NJFPR was brought in fewer than three months before the opening of The Ritz-Carlton New York, Battery Park in 2002. It was the first major new hotel and business to open after the tragedy of September 11, and it also heralded the luxury brand's return to New York City.
Approaching the project with a "SWAT-team" mentality, NJFPR set out to develop an opening strategy that included a ribbon-cutting ceremony, charity benefit, targeted media pitches, and international news coverage. Embraced by the media as a return to normalcy in a battered area of the city, The Ritz-Carlton New York's Battery Park location became a top news story in January 2002. The agency secured more than a dozen major television and radio news crews for the ribbon-cutting ceremony along with extensive coverage in every leading newspaper and syndicated news service in the country. Six stories about the hotel were placed in The New York Times in the first month alone, in sections ranging from Food to Style, Travel to Metro. The Ritz-Carlton's revenue and bookings in all departments were more than 10% higher than projected within two months of its opening.
