When a longtime bakery client was preparing to open a new location in Manayunk (a Northwest Philadelphia neighborhood located 9 miles from their flagship), we saw an opportunity to turn a local milestone into a broader visibility moment. To help them make the most of the launch, we tapped our sister company 4M Communication to develop a local PR strategy designed to build brand awareness and strengthen the shop’s visibility in AI results.
STRATEGY
AI platforms rely on factors such as quality, authoritative brand mentions, freshness, relevance, and verifiable data to provide answers for users searching on their platforms.
To hit those marks, we did the following:
- Wrote a press release that featured the new store and the bakery’s history.
- Created a list of local media outlets and writers who would be interested in covering this news.
- Sent the press release and photos of the new space to our carefully curated media list
RESULTS
Overall, there were ten media placements about the opening in publications such as Patch Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philly Grub, and Hoodline.
Aside from the earned media, the bakery was already an established brand with previous media coverage, a long history in the city, and hundreds of rave reviews.
With all of these factors combined, appearing in AI results for “bakeries in Manayunk” happened almost immediately.
ChatGPT:
As of the publication date of this case study, the client is appearing as a top choice for cakes, cupcakes, and desserts in the neighborhood. ChatGPT is citing some of the earned media from this campaign as its sources in both the standard answers and the map.
Claude:
As of the publication date of this case study, our client is appearing as a top choice in the map and the standard response.
Gemini:
As of the publication date of this case study, our client is appearing as one of the top bakeries in the neighborhood, and citing some of the earned media from the campaign as its sources.
Though AI answers will not be the same for every user, seeing these results and the citations proves that local relevance, brand reputation, and industry authority signals will increase your AI visibility and help to grow your brand awareness.