"Jewell Marketing Associates Wins Gold Jasper Award"
Asbury Park's 110th Anniversary Series of Events

October 10, 2007

On Friday, October 5th during the 33rd Annual Jersey Shore Public Relations and Advertising Association's JASPER Awards ceremony, Jewell Marketing Associates garnered the gold award for the Special Event series "Celebrate Asbury Park" that was held to commemorate Asbury Park's 110th Anniversary of the city's incorporation. Each month, during this yearlong celebration, a special event was planned to attract tourists and potential homebuyers to the city to personally experience the city's revitalization.

"We are thrilled to receive this Gold Jasper Award from our esteemed industry colleagues," said Laura Jewell, President, Jewell Marketing Associates, Inc. "We are proud that our events have had such a positive impact on the city's tourism and businesses."

Jewell Marketing Associates, the City of Asbury Park's Public Relations Agency for the last five years, developed an umbrella concept of the "110th Anniversary" celebration to package 10 large-scale events for sponsorship support so that the City did not need to utilize any taxpayer dollars.

"I couldn't be more pleased that Laura Jewell and her hard-working team have been recognized by their peers," said City Manager, Terence J. Reidy. "The 110th Anniversary Celebration brought new events and sponsors to Asbury Park while highlighting the unprecedented economic and cultural growth of our city."

Jewell Marketing Associates' fundraising efforts successfully raised over $300,000 in revenue to date and an additional $249,000 in radio coverage from CD101.9. This was done with a comprehensive sponsor package that Jewell developed. In addition, the "Asbury Park Celebrate" magazine, which Jewell Marketing spearheaded, has served as the program/sponsor book for each event.

The City Champion Sponsor is The Esperanza At Asbury Park, the joint City Supporter Sponsor is North Beach Asbury Park and Wesley Grove At Asbury Park, and the Community Sponsors are Ansell, Zaro, Grimm & Aaron and JCP&L.

"The redevelopment and revitalization of Asbury Park is an extraordinarily ambitious endeavor and it's success requires a comprehensive effort on many different levels," notes Dean S. Geibel, Managing Partner of Metro Homes, LLC, which is developing The Esperanza, a two-tower beachfront condominium here.

"A critical element of that effort is the ability to communicate to the public on a sustained basis all of those redeeming qualities Asbury Park currently offers, and all that is to come. Jewell Marketing's concept of celebrating the City's 110th Anniversary through a series of events throughout the year did just that. By embracing Asbury Park's cultural and recreational heritage with elements of its glorious future that are already evident, they were able to effectively position the City in a positive light and keep the story alive for an extended period of time."

Already well under construction, The Esperanza features a 16-story, 135-home North Tower and a 10-story, 89-home South Tower. The luxury condominium residences will range in size from approximately 545-square-foot studios to approximately 3,000-square-foot four bedrooms. Prices for the lavish residences start in the mid-$400,000s. Hotel-like amenities will include a 24-hour concierge, an outdoor pool area replete with a rooftop pool and 23 private, poolside cabanas outfitted with a daybed, plasma-screen television, wet bar, private safe and full bathroom. There will also be poolside food service and a dining area; a shipwreck-themed children's play area and a great lawn. Also located onsite will be a "resident's only" fully equipped fitness center and spa, a children's arcade, a club room with poker and billiards tables, bars, and plasma-screen televisions, lounge-style screening room; and rooftop terrace, as well as a restaurant located on the fifth floor.

The series of events included:
The City's 110th Anniversary Party, with a special anniversary carousel cake made by Chef Duff from the series "Ace of Cakes", aired on the Food Network to a national audience of 600,000 viewers per showing (6 showings already and will air November 1, 2007 at 10:30PM, November 2, 2007 at 1:30AM and November 24, 2007 at 3:00PM).

The very popular Taste of Asbury Park had a sell out crowd (1,500 tickets sold) in Convention Hall with 12 restaurants and 12 wineries participating. "We have participated in all four of the Taste of Asbury Park events with Jewell Marketing and each year through their efforts we have more Asbury Park restaurants showcased and more visitors coming to our city," said Rico Rivera, owner of Bistro Ole. "We should continue to all work together and support each other."

"Laura and her team share in the passion of this city and focus that dynamic energy into their creative and successful promotion of the restaurants and businesses so that everyone benefits from these events," said Daniel DiBenedetto, president, Asbury Park Chamber of Commerce. "I personally am very pleased that her professionalism has been recognized."

As a first time event, the Citywide Arts Festival in May received excellent press coverage and will grow each year while continuing to support the Arts Community and showcase the talents of the children of Asbury Park.

The Asbury Park Jazz Festival in June was phenomenal, hosting the largest audience ever, with over 5,000 attendees on Saturday alone. The press and media coverage was extensive, CD101.9 was the media sponsor, and the crafters and food vendors exceeded their own expectations.

"The Asbury Park Jazz Festival was very exciting for us as a media sponsor to experience the energy and vibe that not only was coming from the musicians but the audience as well," said Royce Silverman, Promotions Manager, CD101.9, Media Sponsor. "We also partnered up with Jewell Marketing for sponsorship in several other events that are a part of the 110th Anniversary Celebrate Package because we wanted to play an important role in the revitalization of the city."

Additional events in the series included:
The Joan Hamburg Radio Show Remote was broadcast from Asbury Park's Berkeley Hotel in August. Jewell Marketing Associates secured sponsorship that covered the cost for the remote. The show highlighted Asbury Park's revitalization with ten guests representing the clubs, stores, restaurants, developers and city's governing body. 300,000 listeners plus, in the tri-state area, heard Joan Hamburg rave about Asbury Park during the remote broadcast as well as more than 100,000 additional listeners in the 5 weeks of promotional ads.

"I was a guest on the radio show and it was a huge success for my restaurant bringing a surge of new customers that included celebrities such as Mary Higgins Clark," said Howard Raczkiewicz, co-owner of Moonstruck Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge. "There has been a phenomenal increase in the number of visitors to the city and I can directly relate this to the promotional activities of Jewell Marketing."

The Open House for Homebuyers in August attracted serious homebuyers who wanted to see for themselves what all the buzz was about. They were given an opportunity to ask the developers and a councilman questions during brunch at the Salt Water Beach Café and then given a trolley tour of the city stopping at condominiums and apartments for sale or rent.

"Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) recognizes the significance of the tradition and revitalization of Asbury Park, " said Roberta Sheridan, JCP&L area manager. "We are proud to participate in the 110th anniversary series."

The most recent event was the Asbury Park Apple Harvest Festival in September which received extensive coverage in the Joan Hamburg promotions on WOR 710 Radio as well as on Brookdale Public Radio - 90.5 The Night.

"The Apple Harvest Festival was a huge success and the downtown business district was packed with visitors who came to the city for the first time," said Steve Troy, co-owner of Robert Legere Home and Interior Design. "We are very pleased that Jewell Marketing Associates was recognized with this Gold Jasper Award for their efforts in promoting the city with this amazing series of events."

Jewell Marketing Associates is a Public Relations and Marketing Agency proudly located in the City of Asbury Park. Jewell Marketing provides public relations and marketing services for corporations, medium and small businesses as well as municipalities and non-profit organizations. For additional information visit www.jewellmarketing.com or call 732-502-9310.

In existence since 1965, the Jersey Shore Public Relations & Advertising Association has grown into the area's largest communications association, consisting of over 180 members from the advertising, graphic design, marketing, and public relations professions. Established in 1974, the JASPER Awards honor excellence in communications. This year JSPRAA accepted more than 392 entries in 90 categories that included advertising, print materials, direct mail, radio and television, audio/visual, excellence in writing, media relations, public relations, special events, and interactive communications. Judged by a panel of experts from the tri-state area, the entries that received the highest score in their category were given either a Gold or Silver Award.
For additional information visit www.jspraa.com.