Co-Winners:
Knowles Science Teaching Foundation and Dentsu Communications — Knowles Science Teaching Foundation Teaching Fellowships
To advocate for the best new teachers, keep the best current teachers in the fold and combat negative press on the effectiveness of today’s educators, the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation (KSTF) and Dentsu Communications teamed to promote the work of nearly 200 KSTF Fellows and alumni across 40 states who are transforming math and science education. Dentsu kicked off the campaign in Jan. 2011 with an announcement that a select group of KSTF alumi earned the National Board Certification—achieved by just 1.5% of teachers in the U.S. The agency then invited media into the classrooms of KSTF Fellows to see their positive effects on the students. The results included 206 unique print, online and broadcast stories reaching an audience of 157 million people. —SVC
National Eye Institute and Ogilvy Washington — Comparison of Age-Related Macular Degeneration Treatments
For more than 10 years, Ogilvy Washington has worked closely with NEI to translate and disseminate important scientific vision-related findings to the America public via the media. In the case of the Comparison of AMD Treatment Trials (CATT), Ogilvy and NEI knew that the study—which evaluated the efficacy and safety of treatment of AMD (Age-Related Macular Degeneration) with Lucentis, the only FDAapproved treatment, and Avastin, an off-label, lower-cost alternative that doctors already—would be of interest to journalists who had covered the topic for years.
After compiling an A-list of media influencers, Ogilvy and NEI media trained institute spokespeople, study investigators and affected patients prior to a planned teleconference the day before a news embargo was lifted. The challenge: A news outlet reported the results in advance of the publication of findings in the New England Journal of Medicine. “We had to reorganize our initial strategy and tactics in less than 24 hours to stay ahead of the story as it was being covered,” says Kendra Gaskins, account director at Ogilvy Washington. Overcoming the glitch, the study findings reached 294 million people. —SVC
Honorable Mentions:
The Museum of Mathematics and MWW Group – MoMath Ramps Up the Birth of MoMath: To increase the appetite for math in New York and beyond, MWW Group pitched the idea of a Museum of Mathematics to top-tier outlets. The museum is scheduled to open this year.
National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Jones Public Affairs – National Association of Children’s Family Advocacy Day 2011: Jones Public Affairs leveraged media buzz around a Capitol Hill health budget showdown and Max Page, the 6-year-old actor from the “mini-Darth Vader” Volkswagen spot to advocate for children’s healthcare.
Office Depot Foundation and JKG Group – 2011 Office Depot Foundation National Backpack Program: Office Depot Foundation enlisted NASCAR star Tony Stewart to garner local, regional and media coverage about its donation of 350,000 school sackpacks.
Pratt Institute – Pratt Institute Opens Myrtle Hall: Brooklyn’s First Collegiate LEED-Gold Certified Building: To tout leadership in Energy and Environment Design standards on display at Myrtle Hall, Pratt pitched story angles to real estate, design, education media outlets—and also earned coverage from The New York Times.
Ragusa Consulting – The Ruby Bridges Foundation: A white paper, a new Web site and a robust media management strategy secured top-tier coverage of child education and literacy efforts by the group led by civil rights icon Ruby Bridges.
Taco Bell Foundation for Teens and Burson-Marsteller – Generating Awareness for Broader Support for the Cause: In encouraging high schoolers to graduate, BM leveraged actor Mark Wahlberg and news about multiple foundation programs to the tune of 280 million media impressions.
PR on a Shoestring Budget
Winner: Meals On Wheels Association of America and Weber Shandwick Washington, D.C. — "We Are Meals On Wheels" Member Toolkit: Introducing Local Programs to a National Campaign
Meals On Wheels Association of America and Weber Shandwick teamed up to introduce local programs to the national campaign to drive awareness and engagement of the network of 4,000 local senior nutrition programs across the U.S. The team created a toolkit of materials, including sample press materials, social media tips and PSAs for each member to use in communicating the Meals On Wheels message.
The toolkit, which helped update the MOWAA visual identity and provided a clear call to action for participants to follow, was distributed to all members at MOWAA’s annual conference and was also available online. “We learned the importance of providing training sessions to ensure that toolkit materials worked equally well for large member programs with advanced communications strategies and small programs with little or no resources devoted to communications efforts,” says Adrienne Caruso, director at Weber Shandwick. —RD
Honorable Mentions:
The American Institute of Architects – AIArchitect e-newsletter and landing page: To reach out to both students and seasoned industry executives with the e-newsletter, the PR team combined traditional long-form content with videos, infographics and slideshows.
CropLife America – Tell Me More: The CropLife America communications team created several media vehicles, including Tell Me More monthly newsletter and Web site, to make its employees more confident in explaining their crop protection work to the outside world.
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Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Sherry Matthews Advocacy Marketing – Komen Austin Public Awareness Campaign
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Honorable Mentions:
- Counterpart International – Counterpart Postcards from the Field
- The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship and MWW Group – Bridging the Educational Challenges of Tomorrow Through Entrepreneurship Education
- R&R Partners Foundation – Flip the Script Anti-Bullying Campaign
Press Release
Winner: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory — Advancing autism research: a new animal model provides evidence for autism’s genetic basis
To tout the news of a first-of-its-kind animal mode for autism that presented incontrovertible evidence of autism’s genetic basis, the Cold Spring Harbor Lab focused on a variety of targets—the lay public, scientific and general media, and advocacy groups. The challenge: creating press release versions that would be clear and informational to each of those groups. A collaborative process to meet this challenge ensued.
Hema Bashyam, science writer with the lab’s public affairs department, spoke with key lab scientists on how to best engage the different audiences. “I then worked with Dr. Guy Horev to identify and prepare news-quality research images (sample pictured) and videos showing behavior of ‘autistic’ mice,” says Bashyam. As a result, the “Mouse Model” release was responsible for 10 feature stories in the U.S. and internationally, as well as dozens of shorter items. Given the controversy surrounding autism and its causes, Bashyam stressed the importance of exercising clarity and sensitivity in releases to minimize chances of any misinterpretation by audiences. —SVC
Honorable Mention:
American Veterinary Medical Association – You Need a Vet on Your Zombie Apocalypse Survival Team: Leveraging the popularity of the AMC TV show The Walking Dead, the AVMA’s zombie-themed release spurred a jump in association Web site visits from an average of 12,000 to a peak of 20,000 at its launch on Oct. 31, 2011.
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Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory – Advancing autism research: A new animal model provides evidence for autism's genetic basis
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Honorable Mention:
- American Veterinary Medical Association – You Need a Vet on Your Zombie Apocalypse Survival Team
Public Affairs/Issues Management
Winner: American Society of Transplantation and Brownstein Group — Taking a Stand Against Arizona Medicaid Cuts
In October 2010, the state government in Arizona under Gov. Jan Brewer (R-AZ) implemented changes to the adult Medicaid benefit package that included elimination of coverage for several non-experimental transplant procedures. This cost-cutting measure put at risk the lives of people waiting for transplants. In response, the American Society of Transplantation teamed up with Brownstein Group to get the AST message out to a broad audience via press releases, joint statements, proactive pitching to local and national media and a joint press conference with Arizona Democratic leaders and transplant patients. The result was top-tier coverage in the New York Times and on CNN and Fox News, which helped lead to the Arizona state government repealing its decision to eliminate Medicaid coverage of the procedures.
“Our biggest challenge was coordinating several voices under one coherent and powerful message in an extremely short time frame,” says Erin Allsman, VP, public relations and social media director, Brownstein Group. “We did it mostly through perseverance and a shared determination to make an impact. We knew lives were at stake, and we all felt very strongly that this was the right thing to do.” —SG
Honorable Mentions:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace – Understanding the Arab Spring: Well before the Arab Spring, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace was deemed the most influential think tank in the Middle East. This gave it credibility during the Arab Spring itself as its face-to-face outreach with U.S. and Middle East policy makers enabled it to transmit its ideas and recommendations to the highest echelons of the U.S. administration.
Consumer Electronics Association – Declaration of Innovation: CEA tied the U.S. Declaration of Independence to its campaign for government policies that support innovation. The centerpiece of the campaign was a July 4 media tour with CEA topper Gary Shapiro, which reached more than 6.4 million people.
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American Society of Transplantation and Brownstein Group –Taking a Stand against Arizona Medicaid Cuts
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Honorable Mentions:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace – Understanding the Arab Spring
- Consumer Electronics Association – Declaration of Innovation
Public Service
Winner: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons — 2011 AAOS Public Service Campaign: ‘Decide to Drive’
To combat the deadly menace of distracted driving—whether it’s eating in the front seat or texting—AAOS launched and disseminated the findings from a Harris Interactive poll showing the disconnect between what drivers report observing about distracted driving and what they report practicing. A press conference, media tour, outdoor ads and social media outreach have helped the “Decide to Drive” campaign reach a national audience of more than 3.7 million people, and a school curriculum about the dangers of distracted driving was distributed to 10,000 5th and 6th grade classes in fall 2011.
“We had so many great ideas for the distracted driving campaign,” says Sandra Gordon, director of PR for AAOS. “Our challenge came with how my small staff of six mighty PR people could actually make all of these things happen.” The team proceeded to get orthopaedic surgeons all over the country excited about the campaign—the surgeons volunteered to help make something happen in their states and hometowns. The AAOS board of directors also got involved. “Our partners, the Orthopaedic Trauma Association and the Auto Alliance, all helped and volunteered. And, each of us on my mighty staff simply did whatever it took—giving our own time—to make this entire campaign a reality. We are all committed to saving lives and preventing injuries caused by distracted driving crashes.” —SG
Honorable Mentions:
American Academy of Ophthalmology – Want Scary Eyes? The Dangers of Nonprescription Decorative Contact Lenses: PSAs on YouTube and social media press releases timed with Halloween aimed to put a fright into people who are considering wearing decorative contact lenses but are unaware of the health risks.
National Drowning Prevention Alliance and Payton Communications – NDPAPR: National Public Education Program: Beverly Payton, a bereaved parent of a child drowning victim, provided pro bono PR services to the NDPA that helped the nonprofit organization earn a $1.3 million contract from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
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American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons – 2011 AAOS Public Service Campaign: "Decide to Drive"
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Honorable Mentions:
- American Academy of Ophthalmology – Want Scary Eyes? The Dangers of Non-prescription Decorative Contact Lenses
- National Drowning Prevention Alliance and Payton Communications -NDPAPR : National Public Education Program
Social Media
Winner: Duke University: The Fuqua School of Business — Basketball Campout 2011
To increase alumni and student participation, the Duke Fuqua School of Business’ communications team targeted a unifying and shared passion among students and alumni alike: Duke men’s basketball. The basketball camp-out tradition—where fans set up tents and wait for tickets to go on sale—is a major social event each year on campus. The happening became the center of the Fuqua campaign, with a contest offering two winners the opportunity to accompany the men’s team to China and the United Arab Emirates.
A virtual camp-out—a time-delineated game—was developed as an online application and offered campers a series of mechanisms to earn participation points by taking action on behalf of the school: including updating their alumni records and job/internship statuses, and providing testimonials for use in marketing. Campers also earned participation points from quizzes educating them about faculty areas, programs, alumni services, Fuqua and men’s basketball history. The application featured a leaderboard and encouraged intra- and inter-group tournaments and communication, including rewards for inviting classmates via e-mail or Facebook. —BM
Honorable Mentions:
American Society of Anesthesiologists – Building Connections at Anesthesiology 2011: To encourage members, exhibitors and media to join the online conversation at its annual meeting, ASA relaunched its Facebook fan page and launched a mobile app that featured all tweets using the hashtag #ANES2011.
Association of American Railroads and SKDKnickerbocker – Developing a Social Media Following and Building a Conversation Online: To increase its digital footprint and create a more influential and vibrant forum for advancing its policy agenda, the AAR spun a web of social interaction on Facebook and Twitter highlighting the industry’s contribution to the overall economy and demonstrating railroads’ cutting edge applications and infrastructures.
Audubon and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners – Birding the Net: In an effort to reach younger audiences, Audubon let birds loose all over the Internet, challenging people to find them across partners’ Web sites. This resulted in 14% more online membership signups and 52% more online donations.
The Foundation for Eye Health Awareness and Weber Shandwick – Think About Your Eyes Thursdays with IWearYourShirt.com: For five Thursdays in fall 2011, humorous eye health videos were sent through IWearYourShirt.com’s Facebook and Twitter, generating 5,500+ new social media followers.
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Duke University: The Fuqua School of Business – Basketball Campout 2011
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Honorable Mentions:
- American Society of Anesthesiologists – Building Connections at Anesthesiology 2011
- Association of American Railroads and SKDKnickerbocker – Developing a Social Media Following and Building a Conversation Online:
- Audubon and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners – Birding the Net
- The Foundation for Eye Health Awareness and Weber Shandwick – Think About Your Eyes Thursdays with IWearYourShirt.com
Social Responsibility
Winner: Office Depot Foundation and JKG Group — Office Depot Foundation National Backpack Program
Marking its 10-year anniversary as an iconic corporate social responsibility program, the National Backpack Program has helped more than 2.5 million children in that time span. In 2011, partnerships were key in distributing 350,000 foundation-designed sackpacks via 25 back-to-school celebrations across the U.S. The effort involved agreements with eight national nonprofit organizations, including a new partner, Samaritan’s Feet International, which extended the reach of the program to 47 additional U.S. cities and several countries overseas.
Office Depot Foundation’s first integration of Twitter and Facebook into the mix helped generate even more awareness of the campaign. “We made a special effort to engage program participants in this way and have seen the numbers of our fans and followers — as well as our conversations with them— grow substantially,” says Mary Wong, president, Office Depot Foundation. In addition, a comprehensive media relations effort generated more than 730 placements in print, broadcast and online platforms, accounting for more than 1 billion impressions with an estimated media value of $45.3 million. —SVC
Honorable Mentions:
American Cleaning Institute – For Better Living: ACI 2011 Sustainability: The ACI’s first-ever report to enhance the credibility of the cleaning products industry as a green leader was covered by green bloggers and highlighted at a number of national and international conferences.
The Fahad Al Salem Center for Dialogue and Edelman – The Fahad Center for Dialogue Among Civilizations’ Inaugural Forum: The Fahad Center’s event during 2011’s historic Arab Spring featured 10 former presidents, four former prime ministers, two Nobel Prize laureates—and, not surprisingly, attracted a bevy of global media coverage.
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization – We Honor Veterans: An informational Web portal, seminars for hospice providers and a social media community for partners helped raise awareness of the hospice community’s commitment to serving veterans.
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Office Depot Foundation and JKG Group – Office Depot Foundation National Backpack Program
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Honorable Mentions:
- American Cleaning Institute – For Better Living: ACI 2011 Sustainability
- The Fahad Al Salem Center for Dialogue and Edelman – The Fahad Center for Dialogue Among Civilizations' Inaugural Forum
- National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization – We Honor Veterans
Video and/or Podcast Program
Winner: Counterpart International — Multimedia Package: Guatemala
As a nonprofit working in 23 countries to empower communities and institutions to drive and sustain their own development, sometimes Counterpart International’s staff is absorbed in their own particular projects, geography or program, and they aren’t tuned into successes in other areas. To bring together global staff and educate them on the work being done in Guatemala, the team looked to video. In late April 2011, two Counterpart communications staffers and a freelance videographer traveled to Guatemala for four days: touring Guatemala City, flying to Petén in northern Guatemala, visiting three main tourism sites, meeting the mayor of the Chisec region, traversing a cave, visiting Mayan ruins and interviewing 11 people.
The last week of June, a Web site portal was launched featuring a four-minute video, a slideshow, an eight-page magazine editorial spread and a 1,750 word feature. The video and feature story were picked up by several blogs, including TripFilms and Adventures with Cloud People, and sparked a movement among Counterpart staff—suddenly everyone wanted to communicate the work they do around the world with their peers. —BM
Honorable Mentions:
American Academy of Opthalmology – Want Scary Eyes? The Dangers of Non-Prescription Decorative Contact Lenses: The AAO crafted social media press releases that included high-res images and video PSAs, including two “this is your brain on drugs”-style videos. The goal—to warn teens and their parents of the health dangers associated with non-prescription contacts.
Greater Rochester Enterprise and Dixon Schwabl– Eyes on the Future Radio Show: Podcasts created for GRE’s weekly upscale, business-oriented radio audience were designed with convenience in mind—users could share segments via their social networks. The podcasts have driven a 25% increase in the number of monthly visitors to GRE’s Web site.
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Counterpart International – Multimedia Package: Guatemala
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Honorable Mentions:
- American Academy of Ophthalmology – Want Scary Eyes? The Dangers of Non-prescription Decorative Contact Lenses
- Greater Rochester Enterprise and Dixon Schwabl – Eyes on the Future Radio Show
Volunteer Program
Winner: Barefoot Wine, Surfrider Foundation and Hunter Public Relations — Barefoot Wine Beach Rescue Project
In summer 2011, Hunter PR, working with Surfrider Foundation, hosted four large-scale events and 17 smaller-scale events in which volunteers cleaned up U.S. beaches and shorefronts. At each event, volunteers who want to make an impact on their local coastline gather under Barefoot Wine and Surfrider Foundation tents, where they sign in and receive supplies for a safe cleanup. Following each cleanup, they deposit their bags, pose for a group shot and are invited to an appreciation celebration at a nearby venue.
The events garnered 117 million impressions and garnered positive press for Barefoot Wine in the process. In all, 1,400 volunteers helped clean up coastlines.
“An important goal is consumer engagement, and we rely on volunteers in each community to join us in keeping America’s beaches ‘barefoot friendly,’” says Gigi Russo, partner, Hunter Public Relations. “Picking up trash along the shores isn’t necessarily the most glamorous experience, so we focus on making the entire cleanup fun and memorable. We work closely with the Surfrider Foundation to raise awareness about the need for cleaner, healthier beaches and get people interested in lending a hand. We reward volunteers by toasting their good deeds with an intimate celebration complete with a sampling of Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, local food and live music." —SG
Honorable Mention:
The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis CPF – Daughters of Pulmonary Fibrosis: Working with no funding, this offshoot campaign of the Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis attracted 200 women members to raise awareness and funds —$100,000 so far—to fight this terminal disease.
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Barefoot Wine, Surfrider Foundation and Hunter Public Relations – Barefoot Wine Beach Rescue Project
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Honorable Mention:
- The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis CPF – Daughters of Pulmonary Fibrosis.
Web Site
Winner: LiveWell Colorado, rabble+rouser and Launch Advertising — LiveWell Colorado Obesity Awakening Campaign
One out of every two Coloradans is overweight or obese, and nonprofit LiveWell Colorado, with partners rabble+rouser and Launch Advertising, sought to “awaken” Colorado moms to this reality by creating a campaign Web site that showed them where they personally stand when it comes to obesity.
The central feature of the site is the “360 Gut Check,” comprised of a body mass index calculator, waist-to-height calculator and a behavior quiz. In the first six months of the campaign the site racked up 175,000 BMI calculations, 76,000 waist-to-height calculation and gave out 120,000 behavior grades. More than 100,000 site visits and 450,000 page views were logged from individuals in over 169 different cities in Colorado. —SG
Honorable Mention:
AICPA – Start Here, Go Places. Educators Portal: The American Institute of CPAs, seeking to develop an online community for high school business and accounting teachers, designed a portal that easily guides them to take an action—whether it’s to start a conversation, post a question in a forum or request materials. More than 2,000 business leaders, accounting teachers and guidance counselors have registered for the educators portal, and visits average more than 17 minutes in length.
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LiveWell Colorado, rabble+rouser and Launch Advertising – LiveWell Colorado Obesity Awakening Campaign
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Honorable Mention:
- AICPA – Start Here, Go Places. Educators Portal
"Committed," "passionate," "resourceful." These are just a few adjectives that aptly describe the communications professionals behind this year's PR News Nonprofit PR Award winners and honorable mentions. We saluted them all at a March 15, 2012, luncheon event in Washington, D.C.