“The more you explain it, the more I don’t understand it.” – Mark Twain
Staying on point and communicating key messages can become quite challenging in today’s world of information overload. When contemplating your strategy please remember humor, it can offer a new angle to a tired message. The following is a quick overview of a recent challenge faced by The Richardson House.
The Challenge:
The Richardson House was a B&B prior to becoming a luxury vacation rental. The Truckee / Tahoe community-at-large has continued to assume the house is operating as a B&B, despite dozens of efforts to reintroduce the home as a vacation rental through multiple mediums from print and radio to special events and public speaking engagements – to name a few.
The Risk:
To send a humorous and “out of the box” media release to our favorite local editors without causing offense to current and prospective guests.
The Result:
A fun and informative, well-received local history piece from the president of the Truckee Donner Historical Society.
Published: June 19, 2011
Business Briefs
Submit yours to editor@moonshineink.com.
Editor’s Note: Despite being a vacation rental for over five years, the Richardson House has found it hard to get the word out that it is not a bed and breakfast. So the vacation rental’s staff put together this friendly, and hilarious, reminder that drives home the message by hitting us right in the funny bone.
You Know You Are a Truckee Local If…
1. Snow in June is an inconvenience but not a surprise.
2. You know the Richardson House is now a six-bedroom luxury VACATION HOME.
3. You know the large, white cross next to Truckee Elementary is a historic landmark, not a religious symbol holding up “the finger” at the separation of church and state.
4. You know the Richardson House does not serve breakfast because it is NOT a B&B, unless you slip Chelsea a crisp Benjamin, then she’ll serve up whatever you like.
5. You know where Hooligan Rock is and what its original purpose was; you don’t just blindly drive by it on your way to fight the crowds at Safeway.
6. You know the Richardson House is available to rent (yes — the entire house, folks), and is perfect for family/friend gatherings, small weddings, and corporate retreats.
7. You know that the little cemetery on the road to the current cemetery is a Catholic cemetery. It was developed the same year as the one on the top of the hill, making it neither “older” nor “newer” than the other and shouldn’t be referred to as the “Old Cemetery.”
8. You know the Richardson House kicks back discounts for locals and their friends, contact chelsea@therichardsonhouse.com.
9. You know that the abandoned, postwar rooms on the corner of Jibboom and Bridge streets were built as a highway hotel and were never “cat houses,” no matter what your Uncle Jimmy told you.
10. You know the Richardson House has not been a B&B for over FIVE years; no, really, it is NOT a B&B!! Info: therichardsonhouse.com.
