WeHo Gives Back delivered meaningful economic relief to small businesses in West Hollywood that were impacted by the LA wildfires, all while working within a shoestring budget. Lucky Break PR (LBPR) and the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce (WHCC) recognized that local restaurants, bars, hotels, and retailers, which generate nearly 70% of the city’s revenue, experienced revenue drops as high as 70%. To combat this, the team designed a creative, multi-faceted campaign to:
To bring WeHo Gives Back to life, Lucky Break PR designed a resourceful campaign that combined grassroots activations, creative partnerships, and high-impact media outreach, all within a $10K budget.
LBPR’s strategy began with research. The team collaborated with WHCC leadership, local business owners, and city officials to gather firsthand accounts of economic fallout from the LA wildfires through strategic surveying. The team self-published a survey to collect data.
Through this, the team learned businesses experienced revenue losses of 25–70%, with some reporting drops over 70%, forcing reduced hours and layoffs for employees after the LA wildfires. Recognizing that LA resident behavior is influenced by the availability of accessible and affordable parking, LBPR introduced WeHappy Wednesdays, a weekly initiative offering free city parking alongside special business promotions and discounted offerings. This program became the centerpiece of the campaign, enabling LBPR to drive midweek visits without incurring costs to businesses and without the strain of creating new promotions or offerings.
To amplify the message, LBPR launched with an exclusive media bar crawl. The team invited journalists and influencers to experience local hotspots, provided branded transportation between venues, and encouraged social sharing. This activation created immediate buzz and generated coverage.
On the grassroots side, LBPR deployed a street team that distributed branded napkins featuring QR codes across bars and restaurants. This simple but effective tactic encouraged diners to connect directly with the campaign website, access deals, and donate to local recovery efforts.
Media relations were central to execution. LBPR coordinated a daylong broadcast push for the WeHappy Wednesdays launch day, securing widespread coverage across every LA broadcast station. Local business owners, city officials, and WHCC leadership served as spokespeople, ensuring authentic stories anchored the coverage, all while showcasing local food and beverage offerings to provide great visuals. The team also crafted targeted press releases, pitches, and talking points to drive placements in digital, print, and lifestyle outlets such as LAist, LA Times, and TimeOut LA.
One of the biggest challenges was the limited budget. With less than $10K, every tactic had to deliver an outsized impact. By leveraging a partnership with the City of West Hollywood for free parking and highlighting promotions from local businesses, LBPR created high-value programming without significant expense. Another challenge was community fatigue. Businesses were already stretched thin, and adding extra responsibilities could have alienated them. To overcome this, the team designed a program that required no additional lift, instead amplifying what businesses were already doing while spotlighting them in media coverage.
What set WeHo Gives Back apart was its ability to transform constraints into creativity. Rather than relying on paid advertising or large budgets, LBPR built a campaign rooted in community collaboration, storytelling, and problem-solving. The free parking directly tackled consumer barriers, the bar crawl turned media into active participants, and the QR-coded napkin activation blended grassroots tactics with digital engagement.
Together, these efforts created a multichannel, highly visible campaign that restored community pride, revitalized foot traffic, and elevated small businesses as the heart of West Hollywood’s recovery story.
WeHo Gives Back exceeded every objective set at the outset, delivering outsized impact for small businesses in West Hollywood on a budget of less than $10K.
LBPR’s first goal was to secure high-quality media coverage that would build awareness and drive action. The campaign generated 109 online placements and 43 broadcast segments, including features on NBC 4, ABC 7, KTLA, FOX 11, CBS/KCAL, LAist, LA Times, and TimeOut LA. In total, coverage reached an audience of 11.6 billion, achieved $10.77 million in publicity value, and amplified through 8.82 million in social reach.
The second goal was to restore weekday foot traffic and spending. Through the WeHappy Wednesdays initiative, free parking incentives directly removed a key barrier to visitation. Curated promotions by restaurants, bars, and shops gave residents and visitors clear reasons to support the local economy.
A third goal was to educate Los Angeles residents on the struggles of small businesses in West Hollywood. LBPR achieved this by securing local officials and impacted business owners as campaign spokespeople in broadcast interviews and feature articles, ensuring that authentic voices were at the center of the story and encouraging residents to come out and spend money.
Ultimately, WeHo Gives Back turned community pain into community pride. The campaign succeeded in both measurable outputs like coverage, impressions, and publicity value, and also in creating tangible, positive momentum for West Hollywood’s small business ecosystem during a time of urgent need.
