Firehouse Animal Health Centers

Communicating During Growth Phases

Lauren Halpern PR began working with Firehouse Animal Health Centers in 2013 to develop a bold communications plan during a phase of growth (from one location to six… and counting!).

Lauren’s plan gave the Firehouse team personable, clear talking points to use with existing and potential clients.

The business is consistently featured in local and national media outlets as an expert in the industry. Lauren secures recurring appearances on local TV news shows and creates educational videos for social media.

Firehouse also applied for (and won!) various business awards in 2018 and 2019, including spot on the Austin American-Statesman’s Best Places to Work list (2018, 2019), top honors in the Statesman’s “Best of the Best” veterinary category (2018, 2019), and was named finalist in the Austin Young Chamber’s FAVE Awards for Community Outreach (2018) and the Greater Chamber Awards for Community Relations (2019).

Lauren continues to follow PR trends so Firehouse can grow its communication plan: client emails, location-specific blog posts, influencer campaigns, and social media content are all new ways in which Lauren is helping Firehouse communicate.

Between 2016 and 2021, Lauren’s help in PR/marketing efforts helped Firehouse grow:

• From 2 to 7 hospitals

• Launch Firehouse Pet Resort (and develop the branding for this new business line)

• Client base grew from 5,747 to 14,000 people

• Patient base doubled from 7,717 to 20,000 pets

• Revenue doubled from $3.15M to $6.3M

Check out these recent PR successes Lauren delivered:

• Recurring segments on KVUE Midday:

  • Dr Stacy Mozisek teaches about proper dental care for cats and dogs

  • Dr Laura Saunders cautions against poisons in the household

  • Dr Hunter Bowen talks about anxiety and fear in dogs and cats

  • Dr Adriana Mendoza discusses skin cancer in dogs and cats

  • Dr Stacy Mozisek educates about heat and water safety

  • Dr Laura Saunders speaks about fireworks and thunderstorms

• Two business profiles in Community Impact

• An expert feature in the national pet magazine, The Bark

• Expert positioning in the Statesman and Good + Well with a piece on why dogs should brush their teeth

• Expert positioning in this KXAN educational piece, later picked up by a dozen TV and print outlets

• Recognition in the Statesman for innovative clinic design that removes barriers between clients and pets during treatment

• Guest expert spot in this KVUE segment about the use of cannabis oil to treat pets

• Educational videos like this one, to reach more pet-lovers

  ….and more