2013 bulldog media relations hall of fame

Featuring Grand Prize WinnerZapwater Communications

"Downsize Fitness: Downsizing the Obesity Epidemic"

FOR EXCELLENCE IN MEDIA & PUBLICITY CAMPAIGNS2013 BULLDOG MEDIA RELATIONS AWARDS

Summary of the winners for the 2013 Bulldog Media Relations Awards

HALL OF FAMEANNOUNCING THE GREATEST MEDIA RELATIONS AND

PUBLICITY CAMPAIGNS OF THE YEAR

We thank this year’s team of Bulldog Awards journalist judges for their hard work, discriminating taste and commitment to

promoting excellence in media relations and publicity.

FINAL JUDGES

Jim Pavia, Editorial Director, InvestmentNews

Chris Elliot, Travel Scribe, The New York Times

Tom Hallman, Pulitzer Prize Winning Reporter, The Oregonian

Maria Stainer, Assistant Managing Editor/Continuous News Desk, The Washington TimesMeghan Collins-Sullivan, Former Deputy Editor, CNN/Washington Post,

current Rosalynn Carter Mental Health Journalism Fellow

PRELIMINARY JUDGES

Richard Carufel, Senior Editor, Bulldog Reporter’s Daily ‘Dog

Steve Beale, Editor, Bulldog Reporter’s Inside Health Media

James Bucci, Editor, Bulldog Reporter

Kristin Bender, Reporter, Oakland Tribune

Paul Rosynsky, Reporter, Oakland Tribune

Talia Sinkinson, Editor, Media Relations, Bulldog Reporter

124 Linden Street, Oakland, CA 94607www.bulldogreporter.com1-800-959-1059

For more information about the Bulldog Reporter Media RelationsAwards, including entry deadlines, fees and submissionrequirements, please go to www.bulldogreporter.com.

© Copyright 2013, Infocom Group–publisher of the Daily ‘Dog, InsideHealth Media, PR University, Media Pro and Media Pro PitchingAlerts.

Written by Talia Sinkinsoni

On the Cover: Zapwater Communications for Downsize Fitness:Downsizing the Obesity Epidemic

HALL OF FAMESummary of Winning Campaigns from the

2013 Bulldog Awards for Excellence in Media and Publicity Campaigns

Winners of the 2013 Bulldog Awards for Excellence in Media and Publicity Campaignsenter a pantheon of exemplary communications practitioners, and their campaigns aresummarized in this edition of the 2013 Bulldog Media Relations Awards Hall of Famemagazine.

Winners of the 2013 Bulldog Awards for Excellence in Media and Publicity Campaignswere chosen exclusively by working journalists from hundreds of entries representing thevery best strategic and tactical prowess that PR/corporate communications has to offer.Campaigns were judged by a team of working journalists, who assessed them on the basisof their ability to achieve extraordinary visibility and influence opinion, as well as on theircreativity, command of media and technology, and tenacity.

We now present to you the 2013 Bulldog Awards for Excellence

in Media and Publicity Campaigns Winners

MEDIA RELATIONS2013 BULLDOG

F O R E X C E L L E N C E I N M E D I A A N D P U B L I C I T Y C A M PA I G N SAWARDS

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

GRAND PRIZE WINNER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Zapwater Communications for Downsize Fitness: Downsizing the Obesity Epidemic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

BEST ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT CAMPAIGNGold - Miller PR for “Felicia Day’s Geek & Sundry Launch” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Silver - bb PR for “Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Circus Goes Hispanic” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Bronze - Zapwater Communications for “TheTieBar.com: Why Open Collars are a Thing of the Past” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

BEST GREEN CAMPAIGNGold - Axiom Marketing Communications for “Brains for Your Backyard” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Silver - The Coca-Cola Company and Rogers & Cowan for “An End is a Cool, New Start: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6will.i.am and The Coca-Cola Company Launch EKOCYCLE™”

Bronze - Bateman Group for “Share Responsibility for the Planet – Visualizing the Impact of Eco-Action” . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

BEST INTEGRATION OF PR AND IR IN A BUSINESS CAMPAIGN

Bronze - Strategic Financial Relations Limited for “Successful IPO Overcomes Soft Market Sentiment - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7IPO Publicity Campaign of Merry Garden”

BEST USE OF BROADCAST VIDEO/INTERNET – BUSINESS/CONSUMERGold - Peel District School Board for “Stand Up for Student Mental Health” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Silver - Jennifer Connelly Public Relations for “HighTower Whiteboard Animation Video: Butcher/Dietician)”. . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Bronze - HISTORY for “Hatfields & McCoys Integrated Media Campaign” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

BEST CRISIS COMMUNICATIONSGold - Kitchen Public Relations, LLC for “First Do No Harm (or Sunshine is the Best Disinfectant)” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

BEST COMPANY POSITIONING/BRANDINGGold - 11mark for “IT in the Toilet” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Silver - Freeman Public Relations for “Entenmann’s Celebrates the 75th National Donut Day with The Salvation Army” . . . 12

Bronze - Fiserv and RF|Binder for “Fiserv Case-Shiller: A Breakthrough Year for Delivering Home Price Trends” . . . . . . . . . 12

BEST EDUCATION/PUBLIC SERVICE CAMPAIGNGold - Kowa Pharmaceuticals America and Eli Lilly & Company with Makovsky for “USAGE Survey: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Taking on America’s Number One Killert”

Gold - RF|Binder with McGraw-Hill Education for LearnSmart Direct-to-Student: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14A Marketing First for an Established Educational Publisher”

Silver - Novant Health and Luquire George Andrews for Search and Rescue: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Thousands Unaware of Their Diabetes Risk”

BEST FOOD & BEVERAGES CAMPAIGNGold - RF|Binder Partners with Dunkin' Donuts for “Dunkin’ Donuts and RF|Binder: Brewing PR Success in 2012” . . . . . 16

Silver - ICR for “Smashing the Better Burger Competition” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

Bronze - Fresh Ideas Group for “34 Degrees Sweet Crisp Launch” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

BEST GENERAL BUSINESS CAMPAIGNGold - Luquire George Andrews and Development Counsellors International for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

“Showcasing the Charlotte Region to Drive Economic Development”

Silver - ICR for “Smashing the Better Burger Competition” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Bronze - Solomon McCown and Co., Inc for “Skanska USA: Solidifying Skanska’s Superiority in the States” . . . . . . . . . . . 19

BEST GENERAL CONSUMER CAMPAIGNGold - M. Silver Associates - A Division of Finn Partners for “Defrost Your Swimsuit” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Silver - Atomic for “The Auction of Buford, Wyoming – the Smallest Town in America” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Bronze - Luquire George Andrews and Belk for “Fashion, Not Politics, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21at the 2012 Democratic National Convention”

BEST HEALTH, MEDICINE & FITNESS CAMPAIGNGold - Zapwater Communications for “Downsize Fitness: Downsizing the Obesity Epidemic” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Silver - Fish Consulting and Massage Envy for “Healing Hands for Arthritis” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Bronze - American Academy of Ophthalmology for “Want Scary Eyes? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23The Dangers of Decorative Contact Lenses”

BEST INVESTMENT, BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICES CAMPAIGNGold - Jennifer Connelly Public Relations for “HighTower Whiteboard Animation Video: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Brokers vs. Fiduciaries (aka Butcher/Dietician)”

Silver - Huntington Bank for “ETF Launch Publicity Campaign” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Bronze - MWW for “ConnectOne Bank From Thought Leader to Industry Influencer” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

BEST ISSUE/CAUSE ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNGold - Resolute Consulting for “No Chicago Landfills” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26


Bronze - Havas PR North America for Fighting Breast Cancer with the Power of Storytelling” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

BEST USE OF THE INTERNET – CONSUMERGold - RF|Binder for “Just because Facebook is going public doesn’t mean you have to; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

#GoPrivate with Abine”

BEST NOT-FOR-PROFIT/ASSOCIATION/GOVERNMENT CAMPAIGNGold- American Academy of Ophthalmology for “Want Scary Eyes? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

The Dangers of Decorative Contact Lenses”


Bronze - Phillips & Company for “Get Curious” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Honorable Mention - The Private Equity Growth Capital Council and The Glover Park Group for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31“Private Equity at Work”

BEST NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH – BUSINESSGold- Groupon and Weber Shandwick for A Convenient Way for Merchants to Accept Credit Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

at the Guaranteed Lowest Overall Rates


Silver - Finn Partners and Logitech for “Power to the Music” Launching Logitech UE as a Consumer Brand” . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Bronze - Bateman Group for “App Annie Enters ‘Game of Phones’ with Google Play Launch” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

BEST NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH – CONSUMERGold- Zeno Group for “Pizza Hut Introduces The $10,010 Proposal Box”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Silver - Zapwater Communications for “Downsize Fitness: Downsizing the Obesity Epidemic” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Bronze - RF|Binder with McGraw-Hill Education for “LearnSmart Direct-to-Student: A Marketing First for an Established Educational Publisher” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

BEST USE OF PERSONALITY/CELEBRITYGold- HISTORY for “Hatfields & McCoys Integrated Media Campaign”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Silver - rbb PR for “Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Circus Goes Hispanic” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Bronze - Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37“Clint Eastwood Opening the Warner Bros. Theater at the Smithsonian (Feb. 1, 2012)”

PR INNOVATION OF THE YEARGold- Quinn & Co for “AKA Central Park Takes Glamping to Another Level with NYC’s First Outdoor Bedroom” . . . . . . . . . . 38

Silver - Havas PR North America for “Harnessing Pittsburgh’s Energy for One Young World” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Bronze - Symantec and Connect Marketing for “Symantec Influencing the Influencers Program” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

BEST RESPONSE TO BREAKING NEWSGold- SHIFT Communications and Rapid7 for “LeakedIn – Act Fast Or Be Left Behind”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Silver - Berman and Company for “Nanny Bloomberg” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Bronze - Jennifer Connelly Public Relations for HighTower Whiteboard Animation Video: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Brokers vs. Fiduciaries (aka Butcher/Dietician)”

BEST USE OF RESEARCH – BUSINESS/CONSUMERGold- 11mark for “IT in the Toilet” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Gold - Berman and Company for “PETA Kills Animals” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Silver - ReviveHealth for “Which Comes First:The Survey or the CEO Ouster?”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

BEST SPECIAL EVENT/STUNTGold- RF|Binder for “The Scharffen Berger Valentine’s Day Chocolate Bar”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Silver - Freeman Public Relations for “Entenmann’s Celebrates the 75th National Donut Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46with The Salvation Army”

Bronze - Full Picture for “Walking Dead 100th Issue Party”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Bronze - Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47“Clint Eastwood Opening the Warner Bros. Theater at the Smithsonian (Feb. 1, 2012)”

BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS – BUSINESS/CONSUMERGold- The Hershey Company with JSH&A Communications for “Hop Down the Hershey's Bunny Trail”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Silver - Finn Partners for “Making Geek Chic: Finn Partners and IEEE Executes Campaign That Makes IEEE's Social Media Assets Popular, Building an Online Community of More Than 100,000 Engineers” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Bronze - M Booth for “Partners in Preservation”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49


BEST TECHNOLOGY CAMPAIGN – BUSINESSGold- Connect Marketing and Symantec for “Symantec Mobile Honey Stick Project”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Silver - 11mark for “IT in the Toilet” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Bronze - Bateman Group for “App Annie Enters ‘Game of Phones’ with Google Play Launch” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Honorable Mention - Trainer Communications for “Accelerating The Quality and Quantity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52of Appcelerator’s Media Presence”

BEST TECHNOLOGY CAMPAIGN – CONSUMERGold- Child's Play Communications for “It’s in the Book: Reading Rainbow Reaches #1 App Status”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Silver - Connect Marketing and Symantec for “Symantec Mobile Honey Stick Project”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Bronze - MWW for “Samsung Galaxy Note Fashion Week Takeover”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

BEST TRAVEL, HOSPITALITY & DESTINATIONS CAMPAIGNGold- M. Silver – A Division of Finn Partners for “Defrost Your Swimsuit”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Gold- Puerto Rico Tourism Company for “Puerto Rico Does It Better” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Silver - Maxwell PR, Robeson Communications and Travel Oregon for “Oregon Bounty PR”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Bronze - Alpaytac Marketing Communications/PR for “Turkish Airlines U.S. Brand Building PR Campaign” . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

BEST CAMPAIGN UNDER $100,000Gold- Child's Play Communications for “It’s in the Book: Reading Rainbow Reaches #1 App Status”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Silver - Fiserv and RF|Binder for “Fiserv Case-Shiller: A Breakthrough Year for Delivering Home Price” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Bronze - Trainer Communications for “Accelerating The Quality and Quantity of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Appcelerator’s Media Presence Trends”

BEST CAMPAIGN UNDER $50,000Gold- Savoir Media for “Allied Minds’ Historic Public-Private Innovation Partnership”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Silver - Stratasys and Weber Shandwick for “Stratasys Asks the World ‘What’s Possible?’ with 3D Printing”. . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Bronze - Fish Consulting and Massage Envy for “Healing Hands for Arthritis” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

BEST CAMPAIGN UNDER $25,000Gold- Zapwater Communications for “Downsize Fitness: Downsizing the Obesity Epidemic”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Silver - Miller PR for “Funny or Die” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Bronze - RF|Binder for “Just because Facebook is going public doesn’t mean you have to; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63#GoPrivate with Abine”

Honorable Mention - Finn Partners for “Look Ma, No Hands! Expert Members of IEEE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Identify Driverless Cars As Most Viable Form of Intelligent Transportation, Dominating the Roadway by 2040 and Sparking Dramatic Changes In Vehicular Travel.” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

BEST CAMPAIGN UNDER $10,000Gold- Miller PR for “Felicia Day’s Geek & Sundry Launch” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Silver - Quinn & Co for AKA Central Park Takes Glamping to Another Level with NYC’s First Outdoor Bedroom” . . . . . . . . . 66

Bronze - Havas PR North America for “Rallying for the Troops—and Their Caregivers”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66


2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME 1

B E S T MED I A C AMPA I GN O F T H E Y E AR

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly36 percent of American adults are overweight. That number isclimbing quickly—and with it, the incidence of life-threateningconditions and medical costs nationwide. To curtail the epidemic,experts recommend daily physical activity. But as we all know,fitting in even thirty minutes on the Treadmill after a long day at theoffice is no small feat. And for the chronically overweight, steppinginto a gym can be a nightmare. Overwrought by anxiety and fear ofcriticism, many obese individuals avoid gyms entirely.

Enter Downsize Fitness. The business concept arose from ownerFrancis Wisniewski, who struggled with weight loss himself.Wisniewski saw a gap in the fitness marketplace after feeling self-conscious at traditional gyms and conceptualized a fitness centerwhere the overweight could exercise in an intimate environment—agym that was exclusively theirs. The plan: Downsize wouldonly accept clients with 50 pounds or more to lose andwould offer nutrition counseling and support, as well astypical fitness training.

Downsize Fitness opened in Chicago and Las Vegas andretained Chicago-based Zapwater Communications tolaunch a publicity campaign to increase awareness andspur membership. Zapwater president David Zapatadescribes coming aboard: “We embraced the concept rightaway. Gyms obviously can be intimidating places, especiallyif you've struggled with weight or health issues. We neededthe media to view it as an inclusive—as opposed to anexclusive—place. We thought the concept was brilliant, and alot of our success and ability to get great press was theconcept.”

The Challenge: Distinguish Downsize Fitness from its iron-pumping counterparts—by re-thinking the traditional fitnesspitch. Because Downsize Fitness opened in cities saturatedwith traditional fitness centers, Zapata’s team needed todifferentiate the gym in a cluttered marketplace. Whilepitching a gym would usually involve the same basic steps—a list of target fitness influencers, photos of toned gym-junkies—Zapwater was tasked with reaching a demographicthat might not be apt to scan health blogs or flip through workouttip lists.

Zapata explains, “Because of the concept and who DownsizeFitness’s target audience was, if we were going to drive trial anddrive consumers, it was really going to be different than any othergym story. The person who they were trying to attract to this gymwas not going to be reading Fitness or other health magazines.”

What’s more, with only three initial members, the gym had fewtestimonials to illustrate its success and boost its credibility in

either location. The PR campaign would require a personal angle tohumanize the gym’s mission and convince potential customers totake a chance on it. But where to find the face of a new kind offitness?

The Strategy: Motivate the gym-wary with the owner’s inspiringtrack record. Instead of grasping at straws for a news hook, theZapwater team turned to the roots of the gym itself. “A lot of thecampaign was telling the owner’s story,” Zapata says. “Francis hadstruggled with weight and health issues, but he was able to get apersonal trainer and change his life from a nutrition standpoint.When he realized not everybody has the opportunity or theresources to do what he has done, he realized—almost on aphilanthropic level—that there was a social need for this brand.”

Armed with Francis Wisniewski’s own account of his struggle—and

the relief he found in a comfortable workout space—Zapwater setoff to pitch the Downsize mission. It would be nearly impossible toraise brand awareness with typical fitness publications, so theteam focused on mainstream news and general interest outlets,such as daily papers and broadcast media.

Most important, the team centered its approach on securing abreakout feature in a local publication. Zapwater targeted theChicago Tribune, the largest daily newspaper in Chicago—andspecifically pitched health and fitness writer, Julie Deardorff. Themedia relations team set Deardorff off on a gym tour after sparking

G R A N D P R I Z E“Downsize Fitness: Downsizing the Obesity Epidemic”

Zapwater Communications

Downsize Fitness staff and gym members received meticulous messaging andmedia training. Their superstar success stories were brought to the forefront ofZapwater's media relations efforts.


B E S T MED I A C AMPA I GN O F T H E Y E AR

her interest with the unique narrative. They also set up interviewsfor her with the owner and the gym’s brave first member.

Zapwater account executive Stephanie Reay explains, “[Deardorff]is a health and fitness writer, so she covers these types of topicsand is definitely more into finding specific research on them. So, itwas important to get her into the space to talk to Francis and hearhis personal story. Since the company was so personal to him, shewas able to see the context and how different it was from anythingelse.”

Hook to a hot trend: New Year’s resolutions. Just as critical wasthe campaign’s timing. Zapata adds, “We knew mainstream mediawas going to be writing about New Year’s resolutions right at thebeginning of the year, so we strategically targeted around that time.Once Deardorff had walked through the gym and understood theconcept, it was aboutworking with her to make it aNew Year’s story.”

Zapwater then approachedlocal media in Chicago andLas Vegas with a gym-widecontest based on thepopular TV show, “The BiggestLoser.” The member who lostthe most weight in a six-month period would win$10,000. Growing nationalattention also led to apartnership with the “SteveHarvey TV Show,” whichchose two men to be profiledin a similar weight losschallenge and provided themmemberships to DownsizeFitness.

Avoid the pratfalls ofpitching a touchy topic bypositioning the brand as afriendly fix to a widespreadproblem. Zapwater thencrafted a controversial pitchthat highlighted the mostimportant part of the gym’sconcept: Only the overweightwere allowed to join. The “No Skinny People Allowed” idea sparkeddebate among national influencers. “But instead of running awayfrom the controversy, we embraced it,” says Zapata. “We stayed trueto the core of who the brand was and explained it.” Zapwater alsomessage-trained Downsize staff and brought them along onbriefings and interviews.

The Results: Zapwater wins Downsize the Chicago Tribune’s front-page, and the gym reaches capacity with eager exercisers.Deardorff’s article was syndicated in more than 120 different

outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, the Baltimore Sun andThe Huffington Post. As a result of the article, forty people inquiredabout joining the Chicago gym within twenty-four hours, and it wasat full capacity five weeks after the article ran. Multiple consumerswho viewed the article in other markets also inquired about newDownsize Fitness locations.

Another big hit: PBS Nightly Business Report ran a segment on thefounder and his emerging gym brand. Media impressions totaledmore than 18.2 million for broadcast, print and online media.Following the initial splash, Downsize Fitness opened a Dallaslocation and added boot camp programs to three other cities dueto the high demand from the public.

Secrets for success: Zapata and Reay offer these takeaway tipsand explain why “Downsize Fitness: Downsizing the Obesity

Epidemic” won the Grand Prize at the 2013 BulldogAwards Excellence in Media Relations & Publicity:

● Stand by the brand through thick and thin—until ittakes off running. “Our controversial pitch was one ofthose things where the truth was most important: Theonly business we had was for those with 50 poundsand more to lose,” Zapata explains. “Just like somepeople are intimidated by normal gyms, this, too, isnot a gym for everybody. Playing off that, we talked toa couple of editors and it got picked up. Like theoriginal story, it had legs of its own.”

● When it comes to consumers’ concerns, stay on thesunny side. Instead of focusing on the obesityepidemic as a crisis, Zapwater flipped the story bydescribing the way Downsize Fitness was a ready-made fix for millions of people. “Position the brandand the company as the solution to people’sproblems,” Reay says.

● Take the road less travelled—with some pep in yourstep. “Think out of the box,” says Zapata. “Don’t beafraid to push the boundaries. And most important,have fun.”

Special acknowledgments for this campaign go toDavid Zapata, Stephanie Reay and Deanne Karen.

Winner’s Profile:Zapwater is a Chicago-based, award-winning boutiquepublic relations agency. Described by a leadingjournalist as Chicago’s “new go-to agency,” Zapwater is

an aggressive, full-service communications agency with theexperience, connections and media savvy clients expect from atop-tier agency. In the past two years, Zapwater has won 36 majorindustry awards for public relations excellence including theBulldog Awards Grand Prize, a Gold SABRE Award for Best FashionBeauty Campaign and a Platinum Adrian Award from HSMAI. Inaddition, Zapwater was named “A Best Agency to Work For 2013”by The Holmes Report.

Zapwater approached local media with a gym-wide contest based on the popular TV show, “TheBiggest Loser.” The member who lost the mostweight in a six-month period won.


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G O L D“Felicia Day’s Geek & Sundry Launch”

Miller PR

Web series creator and actress Felicia Day was among the lucky group of creative types and companies chosen by Google YouTube todevelop their own premium channel networks. Best known for her independent Web series, “The Guild,” Felicia Day formed a new companyand premium channel called “Geek & Sundry,” dedicated to all things whimsical and geeky. Although landing the YouTube channel gig wasa great victory in itself, YouTube did not promote any channel over the others, so Day called on Miller PR to make her shine.

The “Geek & Sundry” channel was going head to head with some of the big names in media, so Miller PR’s main challenges was to elevatethe independent artist above the more mainstream channels—and on a tight budget. To ensure that Day’s publicity really popped, the teamdecided to schedule key campaign milestones around WonderCon and Comic-Con—the perfect launch pads for the geek and chic spheres.However, rather than market the channel as a digital property, Miller PR focused on publicizing it to niche audiences as a TV network with aslate of individual shows. The team pinpointed key episodes that would draw the most attention from target media and drafted mediaadvisory “tune-in” alerts that showcased talent with Q&As, previews and exclusive clips.

They selected various target markets—“geek” viewers, entertainment fans, digital industry influencers, editors from Hollywood, Wall Street,Madison Avenue and Silicon Valley—and set to work. For the business media, they pitched Day’s expanding Web empire and pioneering inthe digital space. For the advertising crowd, they positioned “Geek & Sundry” as a new platform for marketing to the geek market. To thetech world, the launch catered to YouTube and programming topics, and to blogs and mainstream media, they leveraged Day as the “chicgeek.”

At WonderCon and Comic-Con, Miller PR poured it on: Not only did they pre-brief the press, but the team also hosted a press junket toprovide top-tier media with one-on-one interviews with the channel executives and show talent. To maximize dialogue with audiencesduring each event, Miller PR conducted fan blog outreach through Twitter and Facebook.

As a result of the PR push, Miller PR scored Day a major headline article in USA Today and high-visibility articles in Los Angeles Times, TheWall Street Journal, Forbes, Advertising Age, Washington Post, Wired, Paste, New York Magazine and others, as well as some ten broadcastinterviews, which generated millions of new visitors to Day’s channel. Day was also profiled in The Hollywood Reporter’s “The Next Gen” list.


F OOD & B E V E R AGE

S I L V E R“Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey®

Circus Goes Hispanic”rbb PR

Many know the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Circus as “TheGreatest Show on Earth,” but the entertainment company found thatunder the tents, there was one major market missing: Hispanics. Inan effort to fill this gap, Feld Entertainment tapped rbb PR to createa public relations program to bring the circus to a whole new set offamilies—and the fastest growing market segment in the U.S.

Research was a critical factor as rbb set off. Studies indicated thatHispanics would better relate to a spokesperson who embodied thecore tenets of the Hispanic community, so they selected Ringling’sChilean animal trainer Taba Maluenda, in addition to other Hispanicperformers to represent the circus. One of the few Hispanic animaltrainers in the industry, Taba’s story hit the right notes to resonatewith Hispanic audiences. Although controversial statements byanimal extremists made positioning an animal trainer as aspokesperson potentially risky, rbb researched every nationalreporter across Hispanic networks for ties to or strong opinionsabout animal rights and sought to flip their perceptions.

The rbb team identified Miami, Los Angeles, New York and Houstonas the top four U.S. cities with the largest Hispanic populationswhere Ringling Bros. performs and targeted local highly ratedSpanish language television channels with their story. Pitcheshighlighted concepts shown by research to inspire and attractHispanics—family, language, heritage, culture and an emotionalconnection—and showcased elements of the circus that reflect theseresearch-proven “motivators.” Through Taba’s story and others’, therbb team emphasized family and emotional connections, combinedwith a bit of show spectacular.

rbb’s efforts generated major stories in target media. People enEspan�ol Magazine featured Taba, who has more than 200 scars fromhis animal training, in an article on “rethinking the idea of beauty.”On Univision, Taba scored a segment about his reunion with hismother, whom he hadn’t seen in over ten years, and the trainer,along with many of Ringling’s Hispanic performers, was also featuredUnivision’s “Despierta America” and Telemundo’s “Un Nuevo Dia,”where the circus aired live and showcased a few of its actsperformed by Hispanics. In addition, the show’s anchors becameclowns for a day and received a behind-the-scenes look into Taba’sanimal training methods. Finally, a circus-themed couture fashionshoot made it into seven-page spread in Siempre Mujer Magazine.What’s more, rbb increased ticket sales by an average of sevenpercent in top Hispanic markets and garnered more than 201million media impressions with 100 percent positive tone ofcoverage, as it relates to Ringling Bros.’ treatment of animals.

B R O N Z E“TheTieBar.com: Why Open Collars

are a Thing of the Past”Zapwater Communications

Celebrities have access to the most luxurious apparel on the planet.So, why choose a $15 necktie as opposed to its designercounterpart? This was the challenge that Zapwater Communicationsfaced when working with TheTieBar.com, an affordable men’saccessories company. The brand was looking to increase awarenessamong celebrities and change the perception that high style mustcome with a high price—by getting affordable ties and bow ties totake a spin on the red carpet.

Zapwater decided the best way to increase the brand’s “cool factor”was through sample pulls for celebrities and targeted pitches tomen’s and women’s consumer fashion media and retailers. As thegatekeepers to celebrity fashion, stylists would also play a role ingetting TheTieBar.com’s neckwear on clients. To get the brand’sname out, Zapwater emailed new product images on an ongoingbasis to stylists, and as a result of the effort, Emmy-nomiated actorJesse Tyler Ferguson was introduced to TheTieBar.com by his stylist.When Ferguson decided to launch a charity to benefit marriageequality, he turned to the neckwear brand for help. In November2012, the “Jesse Tyler Ferguson for TheTieBar.com” collectionofficially launched, and thousands of bow ties sold out in less thana month. Zapwater worked in tandem with Ferguson’s team tocreate a splash for the launch of the collection, hosting an exclusivelaunch party with celebrities in West Hollywood.

Thanks to Zapwater Communications’ publicity campaign,TheTieBar.com also scored high-profile retail partnerships withNordstromMen.com, GILT Man and Park & Bond, and its overallrevenue in 2012 more than doubled. Furthermore, thanks to thestrategic campaign, TheTieBar.com appeared in GQ magaine—onthe necks of NASA’s Mars Rover team—as well as on featuredmodels in BRIDES, Esquire, Nylon Guys, Glamour, US Weekly,Playboy, Men’s Journal, Men’s Health, Bridal Guide, Martha StewartWeddings, The Huffington Post Style, “LIVE with Kelly and Michael,”“The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and others.

BES T A R T S & E N T E R TA I NMEN T C AMPA I GN


B E S T G R E EN C AMPA I GN

G O L D“Brains for Your Backyard”

Axiom Marketing Communications

In 2012, The Toro Company launched a new product aimed to help homes with in-ground sprinkler systems save water throughout theyear. The XTRA SMART Precision Soil Moisture Sensor is a wireless system that communicates soil moisture data to the sprinkler controller,preventing over- and under-watering.

When communications firm Axiom came on the scene, they identified one hulking challenge to marketing the product: Many homeownersworried that home irrigation systems were too complex and difficult to use. Leveraging the need for an easier system and XTRA SMART’ssimple installation process, the “Brains for Your Backyard” campaign had its keystone. The PR team found that the audience mostconcerned with their sprinkers lived in “precipitation-challenged” markets: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Dallas andPhoenix—cities often plagued by drought, excessive rain, high humidity or extreme temperature fluctuation. Apart from homeowners in thesecities, residential landscape contractors and designers became a secondary target market.

In order to change the flawed perception of the inherent difficulty of irrigation systems, Axiom positioned the sensor as an updated andapproachable technology. In addition, the PR team focused messaging on the fact that XTRA SMART was derived from the sametechnology found at the Rose Bowl Stadium, Pebble Beach Golf Course and Target Field. For the tech-savy, garden guru and sports fanalike, the new sprinkler system had great appeal.

The sensor debuted at Consumer Electronic Show and moved on to the National Hardware Show. Axiom also entered the sprinkler systemin various tech and innovation awards programs throughout the year, sent Toro Irrigation experts to home and garden editors anddeveloped a microsite where consumers and media could get more product information, read testimonials and even buy the XTRA SMART.To top it off, Axiom partnered with DIY expert Tracy Metro for a satellite media tour.

Among Axiom’s 100+ media placements, XTRA SMART scored features in Better Homes and Gardens and Popular Mechanics, a CES clipon PC World and 4.5 million impressions from the satellite media tour, including a national spot on the Daily Buzz. The microsite saw a300% traffic increase, and the sprinkler system also received Popular Mechanics Editor’s Choice Award and Handy Innovation Award. Bestof all, XTRA SMART sold out at The Home Depot and received four rounds of re-orders to keep up with the demand in Axiom’s six targetmarkets.


B E S T G R E EN C AMPA I GN

S I L V E R“An End is a Cool, New Start: will.i.am and The

Coca-Cola Company Launch EKOCYCLE™The Coca-Cola Company and Rogers & Cowan

After a wildly packed performance, musician and producer will.i.amstood on an empty stage and looked out at the debris produced bythousands of concert revelers. The experience inspired him toapproach The Coca-Cola Company with an entrepreneurial idea:EKOCYCLE is a stand-alone initiative dedicated to encouragingrecycling and sustainability among consumers through lifestyleproducts with an eco-conscious focus. With partners, Beats by Dr.Dre® and New Era®, EKOCYCLE lifestyle products are made in partwith recycled materials for music-lovers and green consumers, alike.

With the EKOCYCLE television commercial scheduled to debutduring the Summer Olympics, Rogers & Cowan came on board tointroduce the initiative to consumers, influentials and media in away that told a story of sustainability and social change. The PRteam would announce the global launch of the EKOCYCLE brandwithin a tight timeframe of three weeks.

Rogers & Cowan strategically pitched target media outlets leadingup to the big event. In addition, a multi-spokesperson approach—which involved will.i.am, executives representing brand partners andCoca-Cola’s Bea Perez—began approaching target media outlets.Photos and b-roll were also shot and pitched within the three-weekwindow.

With the clock ticking, Rogers & Cowan secured vendors andlocations, drafted media materials and prepped their stars andspokespeople for interviews. Key media from markets around theworld dialed in to a teleconference the morning of theannouncement to discuss EKOCYCLE with will.i.am and Bea Perez.Exposure also drove consumers to the new EKOCYCLE Facebookpage, and the official press release announcing EKOCYCLE wasdistributed to global business, environment, music, fashion andlifestyle, trade and online influencers, as well.

A multitude of positive stories ran in many pop culture outlets,including The Hollywood Reporter, TIME, The Los Angeles Times,License! Global Magazine, Perez Hilton’s “CocoPerez,” VIBE.com andothers. Photos and b-roll footage taken during the shoot, along withquotes from spokespeople, also went viral, and overall, Rogers &Cowan helped generate 22.5 million media impressionsnationwide.

B R O N Z E“Share Responsibility for the Planet – Visualizing the Impact of Eco-Action”

Bateman Group

For eco-focused companies, making your voice heard during anationally recognized event like Earth Month—when all organizationswith a green angle attempt a PR campaign—can be a challenge. In2012, the Bateman Group knew it would have to help client,Recyclebank, cut through the green noise. In order to own the eco-minded conversations around Earth Day, the Bateman Groupdeveloped the “Share Responsibility for the Planet” campaign,aimed at relating digital engagement to real, tangible impact.

But how to start the conversation? Recyclebank collaborated withthe Bateman Group to create a compelling and sharableinfographic that allowed people to visualize the impact of smallgreen actions. The graphic showcased everyday actions that anyonecould take and communicated the potential impact of these actionsin a way that every consumer could easily understand. Together withdesigner Lemon.ly, they combined statistics about the environmentand social media that resulted in readily meaningful and relatablefigures. The image was also action-oriented and gave people clear,easy-to-implement ideas for how to help the planet.

The infographic was released a few days prior to Earth Day—tomaximize mass media and consumer interest in a piece of “green”social content and to encourage online sharing among consumers.The PR team pitched more than 100 strategic consumer, green,business and digital titles, distributed press releases and housedthe infographic on Recyclebank.com. Recyclebank also createdposts to highlight individual statistics to put on Recyclebank’sFacebook page, Twitter and Pinterest.

In all, the Bateman Group scored the infographic over 30 pieces ofprint, online and broadcast coverage in outlets, including Mashable,Yahoo! News, MSNBC and The Huffington Post. Coverage reachedmore than 100 million unique visitors, and Recyclebank.com visitshit an all-time high, up 151.5% over the previous month.


B E S T I N T EGRAT I ON O F P R A ND I R I N A BUS I N E S S C AMPA I GN

B R O N Z E“Successful IPO Overcomes Soft Market Sentiment -

IPO Publicity Campaign of Merry Garden”Strategic Financial Relations Limited

A wooden leisure product enterprise in the PRC, Merry Gardenmanufactures leisure household and introduced its “Merry Garden”products to the PRC market in 2010. However, without a presenceor operation in Hong Kong, the company was unknown to localinvestors and the media, and promotions were restricted underHong Kong listing rules. Moreover, investors in Hong Kong were notfamiliar with this niche industry and were unaware of the hugepotential of the leisure and tourism market in China. In order toboost Merry Garden’s presence among institutional and retailinvestors, highlight its growth potential and facilitate its smoothlisting, the company tapped Strategic Financial Relations Limited.

The campaign began before the Hong Kong Stock Exchangehearing, as the PR team provided media skills training tomanagement to prepare members for public speaking, Q&As andan IPO release. As the campaign continued, they worked to buildrelationships with stock commentators and columnists, led aninvestor presentation and press conference and created marketingmaterials, such as plant photos and corporate videos.

Strategic Financial Relations Limited also delivered corporate newsto newswires that influence the local media, thereby bolstering retailinvestors’ interest, and apart from hard-selling information aboutthe company’s business strategies, the team emphasized the itshealthy financial track record and environmental accreditations. Todeftly position it as a “leisure product enterprise,” theydemonstrated Merry Garden’s niches with a comprehensive productdisplay, as well.

Ultimately, Merry Garden was one of the few companies tosuccessfully list on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in July 2012,when the Hong Kong IPO front was relatively quiet with deals amida volatile equities market. Moreover, it became the first Hong Kong-listed company engaged in leisure wooden product enterprises withextensive overseas market experience, as well as an establishedself-owned brand in the PRC market. The campaign also achievedcoverage by leading financial media, such as Hong Kong’s SouthChina Morning Post, Hong Kong Economic Times and Hong KongEconomic Journal, as well as on online financial websites andtelevision.


B E S T U S E O F B ROADCAS T V I D EO/ I N T E RN E T – BUS I N E S S/CONSUMER

G O L D“Student Mental Health”

Peel District School Board for Stand Up

For a long time, education has tried to dance around the subject of mental health. However, as the Peel District School Board of Ontario,Canada determined, schools have a unique opportunity to support mental health. Although Peel teachers and administrators knew theywere not the only players in the lives of their youth—and not necessarily the single major influence—they decided to take the problem uponthemselves and ensure students that the problems affecting them would not continue to be ignored.

Research showed the School Board’s communications team that in 70% of mental health cases, onset comes before the age of 18, and in50%, before the age of 14. They also found that one in five students will experience a mental health problem throughout their academiccareer. What’s more, the school had experienced a string of suicides and attempted suicides. Armed with this information, the “Stand Up”campaign took flight.

Prior to the start of each school year, Director of Education Tony Pontes addresses over 1,000 leaders in the system to share his vision andthe Board’s focus in the year ahead. One of his three key areas of focus for the upcoming school year was to shine light on student mentalhealth. With his speech as a starting point, a key tactic of the campaign was the production of a video that would encouraged students,staff and community members to talk about mental health. Communications & Community Relations Support Services worked with thePeel Board’s chief social worker and video production staff on the music, storyboard and editing for the video. With a meager budget of$1,000, it was produced in-house with real Peel students and staff.

The video, which was posted on YouTube and directs viewers to a resource section of the board’s website, received close to 9,000 views onYouTube, over 3 million impressions and numerous messages of thanks and support from mental health associations across the country.Placements include Global News, Global Winnipeg, Globe & Mail, CBC News Toronto, Metro Morning and others. The board also receivedrecognition from the Canadian Association of Suicide Prevention, which presented the Board with their 2012 Media Award.


B E S T U S E O F B ROADCAS T V I D EO/ I N T E RN E T – BUS I N E S S/CONSUMER

S I L V E R“HighTower Whiteboard Animation Video: Brokers

vs. Fiduciaries (aka Butcher/Dietician)”Jennifer Connelly Public Relations

Unlike Wall Street brokerages, which typically limit client access to“approved” products designed to make money throughcommissions and kickbacks (unbeknownst to their clients),HighTower is firmly independent and provides its investor clientbase with the best investment options and services that Wall Streethas to offer. Spurred by the buzz surrounding the concept of“transparency” in the investing world, Jennifer Connelly PublicRelations created a video-driven campaign that would helpHighTower educate the public about the differences between a WallStreet-style broker and a client-focused fiduciary.

JCPR and the client agreed that a video explaining HighTower’sfiduciary responsibility had to reach beyond the staid stylesynonymous with the highly regulated financial industry. Thelanguage of the video also had to be straightforward, so investorswould grasp it quickly and easily. With a little behind-the-scenesresearch at the HighTower offices, the solution became clear: Thewhiteboard video, a communication tool used by HighTower execs atinternal and external meetings, was a natural backdrop. Thewhiteboard medium would provide simple illustrations and a play-by-play of the way financial advising works for and against theinvestor. Using the analogy of a butcher—who tries to “sell, sell,sell”—and a dietician—who offers a holistic approach to overallfinancial health—JCPR’s in-house crew produced a short andeducational 2.3-minute video.

Meanwhile, resigning Goldman Sachs executive Greg Smith penneda scathing op-ed in the New York Times, describing Wall Streetculture as anything but client-centric. Suddenly, JCPR’s campaignhad a news hook, too. Although, when the letter was released, thevideo was not finalized, the production team made necessary edits,enhanced the design and pitched the video two days later.

JCPR landed the HighTower video on The New York Times’ “Bucks”blog, Forbes.com, REP, AdvisorOne.com and Dow Jones Newswires.JCPR alerted NAFTA, who decided to open their annual meeting witha viewing of the video. The whiteboard piece was viewed more than36,000 times and has reached Business Insider, InvestmentNews,Forbes, FundFire and The Reformed Broker. What’s more, JCPR usedTwitter, Facebook and LinkedIn engagement to disseminate thevideo and increased traffic to its website by several thousand visits.

B R O N Z E“Hatfields & McCoys Integrated Media Campaign”

HISTORY

Since the network’s rebrand in 2007, the HISTORY channel hastransitioned from a middle-rated purveyor of historicaldocumentaries to a network of top-rated series and special events.However, in order to continue the success, HISTORY needed tobroaden its content. HISTORY’s first foray into the scripted arena,“Hatfields & McCoys”, represented the latest stage in the network’sbrand evolution. But with the introduction of the miniseries,HISTORY needed to keep its male non-fiction audience, recruitfemale drama enthusiasts and build critical and industry buzz.

In order to reach targets during the Memorial Day premier, HISTORYleveraged big name stars—Bill Paxton and Kevin Costner—andmarketed the series like a cinematic event. In addition to giftingeditorial targets with a dirty, bullet-riddled felt hat, HISTORYdelivered highly specialized pitches. For men’s publications, theyused the action angle, as well as the lure of Costner’s music. Forwomen’s publications, the pitches focused on the show’s stars,family drama story and romance storyline. Entertainment newsoutlets received pitches on the film and industry-related aspects,sales and marketing, production news and reviews, while celebrityoutlets and bloggers got stories on the series’ younger celebrities.The campaign also brought the feud to NYC, with Hatfieldspromotions taking over Port Authority Bus Terminal and McCoys atGrand Central. Wallscape outdoor posters also took the city bystorm.

HISTORY secured long-lead features with Esquire, Parade, EW,People, Playboy and others, booked electronic outlets for premiereweek and organized a satellite press junket with talent interviewsfor print and online outlets and key bloggers. One week before thelaunch, the Hollywood Reporter co-sponsored a premiere party, andcoverage included Vanity Fair, Access, ET/Insider, Extra and others.Most importantly, in the digital realm, HISTORY scored an exclusivepartnership with Rolling Stone Live to feature Kevin Costner’s rockband in a streaming concert, interviews and promotion. Digitaltakeovers and home page roadblocks made YouTube, IMDB, Yahoo!,NYTimes homepage, and a Facebook app, “Are you a Hatfield orMcCoy?” went viral.

The premiere was the most-watched television event in cablehistory—three times. Defying multiple night TV patterns, “Hatfields &McCoys” actually picked up steam each night, gaining moreviewers, and post-premiere ratings and success stories generatedmillions of incremental impressions.


B E S T C R I S I S C OMMUN I C AT I ONS

G O L D“First Do No Harm (or Sunshine is the Best Disinfectant)”

Kitchen Public Relations, LLC

When a Midwest-based pain management facility found itself at the center of a national fungal meningitis outbreak, Kitchen PublicRelations (KPR) came in to provide crisis management services. The facility’s administration was utterly panicked as the story broke: Overa period of several months, its physicians had injected hundreds of patients with a tainted lot of steroid medication. What’s more, dozensof people across the country were dying, and hundreds more were ill. Thus, it was up to KPR to let the public know that while the problemwas tragic, the facility’s doctors had had every reason to believe that the medication they had administered—purchased from anothercompounding pharmacy—was safe.

KPR acted immediately to counter misperceptions about what had happened, while the clinic, meanwhile, tended to the needs of illpatients. The clinic had previously “ducked and covered”—and said nothing to address the public. KPR decided it was time for the clinic tomeet the media head-on with transparency. Recognizing that full disclosure was paramount, KPR issued a public statement describing theevents that had occurred and were still taking place, what patients needed to do and what the facility’s staff was doing to handle thesituation. The media statement was sent to all appropriate local and regional media and was posted on the facility’s website.Subsequently, this statement was updated as the situation developed.

KPR also gave face to the organization by designating a doctor as the facility’s main spokesperson, while staff received media training. ThePR team also prioritized local media over national press and worked closely with the local hospital treating exposed patients to ensure thatthe clinic was telling a consistent message.

Over a two-week period, a steady flow of articles and news reports updated the public on events and procedures. All in all, the team wassuccessful in demonstrating that the client was committed to patient safety, empathetic as the chaos unfolded, committed to transparencyand most importantly, not in any way responsible for the tragedy.


B E S T C OMPAN Y P O S I T I O N I NG/BRAND I NG

G O L D“IT in the Toilet”

11mark

Entering the market as a new integrated marketing agency, 11mark needed to cut through the noise, raise visibility and establish brandawareness. In place of a more traditional launch, the agency decided to take a creative approach, focusing on a hot button issue for itscustomers: Mobile trends. In an effort to leverage research and humor, as well as highlight a key issue for potential clients and partners,11mark gave the media relations effort an edge. Their campaign centered on a survey the PR team conducted, examining mobile habits in“the last private place”—the bathroom.

11mark surveyed Americans on their bathroom phone habits, comparing men versus women, generational phone use, and differencesamong Droid, iPhone and Blackberry users. The team analyzed results and created the “IT in the Toilet” report, along with a visuallyappealing infographic. The data exposed American’s bathroom phone habits and provided insight on larger trends, like the growing relianceon mobile technology. As 11mark analyzed the data, they conclusively found that the last private place was no longer private—and exposedjust how mobile society has become.

The team launched a proactive media relations campaign, approaching newspapers, magazines, blogs and broadcast. The “IT in the Toilet”report included unique cover art and the infographic and was sent to a targeted press list. The team’s key social media channels served tospread the data in innovative ways, as did the eye-catching landing page created for the release. Interviews with mainstream andtechnology-focused outlets served to build more buzz and to get download numbers accelerating at lightning speed.

From local to regional news outlets, the team secured coverage in more than 470 articles and 200+ broadcast placements. Highlightsinclude The New York Times, Network World, Informationweek, CBS News, HLN, ABC News, The Huffington Post and Computerworld. Thestory was also included on CNN’s homepage, NPR’s “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” and “Live! with Kelly.”

In the realm of social media, Twitter coverage started in English and moved around the world in a dozen languages. “IT in the Toilet” alsogenerated 3,600+ Facebook likes, 330+ LinkedIn shares and tens of thousands of Twitter tweets and re-tweets. Site traffic increased3,700 percent during the campaign—with nearly two thousand release and infographic downloads from the website.


B E S T C OMPAN Y P O S I T I O N I NG/BRAND I NG

S I L V E R“Entenmann’s Celebrates the

75th National Donut Day with The Salvation Army”Freeman Public Relations

Every year on National Donut Day, packaged goods brandEntenmann’s sadly watched from the sidelines as stand-alonecompanies like Dunkin Donuts and Krispy Kreme had all themarketing fun. However, Freeman Public Relations (FPR) knew theNational Donut Day 2012—its 75th anniversary—was an opportunemoment to build buzz for Entenmann’s own boxed treats. Theholiday, established by The Salvation Army in 1938 to honor theorganization’s “Donut Lassies” who served donuts to soldiers duringWorld War I, should become synonymous with the brand. Thus, asFPR’s campaign wheels began turning, a partnership idea tookshape. Together with The Salvation Army itself, Entenmann’s wouldhost a celebration embodying a true American tradition of food andsocial impact.

As the date approached, FPR recruited another influential figure:New York City’s Mayor Bloomberg. Although Bloomberg had recentlytaken a stance against sweets with his proposed soda ban, heofficially endorsed the day as “NYC Donut Day.” As a final push togenerate consumer awareness before the event, FPR leveragedEntenmann’s’ social media presence with a national Facebooksweepstakes campaign to raise money for The Salvation Army.

Capitalizing on the 75th anniversary milestone and The SalvationArmy’s non-profit cause, FPR planned a National Donut Day pop-upparty in Madison Square Park. Complete with Entenmann’s andSalvation Army trucks, signage and sampling tables, the event alsofeatured a visual draw: the largest box of Entenmann’s donuts evermade. The Salvation Army’s “Donut Lassies” also handed out donutsin traditional uniforms.

Prior to the event’s opening, broadcast affiliates lined MadisonSquare park, and throughout, the event scored coverage on NBCNightly News, USA Today, Yahoo! News, The Huffington Post,Chicago Sun-Times, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, Grub Streetand many more. FPR also secured two “Good Day New York” remotesegments and a piece with Newsday’s “Kidsday” editor. Radio andsocial media coverage also abounded, and Entenmann’s saw a7.4% sales increase. Equally important: Now, Entenmann’s cancelebrate National Donut Day every year.

B R O N Z E“Fiserv Case-Shiller: A Breakthrough Year

for Delivering Home Price Trends”Fiserv and RF|Binder

Economists, policymakers, investors, business leaders, the publicand the media closely watch home price trends, and the release offresh data has the power to move markets and shape perceptionsof consumer confidence. In this important space, occupied alreadyby established and respected players, Fiserv— a provider oftechnology solutions to the financial world—decided to make itsname known. RF|Binder Partners was called on to help.

RF|Binder’s campaign began as the team identified one hugeopportunity. They found that while many readers of the businesspress were familiar with Fiserv’s S&P/Case-Shiller index, few knewit was actually owned and generated by Fiserv. Fewer still wereaware of the breadth of Fiserv’s research. In addition to the well-known S&P/Case-Shiller 20 Market Index, Fiserv was sitting on atreasure trove of data, which included detailed home price trenddata for more than 380 U.S. metro areas. Another differentiator:Fiserv Case-Shiller provides projections for home prices in each ofthose metro areas.

The main objective of RF|Binder’s campaign was to brand the indexas the Fiserv Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes and to emphasizewhat makes this data different. To highlight that it is at the MSAlevel and provides projections that no one else can offer, the trenddata was uniquely packaged in custom slideshows, and the indexeswere issued quarterly. In addition, by positioning Fiserv’s chiefeconomist, David Stiff, as the voice of Case-Shiller and an expertsource of commentary on the U.S. housing market, RF|Bindercreated a trustworthy and vocal authority figure of the company.

A sustained media relations program focused on the nationalbusiness press, including bloggers, along with local media outreach.Coverage included Time, The Wall Street Journal, The New YorkTimes, Financial Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, CNBC, FOXBusiness Channel, CNN Money, Business Insider and others. FiservCase-Shiller also significantly increased its multimedia visibility withplacements in MainStreet.com, Business Insider, among other sites,and CNNMoney.com developed an interactive database thatfeatured Fiserv data for many U.S. metro areas. Moreover, DavidStiff’s commentary garnered more than 100 million mediaimpressions, and Fiserv Case-Shiller contributed to the 20 percentincrease in the company’s top-tier business media coverage in2011 and 2012.


B E S T E DUCAT I ON/PUB L I C S E RV I C E C AMPA I GN

G O L D“USAGE Survey: Taking on America’s Number One Killer”Kowa Pharmaceuticals America and Eli Lilly & Company

with Makovsky

Statins are the standard-of-care medicine prescribed to patients with high cholesterol. Yet while heart disease remains the number onekiller of men and women, 75% of patients stop taking their statins within one year. Kowa Pharmaceuticals America (Kowa) and Eli Lillyand Company (Lilly) set out to find out why. The companies conducted USAGE—Understanding Statin use in America and Gaps inEducation—the largest cholesterol survey of more than 10,100 patients. The data showed the most common reason for halting statintreatment was the side effects. Kowa and Lilly tapped New York City PR firm Makovsky to educate patients and physicians on the USAGEresults and increase awareness of Kowa within the medical community.

To launch the USAGE campaign, Makovsky established partnerships between Kowa and Lilly and the National Lipid Association (NLA). Thepartnership with the NLA created new ties to cardiovascular thought leaders who bolstered USAGE toward a broader healthcare network.Survey results were also announced at the NLA annual meeting, and the NLA published USAGE data in the May/June issue of the Journalof Clinical Lipidology.

For the patient audience, the team enlisted a well-recognized spokesperson, John O’Hurley of Seinfeld, to humanize the consumer’sstruggle and inspire understanding of statins. For this step, target locations were determined using Centers for Disease Control andPrevention research, focusing on cities with the highest incidence of high cholesterol.

A post-campaign survey of NLA members showed that fifty percent of physicians plan to make changes in their practice based on USAGEinformation and 83% recommend their patients visit www.statinUSAGE.com. More than 5,000 physicians requested USAGE materials, and2,300 consumers accessed the site’s downloadable tools. News media coverage of USAGE reached more than 744 million patients and 4million healthcare providers, via outlets such as CNN, Fox & Friends, MedPage Today, Prevention.com and Lifescript. Moreover, Kowacorporate visibility increased 475% in year-over-year news media coverage.



G O L D“LearnSmart Direct-to-Student: A Marketing First

for an Established Educational Publisher”RF|Binder with McGraw-Hill Education

Before the fall of 2012, McGraw-Hill Education’s LearnSmart software, which adapts to students’ individual learning needs, was onlyavailable for purchase by college institutions. However, when McGraw-Hill decided to sell LearnSmart to students directly, the companyneeded to increase awareness among parents and students—of the brand and adaptive technology, in general.

With these challenges at the forefront, RF|Binder Partners took the reins. The team worked closely with McGraw-Hill to develop keymessaging points, which focused on the benefits of adaptive learning and its ability to make educational content more engaging andinteractive. What’s more, it had the potential to help students graduate on time and be better prepared for today’s global economy andworkforce.

To announce that LearnSmart’s launch to general consumers, the team developed several press releases on McGraw-Hill’s shifting businessmodel, the benefits of LearnSmart itself and the “Going Places with LearnSmart” Sweepstakes—a travel contest designed to give students areason to tackle their studies with enthusiasm. The team also developed a mat release titled “Tech Tips for College-Bound Students andTheir Parents,” as well as two infographics. For placement, RF|Binder pitched national publications and broadcast stations, businessreporters, tech and mommy blogs, consumer technology publications, college and university papers and contest and sweeps sites.

In all, the launch garnered a total of more than 17 million audience impressions and supported LearnSmart direct-to-student sales. Ofparticular note, the initial business announcement received significant coverage in Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal, Fox Business,NASDAQ and others. The subsequent consumer announcement secured coverage in USA TODAY, About.com, edcetera, to name a few.Additionally, the sweepstakes announcement was featured in more than 15 outlets, and the tie-in mat release received pickup in morethan 1,300 outlets.



S I L V E R“Search and Rescue: Thousands Unaware of

Their Diabetes Risk”Novant Health and Luquire George Andrews

Novant Health hospitals decided to find out how many of itspatients had diabetes but didn’t know it. In a “search and rescue”initiative that tested patients in its 13 hospitals across four statesto identify cases of undiagnosed type 2 diabetes, the results werestartling. With a mission to help educate the estimated one in threeAmerican adults who are at risk for developing the disease, NovantHealth reached out to get the media’s attention on this tragic issue.

The media strategy began with garnering local coverage for thesignificant number of cases diagnosed by the new program: Morethan 2,500 people were unaware they had the disease. With theinput of Novant doctors and nurses, the story was humanized withcompelling examples of patients’ responses to their new diagnosis,advice from diabetes educators’ and the diet and lifestyle changesthat reduce risk of developing complications.

Following success in local market coverage, for the nationalplacement, pitches were targeted at a short list of leadinghealthcare reporters who had written about diabetes. One tailoredpitch in particular, sent to Laura Landro, The Wall Street Journal’spersonal health columnist, resulted in an “Informed Patient”column, which appeared on the front page of the “Personal Journal”section, as well as the online edition. The column highlightedNovant’s program and quoted the staff involved in the initiative. Thecolumn was accompanied by tips on “Who Should Get Checked”and links to a risk test, as well as previous diabetes coverage.

More print and broadcast stories appeared on the WSJ’s Healthblog and in the Brunswick Beacon, the Salisbury Post, the localNPR affiliate and others. Most importantly, by the end of 2012, thenumber of patients diagnosed surged over 4,500—due in part tothe awareness raised by the media coverage.


B E S T F OOD & B E V E R AGES C AMPA I GN

G O L D“Dunkin’ Donuts and RF|Binder: Brewing PR Success in 2012”

RF|Binder Partners with Dunkin’ Donuts

When Dunkin’ Donuts completed an IPO and prepared to launch the company’s first-ever mobile app and new line of bakery sandwiches,buzz was building—but competition was also intensifying. With national restaurant chains, local coffee retailers and convenience storesfighting fiercely to win the nation’s coffee and breakfast wars, RF|Binder collaborated with Dunkin’ Brands to develop a creative campaignto keep the national spotlight on the company.

The campaign hinged on numerous partnerships, live and social media events, holiday-related releases and behind-the-scenes tours. OnNational Coffee Day, RF|Binder worked with CareerBuilder to identify the top 10 professions that rely on coffee, and to kick off autumn,executive chef Stan Frankenthaler offered his perspective on why pumpkin flavor matters so much to people during fall months. Dunkin’Donuts also initiated more than 25 “tweeps,” or promotions and sweepstakes on Twitter and provided bloggers with giveaway items, suchas “Iced Tea Time” packages.

RF|Binder leveraged product launches, contests and survey data to spark online, print and broadcast media attention. To celebrateNational Donut Day, Dunkin’ Donuts arranged for NASDAQ to unofficially change its name to NASDDAQ, highlighting the brand’s “DD.” ForValentine’s Day, Dunkin’ Donuts commissioned a survey showing how coffee plays a key role in brewing romance, and to promote summerbeverages, it promoted an infographic on keeping cool during summer travel. Unveiling two new coffee flavors, the brand’s biggest Twittercontest ever granted winners a free pound of coffee.

In 2012, Dunkin’ Donuts was featured in top national outlets, including NBC “Today Show,” “Good Morning America” and The Wall StreetJournal. Coverage emphasized the brand’s value proposition and reached more than 500 million impressions. The mobile payment appwas launched via exclusives with AP and CNBC and generated hundreds of feature stories across prominent national media. The brandincreased its number of Twitter followers, and Facebook fans increased to more than 8 million.


F OOD & B E V E R AGE

S I L V E R“Smashing the Better Burger Competition”

ICR

Americans, who consume 13 billion hamburgers per year, generallyrely on the same few fast food joints to get their fix. However, in2011, Smashburger, the “better burger” restaurant was standing outamong the crowd. With an entrepreneurial spirit and a plan to goglobal with sites in Canada, the Middle East and Latin American,the brand sought to flip the burger industry on its head.Smashburger retained ICR (Integrated Corporate Relations) justafter opening its 100th restaurant, with the specific goal ofleveraging PR to support its business growth goals.

In order to bring great tasting burgers into people’s lives andincrease brand awareness to support Smashburger’s expansion, ICRfocused on top-tier national media targets, as well as relevantindustry, restaurant and franchise trade pubs. The campaigncentered on Smashburger’s “recession story gone right” angle.Because Smashburger grew almost entirely during the recession,restaurant and business media received information on how theyhad succeeded against the odds—with company updates andbackground information in management interviews. ICR also gotattention by entering Smashburger for top national businessrankings and awards and executed periodic media tours with CEODave Prokupek in NYC. Among other hot-button topics, Prokupekdiscussed with reporters how his company was adding jobs in achallenging economy.

Leveraging Smashburger’s announcement that it would expandinternationally, ICR scored placements with The Huffington Postfood writer, Joe Satran, on growth strategy, Leslie Patton atBloomberg News on Smashburger’s expansion into Middle East andThe Wall Street Journal small business reporter, Angus Loten, on thetrend of American restaurant expansion into the Middle East.Smashburger’s unique approach to franchising, social mediamarketing and small business strategy also attracted the attentionof Sarah Scully of Bloomberg Enterprise, who did a 30-minuteprogram devoted entirely to Smashburger, as well as Reuters, USAToday, Forbes’ America’s Most Promising Companies list and others.Another proof point of the success of the campaign: Smashburgerwas mentioned by Wendy’s on its earnings conference call as acompetitor. In addition, Smashburger has more than 400 units inthe franchise pipeline.

B R O N Z E“34 Degrees Sweet Crisp Launch”

Fresh Ideas Group

In 2012, 34 Degrees, maker of all-natural, wafer-thin crisps,needed to introduce consumers and media to its newest innovation:The Sweet Crisp. Because the Crisps are unique in shape, textureand name, the challenge was overcoming the public’s confusionabout what the Crisps were—Crackers or cookies? How should theybe served? To overcome these barriers, The Fresh Ideas Groupdeveloped a campaign strategy focused on getting the Sweet Crispsin the hands of key media influencers to demonstrate how theCrisps could be used and to give Crisps seasonal and trendrelevance.

The first phase revolved around key trade shows, including theWinter Fancy Food Show, where the new product line wasannounced to trade media and industry leaders. As productdevelopment continued, 34 Degrees used Natural Products ExpoWest to debut the new packaging and to continue the media buzz.The second phase focused on targeting key consumer media, andto articulate the product’s attributes, the PR team conducted a NewYork City desk-side media tour with health, fitness, nutrition andfood pubs, sampling the products with demos on Crisp usage andpairings.

To engage the “mom” audience, the campaign also executed back-to-school outreach to food, parenting and health bloggers whowrote product reviews and hosted product giveaways. Digitaloutreach consisted of multiple “Twitter parties,” targeting moms andback-to-school snackers, as well as holiday party hosts andentertainers. The social media sharing networks and productendorsement from key blogger influencers facilitated conversation-starters like “Here’s how I used the Sweet Crisps,” “This is myfavorite Sweet Crisp recipe” or “A perfect after-school snack for thekids.”

The results were sweet. 34 Degrees’ media results grew from 5.3 in2011 to 33.9 million in 2012—for a growth rate of 639%. Amongbloggers, Sweet Crisps won 48 positive product reviews, and top-line consumer media hits include placement in Gourmet Retailer,Sustainable Food News, The Daily Meal, RealSimple.com, Yahoo!Shine, Food & Wine and GoodHousekeeping.com.


B E S T G EN ERA L BUS I N E S S C AMPA I GN

G O L D“Showcasing the Charlotte Region to Drive Economic Development”

Luquire George Andrews and Development Counsellors International

Two years after the long shadow of the financial crisis fell across Charlotte, N.C., economic development leaders felt it was time to raisethe region’s profile to help attract new jobs and investment. In an unprecedented collaboration, the Charlotte Chamber, Charlotte CenterCity Partners and Charlotte Regional Partnership banded together and secured private funding to launch the region’s first ever national andinternational media relations campaign—and chose Charlotte-based Luquire George Andrews (LGA) and Development CounsellorsInternational (DCI) to spearhead the initiative.

After conducting a nationwide perception survey and finding the perception of Charlotte vague, LGA/DCI recommended eight story“themelines” to serve as the backbone for the media relations campaign: Charlotte’s resilience to the banking crisis, energy, workforcedevelopment, foreign direct investment, aerospace and defense, motorsports, uptown development and health and life sciences.

LGA/DCI reached out to reporters through tailored pitches and news hooks—such as the 2012 Democratic National Convention inCharlotte, Chiquita’s headquarters move to Charlotte and the President’s State of the Union address that highlighted U.S. manufacturing togenerate additional coverage for the region. The PR team also organized press trips, desk-side media interviews with key government andbusiness spokespeople and staffed a media booth at the DNC.

When the campaign ended in October 2012, LGA/DCI had secured 62 media placements, totaling more than 180 million mediaimpressions. Stories were covered by national and international media heavyweights, including Bloomberg TV, China Daily, CNBC, TheEconomist, Financial Times, Fortune, Fox News, The New York Times, NPR, The Times London and The Wall Street Journal. More importantly,in a follow-up survey of location advisors, LGA/DCI found broader awareness of the region’s diverse economy.


B E S T G EN ERA L BUS I N E S S C AMPA I GN

S I L V E R“Smashing the Better Burger Competition”

ICR

Americans, who consume 13 billion hamburgers per year, generallyrely on the same few fast food joints to get their fix. However, in2011, Smashburger, the “better burger” restaurant was standing outamong the crowd. With an entrepreneurial spirit and a plan to goglobal with sites in Canada, the Middle East and Latin American,the brand sought to flip the burger industry on its head.Smashburger retained ICR (Integrated Corporate Relations) justafter opening its 100th restaurant, with the specific goal ofleveraging PR to support its business growth goals.

In order to bring great tasting burgers into people’s lives andincrease brand awareness to support Smashburger’s expansion, ICRfocused on top tier national media targets, as well as relevantindustry, restaurant and franchise trade pubs. The campaigncentered on Smashburger’s “recession story gone right” angle.Because Smashburger grew almost entirely during the recession,restaurant and business media received information on how theyhad succeeded against the odds—with company updates andbackground information in management interviews. ICR also gotattention by entering Smashburger for top national businessrankings and awards and executed periodic media tours with CEODave Prokupek in NYC. Among other hot-button topics, Prokupekdiscussed with reporters how his company was adding jobs in achallenging economy.

Leveraging Smashburger’s announcement that it would expandinternationally, ICR scored placements with The Huffington Postfood writer, Joe Satran, on growth strategy, Leslie Patton atBloomberg News on Smashburger’s expansion into Middle East andThe Wall Street Journal small business reporter, Angus Loten, on thetrend of American restaurant expansion into the Middle East.Smashburger’s unique approach to franchising, social mediamarketing and small business strategy also attracted the attentionof Sarah Scully of Bloomberg Enterprise, who did a 30 minuteprogram devoted entirely to Smashburger, as well as Reuters, USAToday, Forbes’ America’s Most Promising Companies list and others.Another proof point of the success of the campaign: Smashburgerwas mentioned by Wendy’s on its earnings conference call as acompetitor. In addition, Smashburger has more than 400 units inthe franchise pipeline.

B R O N Z E“Skanska USA: Solidifying Skanska’s Superiority

in the States ”Solomon McCown and Co., Inc

As one of the first industries to feel the effects of the recession,construction was also one of the last to recover. To win clients,construction companies had to prove themselves to be the best ofthe best, and Skanska, an international construction managementfirm headquartered in Sweden, was largely overlooked by Americanowners. In order to raise visibility and credibility, the American armof Skanska’s business operations, Skansa USA, turned to SolomonMcCown and Co., Inc (SM&).

To differentiate Skanska USA from the rest of its competition, SM&seized on the organization's Innovation Grants program, whichdedicates internal resources and financial support to encourageemployees who are thinking creatively about new ideas andtechnologies to utilize in the field. SM& also pitched the insights ofSkanska USA CEO Mike McNally for his vision and leadership onbig picture construction issues, such as procuring public-privatepartnerships (PPPs) for public transportation projects.

Building on the momentum of national press, SM& pursuednational publications with a heavy investor focus and alsoconcentrated on achieving recognition for the focus Skanska’sleadership put on growth, innovation and employee development.Moreover, as Skansa is known for its commercial construction andinfrastructure work, it launched its “Mission Critical Center ofExcellence”—an in-house team of experts devoted to transformingthe data center industry. To gain third-party credibility for their newtechnology solutions, Skansa required help translating technicaljargon and statistics into meaningful language and fact sheets.SM& capitalized on the expertise of Skanska’s executives bypitching speaking opportunities for them and nominating them forindustry awards. The team also worked with executives to writebylines on their behalf.

SM& positioned Skanska as a leader in today’s constructionindustry with 443 print placements, including The Wall StreetJournal, New York Times and Forbes, as well as nine national andlocal market TV placements, including “The TODAY Show.” SM& wrotemore than 20 bylines, op-eds and blog posts, secured six awardsand 49 placements for the launch of the Center of Excellence.Skanska USA won more than 40 major projects across the U.S.,totaling approximately $3.8 billion in new contracts.


B E S T G EN ERA L C ONSUMER C AMPA I GN

G O L D“Defrost Your Swimsuit”

M. Silver Associates – A Division of Finn Partners

To entice vacationers to escape the wintry cold for sunny Greater Fort Lauderdale (GFL), travel and tourism PR agency M. Silver Associatesdesigned a marketing campaign to showcase the destination’s tropical beach appeal and lift the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention &Visitors Bureau (GFLCVB) brand with messaging of a new “transformed” destination.

The PR team wasn’t going to settle for simple press releases and interviews. Instead, M. Silver decided that in order to position GFLCVB asan innovative tourism marketing organization, they needed to demonstrate out-of-the-box thinking—with a large-scale “beach chic” event inthe cities that needed a suntan the most. In the middle of November, the “Defrost Your Swimsuit” campaign went to Toronto with swimsuitsfrozen in large blocks of ice during the annual Santa Claus Parade. Digital billboards featured 15 Defrost Your Swimsuit television spots,four hours of live streaming event videos and Twitter boards.

In January, the campaign went to Times Square, New York, with a mobile “Beach on Wheels” unit joined by street teams distributing GFL-branded ice scrapers. Bikini-clad models tossed beach balls and posed for pictures in the Beach Mobile. Lastly, GFL reached Canary Wharfin London, which has over 90,000 pedestrian visitors daily. Colorfully wrapped branded taxis also drove around the city.

The campaign included development of GFL’s tourism website, Sunny.org, along with a dedicated microsite for a sweepstakes. Throughoutthe events, 5,000 printed cards directed people to the microsite and warmed shivering crowds to a new vacation idea. M. Silver alsosecured promotions with tourism partners like JetBlue Airways, which gave away free trips to GFL through the sunny.org/defrost microsite,and Sunwing Airlines, which had street teams dressed as flight attendants and pilots to promote package vacations to GFL. In London, GFLpartnered with Virgin Holidays for a promotional giveaway and an easy option for booking.

In all, the event appeared in international, national, local and trade media in over 100 outlets including, ABC “Good Morning America,” APand Yahoo! News, with over 925 million impressions. The contest microsite received nearly 11,500 entries, and with the Virgin Holidayspartnership, Greater Fort Lauderdale saw an 18% increase in sales to year-on-year.


B E S T G EN ERA L C ONSUMER C AMPA I GN

S I L V E R“The Auction of Buford, Wyoming – the Smallest Town in America”

Atomic

In the aftermath of the housing crisis, most people in the U.S.associated real estate auctions with foreclosures and financialdistress. However, particularly for sellers with equity and a desire tosell by a certain date, auctions can provide an attractive solution.Williams & Williams, a real estate auction company, tasked PRagency Atomic with initiating a fresh PR campaign and highlightingthe benefits of real estate auction.

To bring the appeal of auctions to America, Atomic’s strategy was tohighlight unique properties with an inherent mainstream interest,meanwhile including messaging that explained the unique benefitsof auctions over traditional sales methods.

Enter Buford, Wyo., the smallest town in the U.S., with a populationof exactly one person—Don Sammons, a retiree who contactedWilliams & Williams to auction his property. When the news hit,Atomic decided to put the lion’s share of media relations effortsbehind this single story. The PR team was thrilled to launch thecampaign with a unique marketing opportunity—the story of a one-man town—and build relationships with mainstream journalists whowould stay tuned to watch the inventory move forward.

Media interest in the property sparked in the weeks leading up tothe auction and continued through the announcement of theclosing bid. Outreach produced more than 1,700 media hits fromregional and national outlets, including Associated Press,BusinessWeek, CNN, USA Today and Yahoo! News. The auctiondrove the highest traffic to Williams &Williams’ Auction Network inthree years—nearly 15,000 unique visitors from 47 countries.50,000 unique visitors from more than 110 countries viewed theproperty listing on the company website, and in the end, Bufordsold for $900,000.

B R O N Z E“Fashion, Not Politics, at the

2012 Democratic National Convention”Luquire George Andrews and Belk

Based in Charlotte, N.C. and known as the nation’s largest privatelyowned department store company, Belk Inc. began a campaign torefresh its brand. With a new corporate logo, color palette andtagline—"Modern. Southern. Style”— Belk wanted to reachcustomers nationwide through its stores and Belk.com website.When Charlotte took center stage for the 2012 Democratic NationalConvention, bringing more than 35,000 delegates, media, businessand political leaders, celebrities and other visitors from across thecountry, Belk and its agency of record, Luquire George Andrews(LGA), jumped on the opportunity to build the revamped brand.

The first step was to position the convention as an event thatshowcases fashion from all walks of life. By leveraging the fashionexpertise of Arlene Goldstein, Belk’s vice president of trendmerchandising and fashion direction, LGA landed her as a guestfashion blogger for The Huffington Post during the DNC. Arlene andher team combed the streets, parties and convention floor fordelegates, visitors, celebrities and business and political leaders toshowcase the fashions at the convention.

Belk demonstrated the meaning of Southern hospitality by providingcomplimentary, head-to-toe makeovers to four delegates. Eachmakeover included three complete outfits—for casual, business andevening affairs—styled by Goldstein. Building on the RepublicanNational Convention, which was also in the South, LGA distributed apress release titled “Fashion Travel Tips for the South: RNC andDNC,” which provided fashion-savvy advice with a political edge.

Belk and LGA secured over 300 fashion-focused media placementsrelated to the 2012 DNC in Charlotte, and media impressionsreached close to one billion. LGA secured stories in Belk’s localmarkets through outlets such as the Charlotte Observer, CharlotteBusiness Journal and WCNC-TV, as well as national coverage in TheHuffington Post, Reuters, Yahoo and U.S. News and World Report.


B E S T H E A LT H , M ED I C I N E & F I T N E S S C AMPA I GN

G O L D“Downsize Fitness: Downsizing the Obesity Epidemic”


Plagued by self-consciousness, many obese adults avoid stepping into a gym at all cost. Yet, experts recommend daily physical activity asa simple way to help manage the obesity epidemic. That’s where Downsize Fitness comes in. By exclusively welcoming chronicallyoverweight and obese individuals, the gym aims to create a comfortable environment where they can feel confident as they work towardtheir weight loss goals.

Zapwater Communications launched a publicity campaign to put Downsize Fitness in the local and national spotlight, highlighting how thegym breaks the fitness industry mold. Recruitment of new members was a number-one priority, with media attention following behind. Toacquire new members, Zapwater created a gym-wide contest. The member who lost the highest percentage of weight within a six- monthperiod would win $10,000.

To attract local media, Zapwater targeted the Chicago Tribune, the largest daily newspaper in Chicago, to write a feature story on DownsizeFitness and got interest from health and fitness writer Julie Deardorff. Kicking off national outreach, Zapwater crafted a controversial pitchthat highlighted Downsize Fitness’s primary rule: Only people who had 50+ pounds to lose could join. Growing national attention led to apartnership with the “Steve Harvey TV Show.” The show profiled two men in a weight loss challenge during the course of a couple of monthsand provided them memberships to the gym.

As a result, media impressions hit more than 18.2 million for broadcast, print and online media. The front-page Chicago Tribune article wassyndicated in more than 120 different outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, the Baltimore Sun and The Huffington Post. More than fortypeople inquired about joining within twenty-four hours, and the gym reached full capacity. Downsize opened a Dallas location and addedboot camp programs to three other cities due to the high demand from the public.


B E S T H E A LT H , M ED I C I N E & F I T N E S S C AMPA I GN

S I L V E R“Healing Hands for Arthritis”

Fish Consulting and Massage Envy

In 2011, Massage Envy, a massage and spa services nationalfranchise, set a goal of developing a cause-advocacy partnershipaligned with its belief in the power of touch. With research prowess,its agency of record, Fish Consulting, recommended a partnershipwith the Arthritis Foundation. Since 1948, the nonprofit has workedto help people take control of the disease, pursued public policyand legislation and conducted programs to improve the quality oflife for arthritis sufferers.

With the partnership established, Fish developed “Healing Handsfor Arthritis,” a one-day fundraising effort to take place in MassageEnvy’s clinics. Ten dollars from every massage or facial would godirectly back to the Arthritis Foundation. Working with Massage Envyexecutives and the Arthritis Foundation’s leadership to identifyrelevant consumer angles, the agency leveraged the story of CatlinRyan, a 14-year old juvenile arthritis sufferer, to educate millionsabout the debilitating disease and the fact that two-thirds of peoplewith arthritis are under the age of 65.

Fish developed several social media initiatives, which encourageddialogue about arthritis and the pain relief associated with frequentmassage, meanwhile driving campaign participation and awareness.Twitter parties, giveaways, designated hashtags, blog posts andmore activity led audiences to Massage Envy’s social mediaplatforms and Touch of Wellness blog. Knowing that they needed tokeep Massage Envy in the local news cycle, Fish trained clinicoperators on pitching, press releases, in-clinic promotions, socialmedia campaigns and interview strategies, as well.

Due to strategic public relations, Fish drove tens of thousands ofbookings during Healing Hands for Arthritis. Print coverage reacheda total circulation of more than 1.5 million, and local and nationaldigital media coverage resulted in more than 337 million uniquevisitors and billions of page views. Highlights include an AssociatedPress article on spa trends that highlighted Healing Hands forArthritis, stories on Caitlin’s struggle in Fox News “Health Talk,” TheHuffington Post Teen, Teen Vogue and a “The Today Show” plazasabotage.

B R O N Z E“Want Scary Eyes? The Dangers of

Decorative Contact Lenses”American Academy of Ophthalmology

Injuries from non-prescription decorative contact lenses are on therise, but the product is still widely available to unknowingcustomers, prescription free. To raise awareness about the risksassociated with these contacts and elevate its brand, the AmericanAcademy of Ophthalmology launched the “Want Scary Eyes? TheDangers of Decorative Contact Lenses” campaign.

With a limited budget and small staff, the campaign relied heavilyon the optimal low-cost marketing tool to reach a nationalaudience: The Internet. The Academy’s public education EyeSmartwebsite featured drop-in articles with direct links back to partnernewsletters and an online ophthalmology practice promotional toolkit with a press release, posts, posters and PowerPointpresentations. Social media functioned as a critical platform, aswell. Decorative contact lens-focused information was featured onEyeSmart’s Facebook and Twitter pages, and educational socialmedia posts were available for others to use on social media sites.

Interactive press releases with images and links to video PSAs weredistributed to media, and EyeSmart’s electronic newsletter reacheddoctors, partners and Academy staff. The Academy also conducteda seven-state radio media tour with 16 physician-spokespeople andpromoted an audio news release.

To target parents and teens, the campaign capitalized on theseasonal appeal of decorative contact lenses for Halloweencostumes. Throughout October, the Academy’s social mediaaccounts buzzed with information, and an educational poster, to bedisplayed in offices, junior highs and high schools, was available fordownload. Postcards, too, were designed for distribution in localschools and offices.

The EyeSmart decorative contact lens campaign yielded over 1,500media stories, including approximately 300 articles, 100 TVsegments, 41 radio interviews that aired 175 times in seven statesand 967 airings of the audio news release. Notable coverageincluded a feature story in the Chicago Tribune, a HealthDay articleand a feature story on ABC News. EyeSmart visitors increased by52 percent, and various strategic partnerships were secured.


B E S T I N V E S TMEN T, B ANK I NG & F I N ANC I A L S E RV I C E S C AMPA I GN

G O L D“HighTower Whiteboard Animation Video:

Brokers vs. Fiduciaries (aka Butcher/Dietician)”Jennifer Connelly Public Relations

Unlike Wall Street brokerages, which typically limit client access to “approved” products designed to make money through commissionsand kickbacks (unbeknownst to their clients), HighTower is firmly independent and provides its investor client base with the bestinvestment options and services that Wall Street has to offer. Spurred by the buzz surrounding the concept of “transparency” in theinvesting world, Jennifer Connelly Public Relations created a video-driven campaign that would help HighTower educate the public aboutthe differences between a Wall Street-style broker and a client-focused fiduciary.

JCPR and the client agreed that a video explaining HighTower’s fiduciary responsibility had to reach beyond the staid style synonymouswith the highly regulated financial industry. The language of the video also had to be straightforward, so investors would grasp it quicklyand easily. With a little behind-the-scenes research at the HighTower offices, the solution became clear: The whiteboard video, acommunication tool used by HighTower execs at internal and external meetings, was a natural backdrop. The whiteboard medium wouldprovide simple illustrations and a play-by-play of the way financial advising works for and against the investor. Using the analogy of abutcher—who tries to “sell, sell, sell”—and a dietician—who offers a holistic approach to overall financial health—JCPR’s in-house crewproduced a short and educational 2.3-minute video.

Meanwhile, resigning Goldman Sachs executive Greg Smith penned a scathing op-ed in the New York Times, describing Wall Street cultureas anything but client-centric. Suddenly, JCPR’s campaign had a news hook, too. Although, when the letter was released, the video was notfinalized, the production team made necessary edits, enhanced the design and pitched the video two days later.

JCPR landed the HighTower video on The New York Times’ “Bucks” blog, Forbes.com, REP, AdvisorOne.com and Dow Jones Newswires. JCPRalerted NAFTA, who decided to open their annual meeting with a viewing of the video. The whiteboard piece was viewed more than 36,000times and has reached Business Insider, InvestmentNews, Forbes, FundFire and The Reformed Broker. What’s more, JCPR used Twitter,Facebook and LinkedIn engagement to disseminate the video and increased traffic to its website by several thousand visits. generatedmillions of new visitors to Day’s channel. Day was also profiled in The Hollywood Reporter’s “The Next Gen” list.


B E S T I N V E S TMEN T, B ANK I NG & F I N ANC I A L S E RV I C E S C AMPA I GN

S I L V E R“ETF Launch Publicity Campaigns”

Huntington Bank

When Huntington Bank decided to launch two Exchange-TradedFunds (ETFs), the company needed to get investors, shareholdersand analysts, financial regulatory agencies, Huntington wealthbankers and the financial and banking industry media on board.With two of its own ETFs—one focused on ecology and theenvironment and one that would attempt to convert an existingmutual fund into an ETF—the campaign needed widespreadsupport.

Huntington Strategy Shares launched the EcoLogical ETF and theUS Equity Rotation ETF, with a focus on emphasizing the bank’scontinued investment in wealth management. CorporateCommunications kept Huntington’s Leadership Team informed ofthe launches and ensuing media, while the CEO kept the bank’sBoard of Directors in the know. Huntington’s investment department,Huntington Asset Advisors, held meetings with the SEC before,during, and after the launches.

Marketing materials, a robust ETF website and a series of meetingswere created to educate bankers on the structural make-up, fundholdings and fund management of the ETFs. Huntington’s PRagency also executed the media blitz for both funds, targetingoutlets in the investment, business and ecologically-focusedcommunities, as well as key regional reporters. Huntington alsoexecuted a social media component, which included Twitter,Facebook and YouTube.

Although the campaign got stormy when Reuters falsely claimedthat Huntington said the SEC denied the initial conversion of amutual fund into an ETF, Huntington handled the crisis with finesse.In the end, media coverage kept investors and analysts informed,set a productive dialogue within the press around the SEC processand eventually gained SEC approval. Media placements include theThe Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Barron’s,TheStreet.com, Fox Business and Forbes, among many others.

B R O N Z E“From Thought Leader to Industry Influencer”

MWW for ConnectOne Bank

Six years after the inception of ConnectOne Bank (then NJCB),MWW’s PR efforts had established the bank as a client-centriccompany, invested in building relationships with its customers.However, in order to give ConnectOne a prominent voice on theeconomic issues facing its industry and customers, MWWimplemented an executive eminence-building program for Chairmanand CEO Frank Sorrentino III. The “Banking on Main Street” platformwould position ConnectOne as a go-to resource on the economy’simpact on small business customers and community banks.

After thorough research, MWW introduced Sorrentino to targetedreporters who focused on housing, interest rates, lending and jobs.The first step in elevating him as a thought leader was to buildrelationships with these reporters through deskside briefings. Then,through ongoing tracking of economic indicators and headlinenews, MWW secured regular interviews for Sorrentino on significantnews stories. The PR team also shaped content ideas forSorrentino’s blog posts and leveraged economic dataannouncements in advance, to anticipate the media’s needs anddevelop a meaningful ConnectOne point of view. Press releases—which centered on how the bank’s steady, strong growth allowed itto continue growing with its customers and maintain its competitiveedge—were distributed, as well.

MWW successfully elevated Sorrentino to a respected thoughtleader, with regular exposure on Forbes.com. The team generated60 total placements and assisted in placing 16 blog posts. TheCEO’s speaking invitations increased in both frequency andsignificance—including invitations to speak at Federal Reserveconferences and discussions. ConnectOne Bank’s assets rose 42percent as of the third quarter, and its revenues rose 20 percent.


B E S T I S SU E/CAUS E A DVOCAC Y C AMPA I GN

G O L D“No Chicago Landfills”Resolute Consulting

In an effort to protect residents and preserve the community, the City of Chicago enacted a landfill moratorium. However, when one landfillowner found a legal loophole to continue to operate, waste management company Republic Services needed a helping hand to keep themoratorium intact. Public affairs and strategic communications firm Resolute Consulting determined enacting legislation that bannedoperating landfills in densely populated areas was the only solution.

In order to secure media coverage on this issue, Resolute Consulting developed a plan that educated legislators on the issue. With onlythree weeks left in the legislative session, Resolute Consulting launched the “No Chicago Landfills” campaign and engaged a group of localand national stakeholders who served as expert spokespeople for the media and built alliances with legislative champions. The PR effortincluded the NoChicagoLandfills.com website and Facebook and Twitter accounts to keep the online audience informed and to share news.

Press materials such as news releases, fact sheets, educational videos and template letters engaged the media and the public. ResoluteConsulting targeted reporters locally, regionally and nationally, covering environmental issues, legislative process, urban development andeconomic impacts in Chicago. The team also organized influential events, including a rally at the Chicago Mayor’s office, as well as weeklypress conferences, community rallies and town hall meetings.

As a result of the media campaign, Resolute Consulting cultivated relationships with key reporters and producers, securing more than 55print, online and broadcast media clips in the local and regional media. Days before the final legislative sessions, a front-page featurestory ran in the Chicago Tribune on the landfill issue, and PBS WTTW-TV broadcasted interviews and branded materials. Aside fromnumerous other media hits, on July 22, 2012, Governor Quinn signed the bill to prevent landfills from operating in Chicago.


B E S T I S SU E/CAUS E A DVOCAC Y C AMPA I GN

S I L V E R“Healing Hands for Arthritis”






B R O N Z E“Fighting Breast Cancer

with the Power of StorytellingS”Havas PR North America

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and over the past fewyears, every brand with a pink angle has had to fight for mediaspace. Even when 100 percent of a company’s net proceeds goback to the cause—as is the case with Ford’s Warriors in Pink—PRcan be an uphill battle. When Warriors in Pink hired Havas PR NorthAmerica (@havaspr), the mission was to break through theovercrowded space of breast cancer awareness initiatives withsomething that would really speak to victims, their loved ones andthe public. The campaign would meanwhile tightly wrap messagingwith the Ford name.

To differentiate from the competition, @havaspr highlighted thestruggles and triumphs of those who had battled breast cancer.With storytelling as the guiding factor, the team enlisted journalist-activist Lee Woodruff to write survivor profiles and introduce theFord story into new conversations. Survivor and TV anchor RobinRoberts’s tale was among the most poignant and attention-grabbing.

In an effort to extend breast cancer awareness—and the brand’srelevance—beyond October, @havaspr conducted media outreacharound times important to women, survivors, fighters and otherwarriors: Mother’s Day, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, VeteransDay and holiday gifting.

The PR teams biggest win came when producers of “Rachael Ray”agreed to gift a new Ford Focus to a viewer who was battling breastcancer. The pitch became an exclusive full-scale, unpaid productintegration—and human-interest tearjerker. Other courageoussurvivor stories made it into O, USA Today, Ladies’ Home Journaland many more outlets, for a total of over 67 million mediaimpressions. More than 8.5 million TV viewer impressions and amillion radio listener impressions were also achieved. Mostimportantly, through a partnership with Jennifer Aniston, 24,000Warriors in Pink t-shirts sold on fordcares.com in less than amonth, and Warriors in Pink raised $560,000 for Susan G. Komenfor the Cure.


B E S T U S E O F T H E I N T E RN E T – C ONSUMER

G O L D“Just because Facebook is going public doesn’t mean you have to;

#GoPrivate with Abine”RF|Binder

In April 2012, rumors began surfacing that Facebook was planning an initial public offering (IPO) for May. RF|Binder was tasked to helponline privacy start-up Abine take advantage of Facebook’s impending IPO—to generate awareness among consumers for Abine’s onlineprivacy solutions and establish the company as a thought leader in the field of online privacy.

The campaign objective was to demonstrate that Facebook’s business model depends on its collection and use of users’ personal data.RF|Binder sought to connect with users by developing an interactive Web microsite: The “Facebook Val-You Calculator.” The tool would drivetraffic to Abine’s larger website and highlight the value of Internet privacy. Based on a few simple questions about Facebook activity, thecalculator used Facebook’s public filings to identify how much a user was worth in dollar figures.

The “Just because Facebook’s going public doesn’t mean you have to. #GoPrivate” slogan was spread through the innovative Calculatorand a Facebook privacy timeline infographic. Flash mob events in New York and San Francisco also spread fear of Facebook’s unwieldypower over information in the digital age and build Abine’s reputation as a fun and creative company. What’s more, news announcementsand data analysis made it to the media, prior to the IPO, to make Abine a part of the Facebook story and ensure privacy concernsremained top of mind among media.

RF|Binder’s campaign generated over 100 media placements in May alone and secured coverage with top-tier outlets, such as The WallStreet Journal and Computerworld. Several feature stories also appeared on Mashable, CNN, CNET and TechCrunch. The campaign alsobolstered Abine’s spokespeople, with their expert quotes in 38 stories about how privacy concerns would ultimately impact Facebook’svaluation. The Facebook Val-You calculator was also included in more than 40 articles that directed consumers to Abine’s website anddrove buzz among the industry and consumers, alike.


B E S T N OT - F OR - P RO F I T / A S SOC I AT I O N/GOV ERNMEN T C AMPA I GN

G O L D“Want Scary Eyes? The Dangers of Decorative Contact Lenses”

American Academy of Ophthalmology

Injuries from non-prescription decorative contact lenses are on the rise, but the product is still widely available to unknowing customers,prescription free. To raise awareness about the risks associated with these contacts and elevate its brand, the American Academy ofOphthalmology launched the “Want Scary Eyes? The Dangers of Decorative Contact Lenses” campaign.

With a limited budget and small staff, the campaign relied heavily on the optimal low-cost marketing tool to reach a national audience:The Internet. The Academy’s public education EyeSmart website featured drop-in articles with direct links back to partner newsletters andan online ophthalmology practice promotional tool kit with a press release, posts, posters and PowerPoint presentations. Social mediafunctioned as a critical platform, as well. Decorative contact lens-focused information was featured on EyeSmart’s Facebook and Twitterpages, and educational social media posts were available for others to use on social media sites.

Interactive press releases with images and links to video PSAs were distributed to media, and EyeSmart’s electronic newsletter reacheddoctors, partners and Academy staff. The Academy also conducted a seven-state radio media tour with 16 physician-spokespeople andpromoted an audio news release.

To target parents and teens, the campaign capitalized on the seasonal appeal of decorative contact lenses for Halloween costumes.Throughout October, the Academy’s social media accounts buzzed with information, and an educational poster, to be displayed in offices,junior highs and high schools, was available for download. Postcards, too, were designed for distribution in local schools and offices.

The EyeSmart decorative contact lens campaign yielded over 1,500 media stories, including approximately 300 articles, 100 TV segments,41 radio interviews that aired 175 times in seven states and 967 airings of the audio news release. Notable coverage included a featurestory in the Chicago Tribune, a HealthDay article and a feature story on ABC News. EyeSmart visitors increased by 52 percent, and variousstrategic partnerships were secured.



S I L V E R“Fish Consulting and Massage Envy”

Healing Hands for Arthritis





B R O N Z E“Get Curious”

Phillips & Company

Is there life on Mars? Global communications firm Phillips &Company was enlisted by the non-profit organization Explore Mars—which aims to promote innovation and education related to Marsexploration—to help spread awareness about the Mars rover“Curiosity.” In eight short weeks, the PR team implemented anearth-shattering national and international campaign leading up tothe rover’s epic landing.

To pique earthlings’ interest in the “Get Curious” campaign and thewonders of Mars exploration in general, Phillips & Company placedlarge red “Mars” boulders in eight cities across the country. Therocks were to appear in the cities overnight, with no fanfare orexplanation, and were inscribed with the words “GetCurious.com”and a QR code that pointed to the GetCurious.com website. The sitewas outfitted with a countdown ticker synced with NASA’s onlinecountdown clock and an animated version of the rover. Facebook,Twitter, Google+ and YouTube also provided information andupdates and served as a means for people to share links fromGetCurious.com.

Phillips & Company spearheaded landing party outreach efforts onbehalf of Explore Mars at both a national and international level,providing the public all necessary logistical information needed tohost a landing viewing party. Lucky organizations, groups, landingparty coordinators, students and others received bracelets printedwith the words “Get Curious” and “Explore Mars.”

To inform the media about the campaign and the landing itself,target reporters and outlets received press releases, as well as ared GetCurious.com/Explore Mars T-shirt andExploreMars.org/GetCurious.com logo’d bracelet. Partner factsheetsfor United Launch Alliance, Explore Mars and Aerojet were alsodistributed.

The campaign received big nods from influentials at NASA, CapitolHill and in the media. Phillips & Company secured seven op-eds inthe San Jose Mercury News, U.S. News & World Report, SpaceNews, the Washington Examiner, and many others. Other coveragedriven by the campaign included Wired’s Geekdad blog, Forbes.comand NPR’s “Morning Edition.” The Explore Mars website,GetCurious.com, averaged 3,460 visits per day, and a total of 56parties were registered worldwide for the rover’s landing.



H O N O R A B L E M E N T I O N“Private Equity at Works”

The Private Equity Growth Capital Council and The Glover Park Group

When Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney touted hisprivate sector experience, the task of defending private equity’sreputation fell to the industry’s trade association, The Private EquityGrowth Capital Council (PEGCC). To defend the industry frombroadside attacks that misrepresented its value and role in theeconomy, the association partnered with The Glover Park Group toexecute “Private Equity at Work,” a branded education campaign.

The campaign was first anchored by a new website and resourcecenter, PrivateEquityAtWork.com, featuring shareable educationalcontent, industry data and an in-depth look at specific privateequity investments that are driving growth and creating jobs. Thecampaign featured a daily blog, real time Twitter feed, dedicatedYouTube channel featuring all of the campaigns videos, a Facebookpage and shareable presentations cross-posted on SlideShare.net.

The campaign saw many setbacks but overcome them with ease.On April 11, former Labor Secretary, Robert Reich, starred in a“chalkboard” video released by MoveOn.org that heavily distortedthe private equity business model. But the PEGCC was armed andready to respond with its own whiteboard video that explained howthe private equity business model works and its value to theeconomy. Moreover, when the Obama campaign released an adabout Romney’s association with Bain Capital, the PEGCCcountered the negative image with state-specific content that brokedown private equity investment by state and congressional district.

In addition to producing and releasing a second whiteboard videothat explained the industry’s many beneficiaries, the PEGCCsecured unprecedented engagement from limited partner investorswho typically stayed out of these types of debates—but who couldprovide a first-hand account of the benefits of private equity. AsElection Day came and went, the effort garnered more than 400print and blog stories, seven op-eds and nearly 120,000 pageviews on PrivateEquityAtWork.com.


B E S T N EW P RODUC T L AUNCH – BUS I N E S S

G O L D“A Convenient Way for Merchants to Accept Credit Cards

at the Guaranteed Lowest Overall Rates”Groupon and

Weber Shandwick

Thanks to the nationwide shift from cash to electronic payment and the emergence of mobile payment technologies, the payment market islarge, profitable and growing significantly. Known as the pioneer in the daily deals space, Chicago-based Groupon decided to bolster itsalready robust presence and jump on the rumbling e-payments wagon. With the mission of offering the cheapest and simplest option forlocal businesses to accept credit cards, the company announced the launch of its own payments service.

To make splash in the payments category, Groupon tapped Weber Shandwick to publicize its product launch and drive new and renewedengagement with merchants. After extensive audience research, the team utilized a “Leak, Launch and Leverage” approach to drive mediacoverage and dialogue to help validate Groupon as a partner for merchants through the payments system. To set the tone, a select groupof highly influential media was pre-briefed. Then, other high-reaching newspapers and business journals were pursued. Finally, to leveragethe buzz already built, Groupon’s technical expertise was marketed to influential trade media in the financial and technology space.Furthermore, as Chicago is the third largest U.S. media market, Weber Shandwick told a positive “hometown” story with Groupon’shomebase of Chicago at its core.

Initial press reports drove preliminary stock trading to increase Groupon stock by seven percent, and PR generated the fourth source of allsales lead during the launch. Total media coverage, which tallied nearly 3,000 total placements across traditional and social media,generated nearly 70 million impressions. Taking a deeper dive into influence, coverage had a 100 percent neutral-positive tone. Top outletsinclude Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Chicago Sun-Times and Bloomberg.


B E S T N EW P RODUC T L AUNCH – BUS I N E S S

S I L V E R““Power to the Music” Launching Logitech UE

as a Consumer Brands”Finn Partners and Logitech

When tech accessories company Logitech acquired Ultimate Ears(UE), Logitech execs knew they were in for a slew of collaborationson products that addressed the needs of professional musicians.Ultimate Ears’ custom in-ear monitors have been used in liveperformances by 75 percent of the world’s top touring musicians.However, to build awareness for the new “Logitech UE” consumerbrand among the young, urban music market, Logitech asked FinnPartners (FP) to come on board and develop a product launchcampaign that would get a wider set of music-lovers listening.

To officially announce the Logitech UE brand—and seven newconsumer products along with it—FP designed a private concertfeaturing up-and-coming artists Milo Greene and Francis Cone atNew York City’s hip music hall, the Bowery Ballroom. Before theperformance, music fans and industry influencers were treated toexclusive demos and cocktails. FP also teamed up with media andfeatured artists for ticket giveaways, encouraging music enthusiaststo tweet and visit Facebook to enter for the chance to win.

For those who couldn’t attend the Ballroom event, FP determinedthat the best way to showcase the brand—and its commitment tosound quality—was to implement a bi-coastal desk-side media tour.Tech, lifestyle, music and trade pubs had the chance to use thenew products. The PR team also gave journalists a little teaser byreferencing some of UE’s devoted customers, including BruceSpringsteen, Bon Iver and Justin Bieber.

Leading up to the launch, 144 tickets were given away via popularlocal music blogs and lifestyle publications, including Flavorpill,Daily Candy and OhMyRockness. The concert drew 264 excitedattendees and 27 journalists, and was deemed so successful thatLogitech decided to host a similar West Coast concert in Hollywood.Briefings secured 50 pieces of top-tier coverage and hundreds ofproduct reviews, by the likes of Rolling Stone, Maxim, Men’s Journal,Wired and Thrillist.

B R O N Z E“App Annie Enters “Game of Phones”

with Google Play Launch”Bateman Group

Headquartered in Beijing, international startup App Annie providesapp store analytics and market intelligence for mobile apppublishers and developers. While App Annie already tracked iPhone,iPad and Mac trends, the company was preparing to roll out itsnewest feature—support for Google Play (and the Android market)—and digital communications agency, Bateman Group, was called into establish the App Annie presence in the U.S. market.

Leveraging its vocal fan base of app developers and influentialbloggers, as well as the hotly anticipated launch, Bateman Groupembarked upon a targeted media campaign in June 2012. To reachtech influencers, Silicon Valley “digerati” and national businesspress, Bateman chose the week between Apple’s WorldwideDeveloper Conference and Google I/O as the best window in whichto introduce App Annie to the U.S.

Next, Bateman developed an infographic that appealed to themedia’s fascination with the iOS versus Android app wars. Theinfographic featured datasets generated by the new Google Playproduct. What’s more, to appeal to the general consumer, the datawere visually tied to a theme based on HBO’s “Game of Thrones,”and the graphic was aptly titled “Game of Phones.”

Bateman secured product news exclusives with TechCrunch andMashable, which highlighted the “Game of Phones” infographic andthe product that made the data made possible. Bateman thenconvinced App Annie to grant an exclusive to Liz Gannes atAllThingsD to tell the corporate vision story. On the day of theannouncement, Bateman reached out to a wider set of mobile,technology and Silicon Valley-based reporters to offer App Annieexecutives as expert commenters on the mobile app ecosystem. Inall, App Annie scored more than 20 unique features and hundredsmore articles and blog posts.

The “Game of Phones” campaign increased traffic to App Annie’swebsite from 23,000 to 46,000 on the day of launch andincreased 57 percent overall during the week of the campaign.Conversions for App Annie for Google Play increased nearly 400percent, and the infographic gained trending status on LinkedIn,Facebook and Reddit.


B E S T N EW P RODUC T L AUNCH – C ONSUMER

G O L D“Pizza Hut Introduces The $10,010 Proposal Box”

Zeno Group

What’s the best way to prove your love on Valentine’s Day? How about a medium pizza, five breadsticks with marinara sauce and tencinnamon sticks with a sweet icing cup? That’s what Zeno Group suggested with the campaign it devised for the launch of the Pizza Hut$10 Dinner Box.

One week before Feb. 14th, the PR team launched the new deal by offering a marriage proposal “All in One Box” for the price of $10,010.Available for purchase on PizzaHut.com, the box included a ruby engagement ring, limo service, flowers, a fireworks show, photographer,videographer and, of course, most importantly, the new $10 Dinner Box.

To maximize the excitement for the $10,010 Proposal Box, the team positioned the deal on PizzaHut.com to greet hungry audiences asthey placed an order. Zeno Group also found stats reporting that 4 million couples would get engaged on Valentine’s Day, and so, whenpizza-lovers had finished ordering, a pop-up creative piece asked them if they would “like to add

a proposal to that?” The campaign gained traction on Facebook and Twitter as fans and followers were also exposed to the deal.

Leveraging the sweet timing of Valentine’s Day, the PR team activated an unexpected and unique program, which caught the attention ofnational media and gave pizza lovers everywhere an opportunity for an untraditional proposal. Zeno Group earned media coverage in TIME,Wall Street Journal, The Huffington Post Food, The Los Angeles Times, CNN and Anderson Cooper 360, among others, making more than200 million impressions. The program also generated enough buzz to help keep the $10 Dinner Box on the Pizza Hut menu for monthsbeyond its scheduled window.


B E S T N EW P RODUC T L AUNCH – C ONSUMER

S I L V E R“Downsize Fitness:

Downsizing the Obesity Epidemic”Zapwater Communications

Plagued by self-consciousness, many obese adults avoid steppinginto a gym at all cost. Yet, experts recommend daily physical activityas a simple way to help manage the obesity epidemic. That’s whereDownsize Fitness comes in. By exclusively welcoming chronicallyoverweight and obese individuals, the gym aims to create acomfortable environment where they can feel confident as they worktoward their weight loss goals.

Zapwater Communications launched a publicity campaign to putDownsize Fitness in the local and national spotlight, highlightinghow the gym breaks the fitness industry mold. Recruitment of newmembers was a number-one priority, with media attention followingbehind. To acquire new members, Zapwater created a gym-widecontest. The member who lost the highest percentage of weightwithin a six- month period would win $10,000.

To attract local media, Zapwater targeted the Chicago Tribune, thelargest daily newspaper in Chicago, to write a feature story onDownsize Fitness and got interest from health and fitness writerJulie Deardorff. Kicking off national outreach, Zapwater crafted acontroversial pitch that highlighted Downsize Fitness’s primary rule:Only people who had 50+ pounds to lose could join. Growingnational attention led to a partnership with the “Steve Harvey TVShow.” The show profiled two men in a weight loss challenge duringthe course of a couple of months and provided them membershipsto the gym.

As a result, media impressions hit more than 18.2 million forbroadcast, print and online media. The front-page Chicago Tribunearticle was syndicated in more than 120 different outlets, includingthe Los Angeles Times, the Baltimore Sun and The Huffington Post.More than forty people inquired about joining within twenty-fourhours, and the gym reached full capacity. Downsize opened aDallas location and added boot camp programs to three other citiesdue to the high demand from the public.

B R O N Z E“LearnSmart Direct-to-Student: A Marketing First

for an Established Educational PublisheS”RF|Binder with McGraw-Hill Education

Before the fall of 2012, McGraw-Hill Education’s LearnSmartsoftware, which adapts to students’ individual learning needs, wasonly available for purchase by college institutions. However, whenMcGraw-Hill decided to sell LearnSmart to students directly, thecompany needed to increase awareness among parents andstudents—of the brand and adaptive technology, in general.

With these challenges at the forefront, RF|Binder Partners took thereins. The team worked closely with McGraw-Hill to develop keymessaging points, which focused on the benefits of adaptivelearning and its ability to make educational content more engagingand interactive. What’s more, it had the potential to help studentsgraduate on time and be better prepared for today’s globaleconomy and workforce.

To announce that LearnSmart’s launch to general consumers, theteam developed several press releases on McGraw-Hill’s shiftingbusiness model, the benefits of LearnSmart itself and the “GoingPlaces with LearnSmart” Sweepstakes—a travel contest designed togive students a reason to tackle their studies with enthusiasm. Theteam also developed a mat release titled “Tech Tips for College-Bound Students and Their Parents,” as well as two infographics. Forplacement, RF|Binder pitched national publications and broadcaststations, business reporters, tech and mommy blogs, consumertechnology publications, college and university papers and contestand sweeps sites.

In all, the launch garnered a total of more than 17 million audienceimpressions and supported LearnSmart direct-to-student sales. Ofparticular note, the initial business announcement receivedsignificant coverage in Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal, FoxBusiness, NASDAQ and others. The subsequent consumerannouncement secured coverage in USA TODAY, About.com,edcetera, to name a few. Additionally, the sweepstakesannouncement was featured in more than 15 outlets, and the tie-inmat release received pickup in more than 1,300 outlets.


B E S T U S E O F P E R SONA L I T Y / C E L EBR I T Y

G O L D“Hatfields & McCoys Integrated Media Campaign”

HISTORY

Since the network’s rebrand in 2007, the HISTORY channel has transitioned from a middle-rated purveyor of historical documentaries to anetwork of top-rated series and special events. However, in order to continue the success, HISTORY needed to broaden its content.HISTORY’s first foray into the scripted arena, “Hatfields & McCoys”, represented the latest stage in the network’s brand evolution. But withthe introduction of the miniseries, HISTORY needed to keep its male non-fiction audience, recruit female drama enthusiasts and buildcritical and industry buzz.

In order to reach targets during the Memorial Day premier, HISTORY leveraged big name stars—Bill Paxton and Kevin Costner—andmarketed the series like a cinematic event. In addition to gifting editorial targets with a dirty, bullet-riddled felt hat, HISTORY deliveredhighly specialized pitches. For men’s publications, they used the action angle, as well as the lure of Costner’s music. For women’spublications, the pitches focused on the show’s stars, family drama story and romance storyline. Entertainment news outlets receivedpitches on the film and industry-related aspects, sales and marketing, production news and reviews, while celebrity outlets and bloggersgot stories on the series’ younger celebrities. The campaign also brought the feud to NYC, with Hatfields promotions taking over PortAuthority Bus Terminal and McCoys at Grand Central. Wallscape outdoor posters also took the city by storm.

HISTORY secured long-lead features with Esquire, Parade, EW, People, Playboy and others, booked electronic outlets for premiere week andorganized a satellite press junket with talent interviews for print and online outlets and key bloggers. One week before the launch, theHollywood Reporter co-sponsored a premiere party, and coverage included Vanity Fair, Access, ET/Insider, Extra and others. Mostimportantly, in the digital realm, HISTORY scored an exclusive partnership with Rolling Stone Live to feature Kevin Costner’s rock band in astreaming concert, interviews and promotion. Digital takeovers and home page roadblocks made YouTube, IMDB, Yahoo!, NYTimeshomepage, and a Facebook app, “Are you a Hatfield or McCoy?” went viral.

The premiere was the most-watched television event in cable history—three times. Defying multiple night TV patterns, “Hatfields & McCoys”actually picked up steam each night, gaining more viewers, and post-premiere ratings and success stories generated millions ofincremental impressions.


B E S T U S E O F P E R SONA L I T Y / C E L EBR I T Y

S I L V E R“Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Circus

Goes Hispanic”rbb PR

Many know the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Circus as “TheGreatest Show on Earth,” but the entertainment company found thatunder the tents, there was one major market missing: Hispanics. Inan effort to fill this gap, Feld Entertainment tapped rbb PR to createa public relations program to bring the circus to a whole new set offamilies—and the fastest growing market segment in the U.S.

Research was a critical factor as rbb set off. Studies indicated thatHispanics would better relate to a spokesperson who embodied thecore tenets of the Hispanic community, so they selected Ringling’sChilean animal trainer Taba Maluenda, in addition to other Hispanicperformers to represent the circus. One of the few Hispanic animaltrainers in the industry, Taba’s story hit the right notes to resonatewith Hispanic audiences. Although controversial statements byanimal extremists made positioning an animal trainer as aspokesperson potentially risky, rbb researched every nationalreporter across Hispanic networks for ties to or strong opinionsabout animal rights and sought to flip their perceptions.

The rbb team identified Miami, Los Angeles, New York and Houstonas the top four U.S. cities with the largest Hispanic populationswhere Ringling Bros. performs and targeted local highly ratedSpanish language television channels with their story. Pitcheshighlighted concepts shown by research to inspire and attractHispanics—family, language, heritage, culture and an emotionalconnection—and showcased elements of the circus that reflect theseresearch-proven “motivators.” Through Taba’s story and others’, therbb team emphasized family and emotional connections, combinedwith a bit of show spectacular.

rbb’s efforts generated major stories in target media. People enEspan�ol Magazine featured Taba, who has more than 200 scarsfrom his animal training, in an article on “rethinking the idea ofbeauty.” On Univision, Taba scored a segment about his reunion withhis mother, whom he hadn’t seen in over ten years, and the trainer,along with many of Ringling’s Hispanic performers, was also featuredUnivision’s “Despierta America” and Telemundo’s “Un Nuevo Dia,”where the circus aired live and showcased a few of its actsperformed by Hispanics. In addition, the show’s anchors becameclowns for a day and received a behind-the-scenes look into Taba’sanimal training methods. Finally, a circus-themed couture fashionshoot made it into seven-page spread in Siempre Mujer Magazine.What’s more, rbb increased ticket sales by an average of sevenpercent in top Hispanic markets and garnered more than 201million media impressions with 100 percent positive tone ofcoverage, as it relates to Ringling Bros.’ treatment of animals.

B R O N Z E“Clint Eastwood Opening the Warner Bros. Theater

at the Smithsonian (Feb. 1, 2012)”Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History

Washington may not be known as the capital of cinema, but theSmithsonian’s National Museum of American History received $5million from Warner Bros. to flip an auditorium into a state-of-the-art theater. The new building was renamed the Warner Bros. Theaterand

would highlight the history of film. To make its way into thelimelight—and draw on the intersection of D.C. and Hollywood—theSmithsonian PR department developed a media event that wouldcenter on the contributions of film to American culture.

To convey the story of the Americans and the silver screen,filmmaker and actor Clint Eastwood was chosen as a representativefor the gala opening of the theater. Given his six decades of workcaptivating international audiences, he would act as theembodiment of the American experience through film. To bringEastwood into the limelight, the PR team nominated him for theSmithsonian Bicentennial Medal and planned a red carpet arrivalfor him and Warner Bros. chairman and CEO Barry Meyer.

To build anticipation, a small exhibition case was set up outside thetheater and showcased costumes of Lauren Bacall and HumphreyBogart, a Harry Potter robe, photographs and Jack Warner’s silvertelephone. The PR team also announced the year-long schedule forfour free public film festivals, beginning with a Bogart retrospectivethe weekend following the gala theater opening.

Although the auditorium’s remodeling ran behind schedule, theribbon-cutting took place at the entrance of the theater just ontime. During the gala, Eastwood’s Smithsonian Award waspresented by Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough and Sen. PatrickLeahy, who is a Smithsonian Regent. PR efforts resulted in 37million impressions. Twenty-nine members of the media attended,and placements include the Associated Press, The WashingtonPost, the Los Angeles Times, and The Huffington Post.


P R I N NOVAT I ON O F T H E Y E AR

G O L D“AKA Central Park Takes Glamping to Another Level with NYC’s First Outdoor Bedroom”

Quinn & Co

Many hotels boast a room with a view. So when AKA Central Park, the flagship property of AKA, a brand of luxury extended-stay hotels,wanted to showcase the penthouse suites’ outdoor wraparound terrace, a simple photograph of the landscape wouldn’t cut it. In an effortto give the PR campaign a twist, AKA sought the guidance of New York City-based Quinn & Co.

Spreading the excitement about the hotel’s outdoor space—a rarity in NYC—and tapping into a broader market of consumers in need ofluxury furnished residences, Quinn & Co. developed a concept based around the most welcoming way to spend time outdoors: Glamping.The PR team created New York’s first hotel outdoor bedroom—with a bed out on the penthouse terrace in front of the fireplace. Visitorswould have the opportunity to sleep under the stars with an E-reader loaded with fireside stories, Maison du Chocolate s’mores and atelescope. The five-star camping and urban glamping experience also included a 42-inch TV and DVD player with classic, scary campsidemovies for families’ and couples’ viewing pleasure.

With a limited budget, Quinn & Co. accomplished over 1 billion media impressions, including a Wall Street Journal feature based on thejournalist’s entertaining and whimsical stay, as well as USA Today, New York Times, Travel + Leisure, CondeNastTravel.com and others.International coverage reached Ireland, UK, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Australia and Brazil.


P R I N NOVAT I ON O F T H E Y E AR

S I L V E R“Harnessing Pittsburgh’s Energy

for One Young World”Havas PR North America

One Young World is a global youth-leadership summit, founded byexecutives of Havas Worldwide and modeled after the annual WorldEconomic Forum. Each year, a different city hosts the conference,and for the 2012 summit, the Havas PR North America (@havaspr)Pittsburgh office believed its city deserved a shot.

The team knew it would not be successful without a collaborativeeffort from the city’s business, government and nonprofit leaders.Based on the positive reaction to a presentation by OYW co-founderKate Robertson, a collaborative business-nonprofit group—calledthe One Young World Pittsburgh Partnership—assembled to create ahosting bid. The Partnership tackled increasing communityawareness by engaging leaders to drive fundraising, secure strongdelegate sponsorship from Pittsburgh corporations, line up 500volunteers and orchestrate special events. @havaspr recruited fourinterns to make presentations and attend local events to get cityresidents to sign welcome ribbons to hang in the convention center.

In addition, The PR team secured artist and Pittsburgh native BurtonMorris to create an original work of art for street banners andposters and got Partnership members to donate signs andbillboards. @havaspr collaborated with the city’s symphony,partnership members and the community at large to create off-siteexperiences, breakout sessions citywide and even dinners in 150homes for all the delegates. Carefully crafted news points werepitched at every milestone.

A WQED documentary production team also agreed to film eventsand interview delegates for PBS. And the Havas PR media team gotprepared to host more than 20 international and 60 U.S. reporterson site, including writing and distributing pre-summit releases andarranging a multimedia newsroom.

The PR teams great efforts paid off. In addition to getting OYW toPittsburgh in 2012, the agency helped raise more than $700,000for the summit and generated over 428 million impressions. Thehighest-profile stories were those in AP, BBC, BloombergBusinessweek, Forbes, Hispanic Business, The Huffington Post,Vogue UK and The Wall Street Journal. What’s more, about 61,000people watched the live stream in 176 countries.

B R O N Z E“Symantec Influencing the Influencers Program”

Symantec and Connect Marketing

Security software corporation Symantec had numerous initiativesaddressing traditional media outlets, but they realized they weremissing from some key online conversations in niche blogs, forums,user communities and other B2B focused social platforms. Toaddress this gap, the PR pros at Connect Marketing developed the“Influencing the Influencers” program, whereby Symantec would bepositioned as a thought leader on IT megatrends and otherstrategic topics, and thus, increase Symantec’s share of voice.

The first steps involved identifying trends that Symantec hadexpertise in: Security/threat landscape, information explosion,virtualization, cloud computing and mobility. To find primeinfluencers who would be eager to pick up Symantec’s pitch,Connect used an algorithm-based tool to rate blogs based oninfluence and determined bloggers’ expertise and following.

Connect engaged multiple individuals from various sides of thebusiness, scheduling training sessions across different productgroups to educate internal stakeholders on the program. Once thetrainings were completed and messaging on various topics wasfinalized, multiple processes were implemented to help search eachday for the most relevant and timely topics from online influencers.Once they were identified, the team created draft responses andsent them to the internal stakeholders to review and post ininfluencer communities.

The “Influencing the Influencers” resulted in a combined 13 percentjump in share of voice. Specifically, within the mobile-focusedcommunities, Symantec has gone from 3 percent to 41 percentshare of voice during the first year of the program. In addition, therehave been more than 600 interactions among 300+ influencers inthe past 12 months. While the numbers are impressive, Symantechas also seen many anecdotal examples of the program’s success.Nearly all influencers have thanked the company for participating ina larger discussion and for building relationships with them.


B E S T R E S PONS E TO B R E AK I NG N EWS

G O L D“LeakedIn – Act Fast Or Be Left Behind”

SHIFT Communications and Rapid7

On June 6, 2012, LinkedIn announced its data had been breached, and 6.4 million passwords were available to anyone who had Internetaccess and knew where to look. Rapid7, a vulnerability management company, knew it had the much-needed insight to calm fears, helpconsumers stay protected and reach a market of potential customers. Just 20 minutes after the news broke, SHIFT Communications,Rapid7’s PR team, worked with the company on strategy, messaging and tactics for issuing public commentary on the breach.

To get in front of Rapid7’s current and potential customers with media coverage, SHIFT ensured Rapid7 was first on scene for reporterscovering LinkedIn’s catastrophic news. The PR team offered a Rapid7 spokesperson, Marcus Carey, who had Department of Defenseexperience to build credibility with the press. In addition, SHIFT counseled Carey to analyze the leaked data, providing Rapid7 with a freshperspective to offer to the press and a leg-up on the competition.

SHIFT prioritized media targets, starting with business press and moving to security/IT outlets.

Armed with Carey’s analysis of the data breach, SHIFT recommended Rapid7 create an infographic tailored to consumers. The graphicexplained the extreme problem associated with password reuse, the lack of password complexity and listed the most common passwordphrases to consumers and security practitioners in a simple way. SHIFT also worked with Rapid7 to create a blog post on the news and awebinar discussing these types of high-level breaches to help drive sales leads and website traffic.

In just two days, coverage included 200 total pieces, in outlets such as Associated Press, Computerworld, The Huffington Post, Los AngelesTimes, Mashable, MSNBC, Reuters and The Wall Street Journal. Inbound sales requests increased, with 500+ registrations for its upcomingwebinar, and traffic to Rapid7 website boosted with more than 3,500 hits on its breaking news blog post.


B E S T R E S PONS E TO B R E AK I NG N EWS

S I L V E R“Nanny Bloomberg”Berman and Company

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has a history of backing regulations onwhat New Yorkers put in their bodies. In May 2012, when heproposed to ban the sale of sugar-sweetened beverages larger than16 ounces in the city’s restaurants, stadiums, movie theaters andarenas, many were aghast. The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF),a nonprofit coalition working to protect consumer choices, wasamong them. Finding the ban to be an infringement on principles ofpersonal responsibility and consumer freedom, the communicationsfirm that manages the CCF, Berman and Company, sought toridicule Bloomberg in a big way.

To position CCF as the leading voice against the policy andconvince consumers that the ban would only be the beginning ofBloomberg’s “nanny-state” policies, Berman and Company workedquickly to develop eye-catching ad creative. Drawing on humor butalso educating its audience on the “government takeover” of NewYorkers’ diets, Berman and Company produced a full-page ad in TheNew York Times. It depicted Bloomberg in a dowdy pale blue dressunder the headline “Nanny Bloomberg: You only thought you lived inthe land of the free.”

The ad was created, placed and printed within one day ofBloomberg’s announcement. It was accompanied by a nationalpress release, several op-eds to be pitched to local and nationaloutlets and follow-up press releases and notes to specific reporterson the proposal as it was voted on by New York City’s HealthDepartment.

CCF was the first major voice against the proposal and garneredtop news coverage. The New York Post ran several articles featuringboth the ad and CCF’s opposition to the ban, and the story waspicked up by the likes of Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal,Politico, Slate and Reuters. Broadcast outlets such as Fox and CNNused the ad in stories on the ban and interviewed a CCFspokesman on the issue. Moreover, for the week following the ad,CCF saw a 200% increase in web traffic to its websitewww.ConsumerFreedom.com.

B R O N Z E“HighTower Whiteboard Animation Video:

Brokers vs. Fiduciaries (aka Butcher/Dietician)”Jennifer Connelly Public Relations y

Unlike Wall Street brokerages, which typically limit client access to“approved” products designed to make money throughcommissions and kickbacks (unbeknownst to their clients),HighTower is firmly independent and provides its investor clientbase with the best investment options and services that Wall Streethas to offer. Spurred by the buzz surrounding the concept of“transparency” in the investing world, Jennifer Connelly PublicRelations created a video-driven campaign that would helpHighTower educate the public about the differences between a WallStreet-style broker and a client-focused fiduciary.

JCPR and the client agreed that a video explaining HighTower’sfiduciary responsibility had to reach beyond the staid stylesynonymous with the highly regulated financial industry. Thelanguage of the video also had to be straightforward, so investorswould grasp it quickly and easily. With a little behind-the-scenesresearch at the HighTower offices, the solution became clear: Thewhiteboard video, a communication tool used by HighTower execs atinternal and external meetings, was a natural backdrop. Thewhiteboard medium would provide simple illustrations and a play-by-play of the way financial advising works for and against theinvestor. Using the analogy of a butcher—who tries to “sell, sell,sell”—and a dietician—who offers a holistic approach to overallfinancial health—JCPR’s in-house crew produced a short andeducational 2.3-minute video.

Meanwhile, resigning Goldman Sachs executive Greg Smith penneda scathing op-ed in the New York Times, describing Wall Streetculture as anything but client-centric. Suddenly, JCPR’s campaignhad a news hook, too. Although, when the letter was released, thevideo was not finalized, the production team made necessary edits,enhanced the design and pitched the video two days later.

JCPR landed the HighTower video on The New York Times’ “Bucks”blog, Forbes.com, REP, AdvisorOne.com and Dow Jones Newswires.JCPR alerted NAFTA, who decided to open their annual meeting witha viewing of the video. The whiteboard piece was viewed more than36,000 times and has reached Business Insider, InvestmentNews,Forbes, FundFire and The Reformed Broker. What’s more, JCPR usedTwitter, Facebook and LinkedIn engagement to disseminate thevideo and increased traffic to its website by several thousand visits.


B E S T U S E O F R E S E ARCH – BUS I N E S S/CONSUMER

G O L D“IT in the Toilet”

11mark

Entering the market as a new integrated marketing agency, 11mark needed to cut through the noise, raise visibility and establish brandawareness. In place of a more traditional launch, the agency decided to take a creative approach, focusing on a hot button issue for itscustomers: mobile trends. In an effort to leverage research and humor, as well as highlight a key issue for potential clients and partners,11mark gave the media relations effort an edge. Their campaign centered on a survey the PR team conducted, examining mobile habits in“the last private place”—the bathroom.

11mark surveyed Americans on their bathroom phone habits, comparing men versus women, generational phone use, and differencesamong Droid, iPhone and Blackberry users. The team analyzed results and created the “IT in the Toilet” report, along with a visuallyappealing infographic. The data exposed American’s bathroom phone habits and provided insight on larger trends, like the growing relianceon mobile technology. As 11mark analyzed the data, they conclusively found that the last private place was no longer private—and exposedjust how mobile society has become.

The team launched a proactive media relations campaign, approaching newspapers, magazines, blogs and broadcast. The “IT in the Toilet”report included unique cover art and the infographic and was sent to a targeted press list. The team’s key social media channels served tospread the data in innovative ways, as did the eye-catching landing page created for the release. Interviews with mainstream andtechnology-focused outlets served to build more buzz and to get download numbers accelerating at lightning speed.

From local to regional news outlets, the team secured coverage in more than 470 articles and 200+ broadcast placements. Highlightsinclude The New York Times, Network World, Informationweek, CBS News, HLN, ABC News, The Huffington Post and Computerworld. Thestory was also included on CNN’s homepage, NPR’s “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” and “Live! with Kelly.”

In the realm of social media, Twitter coverage started in English and moved around the world in a dozen languages. “IT in the Toilet” alsogenerated 3,600+ Facebook likes, 330+ LinkedIn shares and tens of thousands of Twitter tweets and re-tweets. Site traffic increased3,700 percent during the campaign—with nearly two thousand release and infographic downloads from the website.



G O L D“PETA Kills Animals”Berman and Company

The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) is a nonprofit coalition that strives to protect consumer choices. Managed by Berman andCompany, CCF has a long record of investigating the inner-workings of animal rights groups. When the organization obtained records fromthe Commonwealth of Virginia revealing that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) kills over 90 percent of the dogs and catsin its care every year, Berman and Company knew an attention-grabbing PR campaign was in order.

More research revealed staggering figures. According to Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) records since1998, a total of 27,751 pets have died at the hands of PETA workers. CCF discovered after the most recent Freedom of Information Act(FOIA) request that PETA had an even more gruesome history. The FOIA request also uncovered a 2010 inspection of 290 PETA animalcustody records performed by VDACS, which showed PETA’s animal shelter didn't meet PETA’s own published guidelines, among other darktruths about its shelters.

To generate public awareness of PETA’s “not-so-ethical” animal treatment, CCF’s researches delved deeper into public records andredesigned its PETAKillsAnimals.com website to include the newly obtained information. The site included a timeline of events, a page onPETA’s past run-ins with the law and translations of the text for non-English speakers. Press releases were distributed nationally andinternationally.

The online new source The Daily Caller broke the story first, with an article on DrudgeReport.com. USA Today also reported on the newnumbers, and the research report received major publicity from several television networks and national and international newspapers. Itappeared on popular blogs such as Jezebel.com and The Huffington Post. As a result of the extensive media coverage,PETAKillsAnimals.com received a whopping 31,297 visits.



S I L V E R“Which Comes First:The Survey

or the CEO Ouster?”ReviveHealth

In the wake of national health care reform, the trust factor betweenhospitals and health insurance companies is perilously low. Eachyear, ReviveHealth conducts a survey of the best and worst healthplans, and in 2012, the company surveyed 400 hospital execs ontheir opinions of large health plans. The data offered both membersand media crucial information about insurance company trendsand tactics affecting health care costs, quality and access. Butwhere was the news hook?

Survey results in 2012 put insurer WellPoint—a publicly tradedBlueCross BlueShield plan—at the top of the “worst” list at a timewhen WellPoint and its CEO were under heavy public fire from WallStreet, providers and members. Seizing on the opportunity,ReviveHealth decided to hinge the campaign on this finding.Because health plans ranked well by providers have demonstratedmembership growth, the survey’s reflections on reputation—and itsrelationship to business practices and corporate behavior—wouldalso position ReviveHealth as the leading voice for health planevaluations and the health care industry.

To squarely leverage the WellPoint news of the day, the marketingteam first pitched the story to the Bloomberg reporter focused onWellPoint and WellPoint CEO Angela Braly’s growing list of troubles.Pitches to local business journals, health care business reportersand key health care industry publications followed. The teamdeveloped a press release, fact sheet, survey results and a series ofblog posts to highlight the various components of the findings, aswell as a direct email marketing campaign to announce the results.

The thought leadership effort resulted in a heavy-hitting placementin Bloomberg News, as well as impressions in nearly 50publications, including NPR, BusinessWeek, Kaiser Health News,HealthLeaders, The Advisory Board and Medical Economics. Thepayor that ranked best in the survey, Cigna, included the results in acompany-issued press release, and the publicity drove more than17,000 visitors to ReviveHealth’s website in one month.


B E S T S P E C I A L E V E N T / S TUN T

G O L D“The Scharffen Berger Valentine’s Day Chocolate Bar”

RF|Binder

Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker, the first bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturer established in the United States, was sold to The HersheyCompany in 2005. One important objective for the company was to shift the brand’s focus from the baking category toward the confectionmarket. To achieve this goal, RF|Binder established a presence for the brand during one of the most chocolate-centric days: Valentine’sDay.

In the vibrant setting of the Meatpacking District, NYC, the first-ever Scharffen Berger Valentine’s Day Chocolate Bar took place on February14. Branded tents, umbrellas, hats and red scarves spiced up the space, and “flights” of Scharffen Berger Tasting Squares drove producttrial. The “bar” served as the focal point of the event, offering custom designed and branded Valentine’s Day cards containing oneScharffen Berger tasting square each for visitors to mail to friends and loved ones across the U.S., not only creating a memorable, brandedexperience, but also expanding trial to a national level. RF|Binder also produced branded discount cards to drive chocolate sales online.

RF|Binder devised a parallel social media campaign that supported and reinforced the consumer-facing event. As an online extension ofthe event, Facebook fans could send a private Chocolate eCard message to friends, and photos and videos captured at the event wereposted on the brand’s page. On Twitter, the @ScharffenBerger Twitter Party pre-promoted the event, while the PR team live-tweeted duringthe event, using the dedicated #ScharffenBerger hashtag and advertising the Chocolate eCard. The campaign also created a FourSquareevent, as well as an Instagram feed.

The event and promotional efforts garnered over 55 million editorial impressions from top tier publications, including The New York Times,New York Daily News, AM New York, CBS Local and Zagat. Over 25 event calendar listings appeared in local publications, andapproximately 5,000 consumers visited the Chocolate Bar throughout the daylong event.



S I L V E R“Entenmann’s Celebrates the

75th National Donut Day with The Salvation Army”Freeman Public Relations

Every year on National Donut Day, packaged goods brandEntenmann’s sadly watched from the sidelines as stand-alonecompanies like Dunkin Donuts and Krispy Kreme had all themarketing fun. However, Freeman Public Relations (FPR) knew theNational Donut Day 2012—its 75th anniversary—was an opportunemoment to build buzz for Entenmann’s own boxed treats. Theholiday, established by The Salvation Army in 1938 to honor theorganization’s “Donut Lassies” who served donuts to soldiers duringWorld War I, should become synonymous with the brand. Thus, asFPR’s campaign wheels began turning, a partnership idea tookshape. Together with The Salvation Army itself, Entenmann’s wouldhost a celebration embodying a true American tradition of food andsocial impact.

As the date approached, FPR recruited another influential figure:New York City’s Mayor Bloomberg. Although Bloomberg had recentlytaken a stance against sweets with his proposed soda ban, heofficially endorsed the day as “NYC Donut Day.” As a final push togenerate consumer awareness before the event, FPR leveragedEntenmann’s’ social media presence with a national Facebooksweepstakes campaign to raise money for The Salvation Army.

Capitalizing on the 75th anniversary milestone and The SalvationArmy’s non-profit cause, FPR planned a National Donut Day pop-upparty in Madison Square Park. Complete with Entenmann’s andSalvation Army trucks, signage and sampling tables, the event alsofeatured a visual draw: the largest box of Entenmann’s donuts evermade. The Salvation Army’s “Donut Lassies” also handed out donutsin traditional uniforms.

Prior to the event’s opening, broadcast affiliates lined MadisonSquare park, and throughout, the event scored coverage on NBCNightly News, USA Today, Yahoo! News, The Huffington Post,Chicago Sun-Times, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, Grub Streetand many more. FPR also secured two “Good Day New York” remotesegments and a piece with Newsday’s “Kidsday” editor. Radio andsocial media coverage also abounded, and Entenmann’s saw a7.4% sales increase. Equally important: Now, Entenmann’s cancelebrate National Donut Day every year.

B R O N Z E“Walking Dead 100th Issue Party”

Full Picture

To celebrate the 100th Issue of The Walking Dead comic series andgraphic novels, Hyundai toasted creator and writer Robert Kirkmanwith a private Comic-Con VIP Party. Full Picture coordinated pressoutreach to secure all coverage for the event, which took place inSan Diego and brought forth celebrities from all walks of life.

The Full Picture team played an integral role in developing thestrategy for press and celebrity outreach for the event. With teammembers from New York and Los Angeles, Full Picture brought avariety of resources and knowledge to such a large-scale pressevent. With a highly targeted list of entertainment industry andcelebrity outlets, the team created a national press release andevent invitations.

The Walking Dead 100th Issue Party was haunted by undead talentfrom the AMC television show, based on the Skybound/ImageComics Eisner Award-winning comic series, as well as their celebrityfans. Upon arriving, celebs walked the “Black Carpet” into the fullyimmersive re-creation of a post- apocalyptic world infested withzombies. In addition, Full Picture facilitated interviews with theattending media.

From triage nurses to real-life "survivors" and members of theinfected, The Walking Dead 100th Issue event was alive withzombie-inspired elements. Guests noshed on appetizers passedaround the event—for example, “fried squirrel," a delectable mealfrom the graphic novel—while the strobe-lit dance was full ofmonster-mashing guests. Hyundai also had a 2013 Elantra GTwrapped in the cover of the 100th issue by longtime The WalkingDead artist Charlie Adlard, on the black carpet. The prize was givenaway to a lucky survivor of the fete.

Full Picture’s campaign secured top tier coverage with national andlocal print and online media, best of which included Variety, AccessHollywood, The Hollywood Reporter, Entertainment Weekly, New YorkPost, People Magazine, US Weekly and WallStreetJournal.com.



B R O N Z E“Clint Eastwood Opening the Warner Bros. Theater

at the Smithsonian (Feb. 1, 2012)”Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History

Washington may not be known as the capital of cinema, but theSmithsonian’s National Museum of American History received $5million from Warner Bros. to flip an auditorium into a state-of-the-art theater. The new building was renamed the Warner Bros. Theaterand

would highlight the history of film. To make its way into thelimelight—and draw on the intersection of D.C. and Hollywood—theSmithsonian PR department developed a media event that wouldcenter on the contributions of film to American culture.

To convey the story of the Americans and the silver screen,filmmaker and actor Clint Eastwood was chosen as a representativefor the gala opening of the theater. Given his six decades of workcaptivating international audiences, he would act as theembodiment of the American experience through film. To bringEastwood into the limelight, the PR team nominated him for theSmithsonian Bicentennial Medal and planned a red carpet arrivalfor him and Warner Bros. chairman and CEO Barry Meyer.

To build anticipation, a small exhibition case was set up outside thetheater and showcased costumes of Lauren Bacall and HumphreyBogart, a Harry Potter robe, photographs and Jack Warner’s silvertelephone. The PR team also announced the year-long schedule forfour free public film festivals, beginning with a Bogart retrospectivethe weekend following the gala theater opening.

Although the auditorium’s remodeling ran behind schedule, theribbon-cutting took place at the entrance of the theater just ontime. During the gala, Eastwood’s Smithsonian Award waspresented by Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough and Sen. PatrickLeahy, who is a Smithsonian Regent. PR efforts resulted in 37million impressions. Twenty-nine members of the media attended,and placements include the Associated Press, The WashingtonPost, the Los Angeles Times, and The Huffington Post.


B E S T U S E O F S OC I A L MED I A TOO L S – BUS I N E S S/CONSUMER

G O L D“The Hershey Company with JSH&A Communications”

Hop Down the Hershey's Bunny Trail

Easter is only one day, but in PR, bunnies, egg-hunts and pastel colors are spotted for weeks leading up to the holiday. However, in 2012,the Easter season was 15 days shorter than the previous year, and JSH&A Public Relations was asked to develop an aggressive campaignto raise awareness of the Hershey’s portfolio of brands—including both new and classic Easter products.

JSH&A knew that consumers view Easter as an opportunity to celebrate and spend time with family. For moms, Easter means creatingpersonalized Easter baskets for loved ones—oftentimes with candy included. Based off these insights, JSH&A developed a program tospark online conversation among a group of proven influencers—mom bloggers. Because this demographic would be looking forward toparticipating in the holiday, JSH&A created the Hershey’s Bunny Trail—an online trail that featured women’s favorite Easter memories onCelebrate with Hersheys.com With new weekly content, the Bunny Trail provided a steady stream of stories.

Kicking off at Blissdom 2012—a premiere conference for 800+ mommy bloggers—the Hershey’s booth invited visitors to join the Trail andcreate their own custom Easter baskets. A custom #hsyeaster hashtag was created so attendees could share their experience at the boothand engage in product giveaways on Twitter. In addition, a photographer and videographer captured booth activity, which was leveraged onHershey’s social media pages and the website. Online influencers and attendees were encouraged to post about their family Eastertraditions upon receipt of their custom baskets, and selected posts were featured on the Bunny Trail.

The Hershey’s booth at Blissdom yielded more than 400 custom Easter baskets, and the #hsyeater was used more than 160 times in twodays, generating more than half a million online impressions. As a result of the Bunny Trail, more than 230 blog posts incorporatedHershey’s Easter products, and 21% featured direct links to Celebrate with Hersheys.com. Sales figures also increased by double-digitmillions of dollars.


B E S T U S E O F S OC I A L MED I A TOO L S – BUS I N E S S/CONSUMER

S I L V E R“Making Geek Chic: Finn Partners and IEEE

Executes Campaign That Makess”Finn Partners

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is the largesttechnical professional society in the world. When IEEE approachedFinn Partners (FP), the institute sought help building its brand intoa fresh voice on technological advancements and reaching theyounger generation. But, due to the widespread nature of theorganization, it was for difficult for FP to tease out what thecollective IEEE voice should be to inspire the industry and thegeneral public. The agency set to work on a social media campaignthat would build an online hub—a central place for members,industry and the general public to go for all things IEEE.

To create a link between IEEE and wireless technology to a broaderaudience, the team created an interactive timeline of top wirelessmoments in human history and then asked the IEEE Facebook andTwitter communities to add their personal stories to the mix, withthe most empowering story writer walking away with a new iPad.

To showcase IEEE’s commitment to sustainability, FP also built out a“Green Your World” initiative around World Environment Day. Thismonth-long push got the online community to make pledges to anumber of steps that would reduce their carbon footprint.

Finally, FP worked with IEEE’s Women in Engineering society andfour of the top female engineers in the world to create aneducational initiative promoting discussions of women in STEM. ThePR team utilized the expertise of the female engineers to create aseries of live-streaming chats between experts and the communityon education and empowerment issues relevant to them. Aninfographic that demonstrated the most important womenengineers in history was also drawn up.

Over a nine-month period, Finn Partners helped the IEEE.orgFacebook page grow 310%. The group received 60,259 socialinteractions and reached more than 3.1 million total impressionson Facebook posts. The IEEE.org Twitter account also gained nearly10,000 new followers and received 5,661 total re-tweets.

B R O N Z E“Partners in Preservation”

M Booth

The Partners in Preservation program—of the American ExpressFoundation and the National Trust for Historic Preservation—awardspreservation grants to historic places across the country. Everyparticipating site receives a grant, but those places that get themost votes from local consumers win 100% funding for a project.When the program came to New York City, M Booth worked with the sponsors to change the game—byreaching a younger demographic and leveraging social media forthe cause of historic preservation across the city.

To spur voting, the agency conducted deep-dive research to findonline “Preservation Champions”—twenty bloggers in differentboroughs and with passions for food, local culture, sports, the artsand religion. With these core believers on board, the PR teamplanned how to synchronize blogger activity with the socialchannels of the 40 historic sites.

The campaign rolled out with a voting kick-off: A “preservationistcommunity” rally at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, bringingtogether the sites, bloggers and media. The event headlinedsinger/actress Katharine McPhee performing the Sinatra classic“New York, New York” with an interactive 3D hologram of thecompeting sites—which became sharable online video content. Thekick-off activated the bloggers and lit up the social universe,creating the #PreserveNYC conversation.

A “Preservation Station” traveled New York promoting guerilla voting.New Yorkers had the opportunity to get their photos taken againstthe backdrop of their favorite sites with those pictures projectedonto buildings. One weekend, all 40 sites hosted an open housewith special programming or free admission for the public to visitand cast votes.

When all was said and done, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkersvoted for preservation sites. Bloggers generated hundreds of posts,tweets and Facebook posts, while the Partners In PreservationFacebook page got 31,513 "likes." Traditional media amplified thecampaign, with 741 placements in The New York Times, The WallStreet Journal, Reuters, AP, Forbes, New York Magazine, New YorkDaily News, New York Post and The Huffington Post, as well asbroadcast segments and WNYC public radio coverage. In all, 40historic sites received grants, and three historic preservationprojects were completely funded.


B E S T T E CHNO LOG Y C AMPA I GN – BUS I N E S S

G O L D“Connect Marketing and Symantec ”Symantec Mobile Honey Stick Project

The theft or loss of a smartphone can expose businesses and individuals to loss of all data stored on the device, as well as data residingin corporate systems or cloud applications to which the device might have direct connections. To enhance Symantec’s reputation as theleading expert on cyber security issues that impact both consumers and businesses in the digital age, Connect Marketing worked with thecompany to develop a research-based PR campaign.

The “Symantec Smartphone Honey Stick Project” was an experiment involving 50 "lost" smartphones. Before Symantec PR intentionallylost these devices, they placed a collection of simulated corporate and personal data on them, along with the capability to remotelymonitor what happened to them once they were found. Dropped in five different cities, the phones were left in high traffic public placessuch as elevators, malls, food courts, and public transit stops. Among other staggering results, eight out of ten finders tried to accesscorporate information.

PR worked with a third-party researcher to complete the study and develop the final report and supporting materials prior to launch.Multiple visuals—including an infographic, Google maps and photo images of the original phone placements—were created to showcasethe movement of the “lost” smartphones and what was accessed on them. A press kit was made available with a blog post, research reportand infographic. The team also secured multiple satellite interviews.

In addition to exclusives with “The Today Show” and BusinessWeek, 160 additional broadcast/radio segments including Bloomberg TV, Fox,NPR, ABC, NBC and CBS affiliates around North America covered the project. Consumer outlets like Gizmodo, Boing Boing, Mashable andPC Magazine also reported on the experiment. What’s more, top-rated enterprise books got in on the action, such as eWEEK, SecurityWeek,InfoWorld and InformationWeek.



S I L V E R“IT in the Toilet”

11mark

Entering the market as a new integrated marketing agency, 11markneeded to cut through the noise, raise visibility and establish brandawareness. In place of a more traditional launch, the agencydecided to take a creative approach, focusing on a hot button issuefor its customers: Mobile trends. In an effort to leverage researchand humor, as well as highlight a key issue for potential clients andpartners, 11mark gave the media relations effort an edge. Theircampaign centered on a survey the PR team conducted, examiningmobile habits in “the last private place”—the bathroom.

11mark surveyed Americans on their bathroom phone habits,comparing men versus women, generational phone use, anddifferences among Droid, iPhone and Blackberry users. The teamanalyzed results and created the “IT in the Toilet” report, along witha visually appealing infographic. The data exposed American’sbathroom phone habits and provided insight on larger trends, likethe growing reliance on mobile technology. As 11mark analyzed thedata, they conclusively found that the last private place was nolonger private—and exposed just how mobile society has become.

The team launched a proactive media relations campaign,approaching newspapers, magazines, blogs and broadcast. The “ITin the Toilet” report included unique cover art and the infographicand was sent to a targeted press list. The team’s key social mediachannels served to spread the data in innovative ways, as did theeye-catching landing page created for the release. Interviews withmainstream and technology-focused outlets served to build morebuzz and to get download numbers accelerating at lightning speed.

From local to regional news outlets, the team secured coverage inmore than 470 articles and 200+ broadcast placements. Highlightsinclude The New York Times, Network World, Informationweek, CBSNews, HLN, ABC News, The Huffington Post and Computerworld. Thestory was also included on CNN’s homepage, NPR’s “Wait, Wait,Don’t Tell Me” and “Live! with Kelly.”

In the realm of social media, Twitter coverage started in English andmoved around the world in a dozen languages. “IT in the Toilet” alsogenerated 3,600+ Facebook likes, 330+ LinkedIn shares and tensof thousands of Twitter tweets and re-tweets. Site traffic increased3,700 percent during the campaign—with nearly two thousandrelease and infographic downloads from the website.

B R O N Z E“App Annie Enters “Game of Phones”

with Google Play Launch”Bateman Group

Headquartered in Beijing, international startup App Annie providesapp store analytics and market intelligence for mobile apppublishers and developers. While App Annie already tracked iPhone,iPad and Mac trends, the company was preparing to roll out itsnewest feature—support for Google Play (and the Android market)—and digital communications agency, Bateman Group, was called into establish the App Annie presence in the U.S. market.

Leveraging its vocal fan base of app developers and influentialbloggers, as well as the hotly anticipated launch, Bateman Groupembarked upon a targeted media campaign in June 2012. To reachtech influencers, Silicon Valley “digerati” and national businesspress, Bateman chose the week between Apple’s WorldwideDeveloper Conference and Google I/O as the best window in whichto introduce App Annie to the U.S.

Next, Bateman developed an infographic that appealed to themedia’s fascination with the iOS versus Android app wars. Theinfographic featured datasets generated by the new Google Playproduct. What’s more, to appeal to the general consumer, the datawere visually tied to a theme based on HBO’s “Game of Thrones,”and the graphic was aptly titled “Game of Phones.”

Bateman secured product news exclusives with TechCrunch andMashable, which highlighted the “Game of Phones” infographic andthe product that made the data made possible. Bateman thenconvinced App Annie to grant an exclusive to Liz Gannes atAllThingsD to tell the corporate vision story. On the day of theannouncement, Bateman reached out to a wider set of mobile,technology and Silicon Valley-based reporters to offer App Annieexecutives as expert commenters on the mobile app ecosystem. Inall, App Annie scored more than 20 unique features and hundredsmore articles and blog posts.

The “Game of Phones” campaign increased traffic to App Annie’swebsite from 23,000 to 46,000 on the day of launch andincreased 57 percent overall during the week of the campaign.Conversions for App Annie for Google Play increased nearly 400percent, and the infographic gained trending status on LinkedIn,Facebook and Reddit.



H O N O R A B L E M E N T I O N“Accelerating The Quality and Quantity of

Appcelerator’s Media Presence”Trainer Communications

Appcelerator is a Silicon Valley-based company whose mobileapplication development platform is in use worldwide and whosequarterly mobile developer survey had gained traction amongtechnology press and developer-focused media. However, thecompany was determined to be known as the de facto expert onenterprise mobility and called on Trainer Communications to helpestablish a footprint with Silicon Valley media and nationalbusiness press.

Leading up to the survey release, Trainer analyzed articles byspecific reporters to better understand what data would mostintrigue them. Based on this research, Appcelerator and partner IDCshaped the survey questions to get data on the successes andfailures of certain mobile devices and operating systems.

Culling through the survey results, Trainer found the news hook forbusiness and local press: Nearly two-thirds of developers believed amobile-first social startup would disrupt Facebook’s market share.To appeal to tech press, Trainer highlighted data showing thatdevelopers preferred Apple over Android, were dissatisfied withHTML5 and remained skeptical of Windows 8.

One week before the survey results were released, Facebook CEOMark Zuckerberg had publicly stated that the company bet wrongon HTML5, so Trainer also leveraged Zuckerberg’s statement toprime the press for Appcelerator’s survey results.

From a quantitative perspective, in just four months, Trainerdelivered 1,188 articles and significantly increased the quality ofcoverage. For example, Trainer secured a bylined business pressarticle for Forbes and nine articles in business and broadcastmedia, including coverage in San Jose Mercury News, Seattle Timesand The Wall Street Journal. Appcelerator saw nearly 3,000downloads of its survey report and won The Wall Street JournalTechnology Innovation Award in the Software category and wasincluded in The Wall Street Journal’s “Next Big Thing” list.


B E S T T E CHNO LOG Y C AMPA I GN – C ONSUMER

G O L D“It’s in the Book: Reading Rainbow Reaches #1 App Status”

Child's Play Communications

“Reading Rainbow” was a popular children’s TV show for many years before leaving the air in 2009. Its producers decided that while TVwas once the appropriate forum for inspiring a love of reading among children, an iPad app was better suited to do the same for thecurrent, digital generation. Child’s Play Communications was tasked to launch the first Reading Rainbow digital app, which offered parentsthe opportunity to access an extensive library of carefully curated books.

Although app development did not move along as quickly as planned, Child’s Play set to work on a campaign that would accommodatethe shifting launch date. To get the ball rolling, the PR team introduced a social media teaser campaign, which included trivia, vintage TVclips and opportunities for parents to share favorite Reading Rainbow memories. Planning ahead for the gift-buying season, Child’s Playdid extensive Holiday Gift Guide media outreach on the emerging category of “app-gifting.” To hit the campaign's target audience—mothersof children ages three to nine—the team also created a special package of Reading Rainbow themed merchandise for mom bloggers.

The major focus within the campaign period was a New York City media event, to feature the star of “Reading Rainbow” and key partnerbehind the app, LeVar Burton. Prior to the launch event, the agency set up media briefings with a range of outlets, including parenting,business, tech and entertainment pubs. One week before the official launch, Child’s Play leveraged its relationship with the WildlifeConservation Society/Bronx Zoo and staged a live reading and app demonstration by Burton. Later, he distributed autographed copies of a“Reading Rainbow” compilation DVD.

At the launch event, Mr. Burton presented in a room filled with multi-colored chairs arranged in the shape of a rainbow. After his speechand a musical performance, room dividers opened to reveal children playing with the app against a Reading Rainbow themed background.Trial iPad stations and interviews were available for media.

Excitement about the “Reading Rainbow” app spread, and within less than a week, more than 100 positive media placements resulted,including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Time, Forbes, Mashable, Parents, Techcrunch and others. Top bloggerssoon followed, generating a total reach of 2 billion impressions, including new social media fans and followers.

More importantly, “Reading Rainbow” became the #1 Educational App in the iTunes App Store within 48 hours of launch and the #1 BestGrossing App in the entire iTunes App Store by the end of the week.


B E S T T E CHNO LOG Y C AMPA I GN – C ONSUMER

S I L V E R“Symantec Mobile Honey Stick Project”

Connect Marketing and Symantec

The theft or loss of a smartphone can expose businesses andindividuals to loss of all data stored on the device, as well as dataresiding in corporate systems or cloud applications to which thedevice might have direct connections. To enhance Symantec’sreputation as the leading expert on cyber security issues thatimpact both consumers and businesses in the digital age, ConnectMarketing worked with the company to develop a research-basedPR campaign.

The “Symantec Smartphone Honey Stick Project” was an experimentinvolving 50 "lost" smartphones. Before Symantec PR intentionallylost these devices, they placed a collection of simulated corporateand personal data on them, along with the capability to remotelymonitor what happened to them once they were found. Dropped infive different cities, the phones were left in high traffic public placessuch as elevators, malls, food courts, and public transit stops.Among other staggering results, eight out of ten finders tried toaccess corporate information.

PR worked with a third-party researcher to complete the study anddevelop the final report and supporting materials prior to launch.Multiple visuals—including an infographic, Google maps and photoimages of the original phone placements—were created toshowcase the movement of the “lost” smartphones and what wasaccessed on them. A press kit was made available with a blog post,research report and infographic. The team also secured multiplesatellite interviews.

In addition to exclusives with “The Today Show” and BusinessWeek,160 additional broadcast/radio segments including Bloomberg TV,Fox, NPR, ABC, NBC and CBS affiliates around North Americacovered the project. Consumer outlets like Gizmodo, Boing Boing,Mashable and PC Magazine also reported on the experiment.What’s more, top-rated enterprise books got in on the action, suchas eWEEK, SecurityWeek, InfoWorld and InformationWeek.

B R O N Z E“Samsung Galaxy Note Fashion Week Takeover”

MWW

After the official launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note, the smartdevice had received much attention from the tech community. Yet,among the general public, the product was not making nearly asmany waves. For this campaign, MWW Group sought to showcasethe device as a stylish and hip accessory—handy, helpful and cool—and particularly to draw eyes the Galaxy Note’s large screen andinnovative S-pen.

Given the timing of the U.S. launch and the need for internationalreach, MWW explored the potential of Fashion Week—an event thatruns during consecutive weeks in New York, London, Milan andParis. Deciding more organic participation was necessary, the teamwent straight to the influencers who are most watched,photographed and social-media-active during the Fashion Weekseason: The models. And while this was not a group frequentlythought of as tech-savvy, the participants were carefully selectedand trained on generating content.

In partnership with Next Model Management, MWW seeded GalaxyNote devices to ten top runway models. Whether backstage at theshows, at parties or waiting for fittings, the models shared contentwith friends and followers via social media, and in some cases,exclusives were granted for a single outlet to publish all of thecontent generated by one model. In addition to the modelparticipants, MWW delivered devices to fashion bloggers, who usedthe devices for their fashion week reporting. To further outreach,MWW selected favorites for posting to Samsung Mobile’s Facebookpage and Twitter account.

Leveraging the models’ fan bases and relationships with high-profilepublications, as well as Samsung’s esteem with tech outlets andonline influencers, MWW gained traction with the innovativecampaign. Program content received over 30 million possible Twitterimpressions, and MWW granted exclusives on content generated bymodels to the websites of Harper’s Bazaar, Teen Vogue and MarieClaire, among other great media feats.


B E S T T R AV E L , H O S P I TA L I T Y & D E S T I N AT I ONS C AMPA I GN

G O L D“Defrost Your Swimsuit”

M. Silver – A Division of Finn Partners

To entice vacationers to escape the wintry cold for sunny Greater Fort Lauderdale (GFL), travel and tourism PR agency M. Silver Associatesdesigned a marketing campaign to showcase the destination’s tropical beach appeal and lift the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention &Visitors Bureau (GFLCVB) brand with messaging of a new “transformed” destination.

The PR team wasn’t going to settle for simple press releases and interviews. Instead, M. Silver decided that in order to position GFLCVB asan innovative tourism marketing organization, they needed to demonstrate out-of-the-box thinking—with a large-scale “beach chic” event inthe cities that needed a suntan the most. In the middle of November, the “Defrost Your Swimsuit” campaign went to Toronto with swimsuitsfrozen in large blocks of ice during the annual Santa Claus Parade. Digital billboards featured 15 Defrost Your Swimsuit television spots,four hours of live streaming event videos and Twitter boards.

In January, the campaign went to Times Square, New York, with a mobile “Beach on Wheels” unit joined by street teams distributing GFL-branded ice scrapers. Bikini-clad models tossed beach balls and posed for pictures in the Beach Mobile. Lastly, GFL reached Canary Wharfin London, which has over 90,000 pedestrian visitors daily. Colorfully wrapped branded taxis also drove around the city.

The campaign included development of GFL’s tourism website, Sunny.org, along with a dedicated microsite for a sweepstakes. Throughoutthe events, 5,000 printed cards directed people to the microsite and warmed shivering crowds to a new vacation idea. M. Silver alsosecured promotions with tourism partners like JetBlue Airways, which gave away free trips to GFL through the sunny.org/defrost microsite,and Sunwing Airlines, which had street teams dressed as flight attendants and pilots to promote package vacations to GFL. In London, GFLpartnered with Virgin Holidays for a promotional giveaway and an easy option for booking.

In all, the event appeared in international, national, local and trade media in over 100 outlets including, ABC “Good Morning America,” APand Yahoo! News, with over 925 million impressions. The contest microsite received nearly 11,500 entries, and with the Virgin Holidayspartnership, Greater Fort Lauderdale saw an 18% increase in sales to year-on-year.



G O L D“Puerto Rico Does It Better”Puerto Rico Tourism Company

Following a significant drop in tourism brought on by the global recession, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC) could no longer relyon travelers’ vacation memories to boost its tourism economy—and its hotels, in particular. Instead, with Ogivly PR spearheading the push,PRTC needed to strengthen large-scale favorable perceptions of the island, create a climate that would increase hotel occupancy and buildPuerto Rico’s reputation as a destination with diverse activity offerings.

Targeting the culturally conscious and lifestyle-forward traveler, Ogilvy PR’s campaign sought to move beyond a simplistic understanding ofPuerto Rico. Research showed that many travelers’ impressions of the island came from an outdated visit to San Juan as a cruise shipstop. To counteract misconceptions, the public relations strategy centered on Puerto Rico’s range of offerings—from beaches to adventureto golf to culinary.

The PR team took action by arming these travelers with travel tools and itineraries to fully explore the island. What’s more, to supplementlimited government resources, Ogilvy PR developed a network of on-island hotels, restaurants and third-party partners who could helpmaximize exposure and the Puerto Rico experience.

In the realm of media, recognizing that the line between advertising and editorial has blurred in the magazine business, Ogilvy PR workedwith its advertising counterparts to leverage the power of the ad buy to secure editorial meetings. Once in the door, the team held mini-brainstorm meetings with top editors to come up with story ideas for publication. They also leveraged relationships between print editorsand broadcast shows. For example, when PRTC promoted Travel + Leisure’s “Best City for Winter Travel” and San Juan came in first place,the poll was picked up by other outlets. The campaign also brought the island to journalists, in the form of trade shows, care packagesand regular deskside briefings. Fact sheets and media placements were also presented to travel agents.

Following the campaign, hotel occupancy reach nearly 70%, and revenue per available hotel room rose 7%. JetBlue increased Puerto Ricoairlift by 25% and named San Juan as its first new North American hub since 2008. In media, the majority of stories focused on theisland’s unique offerings, rather than simply the beach. Coverage included five magazine cover stories, two appearances on The TodayShow (in conjunction with T+L) and more than two billion media impressions—with a 2,000% increase over the previous year.



S I L V E R“Oregon Bounty PR”

Maxwell PR, Robeson Communications and Travel Oregon

The Oregon Tourism Commission (Travel Oregon) providesinformation, resources and trip planning tools that inspire visits tothe state. When neighboring Washington State shut down its tourismmarketing program, Travel Oregon saw an opportunity to invest in PRas a way to increase visibility among consumers considering aPacific Northwest vacation. Travel Oregon asked its longtime agencypartners Maxwell PR and Robeson Communications to develop apromotional plan to generate coverage of one of Oregon’s mostrecognized assets: Its culinary clout.

Already the apple of the media’s eye, Oregon’s artisan food andbeverages, as well as Portland’s hot restaurant scene, were the keyto bringing hungry visitors to the state. Thus, the campaign’s overallgoal was to enable top food writers to have truly unique Oregontravel—and eating—experiences that would inspire compelling first-person narratives.

The “Full On Oregon” program brought top food bloggers to Oregonto have memorable food and wine experiences they could writepassionately about. The pitch offered Oregon-centric excursions withmaster chefs, heritage hogs and charcuterie, small-farm dairies andartisan ice creameries.

The “Oregon Bounty Food Assault Event” brought Oregon to NewYork for a restaurant event to announce the upcoming FeastPortland festival. Photos of the state’s scenery were provided, andthe menu included Oregon's seafood, mushrooms, beef, wine,cheese, beer, spirits and coffee. The PR team also invited journaliststo Feast Portland, recommended places around the state to visitbeforehand and assisted with itinerary development.

Maxwell and Robeson’s collaboration earned 92 unique articles,with 65 blog posts by influential food bloggers and 18 articlesabout Oregon’s food and wine scene from outlets, such as Men’sHealth, Food & Wine, Thrillist, Serious Eats and The Daily Meal. Thecampaign also achieved over a thousand social media posts, andmany comments were made by people who are now planning a tripor want to visit.

B R O N Z E“Turkish Airlines U.S. Brand Building

PR Campaign”Alpaytac Marketing Communications/PR y

Prior to working with Alpaytac Marketing Communications/PublicRelations,a majority of the media coverage for Turkish Airlines wasin aviation and trade media—with limited visibility in consumermedia. But, when an Alpaytac PR campaign took flight, a muchgreater mission developed: Raise consumer awareness in the U.S.,highlighting the airline’s award-winning cuisine, unparalleled serviceand its continued expansion into additional countries around theglobe.

In order to maximize opportunities for Turkish Airlines, the PR teamconducted travel, food and aviation media outreach. Giving a faceto the company, the team also coordinated press interviews withTurkish Airlines’ CEO Temel Kotil.

Under the team’s guidance, Turkish Airlines executed a variety ofalluring travel deals to some of its 226 destinations. To capitalizeon the popular U.S. holiday, the team also conceptualized a specialin-flight Valentine’s Day Menu to tie-in with a fare special andpitched a story angle about the “Top 10 most romantic things to doin Istanbul.” Alpaytac also worked alongside the airline tocoordinate a media event with Global Brand Ambassador, KobeBryant, at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), celebrating theone-year anniversary of the launch of daily flights from Los Angelesto Istanbul.

The centerpiece of the campaign was an up-close-and-personalpress trip to Turkey for lifestyle reporters and editors. The tripincluded air transportation, accommodations, tours of sites andother cultural attractions—all presented with the personal touch ofthe CEO’s Turkish heritage.

Alpaytac’s press initiatives secured 193 total placements, with over150 million impressions. Top-tier placements included Yahoo!News, “The Today Show,” HuffingtonPost.com, CNN.com,USAToday.com, LATimes.com and TravelandLeisure.com. 92% of thejournalists who attended the trip have published an article aboutthe trip, and 62% gave an extensive or good overview of TurkishAirlines. These numbers are 15-20% higher than coverage resultingfrom prior media trips that our agency had planned.


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G O L D“It’s in the Book: Reading Rainbow Reaches #1 App Status”

Child's Play Communications

Reading Rainbow was a popular children’s TV show for many years before leaving the air in 2009. Its producers decided that while TV wasonce the appropriate forum for inspiring a love of reading among children, an iPad app was better suited to do the same for the current,digital generation. Child’s Play Communications was tasked to launch the first Reading Rainbow digital app, which offered parents theopportunity to access an extensive library of carefully curated books.

Although app development did not move along as quickly as planned, Child’s Play set to work on a campaign that would accommodatethe shifting launch date. To get the ball rolling, the PR team introduced a social media teaser campaign, which included trivia, vintage TVclips and opportunities for parents to share favorite Reading Rainbow memories. Planning ahead for the gift-buying season, Child’s Playdid extensive Holiday Gift Guide media outreach on the emerging category of “app-gifting.” To hit the campaign's target audience—mothersof children ages three to nine—the team also created a special package of Reading Rainbow themed merchandise for mom bloggers.

The major focus within the campaign period was a New York City media event, to feature the star of Reading Rainbow and key partnerbehind the app, LeVar Burton. Prior to the launch event, the agency set up media briefings with a range of outlets, including parenting,business, tech and entertainment pubs. One week before the official launch, Child’s Play leveraged its relationship with the WildlifeConservation Society/Bronx Zoo and staged a live reading and app demonstration by Burton. Later, he distributed autographed copies of aReading Rainbow compilation DVD.

At the launch event, Mr. Burton presented in a room filled with multi-colored chairs arranged in the shape of a rainbow. After his speechand a musical performance, room dividers opened to reveal children playing with the app against a Reading Rainbow themed background.Trial iPad stations and interviews were available for media.

Excitement about the Reading Rainbow app spread, and within less than a week, more than 100 positive media placements resulted,including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Time, Forbes, Mashable, Parents, Techcrunch and others. Top bloggerssoon followed, generating a total reach of 2 billion impressions, including new social media fans and followers.

More importantly, Reading Rainbow became the #1 Educational App in the iTunes App Store within 48 hours of launch and the #1 BestGrossing App in the entire iTunes App Store by the end of the week.


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S I L V E R“Fiserv Case-Shiller: A Breakthrough Year

for Delivering Home Price ”Fiserv and RF|Binder

Economists, policymakers, investors, business leaders, the publicand the media closely watch home price trends, and the release offresh data has the power to move markets and shape perceptionsof consumer confidence. In this important space, occupied alreadyby established and respected players, Fiserv— a provider oftechnology solutions to the financial world—decided to make itsname known. RF|Binder Partners was called on to help.

RF|Binder’s campaign began as the team identified one hugeopportunity. They found that while many readers of the businesspress were familiar with Fiserv’s S&P/Case-Shiller index, few knewit was actually owned and generated by Fiserv. Fewer still wereaware of the breadth of Fiserv’s research. In addition to the well-known S&P/Case-Shiller 20 Market Index, Fiserv was sitting on atreasure trove of data, which included detailed home price trenddata for more than 380 U.S. metro areas. Another differentiator:Fiserv Case-Shiller provides projections for home prices in each ofthose metro areas.

The main objective of RF|Binder’s campaign was to brand the indexas the Fiserv Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes and to emphasizewhat makes this data different. To highlight that it is at the MSAlevel and provides projections that no one else can offer, the trenddata was uniquely packaged in custom slideshows, and the indexeswere issued quarterly. In addition, by positioning Fiserv’s chiefeconomist, David Stiff, as the voice of Case-Shiller and an expertsource of commentary on the U.S. housing market, RF|Bindercreated a trustworthy and vocal authority figure of the company.

A sustained media relations program focused on the nationalbusiness press, including bloggers, along with local media outreach.Coverage included Time, The Wall Street Journal, The New YorkTimes, Financial Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, CNBC, FOXBusiness Channel, CNN Money, Business Insider and others. FiservCase-Shiller also significantly increased its multimedia visibility withplacements in MainStreet.com, Business Insider, among other sites,and CNNMoney.com developed an interactive database thatfeatured Fiserv data for many U.S. metro areas. Moreover, DavidStiff’s commentary garnered more than 100 million mediaimpressions, and Fiserv Case-Shiller contributed to the 20 percentincrease in the company’s top-tier business media coverage in2011 and 2012.

B R O N Z E“Accelerating The Quality and Quantity ofAppcelerator’s Media Presence Trends”

Trainer Communications

Appcelerator is a Silicon Valley-based company whose mobileapplication development platform is in use worldwide and whosequarterly mobile developer survey had gained traction amongtechnology press and developer-focused media. However, thecompany was determined to be known as the de facto expert onenterprise mobility and called on Trainer Communications to helpestablish a footprint with Silicon Valley media and nationalbusiness press.

Leading up to the survey release, Trainer analyzed articles byspecific reporters to better understand what data would mostintrigue them. Based on this research, Appcelerator and partner IDCshaped the survey questions to get data on the successes andfailures of certain mobile devices and operating systems.

Culling through the survey results, Trainer found the news hook forbusiness and local press: Nearly two-thirds of developers believed amobile-first social startup would disrupt Facebook’s market share.To appeal to tech press, Trainer highlighted data showing thatdevelopers preferred Apple over Android, were dissatisfied withHTML5 and remained skeptical of Windows 8.

One week before the survey results were released, Facebook CEOMark Zuckerberg had publicly stated that the company bet wrongon HTML5, so Trainer also leveraged Zuckerberg’s statement toprime the press for Appcelerator’s survey results.

From a quantitative perspective, in just four months, Trainerdelivered 1,188 articles and significantly increased the quality ofcoverage. For example, Trainer secured a bylined business pressarticle for Forbes and nine articles in business and broadcastmedia, including coverage in San Jose Mercury News, Seattle Timesand The Wall Street Journal. Appcelerator saw nearly 3,000downloads of its survey report and won The Wall Street JournalTechnology Innovation Award in the Software category and wasincluded in The Wall Street Journal’s “Next Big Thing” list.


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G O L D“Allied Minds’ Historic Public-Private Innovation Partnership”

Savoir Media

Allied Minds Inc. is a Boston-based private investment firm that previously helped university researchers commercialize their inventions.When federal laboratories and research centers working for the US Department of Defense (DoD) were exploring new ways of transferringtechnologies and commercializing their inventions, Allied Minds stepped up to the plate. To publicize its historic public-private partnershipswith The Aerospace Corp., US RDECOM and NSWC Crane—three of the largest research centers and laboratories funded by the DoD—Savoir Media LLC embarked on a PR campaign.

After interviewing each member of the partnership, Savoir developed a series of story angles focusing on various aspects of thepartnerships: Business, investing, the US economy, politics, tech innovation and job creation. With a list of targeted media outlets, the teamoffered each reporter a different pitch on the news event, taking into account the outlet’s audience and the perspective the outlet wouldgive the story. For example, Savoir pitched the Bloomberg News Washington bureau, which looks at politics and the economy through thelens of investors, to make the information digestible for a wide variety of business-oriented readers. Meanwhile, Time would expose apublic policy-oriented audience to the content, The Boston Globe would reach local readers and CNBC’s Tyler Mathisen would discuss theintersection of Washington and Wall Street as it relates to the pitch.

Later, when the embargo on the story lifted in early September, each member of the PR team was given ownership of a particular coveragearea, as well as social media, while president, Christine Dunn, dealt with the bigger media outlets.

On the launch date, Savoir had front-page coverage on Boston.com, the front page of The Boston Globe’s business section, homepagecoverage on Time.com and stories on Forbes.com and Bloomberg. CNBC’s “Power Lunch” did an in-depth interview the next day. In theweeks that followed, nearly 70 traditional, online and broadcast media outlets covered the story. Posts reached over 20,000 Twitterfollowers and 1,751,405 LinkedIn members.



S I L V E R“Stratasys Asks the World ‘What’s Possible?’

with 3D Printing”Stratasys and Weber Shandwick

Stratasys sells its 3D printers to a targeted segment of productdesigners, who use the technology to “print” high quality plasticmodels to test form, fit and function before manufacturing. Thegrowth of the market, expected to reach $5.2 billion by 2020,demonstrated a need to support product PR with a strongercorporate brand, and Stratasys engaged its communications partnerWeber Shandwick to establish its corporate brand as a leader in 3Dprinting among engineers and the broader community.

Weber Shandwick used Stratasys’s Facebook page as a centralizedcontent hub to tell stories of “what’s possible with 3D printing” andengage fans in a dialogue to share their ideas through surveys,polls and posts. The team developed the “Engineering a Difference”corporate storytelling campaign that took advantage of Stratasys’svirtual treasure trove of compelling stories, video and images,showcasing how 3D printing was changing the world.

The signature campaign story centered on Emma Lavelle, a four-year-old girl born with a disability that prevented her from using herarms. Doctors at a hospital in Delaware had used Stratasystechnology to 3D-print a customized prosthetic for Emma—what thelittle girl called her “magic arms”—enabling her to play and hug forthe very first time. A multimedia news release focused on theEmma story, while a video was posted on the Facebook page andsyndicated across social channels including YouTube, LinkedIn,Twitter, Google+ and the company blog.

In addition, the team posted a variety of other inspirational storiesof 3D printing throughout the month on Facebook, including howthe technology was used to develop the next NASA Mars rover andhow 3D printing was helping rural villages in Africa generate theirown electricity. Polls and surveys were interspersed among the storyposts to further engage users, asking questions including “Howwould you use 3D printing to change your world?”

All in all, videos garnered 635,000 YouTube views in August, andFacebook fans increased by 78,669%, compared to previousmonth. The multimedia news release was accessed 6,000 timeswith more than 120 unique editorial features with over 2,000syndications, resulting in 215 million impressions worldwide. Withintwo days of the campaign launch, the New York Observer and TheHuffington Post published the Emma video and stories, setting off aflurry of social media sharing.

B R O N Z E“Healing Hands for Arthritis”








G O L D“Downsize Fitness: Downsizing the Obesity Epidemic”


Plagued by self-consciousness, many obese adults avoid stepping into a gym at all cost. Yet, experts recommend daily physical activity asa simple way to help manage the obesity epidemic. That’s where Downsize Fitness comes in. By exclusively welcoming chronicallyoverweight and obese individuals, the gym aims to create a comfortable environment where they can feel confident as they work towardtheir weight loss goals.

Zapwater Communications launched a publicity campaign to put Downsize Fitness in the local and national spotlight, highlighting how thegym breaks the fitness industry mold. Recruitment of new members was a number-one priority, with media attention following behind. Toacquire new members, Zapwater created a gym-wide contest. The member who lost the highest percentage of weight within a six- monthperiod would win $10,000.

To attract local media, Zapwater targeted the Chicago Tribune, the largest daily newspaper in Chicago, to write a feature story on DownsizeFitness and got interest from health and fitness writer Julie Deardorff. Kicking off national outreach, Zapwater crafted a controversial pitchthat highlighted Downsize Fitness’s primary rule: Only people who had 50+ pounds to lose could join. Growing national attention led to apartnership with the “Steve Harvey TV Show.” The show profiled two men in a weight loss challenge during the course of a couple of monthsand provided them memberships to the gym.

As a result, media impressions hit more than 18.2 million for broadcast, print and online media. The front-page Chicago Tribune article wassyndicated in more than 120 different outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, the Baltimore Sun and The Huffington Post. More than fortypeople inquired about joining within twenty-four hours, and the gym reached full capacity. Downsize opened a Dallas location and addedboot camp programs to three other cities due to the high demand from the public.



S I L V E R“Funny or Die”

Miller PR

Created as a pet project of comedian, Will Ferrell, Funny or Dieevolved into a profitable, mid-sized company. To gain recognitionbeyond its reputation as a light-humor website, Miller PR developeda strategic PR proposal that would tell the “real story” behind theentertainment studio’s successful business model.

Messaging took shape through four tailored news stories forHollywood, Silicon Valley, Wall Street and Madison Avenue press andbroadcast media. The Hollywood story was dedicated to promotingFunny or Die as a 21st century production studio, while theadvertising pitch discussed the company’s branded entertainmentarm, which has major partnerships with Fortune 500 companies.For Silicon Valley, the team described how mainstream audiencesflocked to digital comedy, and to Wall Street outlets, the successfulbusiness story behind Funny or Die came out.

Miller PR worked with The Hollywood Reporter’s business editor,Paul Bond on an entertainment and tech themed story for its digitalmedia issue—timed with CES. To correct the misconception thatFerrell ran the site, the team set up interviews with Funny or Die’sCEO, head of production, creative director and other founders of thecompany. They also invited the Reporter’s entertainment reporter tocome on-set for a shoot.

In tandem with this feature, Miller PR took a similar approach withadvertising, business, broadcast and tech media, developingtailored stories and steering each reporter’s interest toward theexecutive team and their division’s growth. Topics included brandedentertainment partnerships and creative production, and Funny orDie representatives got media training to speak to these issues.

In all, the campaign secured a lead feature in The HollywoodReporter’s digital issues, as well as features in The Wall StreetJournal, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Los Angeles Times, Variety,Media Post, Wired, Mashable, Paid Content and New York Magazine.The team also booked feature broadcast segments and CEOinterviews on CNN, Bloomberg West and CNBC and secured CEODick Glover in Advertising Age’s “Entertainment A-List” annual feature.

S I L V E R“Just because Facebook is going public doesn’tmean you have to; #GoPrivate with AbineS”

RF|Binder

In April 2012, rumors began surfacing that Facebook was planningan initial public offering (IPO) for May. RF|Binder was tasked tohelp online privacy start-up Abine take advantage of Facebook’simpending IPO—to generate awareness among consumers forAbine’s online privacy solutions and establish the company as athought leader in the field of online privacy.

The campaign objective was to demonstrate that Facebook’sbusiness model depends on its collection and use of users’personal data. RF|Binder sought to connect with users bydeveloping an interactive Web microsite: The “Facebook Val-YouCalculator.” The tool would drive traffic to Abine’s larger website andhighlight the value of Internet privacy. Based on a few simplequestions about Facebook activity, the calculator used Facebook’spublic filings to identify how much a user was worth in dollarfigures.

The “Just because Facebook’s going public doesn’t mean you haveto. #GoPrivate” slogan was spread through the innovative Calculatorand a Facebook privacy timeline infographic. Flash mob events inNew York and San Francisco also spread fear of Facebook’sunwieldy power over information in the digital age and build Abine’sreputation as a fun and creative company. What’s more, newsannouncements and data analysis made it to the media, prior tothe IPO, to make Abine a part of the Facebook story and ensureprivacy concerns remained top of mind among media.

RF|Binder’s campaign generated over 100 media placements inMay alone and secured coverage with top-tier outlets, such as TheWall Street Journal and Computerworld. Several feature stories alsoappeared on Mashable, CNN, CNET and TechCrunch. The campaignalso bolstered Abine’s spokespeople, with their expert quotes in 38stories about how privacy concerns would ultimately impactFacebook’s valuation. The Facebook Val-You calculator was alsoincluded in more than 40 articles that directed consumers toAbine’s website and drove buzz among the industry and consumers,alike.



H O N O R A B L E M E N T I O N“Look Ma, No Hands! Expert Members of IEEEIdentify Driverless Cars As Most Viable Form of

Intelligent Transportation, Dominating the Roadwayby 2040 and Sparking Dramatic Changes In

Vehicular Travel.”Finn Partners

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is the largesttechnical professional society in the world, and its members drivetechnological advancements that improve humanity throughinnovation in sustainability, computing/IT, robotics, consumerelectronics and intelligent transport. The organization partnered withFinn Partners (FP) to showcase its thought leadership and elevatethe IEEE’s visibility in these areas.

Finn Partners established a strategy where each area of expertisebecame a “hot topic” and was the focus area of a two-monthcampaign. During this period, the PR team executed smaller pitchcampaigns stemming from each major hot topic. One such mini-campaign centered on intelligent transportation and infrastructureand focused on a prediction by IEEE members that by the year2040, more than 75 percent of the vehicles on the road will bedriverless cars.

Armed with these expert perspectives, PR distributed a pressrelease highlighting the fact that autonomous vehicles can enableimproved, safer and faster traffic flow. The release took flight the dayafter Labor Day to coincide with the increased number of drivers onthe road who were heading back to work after the official end ofsummer. An eye-catching infographic was included.

FP also created a Facebook survey, which asked fans to speak ontransportation of the future, commuting horror stories, commoncommuting practices and extreme commuting. The survey waspromoted on the IEEE’s Twitter account. Both social mediaplatforms, as well as Google+, were used to post content aboutintelligent transportation and infrastructure.

Within a two-month period, Finn Partners secured more than thirty-five placements in top tech trade publications, including MSN.com,Wired.com, CNN.com, SCPR.org/NPR and outlets in global targetmarkets. IEEE also saw a 300 percent increase of inbound requeststo the organization on this topic. In fact, the campaign even gotautomakers to take notice. Within one week of the campaignlaunch, IEEE and Finn Partners were both contacted by a GeneralMotors representative about the prediction.



G O L D“Felicia Day’s Geek & Sundry Launch”

Miller PR

Web series creator and actress Felicia Day was among the lucky group of creative types and companies chosen by Google YouTube todevelop their own premium channel networks. Best known for her independent Web series, “The Guild,” Felicia Day formed a new companyand premium channel called “Geek & Sundry,” dedicated to all things whimsical and geeky. Although landing the YouTube channel gig wasa great victory in itself, YouTube did not promote any channel over the others, so Day called on Miller PR to make her shine.

The “Geek & Sundry” channel was going head to head with some of the big names in media, so Miller PR’s main challenges was to elevatethe independent artist above the more mainstream channels—and on a tight budget. To ensure that Day’s publicity really popped, the teamdecided to schedule key campaign milestones around WonderCon and Comic-Con—the perfect launch pads for the geek and chic spheres.However, rather than market the channel as a digital property, Miller PR focused on publicizing it to niche audiences as a TV network with aslate of individual shows. The team pinpointed key episodes that would draw the most attention from target media and drafted mediaadvisory “tune-in” alerts that showcased talent with Q&As, previews and exclusive clips.

They selected various target markets—“geek” viewers, entertainment fans, digital industry influencers, editors from Hollywood, Wall Street,Madison Avenue and Silicon Valley—and set to work. For the business media, they pitched Day’s expanding Web empire and pioneering inthe digital space. For the advertising crowd, they positioned “Geek & Sundry” as a new platform for marketing to the geek market. To thetech world, the launch catered to YouTube and programming topics, and to blogs and mainstream media, they leveraged Day as the “chicgeek.”

At WonderCon and Comic-Con, Miller PR poured it on: Not only did they pre-brief the press, but the team also hosted a press-junket toprovide top-tier media with one-on-one interviews with the channel executives and show talent. To maximize dialogue with audiencesduring each event, Miller PR conducted fan blog outreach through Twitter and Facebook.

As a result of the PR push, Miller PR scored Day a major headline article in USA Today and high-visibility articles in Los Angeles Times, TheWall Street Journal, Forbes, Advertising Age, Washington Post, Wired, Paste, New York Magazine and others, as well as some ten broadcastinterviews, which generated millions of new visitors to Day’s channel. Day was also profiled in The Hollywood Reporter’s “The Next Gen” list.



S I L V E R“AKA Central Park Takes Glamping to Another Level

with NYC’s First Outdoor Bedrooms”Quinn & Co

Many hotels boast a room with a view. So when AKA Central Park,the flagship property of AKA, a brand of luxury extended-stay hotels,wanted to showcase the penthouse suites’ outdoor wraparoundterrace, a simple photograph of the landscape wouldn’t cut it. In aneffort to give the PR campaign a twist, AKA sought the guidance ofNew York City-based Quinn & Co.

Spreading the excitement about the hotel’s outdoor space—a rarityin NYC—and tapping into a broader market of consumers in need ofluxury furnished residences, Quinn & Co. developed a conceptbased around the most welcoming way to spend time outdoors:Glamping. The PR team created New York’s first hotel outdoorbedroom—with a bed out on the penthouse terrace in front of thefireplace. Visitors would have the opportunity to sleep under thestars with an E-reader loaded with fireside stories, Maison duChocolate s’mores and a telescope. The five-star camping andurban glamping experience also included a 42-inch TV and DVDplayer with classic, scary campside movies for families’ andcouples’ viewing pleasure.

With a limited budget, Quinn & Co. accomplished over 1 billionmedia impressions, including a Wall Street Journal feature based onthe journalist’s entertaining and whimsical stay, as well as USAToday, New York Times, Travel + Leisure, CondeNastTravel.com andothers. International coverage reached Ireland, UK, Germany, Italy,Sweden, Australia and Brazil.

B R O N Z E“Rallying for the Troops—and Their Caregivers”

Havas PR North America

Stand Up for Heroes, an annual star-studded fundraiser producedby the Bob Woodruff Foundation, honors wounded service membersand their families. In November 2011, the foundation realized thatjust as important as honoring the soldiers was recognizing theircaregivers. In an effort to acknowledge them for their hard work andsacrifices, Havas PR North America (@havaspr) helped lead themedia charge to call attention to not only the country’s warriors butalso those who stand behind them.

For the Stand Up for Heroes program, @havaspr planned to increasecoverage by reaching new sectors like military media, businessoutlets and even the fashion crowd. The team also wanted toillustrate the emotional stories of the veterans that the foundationhelps while spotlighting foundation supporters. For the event itself,the campaign emphasized that the foundation brings togethercelebrities, wounded warriors and their caregivers. For thecaregivers, @havaspr arranged what would be the crowningachievement: Partnering the Bob Woodruff Foundation with itssupporters Sears, L’Oreal and Dior to give fashion and beautymakeovers to 50 female caregivers and wounded military servicemembers.

First, to get the campaign all off the ground, @havaspr drafted arelease for international philanthropy editors and promoted theheroes honored that evening by sending targeted letters to local-market media in the hometowns of the service members inattendance. Bob Woodruff and his wife, Lee, participated ininterviews, and invitations for the pre-party were distributed.Throughout, the team used the foundation’s Facebook and Twitteraccounts and website to display backup supporting material for thepress.

At the elegant event, a celebrity stylist dressed the 50 women tograce the red carpet. To record the events and to underscore thefoundation’s message, @havaspr created a video of the makeoversfor all parties to use on their websites.

Between the makeovers and the hero stories, the November 2011Stand Up for Heroes made more than 700 million mediaimpressions. Top placements overall included “Access Hollywood,”Comedy Central, “Good Morning America,” The Huffington Post, TheNation, New York Observer, “Nightline,” NJ.com, Politico, RollingStone, The Village Voice, The Wall Street Journal and WCBS, plusnumerous other broadcast segments and blog posts. The event andmedia expertise helped the Bob Woodruff Foundation raise about$2.2 million from one night for wounded warriors.

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