Case Studies: PR & Social Media Results

Lashinda Demus

Managing the PR Campaign for a Long-Overdue Gold Medal Moment

In 2012, Lashinda Demus won Olympic silver in the 400m hurdles. A decade later the gold medalist’s doping caught up, and in 2022 the IOC elevated her to first — her gold to be presented at the first-ever Olympic Medal Reallocation Ceremony in Paris. We built the media strategy that made sure the world saw it: interviews, press materials, photo and audio assets, and coverage from Los Angeles to Paris. A GoFundMe we helped launch raised $25,000 to bring her family there, and the story broke across NBC, ABC, CBS, ESPN, the New York Times, and the LA Times. On August 9, 2024, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, Lashinda received her gold surrounded by family — and with her mother and coach Yolanda, became the first mother-daughter duo to win gold in Olympic Track and Field. Twelve years late. Right on time.

The Problem

Even the most powerful story gets lost in the noise without the right strategy and the right people telling it. In 2012, Lashinda Demus won silver in the 400m hurdles in London — a mother of twins who’d become the fastest mother in the world. What no one knew was that the gold medalist had doped. A decade later the truth caught up, and in October 2022 the IOC elevated Demus to first. After nearly two years of work with the IOC, she would finally receive her gold in Paris at the first-ever Olympic Medal Reallocation Ceremony. Justice, resilience, a family moment twelve years in the making — it deserved a global audience.

The Cost

A moment like this happens once. Without a deliberate strategy, the attention it deserved passes unnoticed — and unlike a social strategy you can rebuild next quarter, a moment in history doesn’t come back.

The Approach

Michelle and Lashinda have known each other since Lashinda was a national champion at South Carolina, and when the moment came, Lashinda trusted her to tell it to the world. We built the full media strategy — interviews, press materials, photo and audio assets, on-site coverage from Los Angeles to Paris — all pointed at the Reallocation Ceremony on August 9, 2024. To make sure her family could be there, we helped launch a GoFundMe that raised $25,000, turning a ceremony into a homecoming. The story broke wide open across NBC, ABC, CBS, ESPN, the Los Angeles Times, and the New York Times, and that evening Lashinda wore her gold on NBC for the first time.

The Result

At the foot of the Eiffel Tower on August 9, 2024, Lashinda received her gold surrounded by family, IOC and USOPC dignitaries, and the world watching. She and her mother Yolanda — who coached her to her first American title in the 400m hurdles — became the first mother-daughter duo to win gold in Olympic Track and Field. Twelve years late. Right on time.

“There’s no one I would have wanted by my side more than Michelle to help tell my story. She’s creative, she truly cares, and she never stops going the extra mile. Having her there every step of the way — right up to the finish line in Paris at the foot of the Eiffel Tower — was everything.” — Lashinda Demus, Olympic Gold Medalist

What This Means for You

Every brand has moments that matter — launches, milestones, stories that deserve more than a press release sent into the void. What separates a moment that lands from one that disappears is strategy, relationships, and conviction. If you have a story worth telling, Bee Young Comms will make sure the right people hear it.

Copper Fire

From Inconsistent Posts to a Standout Social Presence

Copper Fire is one of the busiest entertainment venues in Metro-East St. Louis, but its social media made it look like a quiet night. We built around what was already there: quarterly on-site shoots, a steady weekly rhythm, and Reels that sounded like Copper Fire. Followers and customers grew sharply, and the content built a community, not just an audience.

The Problem

Copper Fire has it all: daily live music, great food, a crowd that treats it like home. Its Instagram showed none of it — last-minute posts and inconsistent visuals made the liveliest spot around look like an afterthought.

The Cost

People decide whether to visit before they leave the house; a weak feed reads like a quiet night even when the room is packed. Every week without real content cost discovery, word-of-mouth, and regulars with nothing to tag.

The Approach

We learned the business first: the regulars, the staff, the rhythm of a week. Quarterly on-site shoots captured live performances, behind-the-bar moments, and the personalities that make the place feel like a hometown tavern — feeding a weekly mix of event promos, food and drink features, and Reels. As the presence grew, we rebuilt their website too: one modern home for events, menus, and updates.

The Result

Copper Fire went from sporadic posts to a consistent, high-performing content engine. Followers and customers grew sharply, and the content built a real community, not just an audience.

“Michelle came in, learned our business, and built something we’re genuinely proud of. She took everything that makes Copper Fire feel like family and turned it into a social media presence that reflects who we truly are. She’s not just a vendor — she’s part of the team.” — Renae Eichholz, Co-Owner, Copper Fire

What This Means for You

Most businesses are better than their social media suggests. That’s not creativity or time — it’s strategy and execution. If the gap between who you are and how you show up online is holding you back, that’s what Bee Young Comms closes.

Quarterback Your Health

Turning a Diagnosis Into a Movement

In May 2026, former South Carolina quarterback and Tampa native Stephen Garcia went public with a Stage 4 colorectal cancer diagnosis at 38, after months of symptoms he’d ignored. It went national within hours; what it needed next was strategy, because attention fades and the message underneath it — get screened, don’t wait — is what saves lives. We came on as media contact days later: media relations across two states, the screening call to action in every story, and the full launch of the Quarterback Your Health Foundation, from website to press kit to inaugural gala. Months later, it’s still in the news.

The Problem

A diagnosis is news for about seventy-two hours. A mission has to last a lot longer than that.

When Stephen announced his Stage 4 diagnosis, national outlets picked it up within hours, and a family already in chemotherapy was fielding media requests with no infrastructure behind it. He’d spent months dismissing abdominal pain as a tough guy problem and knew how many men were doing the same right now. But turning that instinct into a real 501(c)(3) is a different job than going viral.

The Cost

Colorectal cancer is rising sharply in adults under 50, and late detection is why it’s so often fatal. Stephen had a message that could move people to get screened, but attention that isn’t converted into something durable disappears — and without someone managing the requests, a man in chemotherapy spends his energy on logistics instead of his health.

The Approach

We stepped in as media contact days after the announcement and took the communications function off the family’s plate.

The strategy ran on two tracks. In South Carolina, we worked the Gamecock media that had followed Stephen since 2008 — WIS, Fox Carolina, The Post and Courier, The State. In Tampa Bay, local stations and health desks, where he was a Moffitt patient and a Jefferson High state finalist, not a visiting celebrity. National outlets covered the diagnosis; regional relationships kept it alive for months. Every interview routed back to one idea: if something feels off, get checked.

We built the public identity end to end — brand, website, newsroom, media kit, with University of South Carolina athletics amplifying — then found the next news hook. SEC Media Days came to Tampa in July, where Stephen gave a treatment update and announced the August 21 gala, putting his college coach Steve Spurrier and Martin Gramatica in the same room as TGH and AdventHealth surgeons and physicians.

The Result

National coverage: ESPN, ABC News/Good Morning America, CBS Sports
Sustained regional coverage across two states: WIS, Fox Carolina, The Post and Courier, The State, WFLA, and WUSF/Health News Florida
A 501(c)(3) launched in public: with a website, newsroom, media kit, and press infrastructure built from zero
An inaugural gala on August 21, 2026: with ticketing and sponsorship live

The measure that matters isn’t impressions. It’s that the message stayed attached to the story. Every outlet that covered Stephen Garcia also told its audience to get screened.

“The last thing I had energy for was figuring out how to tell this. Michelle took all of it off our plate and made sure that every time somebody wrote about me, they also told people to go get checked. That’s the whole point. She got that from day one.” — Stephen Garcia, Founder, Quarterback Your Health

“We went from a Facebook post to a true foundation with a website, a mission, and a room full of people showing up for it. Michelle helped build that, and she never once let the message get lost.” — Masha Garcia, Co-Founder, Quarterback Your Health

What This Means for You

Attention isn’t impact. Plenty of organizations get their moment and watch it evaporate because nothing was built underneath. The difference is infrastructure: a message that repeats, relationships that bring reporters back, and the next hook lined up before this one fades.

If your story matters and you get one chance to tell it right, that’s the work. Bee Young Comms doesn’t just get you covered. We make sure that when the coverage ends, you’re standing on something.

Naismith Awards

A Full-Service Social Media Operation, Season After Season

The Naismith Trophy is one of basketball’s most storied honors, and a name with that much credibility needs more than the occasional post. For four seasons we haven’t just made content; we’ve run the operation: a seasonal playbook, a 21-person team, sponsor campaigns, courtside coverage. In 2025-26, three teams covered 42 games through the Final Four — 28 interviews, nearly 200 clips, 74.3M impressions (90% over goal), 88% follower growth, 2.1M engagements, and ad spend cut 26%.

The Problem

Prestige alone doesn’t build an audience, and a presence that doesn’t match the brand leaves reach, relevance, and revenue on the table. Naismith didn’t need a part-time hire — it needed a partner who could think like a communications director, execute like a producer, and lead like a head coach.

The Cost

When a brand of this caliber shows up inconsistently, the damage isn’t aesthetic. Sponsors question the partnership’s value, media relationships go cold, and marquee moments disappear into the feed instead of dominating it.

The Approach

Every season opens with a playbook: strategy, content standards, sponsor integration, team structure. Michelle leads a team of 21 across daily content, weekly syncs, and every platform, and works the sport’s top voices — Debbie Antonelli, Andy Katz, Fran Fraschilla — turning their commentary into content that moves the brand from administrator to authority. In 2025-26 we covered 42 games through the Final Four plus the Naismith Golf Tournament, ran campaigns for Jersey Mike’s, Werner Ladder, and Sharpie, launched on Threads, and expanded paid advertising on X.

The Result — 2025–26 Season

74.3M impressions: exceeded goal by 90%, surpassing target by 35.3M
14,375 new followers: +88.1% audience growth
2.1M engagements: exceeded engagement goal by 15%
Instagram +168% impressions, Facebook +187% reach: platform growth across the board
Ad spend down 26%: more reach and more content for less investment

“We are fortunate to have Michelle lead our social media activation. She brings a first-class approach to content creation and strategy — an idea machine who constantly adds value through fresh thinking and more efficient processes.” — Eric Oberman, Client President, Naismith Trophy

What This Means for You

If your organization has real stakes — sponsors to serve, audiences to grow, a reputation to protect — social media isn’t a support function. It’s a communications program and should be run like one: build the infrastructure, lead the team, deliver results that compound season after season.

AXIA Time

Building a Luxury Brand at the Intersection of Sport and Legacy

Services: Social Media Management (Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn) | Brand Storytelling & Content Strategy | Product Launch Content | Live Event Activation and On-Site Coverage | Championship Campaign Execution

AXIA Time was built on Swiss-Made precision and a deep reverence for sport and legacy. For a luxury brand, an inconsistent social presence isn’t a missed opportunity; it’s a credibility problem. We manage all four of AXIA’s platforms on premium positioning, consistent storytelling, and showing up where history is made: the 2024 and 2025 Heisman Trophy Weekends, the 2025 and 2026 CFP National Championships, and the Naismith Awards. The result: 30.9M impressions, 6,110 new followers, and 162,687 engagements.

The Problem

John Kanaras built AXIA Time around Swiss-Made precision and a reverence for sport and legacy. What he couldn’t do alone was run four platforms, show up at championship events, and build the content strategy a luxury brand demands. He needed someone who understood both storytelling and the culture of sport.

The Cost

When your product lives at the level of Heisman weekends and national championships but your presence doesn’t reflect that world, the disconnect erodes trust before a buyer ever reaches out. Luxury buyers aren’t hunting for a deal; they’re looking for proof a brand belongs.

The Approach

First, the foundation: a content calendar and product storytelling cadence that established AXIA as a credible voice across collegiate, government, and professional sports. Then we showed up — on-site at the 2024 and 2025 Heisman Trophy Weekends, the 2025 and 2026 CFP National Championships in Atlanta and Miami, and the Men’s and Women’s championships, including content tied to the AXIA pop-up at the CFP Fan Shop that drove real growth in peak season.

The Result

30.9M impressions: cross-platform reach across Instagram, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn
6,110 new followers: audience built through championship season activations
162,687 engagements: driven by live event content and real athlete moments

What This Means for You

Building a premium brand takes years; losing ground online takes a single season of inconsistency. If you have a story that deserves to be told at the highest level, the question isn’t whether social media matters — it’s whether your presence does justice to what you’ve built. That’s our work: not just posts, but proof that your brand belongs in the room.

Peninsula Building Materials

Building a Digital Presence as Strong as Their Product

Peninsula Building Materials is a family-owned Silicon Valley business in its second century. The credibility was there; the digital presence wasn’t. We made the brand match the reputation: sharper visuals and messaging, a consistent cadence across four platforms, paid social and video that kept PBM in front of contractors, designers, and Bay Area buyers. In 2023 we helped lead a full website overhaul and wrote the Design & Build blog, turning it into an SEO engine. By 2025 the footprint was strong enough that we made the case to bring marketing in-house, handing off a strategy firing on all cylinders.

The Problem

You’ve been in business long enough to earn a reputation. Contractors trust you, customers come back, the product is the real thing. Online, none of it shows up: an outdated website, a scattered social presence, and a story decades in the making that never reaches the people searching for exactly what you offer. That was Peninsula Building Materials.

The Cost

For a business built on trust, a weak digital presence doesn’t just limit growth; it creates doubt. In a market as saturated as Silicon Valley, the suppliers who look the part online win the introduction. Every day the gap went unaddressed, newer and lesser competitors defined the category while PBM stayed invisible to customers already looking.

The Approach

We rebuilt PBM’s presence around stronger visuals, sharper messaging, and a consistent cadence across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. Paid social and video became core drivers, while vendor and customer relationship development strengthened the brand beyond the screen. In 2023 the scope expanded to a full website overhaul, including all content for the new Design & Build blog — their SEO engine, pulling organic traffic from buyers actively looking for what they sell.

The Result

By 2025, PBM had cohesive branding, consistent messaging, and a footprint built to compete in its second century — so we made the case to bring marketing in-house and handed off a strategy firing on all cylinders.

“Michelle doesn’t disappoint. She’s passionate, creative, has great follow-through, and will dig in and do whatever it takes to get the job done.” — Nancy Wallace, Director of Marketing and Development, Peninsula Building Materials

What This Means for You

If your business has been around long enough to know what it’s doing but your digital presence doesn’t show it, you’re letting newer competitors define the category while you stay invisible to customers already looking. Make sure the reputation you’ve earned shows up where your next customer is searching.

USF College of Engineering

Media and Presentation Training for the Dean and Senior Leaders

Deep expertise doesn’t automatically become a clean soundbite, a compelling donor conversation, or a keynote people remember. The dean and senior leaders of USF’s College of Engineering were regularly in front of reporters, donors, and faculty candidates with no formal training behind them. We designed and led a full-day intensive: message architecture, on-camera and video call presence, breath, inflection and body language, three rounds of live film and review, and mock conversations where leaders traded off playing reporter and donor. Everyone left with a custom notebook and a self-evaluation system built to keep sharpening long after the day ended.

The Problem

USF’s College of Engineering had leaders doing exceptional work and no unified approach to talking about it. The dean and his senior team were regularly in front of reporters, donors, and faculty candidates — often on camera or over Zoom — without formal training behind them. Deep expertise doesn’t translate itself into a soundbite or a keynote people remember.

The Cost

For a dean, every interview, keynote, and donor conversation moves the college forward or quietly loses ground. When leaders with real expertise aren’t prepared, the message defaults to jargon — and the college loses the coverage, the candidate, or the gift to someone who told the story better.

The Approach

Bee Young Comms designed and led a full-day intensive built specifically for the college, covering everything from message architecture to breath work, co-facilitated with Susanne McDonald, a New York City actress and director.

The day opened with each leader setting their own goals, then moved into audience engagement: LinkedIn presence, conversations with media, students and peers, and a session on video call presence. From there, presenting confidence — mindset, breath, inflection, operative words, body language, cold reading, and the speaker’s relationship with the camera.

Then we put it to the test. Each leader was filmed delivering a reading, reviewed immediately, coached on specifics, and sent back to do it again — three rounds across the day. In between they traded roles in mock conversations, two playing reporters and donors while the others prepped and delivered.

Donor conversations got their own focus — for a dean they carry as much weight as any interview. We built an approach centered on impact rather than need: talking points that appeal to the head and the heart, preparation for the questions donors actually ask, and guidance on video messages and follow-up.

The Result

They left with something they could use the next morning: sharper messages, a repeatable way to prepare, and the confidence to deliver on camera, at the podium, and across the table from a donor. Each participant got a custom set of materials written by Bee Young Comms — Presenting Confidence, Presentation Pro Tips, Pro Tips for Video Calls, Donor Conversations — plus a self-evaluation sheet for every future speech, pitch, or interview. It gave them a system, not just a day.

“I love working with Michelle on media training projects. Michelle will do anything it takes to support your vision, whether that means answering phone calls at her own dinner party or advising you to make the hard but correct decision. She will go above and beyond while also making sure you are doing your best work. Plus, her thank you notes and networking skills are top notch.” — Susanne McDonald, Actress and Director, New York City

What This Means for You

Your leaders are already representing your organization, whether anyone has prepared them for it or not. Media training isn’t polish. It’s making sure that when the camera is on, the room is full, or the donor is across the table, the person speaking says something worth remembering.