In December 2012 Pixel Prose Media was contracted to create and execute a robust PR/Marketing campaign for the International Coquito Federation

1. Case Study: Marketing & Events
Winter’s No Match for the Sold-Out Coquito Crawl in East Harlem
Client: The International Coquito Federation
City/State: New York, NY
Services: Event Planning; Digital & Facebook Marketing; Creative/Graphic Design; Community Relations/
Fundraising; Strategic Direction
Duration: One month (Dec. 2012 to Jan. 2013)
BACKGROUND/PROGNOSIS:
The International Coquito Federation (ICF) is an eleven year-old, East Harlem-based cultural promotion group
that works to preserve a component of Puerto Rican heritage: the holiday tradition of making and sharing
Coquito, a spiced coconut and rum-based drink. Coquito is similar in some compositional aspects to eggnog and
several other creamy holiday beverages originating from all over the world. The federation uses tasting contests
to highlight the culinary mastery of Coquito and share this aspect of Puerto Rico culture with wider, previously
untapped audiences.
For its 2013 “Three Kings Day Coquito Crawl” – a culinary event during which guests are transported by trolley
to restaurants throughout East Harlem – ICF’s founder sought professional assistance from Pixel Prose Media
to devise and execute a revenue-based strategy for the event, which had been previously held for free, or on a
suggested donation basis. In response to increasing regional and national attention around the Coquito
tradition, ICF also wanted to brand itself as the premiere Coquito events company. Accordingly, Pixel Prose
Media was contracted to implement a regional ticket-selling and branding campaign within a four-week
timeframe. The most prominent challenges at hand included:
1. Compensating for less than optimal promotional timeframe further impeded by holiday schedules;
2. Attracting customers to a Trolley event during the peak of winter, and to an area that enjoys considerably
less tourist foot traffic than the rest of Upper Manhattan; and
3. Working within a limited budget that hinged primarily on ticket revenue to recoup event costs.

2. STRATEGY & IMPLEMENTATION
Upon project initiation, Pixel Prose Media immediately implemented strategies to coordinate and activate
promotion of the event. These strategies would be carried out through various avenues, including social media
networking, earned media coverage, blogger outreach, and branding of collateral (i.e. event palm cards, web
banner ads, large trolley banner). As a key marketing strategy, Pixel Prose designed an official web landing page
through which customers could access information about Coquito and the event, as well as directly purchase
tickets. A robust social media campaign was launched to sell reservations and market the event to people
throughout the New York/New Jersey tri-state area.
Pixel Prose Media also leveraged external alliances to extend the impact of the PR/marketing push, negotiating
a geographically targeted ad on the popular blog SOHH.com to reach thousands of young urban consumers; and
facilitating a strategic partnership with the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI)
whose own regional base could spur demand for celebration of Caribbean-based culture. In addition, Pixel Prose
Media captured hard copy data from the International Coquito Federation’s mailing list and executed a branded
email marketing campaign to entice attendees from previous Coquito-related events during the holiday season.
Press advisories and VIP invites were strategically distributed to generate advance, on-site, and post-event
media coverage.
RESULTS & REVENUE
Ticket Sales
Due to a comprehensive digital media and community relations campaign, the 2013 Three Kings Day Coquito
Crawl was a great success. The first planned trolley run was sold out and a second run was also filled to capacity
– all in spite of the low weather temperatures. Despite the concentrated on and off-line promotional push in
the tri-state regional market, the Coquito Crawl attracted tourists from as far away as Albany, NY and Chicago,
IL.
Media Coverage
In addition to the highly-favorable turnout, the trolley tasting attracted generous media coverage in places like
The New York Times, Eater NY, El Diario, Examiner.com, DNA Info and others (see below).
NEWS ARTICLES:
“Scenes from the 2013 Three Kings Day Coquito Crawl,” Harlem World Magazine, January 8, 2013
“Something for the Weekend,” Eater NY, January 5, 2013
“Weekend Fare,” NY Times Diners’ Journal, January 4, 2013
“¿Sabe dónde celebrar el Día de los Reyes Magos en NY?” El Diario, January 4, 2013
“Harlem’s Best Flavor, Food and Culture at the 2013 Three Kings Day Coquito Crawl,” Harlem News Group, Jan
3-9

3. 2013 Three Kings Day Bar Crawl,” ‘Llero, December 29, 2012
“11th Annual Three Kings Day Coquito Crawl,” Examiner.com, December 24, 2012
“Annual Three Kings Day Coquito Crawl,” DNAInfo, December 2012.
EVENT PHOTOS
MARKETING COLLATERAL
MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT