SpotHero

The 2021–2022 period was a moment of enormous cultural rebound. After two years of pandemic constraints, Americans were flooding back to live events, airports, professional sports stadiums and city centers. That surge created intense competition for media attention. Every brand with even a passing connection to travel, entertainment or consumer spending was pitching the same reopening narrative.

This client had no marquee product announcement, no major funding round on the horizon and no single “hero moment” to anchor a campaign. The company’s $1 billion in processed transaction revenue milestone was an internal metric with uncertain timing. Its MLB partnerships with the Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants were meaningful, but modest in media weight.

Compounding the challenge:

• Competing brands were flooding journalists with pitches tied to Memorial Day, summer travel and the post-COVID return-to-events narrative.
• The parking category is inherently reactive. It’s rarely the story. Rather, it’s the footnote at the bottom of a concert guide.
• Consumer apps live and die by app-store visibility, not editorial. Traditional public relations had to work harder to justify its value.
• The company’s core audience, including urban drivers in Chicago, New York, Boston, San Francisco and Houston, required hyper-local relevance in addition to national reach.

How do you make parking the story when parking is never supposed to be the story?

Bospar convened a strategy session to define the campaign’s north star: position the PR client as the definitive authority on urban mobility, travel planning and consumer savings using parking as the connective tissue between stories journalists were already chasing.

We identified five distinct execution pillars:

1. Newsjack the Travel Boom With Data-Driven Pitches

Bospar recognized that the summer 2022 travel story was not just about people going places, it was about how much it cost. Gas prices had spiked to historic highs. Inflation was the dominant consumer story. Airport parking lots at major hubs like O’Hare, LaGuardia, Miami and Fort Lauderdale were filling up as demand surged and supply remained constrained post-pandemic.

Bospar used the client’s proprietary transaction data to build a “why now” for every pitch wave: Memorial Day parking demand, 4th of July pricing trends, airport lot saturation analysis and year-over-year comparisons showing the real cost of the travel rebound. When CBS News reporter Dave Carlin published a story about airport parking lot shortages, Bospar secured his attention with year-over-year parking data — leading to active pursuit of a live interview.

Key media placements driven by this approach included:

• Crain’s Chicago Business, Jack Grieve reported with airport parking tips in: “Flying Out of O’Hare? Here’s What You Need to Know Now”
• Crain’s New York: “Flying out of LaGuardia? Here’s what you need to know”
• Miami Herald, Michelle Marchante covered the client’s parkig app in her story: “Are Miami and Fort Lauderdale Airport Garages Full? There are Parking Options Nearby” (This story led to syndicated media coverage, including NewsBreak)
• AFAR, Udi Onyile and Kayla Matthews reporting: “8 Free Airport Apps That Make Your Flight Less Stressful” (also syndicated to MSN)
• AARP, Don Nichols reporting: “Best Budget Tips for Your Next Road Trip”
• TIME, Jason Stauffer reporting: “Inflation Is Hitting Everyone’s Budget. Here Are 4 Ways to Hit Back”

2. Build Broadcast Dominance Through Syndication Engineering

One of Bospar’s most powerful strategic assets for the PR client was its established relationship with broadcast journalist Heather Sullivan, whose consumer tips segments syndicated across the FOX owned and operated network. By pitching Sullivan a concisely positioned story on concert and event parking savings in the context of a post-COVID entertainment explosion, Bospar engineered a single placement that aired across markets reaching millions of viewers.

The FOX broadcast syndication hit in May 2022 spanned:

• KRIV-HOU FOX 26 (Houston, TX) — multiple airings including evening news and morning shows
• WJBK-DET FOX 2 (Detroit, MI)
• WFLD-CHI FOX 32 (Chicago, IL)
• WITI-MILW FOX 6 (Milwaukee, WI)
• WTXF-PHI FOX 29 (Philadelphia, PA)
• WTVT-TB FOX 13 (Tampa Bay, FL)
• KMSP-MIN FOX 9 (Minneapolis, MN)
• WOFL-ORD FOX 35 (Orlando, FL)
• KDFW-DAL FOX 4 (Dallas, TX)

This broadcast blitz complemented an equally aggressive radio strategy in Chicago and nationally, with placements on WGN-AM, WLS-AM, WBBM-AM, KFI AM (Los Angeles), WINS-AM (New York), KCRW-FM (Los Angeles) and WDVE (Pittsburgh).

3. Own the Sports Calendar

This Bospar public relations client had formal partnerships with the Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants. Our PR pros built a systematic outreach program that treated every game on the schedule as a news hook — pitching local TV stations, sports desks and city guides in each market with the client’s real-time pricing data and parking tips tied to game day logistics.

Broadcast placements driven by MLB partnership pitching included:

• KPIX-SF CBS 5 (San Francisco, CA) — Giants opening day and multiple games throughout the season
• KBCW 44 Cable 12 (San Francisco) — Giants coverage across multiple games
• KRIV-HOU FOX 26 (Houston) — Astros coverage
• KHOU-HOU CBS 11 (Houston) — Astros coverage

Bospar extended this sports-calendar strategy beyond baseball. The NBA Finals, with Boston and San Francisco as competing cities and the client’s partnerships in both markets, offered a natural hook. Our public relations professionals drafted pre-approved parade parking pitches ready to deploy the moment a champion was crowned, ensuring our PR client received the first wave of local coverage following the final buzzer.

The approach also covered NFL, college football and major events: The Detroit Auto Show drove coverage for our client in FOX 2 Detroit and Detroit Free Press. The Bengals’ home opener sparked coverage in the Cincinnati Enquirer, WCPO-TV and WHIO-TV around outrage over $70 parking fees (with our client positioned as the smarter alternative).

4. Insert Our Client Into Every Cultural Moment

Bospar maintained a running calendar of cultural and civic events including Broadway openings, Pride festivals, music festivals, art fairs, college football kickoffs and positioned the company as the logistics partner journalists needed to complete their guides. This produced a consistent drumbeat of inclusion in event roundups that organically expanded the client’s brand presence.

Highlights include:

• The New York Times: “What to See on Broadway in June” — a coveted earned placement in the paper of record
• Chicago Tribune, Kori Rumore reporting: “ Patrick’s Day in Chicago: Parade Routes and More” and “Magnificent Mile Lights Festival”
• KUSA Denver CBS 9, Alexia Carrasco reporting: “Denver PrideFest 2022: Everything You Need to Know”
• Charlotte Observer: Duke’s Mayo Classic HBCU Football Game Guide
• Austin Chronicle: ACL Music Festival Parking Guide)
• LAist: “LA Explained: Parking Rules”
• Star Tribune, Michigan Live, Detroit Free Press — Event guides across major markets

1. 5. Leverage the Consumer Finance Narrative

Bospar identified a second high-priority media track running in parallel to the travel story: the personal finance and inflation narrative. As gas prices and living costs dominated headlines, editors at personal finance outlets were actively seeking consumer-facing tools and tips.

Our public relations experts positioned the client as a savings tool for drivers and an income opportunity for property owners renting parking spots across this entire editorial category.

Representative earned placements:

• GOBankingRates: “8 Unusual Things To Rent Out For Quick Cash” — syndicated to Yahoo! Finance, MSN and AOL, reaching a combined 200+ million monthly visitors
• Her Agenda: “5 Ways To Make More Money Without Getting A Second Job”
• MotorBiscuit: “Can SpotHero Really Help You Find the Best Parking Space?” (dedicated feature)
• Small Business Trends: “10 Parking Apps to Help You Get the Best Spot”
• AARP, Apartment Therapy, Money Crashers, Komando — multiple personal finance and consumer tips roundups