Winner: Flatiron Communications LLC
Campaign: "The Flack"
Peter Himmler embraces irony with the title of his blog, "The Flack," paying "homage" to the PR profession's history of being the red-headed stepchild of the business world,
while using the blog's content to announce a new beginning. He uses the RSS-enabled media platform to wax poetic on events that have PR implications, from the scandal surrounding
former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey to the 2005 rape accusations at Duke University.
Himmler (a principal at Flatiron Communications) has helped elevate the status of the PR industry to that of a relevant, vibrant industry leader. His knack for telling the
story behind each news story from a communication professional's bent demonstrates the oft-overlooked presence of PR in almost everything we do. His irreverent tone, practice of
linking directly to other news stories and blog entries for greater context, and frequent updates (one to two times daily) have grown the blog's traffic substantially since its
May 2005 launch. He also fields numerous requests now for conference appearances and speaking engagements.
Honorable Mentions
Avent Sisterhood Six: Connecting Moms Across the Miles: Edelman Edelman not only eased nervous new moms' concerns about breast-feeding and/or bottle feeding with a mom-to-mom
blog network, but its PR team also created brand awareness for the launch of the new DUO breast pump. The blog held visitors for 324 seconds - that's 300 percent longer than
average blog viewing - and generated 15 million impressions for the breast pump.
"Fleet-ing Thoughts: Adventures in the World of Automotive Remarketing" Tierney Communications and Driveitaway Inc. Driveitaway Inc., a Web-based technology company that
supports managers of commercial automotive fleets, had a great service: Technology that allows fleet managers to sell off-lease vehicles months before they come off lease, saving
time and money in remarketing. The only problem was communicating this service to fleet managers. Founder and Vice Chairman John Possumato turned to Tierney Communications for
help, and the PR team revved up an unbeatable strategy. They created a Driveitaway blog - the first blog in the fleet industry - to attract media attention and keep consumers up-
to-speed on their offerings. Thus, "Fleet-ing Thoughts" was born, and after six months of life, the site has received nearly 1,900 visitors and poised Possumato as a resource for
top-tier media outlet journalists.
theFirehouse.biz, The Chrysler Group Media Blog: DaimlerChrysler Corp. For the purpose of granting journalists direct, detailed information about the company's goings-on,
DaimlerChrysler PR execs established TheFirehouse.biz, a media- and analyst-only blog that reinforced the relationship between the automotive group and two important constituents.
It serves as a forum for Chrysler executives to communicate in an informative yet informal manner, and since its launch in September of 2005, hundreds of journalists have added
the site to their regular blog routines.