Winner: GolinHarris – Bringing New Life to an Old Steel Town: Launching Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem
In preparation for its campaign to promote the opening of the Sands Bethlehem in Pennsylvania, GolinHarris delved into the history around Bethlehem and Bethlehem Steel Works. The economic impact the casino would have on the region was built into the media story. On opening day, GolinHarris staged a first-look media opportunity. As consumers began arriving before dawn, Sands opened the doors before the planned 9 a.m. time to accommodate the crowd. More than 60 members of the media were on hand to capture the culmination of the long buildup.
The result: On the casino’s first day of operation, more than 60,000 consumers had visited the casino and wagered $18.4 million, enough to almost double the state’s previous record for a slots site opening.
CNN - The Unveiling: A press introduction to the new CNN.com: To generate awareness of the relaunch of CNN.com and its partnership with Facebook, CNN PR chose as a historical backdrop the inauguration of Barack Obama.
GolinHarris – Wii Sports Resort Takes Over Times Square: To reignite interest and maximize awareness of Wii Sports Resort, GolinHarris took the island out of its virtual home and re-created it in New York’s Times Square.
Horn Group Inc. - RightNow Challenges and Industry, Ignites Media Support: To help raise awareness of the RightNow Cloud Services Agreement and, in turn, inspire the company to challenge industry standards, Horn Group developed an inaugural media event that incorporated a live webcast. The effort resulted in 63 pieces of worldwide coverage.
O’Malley Hansen Communications - Sara Lee Captures the Hearts and Minds of America’s Moms: To connect the Sara Lee brand with mom bloggers and their fans, O’Malley Hansen created the Sara Lee Soft & Smooth Back-to-School Nutrition Summit. The result: Sara Lee Soft & Smooth bread was mentioned in more than 500 blog posts, tweets and Facebook conversations.
Shell Lubricants/Coyne Public Relations - Hitting the Jackpot with New Pennzoil Ultra Launch: As part of its effort to drive awareness of the new Pennzoil Ultra, Coyne targeted industry media with a site demonstration on the Richard Childress Racing campus, and automotive enthusiasts at a weekend event during a Pennzoil-sponsored race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Tucker & Associates - The Implosion of Texas Stadium: Tucker & Associates made the demolition of Texas Stadium part of its initiative to promote the bright future of Irving, Texas, as a business and convention center.
UPS – Decision Green Tech Forum: Greening Your Supply Chain: The UPS PR team promoted its efforts to make its supply chain more green by holding a media event at New York’s Benjamin Hotel, which has its own stellar environmental record. UPS CIO Dave Barnes hosted the event, which was attended by leading media outlets.