NonProfit PR Awards: PR on a Shoestring

Campaign: A Dog for Obama

Winner: American Kennel Club

When President Obama publicly made a promise to give his daughters a dog following his election, the American Kennel Club used this opportunity as a platform to educate potential dog owners about how to match a breed to a family’s lifestyle.

AKC created a special site, which asked Americans to pick the most appropriate breed for the Obamas. The site was further used to announce Obama-related dog updates throughout the year, while offering public information about obtaining a dog. Tallying 42,000 votes, the poodle edged out the soft-coated wheaten terrier as the breed selected by the American public on the AKC poll. But, alas, the poodle lost out to a Portuguese water dog named “Bo,” which arrived at the White House shortly after the Obamas moved in.

The campaign received a total audience of more than 1.3 billion via media, and the poll was mentioned in more than 1,500 media outlets.

Honorable Mentions:

Carnegie Mellon University: Sneakerology 101—Carnegie Mellon University became the first institution to offer a course on sneaker culture in spring 2008, generating attention on more than 50 sneaker enthusiast blogs thanks to two seniors’ collaboration with Reebok to design CMU-themed sneakers.

Defense Media Activity: Command Performance—To help service members learn more about The Pentagon Channel, Defense Media Activity launched Command Performance—a biweekly video segment featuring some of the biggest names in music.

Heart of Gold Humane Fund: A Prototype for Enlightened Communities—Based in Ohio, the Heart of Gold Humane Fund allows low-income community residents obtain medical treatment for their cats and dogs at little to no cost. In 2006, a proposed ordinance, which could have had a negative impact on the clinic, was defeated thanks to a successful PR campaign.

Hillsides: Hillsides Foster Care—Hillsides Foster Soles, the first-ever online auction of celebrity autographed shoes, was launched in May during Foster Care Awareness month and helped to raise funds for the children’s residential program. Hillsides received 68 autographed shoes from celebrities like Elton John and Billy Joel.

United States All-Star Federation: Be an All-Star Campaign—In an effort to bolster the public image of cheerleading and dance as character-building sports, USASF created the “Be an All-Star” campaign, which included videos that played on ESPN, ESPN2 and local broadcasting stations.

Adfero Group: SNM Annual Meeting Press Conference—Adfero Group helped the SNM promote its 2009 annual meeting in Toronto by holding a press conference prior to the event, which resulted in an unprecedented level of interest from print, broadcast and online media.

November 9, 2009