Punahou School

Punahou School, one of the largest and most prestigious independent K-12 schools in the nation, retains Bennet Group to promote the school’s initiatives and achievements as well as build and maintain its brand around the world. Bennet Group provides assistance with developing and executing communication strategies designed to position the school as a thought leader in education through strategic media placements both locally and nationally.

In May 2008, Punahou School’s athletics program was selected by Sports Illustrated as the #1 in the nation. In order to ensure this great honor was shared with the entire state of Hawai‘i, Bennet Group assisted with developing a strategic approach to the announcement, ensuring that key messages were incorporated throughout all press materials and talking points.

In January 2009, Punahou School alumnus, and then-President-elect, Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States of America in Washington D.C. In order to manage the school’s communications surrounding Obama’s inauguration, Punahou School and Bennet Group worked together to implement and execute a strategic public relations plan. Bennet Group helped to field media calls from local, national and international media as well as assisted in preparing press materials, including fact sheets and releases. Bennet Group helped the school think through strategic communications and message development for media relations.

Through President Obama’s Inauguration the school received more than $130,636 in earned media coverage – a return of more than 26 times the original investment. As a result of the team’s efforts, feature stories were secured in all of Hawaii’s major media outlets, including all television stations as well as the state’s top-circulated daily papers, Honolulu Star-Bulletin and Honolulu Advertiser, and key national and international press, such as the Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, as well as Japan-based news outlets, which established the school as a world-class educational institution that excelled at preparing its students for the world after high school.