James H. Cole Home for Funerals – 100 Year Anniversary Celebration

GOAL:

Since 2018, TALA has been the PR, Marketing and Events Agency of Record for the oldest Black-owned funeral home in the City of Detroit. A pillar of the community, the James H. Cole Home for Funerals has a storied past chockfull of faces and names, laughter and tears, family and friendship. The business owes its beginnings to the grandson of a freed slave, James H. Cole Sr., whose curiosity, entrepreneurial spirit, and work ethic birthed a Detroit icon.

RESULTS:

TALA created a Centennial Strategic Marketing and PR Plan for the Cole business that included a Legacy Breakfast for state and city officials, a family festival sponsored by the NAACP that included a musical stage, health fair, and petting zoo for children, a grande finale gala that attracted the who’s who of the city, and the creation of the James H. Cole Legacy Foundation, the company’s philanthropic arm focused on children and families. 

TALA coordinated $100,000 media buy for the funeral home including TV, cable and radio. The centennial activities gave the business incredible content for the start of its social media channels. 

Overall, the centennial activities exceeded expectations – with more than 2,000 attendees across 3 events, hundreds of paid and earned media mentions, new strategic partnerships formed, and several marketing and event results nominations.