine’s College Collection so you can credibly prove to your readers that they produce great products for purchase.

I appreciate your time and consideration for what the Vineyard Vine’s Ithaca store has to offer. If you’re interested in learning more, please email Alison Smith at asmithpowerhourpr.com or call me at 610-715-2223.

Sincerely, Alison Smith

promotional material

You’re invited to

One whale of a party!

Join Shep & Ian for the grand opening of Vineyard Vines Ithaca! Enjoy live music, sips & snacks.

The first 50 customers will receive a free Ithaca College or Cornell University necktie!

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20TH | 11AM-1PM The Shops at Ithaca Mall

RSVP to ithaca@vineyardvines.com

vineyardvines.com

photos

photos

Photos courtesy Vineyard Vines

Feature Article Tied to a Cause: Veterans, the USO, and Vineyard VInes

V

ineyard Vines, the preppy/hip tie and leisure boutique located at Wisconsin Ave. and Prospect St. in Georgetown, has partnered with the USO to support its Operation Enduring Care initiative through the July 4th weekend by offering special items to benefit Tied to a Cause, a charitable program supporting the USO program that helps Wounded Warriors, among others.

Sloan D. Gibson, USO President & CEO, a Georgetown resident, arrived early for a meeting at Vineyard Vines this week sporting a light blue tie with a hearts-and-American flag motif.

“It’s about reminding people,” he said, that wounded warriors and our service men and women are working for us every day, though they might not be in our every-day thoughts.

Buying a tie to strengthen the connection to service

members and veterans might seem like a stretch, but Gibson says we all need small wake-up calls to keep the troops in mind.

Vinyard Vines’ creative yet patriotic patterns can help.

Specially-designed USO ties in Red, Vineyard Navy and Periwinkle ($75.00), just in time for Fathers Day, along with USO Totes ($95.00) are available in Vineyard Vines stores nationwide and online

The USO has pledged to raise $100 million over five years for Operation Enduring Care, a comprehensive long-term initiative to support America’s Wounded Warriors and their families.

“The average wounded amputee warrior spends 18 months at Walter Reed,” Gibson said. “Think about a loved one in the hospital for three days -- how stressful and disruptive it is. Then think about going through that trauma with a loved one for a year and a half.”

The USO supports wounded veterans with athletic competitions and family support. A new PSA, complimenting the organization’s impressive record of successful public-service television spots, will feature the experience of a service member going through an IED-filled landscape, then returning, with wounds, to the community.

“It’s a call to action,” Gibson said. “It’s about reminding people to reach out and support our wounded warriors and veterans, to bring them into the community.” They need the support and help of all of us, he said.

“To be able to help such an honorable organization as the USO is incredible,” said Vineyard Vines CEO and co- founder Ian Murray. “We’re privileged to raise funds for Operation Enduring Care.”

Gibson has felt at home in Georgetown since he first arrived in Washington after graduating from West Point and serving in the Army in the 1970s. “What’s not to love about Georgetown?” he said. “It’s a happening.”

The USO is a private, non-profit organization whose mission is to deliver maximum benefit for troops and their families from every donor dollar. For more information, visit www.uso.org Solomon, B. (2010, June 18). Tied to a Cause: Veterans, the USO, and Vineyard Vines. The Georgetown Dish. Retrieved from http://www.thegeorgetowndish. com/thedish/tied-cause-veterans-usoand-vineyard-vines

media list Ithaca Journal

Jeff Platsky - Local News jeffplatsky@ithacajournal.com Andrew Thayer - Local News andrewthayer@ithacajournal.com Lois Wilson - Business loiswilson@ithacajournal.com John R Roby - Business jroby@pressconnect.som, @PSBJRoby Tom Wilber - News twilber@gannett.com, @wilberwrites Kevin Rakas - Lifestyle krakas@pressconnect.com, @PSBRakas

The Ithaca Voice

Jeff Stein - Editor jstein@ithacavoice.com Joe Byeon - Local News joebyeon@ithacavoice.com Brian Crandall - Business News bcrandall@ithacavoice.com Mike Blaney - Business Development blaney@ithacavoice.com

LocalSyr.com

Tim Fox - Local News tfox@localsyr.com

media list The Ithacan

Kira Maddox - Editor In Chief @KiraLMadd Aidan Quigley - News Editor @QuigleyAidan Max Denning - Asst. News Editor @TheMaxDenning Mary Ford - Life and Culture Editor @TheRealMaryFord Celisa Calacal - Asst. Life and Culture Editor @celisa_mia Tommy Batistelli - Photo Editor @tbatt95 Yana Mazurkevich - Photo Asst. Editor @ymazurkevich

Cornell Daily Sun

Tyler Alicea - Editor in Chief editor-in-chief@cornellsun.com Anna Bui - Managing Editor managing-editor@cornellsun.com Sloane Grinspoon - Associate Editor associate-editor@cornellsun.com Emma Lichtenstein - Business Manager business-manager@cornellsun.com Amber Chen - Web Editor web-editor@cornellsun.com

media list The Post Standard Syracuse

Douglass Dowty - Local News ddowty@syracuse.com, @DougDowty Rick Moriarty - Buisness Reports rmoriarty@syracuse.com, @RickMoriartyCNY Sean Kirst - Opinion skirst@syracuse.com, @Sean Kirst Bud Poliquin - Syracuse Lifestyle bpoliquin@syracuse.com @BudPoliquin

CNYCentral.com

Alex Dunbar - Local Business, Live Events adunbar@cnycentral.com Alex Resila - General Station Reporter aresila@cnycentral.com Allison Bybee - Local lifestyle abybee@cnycentral.com Andy Malnoske - Segment Reporter amalnoske@cnycentral.com Brett Hall - Lifestyle bhall@cnycentral.com

Ivy Gate

Alexandra Svokos - Chief Editor tips@ivygateblog.com Alexandra Avvocato - Associate Editor tips@ivygateblog.com Andrea Villena - Associate Editor tips@ivygateblog.com

media list Chronicle for Higher Education

Sara Hebel - Chief Editor Sara.Hebel@chronicle.com Lawrence Biemiller - Editor Lawrence.Biemiller@chronicle.com Scott Carlson - Editor Scott.Carlson@chronicle.com Karin Fischer - Reporter Karin.Fischer@chronicle.com Eric Hoover - Reporter Eric.Hoover@chronicle.com Beth McMurtie - Opinion Editor Beth.Mchurtie@chronicle.com

Total Frat Move

Steve Holt - Editor steveholtgoodcontent@gmail.com @SteveHoltGDX El Taco - Contributor ElTaco@grandex.co Harrison Lee - Social/Lifestyle editor harrison@grandex.co @TheBoulevard

Total Sorority Move

Lucky Jo - Contributor LuckyJoTSM@gmail.com @Lucky_Jo Rachel Page - Contributor rachelwpage@gmail.comm @rachelpage_ Rachel Varina - Editor rachel@grandex.co @Yeah_okay_what

references Bahsin, K. (2015, May 6). Vineyard Vines’ Lavish New HQ Is the

Preppiest Office in America. Retrieved October 20, 2015, from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-06/vineyard- vines-lavish-new-hq-is-the-preppiest-office-in-america Blanding, Michael. (2012, April). The brothers behind vineyard vines

talk ties. Boston Common.

Caprino, K. (2013, September 25). What The Vineyard Vines

Founders Know About Success That Thousands Of Entrepreneurs

Don’t. Retrieved October 20, 2015, from http://www.forbes.com/ sites/kathycaprino/2013/09/25/what-the-vineyard-vines-found ers-know-about-success-that-thousands-of-entrepreneurs-dont/ Solomon, B. (2010, June 18). Tied to a Cause: Veterans, the USO, and

Vineyard Vines. The Georgetown Dish. Retrieved from http://www. thegeorgetowndish.com/thedish/tied-cause-veterans-uso-and- vineyard-vines Vineyard Vines. (2012). Vineyard vines delivers the good life with new

eCommerce site powered by demandware [Press release]. Re

trieved http://www.vineyardvines.com/press-release -demand ware.html Vineyard Vines, L.L.C.: Private Company Information. (n.d.). Retrieved

October 20, 2015, from http://www.bloomberg.com/research/ stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapid=26635335

meet the team Power Hour PR

POWER HOUR PR IS THE BEST AGENCY YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF.

Emma Silen is the PR Senior Writer/Account Manager. She is responsible for

planning, coordinating and directing public relations initiatives, and produces the strategic messages in all media for agency clients.

Alison Smith is the Corporate Communications Specialist. She assists with developing and writing for the company’s internal print magazine and the online magazine.

Paul Shaw is the PR Senior Account Executive. He plans, coordinates, consults, problem solves and directs public relations campaigns for agency clients.