Awards
Edelman Claims Marcom Internet PR Award
Edelman PR Worldwide's interactive division in Chicago was awarded Best PR on the Internet at the 6th Annual Marcom Awards April 7 during the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas.
Edelman was selected for the work it did for Odwalla, the juice company for which it set up an Internet crisis site to handle queries after an E-coli scare connected with Odwalla products. Runner-up was Phase Two Strategies for Claris and the finalist was Issue Dynamics for Bell Atlantic. (Alan Brody, 914/548-9196)
Metzger Snags NetGuide Kudos
The Web site of Boulder PR firm Metzger Associates was given a Gold Award for excellence b CMP Media's NetGuide Magazine. NetGuide screened more than 100,000 sites, ranking them for ease of use, content, design, personality and navigation. Gold awards were given to sites that earned "excellent" ratings. (John Metzger, 303/786-7000)
Not Just For The Dogs
"Pets Need Dental Care, Too" - a national PR campaign developed by Harmon Smith Inc. Advertising for Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc., the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Veterinary Dental Society - earned a Gold Key Award as the leading national veterinary marcom program. The award was presented last month to Harmon, Kansas City, by the American Animal Hospital Association. (Harmon Smith Advertising, 816/756-0756)
Sprint's Golden Customer PR
Telecommunications company Sprint, Washington, D.C., found a good way of buffing up its customer relations with an integrated advertising and PR "Dime Alert" campaign that turned some heads.
Preliminary results gathered by Sprint's consumer service group PR team indicate the campaign triggered about 38.6 million media impressions and about 40 media reports or stories, including coverage on CNN, The Howard Stern Show, The Today Show and Reuters
Sprint, in an effort to buddy up to its customers, dropped 1,000 special gold dimes in locations where customers make phone calls. Customers who found a gold dime were asked to call 888/GRAB-GOLD to report their find and for verification purposes.
The company expects the winner of the $25,000 gold dime prize and one year of free long distance to be announced early this week. (Sprint, Juanada Teas, 202/828-7426)
Ketchum Acquires American Communications
The 100-person, Washington, D.C., office of Ketchum PR a few weeks ago brought into its folds American Communications Group, a two-person consultancy headed by husband-and-wife team Charles and Donna Sewell, according to Ketchum Senior VP Pete Robinson.
Robinson wouldn't disclose the price tag for the ACG acquisition nor what the company projects in revenue for 1997 but said that the acquisition is expected to lead to "major growth, about 10 percent, in Ketchum's grassroots pubic affairs services." Robinson said other than Ketchum's acquisition of Bailey & Robinson five years ago, this move is the firm's most "significant...We had been partnering ad hoc with them for several years on some major accounts, specifically the American Healthcare Association, and we were in acquisition discussions for the past three months," Robinson added. (Ketchum, Pete Robinson, 202/835-8810)
New Tool for PR Practitioners
Business Wire, http://www.businesswire.com, and SpinWARE Software Publishing, http://www.spinware.com, unveiled April 7 their DirectContact service for PR and investor relations professionals. The launch enhances SpinControl for Windows, SpinWARE's media contact management software. The service allows PR and IR execs to distribute releases by mail, broadcast fax, e-mail and Business Wire circuits. (Business Wire, 212/752-9600)