The results

Heffel Fine Art Auction House had held numerous successful live art auctions, each selling $1 million worth of fine art. Yet growth was stagnant. Peak Communicators’ Ross Sullivan started working with the Heffel brothers in 1999, spreading the word of their entrepreneurial story and high tech successes repeatedly through the media. The next four auctions had gross sales of at least $2 million each. Steadily the Heffel’s auction sales grew. Each of the past four live Canadian sales the Heffel brothers have conducted has exceeded $10 million. In June 2007, a record $23 million sale was achieved at the spring auction, setting a new benchmark for the Canadian fine art auction industry.

PEAK Communicators works all phases of the Heffel publicity program, successfully pitching hundreds of media stories across the continent. Last fall’s Toronto auction brought a standing room only crowd of 450 bidders plus another 100 by phone. "We were thrilled with the strong bidding in the room and on the phones," said David Heffel, president. "There were serious bidders from across Canada, as well as phone bidders from the United States, the U.K. and Asia, all attempting to land works by some of Canada's best artists."

Media relations is Heffel’s secret weapon and gives the company a decided edge over its competitors.