portfolio

Ariana Brancato

Public relations

arianabrancato@gmail.com

About

Hi, I'm Ariana...

I am a master's student at Georgetown University who has a passion for all things branding and public relations. I love brainstorming ways for brands to best connect with their target audiences.

After living in Washington D.C. in pursuit of my master's, I am excited to move back to my hometown of Kansas City as I start a full-time career.

I've learned from

• Georgetown University: Master's in Public Relations and Corporate Communications, December 2023
  

• Kansas State University: Bachelor's in Strategic Communications & Spanish, Sales Certificate, May 2022
  

I've worked with

Table of Contents

Select a category on the right to view related work samples.

Strategic Planning

To celebrate the 5th anniversary of The Brass Onion, the restaurant held a week-long celebration. The goal of the event: garner brand awareness. This was achieved through the following:

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• Production of Instagram Reels to tell the brand story of the restaurant
  
• Consistent (boosted) Instagram and Facebook communication with anniversary branding
  
• Brand-resonant influencer partnership (and menu collaboration) with former Chiefs player Mitch Schwartz
  
• In-person events including live music and meet-and-greet with Mitch
  
• In-person and social media giveaways of Brass Onion & Prairiefire items
  

RESULTS

Total customer count up 57% during anniversary week vs. the same time period in 2022.

In-restaurant covers (vs. previous 4 weeks):

• 54.5% increase in covers on the first day of Anniversary Week
  
• 70.2% increase in covers on the third day of Anniversary Week
  

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Social media (vs. previous week):

• Facebook reach up 42.2%, engagement up 100%
  
• Instagram reach up 34.4%, engagement up 92.9%
  
• 200+ new Instagram followers gained over the week
  
• Paid reach up 64.2% (13K)
  
• Influencer posts from @mitchschwartz71 and @brook.lynn.19
  

Strategic Planning

Collegian Media Group

rebrand - strategic plan

For my undergraduate capstone project, I worked with a team to produce a strategic communications plan for the Collegian Media Group. We sought to bridge the emerging media habits of our key public (students) with the offerings of the client.

To bolster reach, revenue and employee recruitment, my team pitched:

• A new and improved app interface to access all of the Collegian Media Group publications
  
• An engaging podcast to better involve the key public while communicating news in an innovative way
  
• An updated brand kit to modernize the look of the Collegian Media Group
  

Strategic Planning

Glossier

Strategic plan

This strategic plan is for Glossier, one of today's most popular beauty companies To ensure the success of Glossier's first omnichannel partnership with Sephora, this plan seeks to engage the beauty industry's most promising consumers: Gen Z beauty lovers.

Completed as part of Elements of Communications Planning at Georgetown University

Strategic Planning

Sweetgreen

corporate communications pitch

This corporate communications pitch is for Sweetgreen, a rapidly expanding fast-casual salad brand. Sweetgreen began on the grounds of Georgetown University as a way to combat the amount of unhealthy food on campus. With post-pandemic office vacancies, and therefore less working professionals enjoying Sweetgreen for lunch, my team saw an opportunity to re-engage a student audience.

Completed as part of Corporate Communications at Georgetown University

Storytelling

Feature Stories

Throughout my nearly two years at the K-State Foundation, I learned about persuasive storytelling. My role was to connect K-State donors with the authentic experiences of other Wildcats through feature stories. Click on a story below to read more.

PR WRITING

PR Writing

writing samples

Throughout my academic and professional experience, I have gained experience writing:

• Press releases
  
• Op-eds
• Speeches
• Media Advisories
• Letters to the editor
• Radio spots
• Media pitches
• Fact sheets, backgrounders, Q&A, talking points
• Media kits

content strategy & creation

Social Media

The brass onion

The Brass Onion is a upscale comfort food restaurant located in Overland Park, Kansas. As part of running social media strategy for the restaurant, I have engaged in the following tasks:

• Creating and scheduling photo and video content for Instagram and Facebook
  
• Organizing a corporate social responsibility campaign
• Establishing an influencer partnership
• Directing paid/boosted advertisements

To view more content from The Brass Onion, click here.

content strategy & creation

Social Media

Student campaign

I led the public relations strategy for a K-State student body president campaign. Some of my primary tasks included:

• Communicating platform goals to the student body
  
• Highlighting the candidates' stories
• Rallying voter support
• Designing social media posts and the website interface

View the full account here.

communications research

Bilingual Communications

Research

This research white paper looks at successful examples of multicultural marketing, specifically through the lens of bilingual, Spanish-speaking audiences. Through three case studies, my best practices for other organizations include:

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• Honor Hispanic history
  
• Place the Spanish speaker at the center of the conversation
• Seek support from external agencies when needed
• Avoid one-off projects

To view a further research project, conducted in Spain through an interview with a PR agency, click here.

Résumé & Contact