Burns & Levinson LLP

Burns & Levinson LLP is a leading Boston-based law firm with other offices in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and the District of Columbia. Its core areas of practice include business/corporate, business litigation, intellectual property, real estate, and private client legal services.

The Challenge

On the heels of PAN’s very successful public relations effort with the merger of Burns & Levinson and Perkins Smith & Cohen, PAN had continued to reach a wide variety of print, trade and broadcast media to maximize exposure and further the Burns & Levinson brand. As part of this effort, PAN—in partnership with the strong marketing team at Burns & Levinson—managed a key event developed by Burns & Levinson regarding a scholarship contest for students of Boston. The Power of an Idea Scholarship Contest gives Boston’s public high school students the opportunity to move an idea from a concept to creation to patent. The winning entrant received a $15,000 scholarship for the most patentable and functional invention, as well as free legal patent services from Burns & Levinson.

With many constituents involved—from attorneys to contest judges—there was much potential for event preparations to become unwieldy. As with any event held at a school, this held numerous logistical challenges due to time and space constraints. In addition, gaining considerable press coverage for this type of event can be a challenge.

The Approach

To gain maximum exposure, PAN pitched media contacts on the human interest angle of the story, focusing on 13-year-old contest winner Dianna Marcellus. This enterprising eighth-grader from the John D. O’Bryant School of Math & Science in Boston used multi-colored LEGO® pieces and a digital servo-motor to create a nail polish applicator prototype that automatically paints fingernails. Her creative invention may have additional uses, including medical applications. Her ingenuity earned her a $15,000 scholarship to be used for college tuition and expenses, along with free legal patent services from Burns & Levinson. The story also helped to elevate Burns & Levinson’s philanthropic efforts to help Boston students achieve economic independence through their ideas.

In addition, PAN managed event logistics, including outreach to key community leaders, sound system acquisition, and creation of an oversized check for the winner, plus certificates of appreciation from the mayor’s office, event photography, speech writing, a press release, a media alert, and the script for the event. During every step in the process, PAN worked closely with marketing department officials at Burns & Levinson, who were instrumental in coordinating event activities and ensuring smooth delivery of all event issues.

The Results

PAN’s efforts paid off in droves, with a tremendous outpouring of media coverage at the May 9, 2006, event held at the John D. O’Bryant School of Math & Science in Boston. This included coverage in the following media outlets:

• WBZ-TV (CBS4 News) – News stories on the 6 and 11 p.m. editions.
• WBZ radio – Two-minute segment on WBZ radio between reporter Lana Jones and award-winner Dianna Marcellus.
• New England Cable News (NECN) – A three-minute segment with business reporter Mont Fennel reporting on the ceremony, including comments from Dianna Marcellus, event judges, family members, and public officials.
• The Boston Globe – An article and photograph in the City Weekly section.
• The Boston Herald – An article and photograph.
• Hyde Park Bulletin – Pre-event coverage on the cover of the Hyde Park Bulletin.