Public Relations Awards

13 PR Awards in the 2012 Stevie® Awards for Women in Business

Posted by Liz Dean on Wed, Aug 08, 2012 @ 01:01 PM

The entry deadline for the 2012 Stevie® Awards for Women in Business is quickly approaching on August 29 and we thought it would be helpful for communications professionals if we highlighted the many PR awards categories available. (Don't fret if you can't make the entry deadline, entries for the 2012 Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's premier business awards for women executives, entrepreneurs, and the organizations they run,  can still be submitted through the final entry deadline of September 28 with a late fee of $35.00; request your entry kit today.)

PR AwardsOur PR award categories for Communications or PR Campaign of the Year which recognize excellence in public relations, press relations, and publicity programs by or for women since July 1, 2011 include:

  1. Community Relations: campaigns/programs that aim to improve relations with communities in which the sponsoring organization has an interest, need or opportunity.
  2. Crisis Communications: campaigns/programs undertaken to deal with an unplanned event and requiring immediate response.
  3. Global Issues: campaigns/programs that demonstrate effective global communications implemented in at least two countries.
  4. Internal Communications: campaigns/programs undertaken to inform or educate an internal audience, such as employees or members.
  5. Issues Management: campaigns/programs undertaken to deal with issues that could extraordinarily affect ongoing business strategy.
  6. Low Budget (under $10,000/€7000): campaigns/programs that cost no more than $10,000/€7000 to plan and implement.
  7. Marketing – Business to Business: campaigns/programs designed to introduce new products or promote existing products or services to a business audience.
  8. Marketing – Consumer Products: campaigns/programs designed to introduce new products or promote existing products to a consumer audience.
  9. Marketing – Consumer Services: campaigns/programs designed to introduce new services or promote existing services to a consumer audience.
  10. Multicultural: campaigns/programs specifically targeted to a cultural group.
  11. Reputation/Brand Management: campaigns/programs designed to enhance, promote or improve the reputation of an organization with its publics or key elements of its publics.
  12. Public Affairs: campaigns/programs specifically designed to influence public policy and/or affect legislation, regulations, political activities or candidacies.
  13. Public Service: campaigns/programs that advance public understanding of societal issues, problems or concerns.

Entries in these categories require an essay of up to 500 words describing the nominated campaign: its genesis, development, planning, commission, and performance to date, a biography of the leader of the team that developed the campaign (up to 100 words), and optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges.

Other website awards, blog awards, app awards, and video awards that may be of interest include:

  • Website of the Year: Recognizing excellence in web sites created and maintained by or for women. There is no eligibility period requirement for this category - it doesn't matter when the site was first published.
  • Blog of the Year: Recognizing excellence in individual or company blogs created by or for women. There is no eligibility period requirement for this category - it doesn't matter when the blog was first published.
  • Smartphone or Tablet App of the Year: Recognizing excellence in smartphone and tablet apps produced by or for women. There is no eligibility period requirement for this category - it doesn't matter when the app was first published.
  • Video of the Year: Recognizing excellence in videos produced by or for women since July 1, 2011.

These categories only require an essay of up to 100 words describing the nominated work: its purpose and results to date, the nominated work itself, which you should upload to our server via the new uploading tool on our online entry form, and optionally, you can provide creative and production credits for the work, such as writers, creative directors, and programmers.

Not sure where to begin? All communications awards entries are submitted directly online through your account. You can begin by registering here.

Tags: communications awards, business awards, app awards, video awards, website awards, PR awards, stevie awards for women in business, blog awards, pr award

3 Ways PR Awards Winner Contributed to $8 Billion in Revenue

Posted by Liz Dean on Mon, Apr 02, 2012 @ 12:55 PM

AECOM Technology Corporation of New York, NY, USA won a Stevie® Award for Communications Department of the Year in the PR awards categories of The 2011 American Business Awards, the premiere business awards program in the U.S.A. (Download your entry kit here for the 2012 ABAs and submit your entries by the April 25 final entry deadline.)

AECOM LogoAECOM is a global provider of professional technical and management support services to a broad range of markets, including transportation, facilities, environmental, energy, water and government. Faced with dramatic worldwide global growth, the communications awards winning department contributed to the company's success by taking on new initiatives including:

1. Rolling out a new, global rebranding effort – internally and externally.

AECOM fully rolled out its new global brand across all of its business lines and geographies through a comprehensive strategic communications plan. This included introduction of:

  • Brand strategic workshops in Asia, Middle East, India, Europe and North America,
  • iPad-friendly One e-publication,
  • Inaugural online CSR report,
  • Diversity and Inclusion podcast series, tailored by global geographies,
  • Award-winning corporate video and best website, and
  • AECOM industry whitepaper campaign, which received “Top Tweet” status on Twitter.

2. Coordinating the integration of seven new acquisitions.
AECOM acquired seven firms representing a combined $2 billion in annual revenue and over 7,000 employees. For each, the public relations awards winner coordinated:

  • Global external and internal communications (translated welcome packets, welcome websites, etc.),
  • Client outreach,
  • Brand awareness education, and
  • Organizational integration.

3. Developing crisis communications procedures related to the evacuation of staff from Libya.
With the most U.S. expatriate employees in Libya, the PR award winner led the crisis communications efforts in support of an evacuation of staff. These efforts included all communications associated with:

  • The evacuation,
  • Call center for families,
  • Media relations,
  • U.S. State Department, and
  • U.K. Foreign Services office.

AECOM's communications department's efforts allowed the company to experience an:

  • Increase in revenue by 10%,
  • Increase in net income from continuing operations by 27%, and
  • Increase in backlog of work by 55%.

The department also helped the company gain a total revenue of $8.1 billion during the 12 month period ending on Dec. 31, 2011.

About AECOM Technology Corporation
AECOM is a global provider of professional technical and management support services to a broad range of markets, including transportation, facilities, environmental, energy, water and government. The company provides a blend of global reach, local knowledge, innovation, and technical excellence in delivering solutions that create, enhance, and sustain the world's built, natural, and social environments. With nearly 45,000 employees around the world, AECOM serves clients in 130 countries. To learn more information, visit www.aecom.com.

Tags: best website, communications awards, business awards, PR awards, American business awards, public relations awards, pr award, twitter, AECOM Technology Corporation, communications department of the year, corporate video

20 Ways to Win PR Awards in The 2012 ABAs

Posted by Liz Dean on Mon, Mar 26, 2012 @ 02:07 PM

The entry deadline for The 2012 American Business Awards is fast approaching on Wednesday, March 28 and we'd like to help you showcase your organization's outreach through our PR awards categories. (Request your entry kit here for the 2012 ABAs, the premier business awards program in the U.S.A., and you'll receive it right away.)

Our public relations award categories include:

  • Public Relations Agency of the Year
  • Communications Department of the YearThe American Business Awards
  • Communications Team of the Year
  • Communications, Investor Relations, or PR Executive of the Year
  • Communications Professional of the Year(for non-executive communications, PR, and IR professionals)

The PR award categories for Communications or PR Campaign/Program of the Year include:

  • Community Relations
    Campaigns/programs that aim to improve relations with communities in which the sponsoring organization has an interest, need or opportunity.
  • Crisis Communications
    Campaigns/programs undertaken to deal with an unplanned event and requiring immediate response.
  • Global Issues
    Campaigns/programs that demonstrate effective global communications implemented in at least two countries, one of which must be the United States.
  • Internal Communications
    Campaigns/programs undertaken to inform or educate an internal audience, such as employees or members.
  • Investor Relations
    Campaigns/programs undertaken to communicate information to a company's investors and the investment community and/or to manage the company's relationship with investors.
  • Issues Management
    Campaigns/programs undertaken to deal with issues that could extraordinarily affect ongoing business strategy.
  • Low Budget (under $10,000)
    Campaigns/programs that cost no more than $10,000 to plan and implement.
  • Marketing – Business to Business
    Campaigns/programs designed to introduce new products or promote existing products or services to a business audience.
  • Marketing – Consumer Products
    Campaigns/programs designed to introduce new products or promote existing products to a consumer audience.
  • Marketing – Consumer Services
    Campaigns/programs designed to introduce new services or promote existing services to a consumer audience.
  • Multicultural
    Campaigns/programs specifically targeted to a cultural group.
  • Reputation/Brand Management
    Campaigns/programs designed to enhance, promote or improve the reputation of an organization with its publics or key elements of its publics.
  • Public Affairs
    Campaigns/programs specifically designed to influence public policy and/or affect legislation, regulations, political activities or candidacies.
  • Public Service
    Campaigns/programs that advance public understanding of societal issues, problems or concerns.
  • Social Media Focused
    Campaigns/programs designed to be implemented primarily through online social media.       

Your public relations awards entries should include the following information:

  • An essay of up to 500 words describing the nominee's achievements since January 1 2011
  • A biography of the nominee or the leader of the nominated company, department or team of up to 100 words
  • Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges

There are a number of other communication awards categories that should be of interest to communications professionals, including many of the:

Need help choosing the right categories? Contact us at help@stevieawards.com and we'll direct you to categories that will showcase your organization.

Tags: communications awards, business awards, live event awards, video awards, website awards, corporate literature awards, PR awards, American business awards, public relations awards, pr award, public relations award, annual report awards, PR campaign of the year

How PR Award Winner Used Video Contest to Control Costs and Increase Sales

Posted by Liz Dean on Fri, Feb 17, 2012 @ 04:43 PM

Farbman Group of Southfield, Michigan, won the Stevie® Award for Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Low Budget (Under $10,000) in the PR awards categories of The 2011 American Business Awards, the premier business awards program in the U.S.A. (The 2012 ABAs are now accepting entries. Request your entry kit here and submit your entries by the March 28 deadline.) Here we look at how this real estate organization used a PR campaign to overcome the odds in a depressed property market.

In 2009, the public relations awards winner had invested heavily in restoring a historic downtown Detroit building into what is now the luxury Garden Court Condominiums. Despite a downturn in the economy and a slowed demand for property—both of which had affected Detroit more than most U.S. cities—real estate organization Farbman Group was not about to slow down its marketing efforts. 

Farbman GroupFarbman hired Carrie Cohen as director of sales for the property. Cohen had a background in multi-family real estate in up-and-coming hipster communities in Michigan such as Ann Arbor, Royal Oak, and Ferndale.  She immediately set to work on the daunting task of working to sell units and lease space in the Garden Court Condominiums, focusing on individuals who might be expected to move to downtown Detroit.
       
Shoestring Budget
With minimal funds remaining in the budget after the costly building restoration, Cohen had to think creatively and devise a strategic marketing campaign that would

  1. raise the visibility of the property;
  2. set it apart from other condo developments in the downtown Detroit area that were also vacant; and
  3. reach the desired buyers, who were the young, hip movers and shakers of Detroit.

The campaign conceived was dubbed “I Love Detroit.”  The concept was to offer participants a chance to highlight why they loved Detroit, and to showcase how fabulous it was (or would be) to live in downtown Detroit, all for the opportunity to win a free one-year lease on a Garden Court Condominium unit. 

The “I Love Detroit” contest called for participants to create a short video exploring why they loved the city and upload it to a website dedicated to the contest.  The two main elements of the campaign were to:

  1. Maximize the use of social media;
  2. Encourage the participation of local musicians.

Best of all, the campaign would cost Garden Court Condos very little since it was based largely on word-of-mouth marketing and the leveraging of regional enthusiasm.
       
Utilizing Social Media
Cohen had a website built for next to nothing using a Ning platform. She utilized Twitter, Facebook, social media groups, and interested bloggers to spread the word, raise awareness, and generate excitement about the contest. The submission judged to be most innovative would win its creator the grand prize of the free one-year lease, while other submissions were to be shared online also. 

Utilizing Local Musicians
To further raise visibility of the property and engage prospective homeowners, Cohen and her sales associates booked local musical acts to perform during lazy Saturday afternoons.  A young up-and-coming artist, Katrina Carson, had her first music video shot on-site, as did national recording artist, K’Jon.  K’Jon was so pleased with the opportunity, that after filming, he agreed to do a complimentary CD signing at the property for his fans. Both video shoots were followed with celebratory parties and the video content was shared through online channels, vastly increasing visibility of the property.

The marketing tactic of using local musicians resulted in hundreds of people touring Garden Court Condominiums—many of whom would not have done so otherwise—and in the sale of a $300,000 condo. Cohen’s marketing efforts were directly responsible for presenting the property to the new owner.

Detroit State of Mind
The communications awards winner's campaign benefited not just Garden Court Condominiums: it also reminded people why Detroit and its people are so special.  The campaign has evolved into a marketing campaign for Detroit because it has spread so much goodwill about the city itself. 

Cohen said, "Our sales and marketing team welcomes the recognition given to us by The Stevie Awards.  Being recognized nationally as the best Low Budget Communications Campaign of the Year in 2011 provided affirmation that you don't have to spend huge sums to be successful, and that a small success in Detroit can have a big influence on the rest of this country."

About Carrie Cohen:
Carrie Cohen serves as sales director for Garden Court Condos in Detroit. She is a certified Michigan Realtor and attended the University of South Carolina. Prior to joining Farbman Group/Garden Court Condos, Cohen was employed as regional sales and marketing manager for various companies including the Morningside Group, Quicken Loans, and BKS Advisors. 

About Farbman Group:
Founded in 1976, Farbman Group is a leading full-service real estate organization handling all facets of real estate transactions, from property management and leasing to acquisition and disposition.

Tags: communications awards, business awards, PR awards, American business awards, ABAs, stevie award, public relations awards, pr award, twitter, Farbman Group, Carrie Cohen, facebook, Garden Court Condominiums

How PR Award Winner Strengthened Community Relations

Posted by Liz Dean on Fri, Jan 20, 2012 @ 11:23 AM

The Dow Chemical Company of Freeport, Texas, won the Stevie® Award for Best Communications or PR Campaign of the Year in Community Relations in The 2011 American Business Awards. (The 2012 American Business Awards are now open for entries. Request your entry kit.) Here we look at how the communications awards recipient, Dow Texas Operations, enhanced its reputation in the local community.

The PR awards winner is not only the largest integrated chemical facility in the Western Hemisphere but is also Freeport's largest employer. In 2010, The Dow Chemical Company, sought opportunities to recognize Dow Texas Operations’ WWII veteran retirees in a way that would also benefit its community relations. With its more than 6,000 near neighbor retirees, including several veterans, the communicator awards receiver decided to join forces with Honor Flight, a nonprofit organization that transports veterans to memorials.
                                                                                 
Dow Texas Operations established three community-relations goals:Dow Texas Industries

  1. to thank Dow retirees who are WWII veterans for their honorable service,
  2. to strengthen outreach to Dow retirees in Brazoria County and;
  3. to increase the positive reputation of Dow Texas Operations in the local community, especially among key influencers in local government.

To meet these goals, Dow:

  1. Got their employees involved
    On September 27, 2010, 74 Dow WWII veterans—along with 43 Dow “Guardians”—flew from Lake Jackson, Texas, to Washington, D.C. 
  2. Used social media to spread the word
    By establishing a Facebook page, Dow was able to engage thousands more in the experience. More than 340 images were posted to the page throughout the day.  By week’s end, nearly 1,300 people “liked” the Facebook page (slightly more than the target of 500). Of those “likes,” more than 50% lived within 50 miles of Texas Dow Operations.  There were 8,761 photo views on September 27, and 18,540 page views during September and October. 
  3. Organized a Heroes’ Welcome to involve the community
    At the end of the Honor Flight day, Dow hosted a “Welcome Home” party. The veterans were escorted down a red carpet, and were honored by more than 700 local elected officials, other Dow retirees, Brazoria County veteran groups, and family members, all waving flags or holding patriotic signs. 
  4. Reminded local residents of Dow’s history in the community
    Dow Texas Operations posted service photos and personal war stories of the veterans to the Facebook page.  Dow also chronicled the company’s role in WWII by posting newspaper articles from the 1940s about its efforts to mine seawater for magnesium as part of the war effort.

A Grand Success
By any measure, the business in the community awards winner's event was a grand success.  Hundreds of positive comments were posted to the Facebook page. Dozens of expressions of gratitude were voiced in community forums, including the Dow Community Advisory Panel and local Rotary Clubs, and at Chamber of Commerce meetings. A survey of influential people in the community, conducted one month after the Honor Flight, indicated an 82.4% positive perception of Dow’s corporate
citizenship. 

The Brazosport Chamber of Commerce honored Dow Texas Operations with a special award in recognition of outstanding community support for honoring WWII veterans/Dow retirees.  The local newspaper, The Facts, carried extensive coverage of the trip, including an ad-free special section, a first for the newspaper.

Gary Hockstra, who was at the time the Vice President and Site Director for Dow Texas Operations, was one of the driving forces behind the project. On learning that it had won a Stevie Award, he commented: 

“Those of us who took part in the 2010 Dow Honor Flight know just how special it was and we are honored by this national recognition from the American Business Awards. It was an amazing initiative that brought our community together to provide some much-deserved appreciation to these heroes. It is wonderful to be receiving such a prestigious award for the project.”

Hockstra has since been promoted to Vice President of Dow’s Advanced Materials Division and is now based in Philadelphia; however, before departing for his new job, he initiated and participated in a second Dow Texas Honor Flight, in 2011. “We cannot do enough for these men who were willing to sacrifice their lives for our freedom,” he said. “I am very proud that my company provides them with the opportunity to see the memorial that was built in their honor.”

About Gary Hockstra

Gary Hockstra is the Vice President of Dow’s Advanced Materials Division in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Until 2011, he was Vice President of Dow Texas Operations in Freeport, Texas. Before being named Vice President and Site Director for Dow Texas Operations in December 2007, Hockstra worked in various manufacturing roles for the company all over the world. Hockstra joined Dow in 1980 after earning a degree in Chemical Engineering from Michigan State University. He considers the Dow Texas Operations Honor Flight one of the greatest community projects he has had the opportunity to work on during his Dow career.

About Dow Texas Operations
Texas Operations is Dow's largest integrated site. The three major complexes—Plant A, Plant B, and Oyster Creek—operate as an integrated unit serving all eight of Dow's Global Business Groups. Texas Operations manufactures 44% of Dow's products sold in the United States and more than 21% of Dow's products sold globally.

About Dow:
Dow combines the power of science and technology with the “Human Element” to innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company connects chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help address many of the world's most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, renewable energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow's diversified industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences, and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 160 countries and in high-growth sectors such as electronics, water, energy, coatings, and agriculture. In 2010, Dow had annual sales of $53.7 billion and employed approximately 50,000 people worldwide. The company's more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 188 sites in 35 countries across the globe. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.

Tags: communications awards, business awards, PR awards, American business awards, stevie awards, communicator awards, pr award, business in the community awards

How IndoPacific Edelman Won Their 2010 Public Relations Award

Posted by Michael Gallagher on Thu, Dec 23, 2010 @ 10:34 AM

IndoPacific Edelman of Jakarta, Indonesia, won the Stevie Award for Communications or PR Campaign of the Year in Crisis Communications in the PR awards categories of The 2010 International Business Awards. Here we look at their work that earned the Stevie.

IndoPacific EdelmanOn September 30, 2009, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck in the Indian Ocean, approximately 120 km offshore from the densely populated coastal region of Indonesia’s West Sumatra Province. Despite the epicenter being offshore, the earthquake caused substantial damage throughout the coastal communities, including in the region’s capital, Padang City.

Most of the inhabitants of Padang (population: 750,000), as well as an additional 884,500 people living in surrounding areas, were affected in some way by the earthquake. The final death toll came to 1,117, with an additional 1,214 seriously injured. The quake also destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses throughout the region and caused serious damage to the infrastructure of most remaining buildings.

When the government declared a state of emergency, however, national and international media outlets were quickly spreading exaggerated statistics about the quake’s aftermath.

Crisis Response Team
In order to prevent panic spreading throughout the entire population of West Sumatra, the Indonesian government, acting through the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), called upon IndoPacific Edelman to help get their message out to the public and restore order in the region.

IndoPacific Edelman’s crisis response team quickly mobilized and was on the scene within 72 hours of the earthquake. The team immediately established a media center that would provide accurate and reliable information to media outlets from around the world.

In addition to conducting extensive media relations, the team worked closely with relief workers, psychologists, doctors, volunteers, and donors to restore order. The crisis team also stayed in close communication with key government officials including Head of the Senate Taufiq Kiemas, Australian Prime
Minister Kevin Rudd, and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

More than Just a Media Center
During this campaign, the media center became much more than a place that simply provided information to journalists. The center served as a reference point for all involved parties. This included members of national and international aid organizations, relief workers, major NGOs such as the United Nations, international volunteers, and members of the local community. In helping the
BNPB reassure the public, the crisis team was able to prevent a panic from making an already difficult situation even worse.

Providing Vital Information
The most tangible example of the media center’s contribution was the quantitative measurement of media coverage following the team’s arrival. Once the media center had been established, the number of articles with a negative tone decreased by 62.4 percent in only one week. This quick reduction in negative press coverage underscored the effectiveness of the crisis team in countering misinformation and making the public aware of the reality of the situation. In the month following the earthquake, the number of negative articles written had been reduced to just 9.6 percent.

More important still, the ability of IndoPacific Edelman’s crisis team to efficiently manage the media center and all crisis communications was essential in helping restore order following the disaster, and in providing vital information to all parties. This was essential in moving recovery efforts forward in the region.

In short, IndoPacific Edelman’s media center brought calm in the midst of chaos.

About IndoPacific Edelman
IndoPacific Edelman, a member of Edelman Worldwide, is Indonesia’s largest PR firm, with over 100 employees; it offers corporate communications, public affairs management, crisis management, and consumer PR. In the past six years, IndoPacific Edelman has won an IPRA Frontline Award, a Stevie Award, a Cakram Award as Indonesia’s PR Agency of The Year, a PR Week Award, and an Indonesian IPRA Award. For more information go to www.indopacedelman.com.

About the Crisis Response Team
Aditya Chandra Wardhana is currently IndoPacific Edelman’s Director for Public Affairs. He has been assisting many clients across industry sectors with his insights and strategic counsel. He completed his Ph.D. in Southeast Asian Political Economics at St. Antony’s College, Oxford, UK in July 2004.

Ezta Wahyudi is a senior consultant for the firm, providing key support for various programs including running the media centers for the Yogyakarta earthquake, the Mount Merapi disasters, and UNICEF’s Measles Campaign.

As a consultant in the Public Affairs division, Patria Pinandita specializes in industrial relations and issue and crisis management.

Tags: PR awards, public relations awards, pr award, public relations award, indopacific edelman

10 Tips for Winning PR Awards in the 2011 Stevie Awards

Posted by Michael Gallagher on Wed, Dec 01, 2010 @ 02:17 PM

Jill Surdyka of Weber Shandwick and Cheryl CasoneWe've just published a new tipsheet called 10 Tips for Winning PR Awards in the 2011 Stevie AwardsGet it here.

It summarizes the 10 best ways that public relations and communications professionals can be recognized in the four Stevie Awards competitions in 2011 (which include The American Business Awards, the International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service).  For the most part it recommends the public relations awards, web awards, and other categories that PR folks should focus on, and outlines the general submission requirements for those categories.

Tags: communications awards, PR awards, public relations awards, pr award, public relations award, communications award

How PR Awards Winner Gravitas Communications Won Their Stevie

Posted by Michael Gallagher on Wed, Nov 24, 2010 @ 01:25 PM

Jocelyn JohsonGravitas Communications is a strategic communications firms that operates at the nexus of public relations, Social Media and Search Engine Optimization. Founded in 2005 by Jocelyn Johnson, Gravitas won a Stevie Award for Communications or PR Campaign of the Year in the 2010 Stevie Awards for Women in Business.  This public relations award was accepted by Jocelyn Johnson at the ceremony in New York on November 12, 2010.  See her acceptance speech here.

Gravitas won their 2010 Stevie for their campaign entitled "Motor Trend 2010 Car of the Year: Good News for US Automaker."  As Gravitas reported in their winning nomination:

"There was a poignancy associated with the winner of the 2010 Car of the Year award – the Ford Fusion.  As the nation and the world worried whether Detroit could be saved, it seemed fitting that the oldest and strongest of the “Big Three” would emerge triumphant among the global field of contenders. Gravitas Communications was tasked with launching a campaign for the 2010 award that would reach new levels of coverage and serve as a positive and motivating boost to the American auto market – but with half the budget compared to prior years.  The goal was to appeal to a mass audience, with the widest possible national
and international media coverage.  The Gravitas team architected a comprehensive publicity plan that efficiently reached the broadest audience possible and was inclusive of all major communications channels including: print, television, radio, web, social media and online video. "

The results of the winning campaign (as of early October 2010) included:

- 1200 Tweets
- 175 Television hits
-  400 online articles
-  4187 streams on the Webcast - 6x more than we hoped for; currently 17,100 views on YouTube
- The Contender video has garnered more than 67,000 views on YouTube
- Live broadcast on FoxBiz
- Nationally syndicated Associated Press article; front page of FoxNews.com ,
CNBC.vom, MSNBC.com, CNN.com, USA Today.com, Yahoo.com
- MotorTrend.com broke a million page views overall, only the second time the site has achieved that level of traffic

The next opportunities to win PR awards in Stevie Awards programs?  The PR awards categories of The 9th annual American Business Awards, and the PR awards categories of The 8th annual International Business Awards.

Tags: business awards, PR awards, stevie award, public relations awards, pr award, public relations award, awards pr, award pr, gravitas communications

How Coca-Cola HBC Romania Won a PR Award in the 2010 IBAs

Posted by Michael Gallagher on Mon, Nov 22, 2010 @ 03:30 PM

Coca-Cola HBC Romania, Bucharest, Romania was presented with the Stevie Award for Public Affairs Communications or PR Campaign of the Year, in the PR awards categories at The 2010 International Business Awards banquet in Istanbul on September 27.

When Romania became a member of the European Community in 2007, EU legislation required that Romania increase its waste recovery to 60% by 2013.

Laura SgarcituThe main challenges for the country to reach this target were the lack of an integrated waste-management system with appropriate legislation—and the need to educate the population on separate collection.

Coca-Cola HBC Romania, part of the Coca-Cola Hellenic Group, took a leading role in Romania’s efforts to build an integrated system to recover packaging and to provide an awareness campaign for the general population. Separate collection and recycling represent the main sustainability directions of the company.

Objectives
Coca-Cola HBC Romania’s Community Programs team, led by Laura Sgarcitu, an experienced Public Affairs & Communications Specialist, had three objectives: to promote a legislative framework to support a waste management system; to make a significant contribution to attaining the national target set by the EU; and to promote the importance of separate collection and recycling at a national level.

A 2008 study carried out by the Institute of Marketing and Surveys in Romania (IMAS) had revealed that only half the Romanian population collected separately. In 2009, the Community Programs team at Coca-Cola HBC developed a platform on separate collection, the two major components of which were a lobbying program aimed at outlining a legislative framework for separate collection in Romania, and an educational campaign targeting the public.

spacer
arrow spacer Read the Rest of This Article...

Tags: communications awards, International business awards, PR awards, stevie awards, public relations awards, pr award, public relations award, communications award

Scottish PR Award winners

Posted by Michael Gallagher on Fri, Nov 05, 2010 @ 10:50 AM

From scottgdouglas on twitter:

RT @cipr_scotland: The full list of winners from last night's glittering Scottish PR awards - http://ow.ly/34OTn (http://twitter.com/scottgdouglas/statuses/448484494811136)

Congratulations to all the winners in this year's Scottish PR awards.  Don't forget to nominate in public relations awards and communications awards categories in The 2011 International Business Awards!

Tags: communications awards, PR awards, public relations awards, pr award, public relations award, awards pr, award pr, communication award