Client: Elyse Saunders
Tasks: Publicity, Grant Writing
In the spring of 2019, Canadian country artist Elyse Saunders hired NovaCurrent Public Relations to prepare her application to the FACTOR Juried Sound Recording program.
We worked with Elyse on all aspects of the initial application to the Sound Recording component of the program – including building supplementary materials, and designing a marketing plan.
Elyse Saunders was approved for funding in the FACTOR Juried Sound Recording program in the summer of 2019. The funding was used for the creation, distribution, and promotion of her 2021 EP, “Free”.
In the summer of 2019, NovaCurrent Public Relations reconnected with Elyse Saunders for a single release campaign to highlight her summer single “Feel You Leaving”. This campaign was targeted primarily around the release of the music video and to generate interest in Elyse in advance of her next wave of music being released.
Through this campaign, “Feel You Leaving” was added to regular rotation on CBC Country/Sirius XM and Elyse received 15 media placements including a video premiere from Live in Limbo, a television interview and performance on CHCH Morning Live, features from Front Porch Music and Canadian Beats, as well as interviews with Better Music, The Country Startpage, My Entertainment World, and Country Music News International.
In the winter of 2019, we continued our work with Elyse Saunders to prepare her application to the Creative BC/Amplify Record in BC program.
NovaCurrent worked with Elyse on all aspects of the application – including the project plan and all supplementary materials.
Elyse Saunders was approved for funding in the Creative BC/Amplify Record in BC program in early 2020. The funding was used towards additional sound recording costs for her 2021 EP, “Free”.
In the summer of 2020, Elyse released the EP’s title track, “Free”, accompanied by a wide-ranging PR campaign to coincide with Elyse’s re-entry into the Canadian radio market. For this campaign, we targeted television and online outlets in Canada to go along with additional international outlets with an interest in Elyse’s story and sound. Beyond media outreach, we also serviced a number of Spotify third-party playlists and Instagram influencers.
Elyse received over 50 media hits, including Global News Morning Kingston, The Reviews Are In, Front Porch Music, The Harlton Empire, VENTS Magazine, Aesthetic Magazine, Tinnitist, Canadian Beats, Medium, Rudy Blair, and a music video premiere on Soundcheck Entertainment. In addition, “Free” received placements from 30 influencers and third-party Spotify playlists.
In the winter of 2020, we worked with Elyse on her follow-up single, the winter ballad “Wine Down”. As the song was co-written by Elyse in Nashville with Daryl Scott and Joey Green, we aimed to target Nashville media and other US media as a central component of the publicity outreach. NovaCurrent PR also worked with Elyse to develop a sponsorship package to assist her in gaining sponsorship for “Wine Down with Elyse Saunders – The Online Concert Experience”, a fully-produced concert that was broadcast on Facebook to celebrate the single.
In Nashville, Elyse was profiled by Music City Music Magazine and performed on the daytime TV show, “Today in Nashville”. Additional coverage included Hidden Beats, Studio B Podcast, TV performances for CHCH Morning Live in Hamilton and The Hampton Roads Show in Virginia. The campaign earned over 15 media interviews and features and over 40 independent Spotify playlist and Instagram influencer placements.
Next, Elyse released “Sunshine State of Mind” in the summer of 2021. For this publicity campaign, our goal was to bring awareness to Elyse in other Canadian markets through television coverage, and also leverage the strength of her music video with critical international media allies.
The publicity campaign earned over 30 media placements, including CTV Morning Live Ottawa, CTV Morning Live Regina, Now and Then Magazine, In the Country with Dave Woods, a return to The Hampton Roads Show, Country with Celine, Front Porch Music, and Peterborough This Week, a video premiere on Complete Country, and a CMT.com music video feature. The music video was also added by CMT Australia. Additionally, “Sunshine State of Mind” was added to more than 25 independent Spotify playlists. This campaign ran parallel to the CBC Music Searchlight competition, where Elyse finished as a Top 5 finalist, and concluded with her being nominated for Rising Star and Female Artist at the CMAO Awards.
For our final publicity campaign for Elyse relating to “Free”, the focus was on gaining coverage relating to the EP itself in the form of interviews, reviews, and high-value features, along with key placements for its two remaining music videos (“Genes” and “Famous”).
The “Free” EP publicity campaign earned over 35 media hits – including a Top Country Emerging Artist of the Month feature, Front Porch Music, Live in Limbo, Worlds of Country, The Next Women of Country, The Toronto Guardian, The Country Note, Countrytown, Cashbox Canada, Parton and Pearl, and a return to Today in Nashville.
In 2022, CMT.com featured the music video for “Genes”, which was later added by CMT Australia. Following a fall of 2022 video premiere on The Nash News for “Famous” – the final single from the EP – the video was also added by CMT Australia in January of 2023. “Genes” received an additional 10 placements from Spotify independent playlists and Instagram influencers.
In 2023, Elyse Saunders went on to win “Video of the Year” at the Country Music Association of Ontario Awards for “Genes”.
