Winner: Mollie Surratt, Senior Director of Public Relations, Social Media & Content Marketing, Mohawk Flooring
Mollie Surratt is a pioneer in the practice of strategic public relations in the flooring industry and a leader in digital communications. Under her public relations leadership, Mohawk has enjoyed a 10 percent increase in media coverage.
In 2015 and 2016, Surratt was recognized by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) for her leadership on several communications and public relations projects. She received PRSA’s Silver Anvil Award for the Mohawk SmartStrand Forever Clean + Tough Mudder B2B Campaign and PRSA’s Bronze Anvil Award of Commendation for the launch of that campaign.
Surratt has brought home several Phoenix Awards from PRSA in various categories, including media relations B2B (Mohawk SmartStrand Forever Clean Campaign), blogger campaign (Mohawk Floors Me Blogger Campaign) and blog (Mohawk Creative Home Blog with Mobile Marketing). The Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals presented Surratt with four Hermes Creative Awards in 2015 for product launches, publicity campaigns, content strategy and blog communication.
One of the hallmarks of a leader is recognizing opportunities and generating even more opportunities from them. Surratt knew a partnership with Fox’s “Home Free” television series would present excellent digital communications opportunities for Mohawk. She negotiated an unprecedented contract with FOX, taking Mohawk's product placement strategy to a whole new level.
“The show provides a powerful national platform to communicate Mohawk’s style, design and ease-of-installation benefits,” Surratt says. “Mohawk is proud to place our carpet, rugs, hardwood flooring and laminates in the homes of these deserving heroes and to equip Mohawk retailers with the publicity tools to share this great integration in-store.”
Surratt's advocacy of Promoboxx as early as 2014 showed an appreciation for the power of digital communications and a determination to make sure that Mohawk led the field in social strategy—not only in the flooring industry but among other manufacturers as well.
Honorable Mentions:
- Dickie K. Davis, Miami International Airport
- Amy Franco, Princeton HealthCare System
- Ryan Green, Illinois Policy Institute
- Christian Rodgers, Pascale Communications