Case Study: SMART Financial changes perceptions and grows to 63 stores with Axia Public Relations

SMART Financial grows to 63 stores in 24 months with Axia Public Relations

The customer, Smart Financial, a holding company of pawn stores, faced the business challenge of changing the public's negative perception of the pawn industry to attract better employees, customers, and investors for its rapid expansion. The vendor, Axia Public Relations, implemented a public relations campaign to address this.

Axia Public Relations' solution was to establish the company's leader as a thought leader in a major newspaper and then secure widespread media coverage in both national industry and local press. This strategy successfully dispelled misconceptions about the industry. The results for Smart Financial were significant; they grew to 63 stores in just two years, generated 395 news articles, and earned nearly 175 million potential impressions. Axia Public Relations helped them win the Ernst & Young Florida Entrepreneur Of The Year award and fundamentally change public perception in their operating communities.

Smart Financial