Raleigh Public Relations Society

The Raleigh Public Relations Society (RPRS) aims to advance the art and science of public relations and to strengthen communication, understanding and cooperation among the diverse individuals, groups, and institutions of the Society.

President

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JOB ALERT: Communications Specialist

The selected Communications Specialist will assist in developing, writing and project management of communications and marketing needs to share the stories and services of Wake County’s Human Services, and Housing and Community Revitalization departments. In addition, this position will support the communications needs for other county departments, as needed. A consummate team player, the selected candidate will work with the external communications manager to serve as a liaison to departments within the organization, providing dedicated, innovative communications consultation, support and problem-solving assistance.

For more information, click here. 

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The Age-Old Debate: Agency or In-House?

Whether you’re looking to make a career move or simply craving personal insight…this blog is for you.

Despite how many blogs I’ve read, I’ve concluded that they all typically lack personal perspective on what communication and marketing professionals like about being in an agency or in-house setting. To bridge this gap, I did a little research on my own and the below are perspectives from our very own RPRS board members:

To note: The following “full responses” section reflects time in our board member’s current roles. To view their full background, simply click on their hyperlinked name to go to their LinkedIn pages. Names noted directly below have had both agency and in-house experience.

AGENCY TOP TAKEAWAYS:

  • Pros:
    • Every day is different! – Gina
    • Constantly learning something new by working with clients in diverse industries. – Kelly
  • Cons:
    • It can be a whirlwind…[so] you must be organized while staying flexible [for client and priority shifts]. – Gina
    • [Practitioners] can heavily influence communications strategy but must rely on clients to subscribe to or carry recommendations forward. – Kelly
  • Biggest piece of advice:
    • If you’re able to, try out both [agency and in-house]. – Gina
    • Working with clients rather than being the client forces you get to think from a different perspective, which I think is an essential party of being able to successfully execute results-driven campaigns. – Jenna

IN-HOUSE TOP TAKEAWAYS:

  • Pros:
    • I am in charge of everything! – Carolin
    • The Cisco network is HUGE – meaning that there are so many available resources and colleagues that I can learn and grow from. – Hope
    • More time to focus on projects, more people to work on projects, and more budget to work with than I had at a smaller agency. – Jessica
  • Cons:
    • I am the ONLY in-house marketing/PR/comm person so there’s just a lot of stuff to do. I wish I had someone else though to help me brainstorm/give feedback. – Carolin
    • It takes much longer to get things live because with more people come more needs for approvals and more opinions. – Jessica
  • Biggest piece of advice:
    • If in-house is your end goal, I’d highly recommend starting in an agency setting, to figure out what you do and don’t like. Doing so will help you more easily identify your strengths, skillset, worth and passions. – Hope
    • Start with an agency first so you can get more of a variety of experience and learn what you like working on. Then you can focus on those specific areas at an in-house position if you choose to switch. – Jessica
    • There are many in-house positions that prefer prior agency experience, so it can be helpful to start in that space, become of a jack-of-all-trades, and then bring those skills to one specific company. – Olivia

BUSINESS OWNERS TOP TAKEAWAYS:

  • Pros:
    • It’s been the biggest, most exciting adventure I’ve ever encountered. – Lindsay
    • Ability to set my own goals, agenda, and culture – Lisa
  • Cons:
    • I do a lot of the grunt work that I probably wouldn’t be doing in house or at an agency. It’s SO worth it though! – Lindsay
    • No one pays you to do the “business running” activities like cleaning the toilets and running payroll. You either have to outsource it (money out) or DIY (higher-margin business). – Lisa
  • Biggest piece of advice:
    • I think culture fit is much more important than in-house vs. agency at this point in your career. Who are your people and where do you work best? You’re going to spend 30-60 hours/week in that setting and it needs to be a healthy one! – Lisa

 

FULL RESPONSES

AGENCY

Gina Fergione, Senior Account Executive, Largemouth Communications

  • Length of time in position: 1 year 5 months (is this just my position at Largemouth? I’ve been in agency full time for over 3 ½ years).
  • What are the pros and cons you see working within your setting (doesn’t have to be specific to your company)?
    • Pros: Every day is different! In a single day I may be supporting a press release announcing a product launch for a B2B tech client, then coordinating media interviews with a national reporter on food trends in restaurants, then wrap up my day brainstorming booth activations for an upcoming tradeshow for a manufacturing client. As I dive into a wide range of tasks, I’ve been able to learn about so many different industries and verticals while also expanding and honing my communications and public relations skills.
    • Cons: It can be a whirlwind. Because every day is different, you must be organized while staying flexible. As always, priorities will shift and client needs change (between the client itself and the different clients you’re juggling).
  • What’s your biggest piece of advice to someone who’s trying to decide between in house vs. agency? If you’re able to, try out both. I interned both in-house and at an agency throughout college, so I was able to get a feel for the environment. While no agency and company is exactly the same, you’ll know if you’re drawn to one over the other. Regardless of where you end up (in house or agency), find a culture that you love while doing work that you love!

 

Jenna Gilgore, Account Executive, Gelia

  • Length of time in position: 2 months
  • What are the pros and cons you see working within your setting (doesn’t have to be specific to your company)?
    • Pros: Working for an agency is a great experience because you have a whole team of people with different skill sets and specialties behind you. The culture fosters an environment in which you’re constantly learning, and there’s always room for growth and new opportunities.
    • Cons: You have to learn to be flexible and work within tight client deadlines, but this is likely true for any in-house position as well!
  • What’s your biggest piece of advice to someone who’s trying to decide between in house vs. agency? Having only worked in an agency setting, I think it’s an important experience for everyone in the industry to have at some point in their career. It’s helps lay a critical foundation of the business. Working with clients rather than being the client forces you get to think from a different perspective, which I think is an essential party of being able to successfully execute results-driven campaigns.

 

Kelly Propst, Vice President, Largemouth Communications

  • Length of time in position: 13 years
  • What are the pros and cons you see working within your setting (doesn’t have to be specific to your company)?
    • Pros: Working with a team of fellow practitioners who value and understand PR, constantly learning something new by working with clients in diverse industries, interacting with brilliant marketing minds from different organizations
    • Cons: Can heavily influence communications strategy, but must rely on clients to subscribe to or carry recommendations forward

 

IN HOUSE

Carolin Lehmann, Events & Communications Coordinator, ASSIST (NC State University)

  • Length of time in position: since March (before that, I was also in-house for 1.5 years)
  • What are the pros and cons you see working within your setting (doesn’t have to be specific to your company)?
  • Pros: I am in charge of everything!
  • Cons: I am the ONLY in-house marketing/PR/comm person so there’s just a lot of stuff to do. I wish I had someone else though to help me brainstorm/give feedback.

Hope Torruella, Content Marketing Manager, Cisco Customer Experience at Harte Hanks

  • Length of time in position: Going on four months (before that, I was at two different agencies for four collective years)
  • What are the pros and cons you see working within your setting (doesn’t have to be specific to your company)?
    • Pros: The Cisco network is HUGE – meaning that there are so many available resources and colleagues that I can learn and grow from. With the ability to focus on one company’s overall mission in addition to technology and software constantly evolving, there’s always something new and innovative around the corner – which is something I’m extremely excited to be a part of.
    • Cons: With such a huge network, there’s a lot of learning what each team is responsible for and who the correct point-of-contacts for certain questions are. There’s also a lot of acronyms to learn, but that’s where being on an awesome team comes into play – I have so many amazing colleagues who have and continue to help me navigate the org.
  • Have you had experience working in the alternative setting? (i.e. if you’re currently in house, have you had agency experience? And vice versa)
    • Collective time in prior setting: I have a little over four collective years of agency experience.
    • Pros: I’m glad to have started my career in an agency because I learned at a rapid pace, was thrown into fast-turnaround situations and exposed to so many different clients in vastly different industries. I worked so many events and trade shows that provided great emersion into clients/brands and perspective of what in-house was like through many different marketing managers.
    • Cons: Being evaluated based on media wins with an ever-growing “paid media replacing earned media” landscape.
  • What’s your biggest piece of advice to someone who’s trying to decide between in house vs. agency? If in-house is your end goal, I’d highly recommend starting in an agency setting, to figure out what you do and don’t like. Doing so will help you more easily identify your strengths, skillset, worth and passions.

 

Jessica Pope, Digital Channels Lead, Cisco

  • Length of time in position: 4 years
  • What are the pros and cons you see working within your setting (doesn’t have to be specific to your company)?
    • Pros: More time to focus on projects, more people to work on projects, and more budget to work with than I had at a smaller agency.
    • Cons: It takes much longer to get things live because with more people come more needs for approvals and more opinions.
  • Have you had experience working in the alternative setting? (i.e. if you’re currently in house, have you had agency experience? And vice versa)
    • Collective time in prior setting: 1 year in an agency setting.
    • Pros: Much more agile and more flexibility with projects.
    • Cons: Things change very quickly, and you must be ready to shift your priorities and plans immediately. There is also less help and resources, so you have to be a little scrappier (which can be fun too).
  • What’s your biggest piece of advice to someone who’s trying to decide between in house vs. agency? Start with an agency first so you can get more of a variety of experience and learn what you like working on. Then you can focus on those specific areas at an in-house position if you choose to switch.

 

Olivia Easly, Marketing Manager, Orthus Health

  • Length of time in position: Previously, I was the Marketing Manager at WellAir for three years. I just recently started with Orthus Health as their Marketing Manager.
  • What are the pros and cons you see working within your setting (doesn’t have to be specific to your company)?
    • Pros: Currently, I am the only marketing person on staff at Orthus Health. To me, that is a HUGE pro because it means I get to wear so many different hats, have direct communication with the management team, and I get to steer the brand in the direction I’d like to see it go.
    • Cons: It is a ton of work, but I wouldn’t trade a thing.
  • Have you had experience working in the alternative setting? (i.e. if you’re currently in house, have you had agency experience? And vice versa)
    • Collective time in prior setting: I have a little over a year of agency experience.
    • Pros: I enjoyed the agency setting because I worked on projects for clients in several different industries. Every day was something new, and the environment was always changing.
    • Cons: I prefer to manage one brand and one voice, so balancing so many different clients wasn’t as fun for me because I wanted to focus all my attention on one.
  • What’s your biggest piece of advice to someone who’s trying to decide between in house vs. agency? Both are incredibly valuable experiences. There are many in-house positions that prefer prior agency experience, so it can be helpful to start in that space, become of a jack-of-all-trades, and then bring those skills to one specific company.

 

BUSINESS OWNER

Lindsay Priester, Owner + President, Green Light Communications

  • Are you currently in an in house or agency position? I own a boutique strategic communications firm but have worked both in-house and at agencies previously.
  • Length of time in position: Green Light launched Feb. 1, 2019!
  • What are the pros and cons you see working within your setting (doesn’t have to be specific to your company)?
    • Pros: The flexibility, having the creative freedom to run with your ideas (as long as the client’s on board, of course), the excitement that comes with knowing you’re running a business and you can shape it into what you want
    • Cons: Not having a big team to bounce ideas off of (although my RPRS peeps are great for this), feeling the weight and responsibility of owning a business (even though it’s a huge blessing!)
  • Have you had experience working in the alternative setting? (i.e. if you’re currently in house, have you had agency experience? And vice versa)
    • Collective time in prior setting: 1.5 years in house, 9 years in agency
    • Pros: In house was much more relaxed (not as much pressure on placements and results), but I learned 100 times more in an agency setting.
    • Cons: I do miss the camaraderie that can come with working on a team (either in house or at an agency)
  • If you own your own business, what made you want to start your own business?
    • Pros: It’s been a dream of mine since I graduated school. I made a vision board (I’m a little vision board obsessed) with a business card declaring me owner of a PR agency! I’m new to this (we’ll hit six months soon – woohoo!), but it’s been the biggest, most exciting adventure I’ve ever encountered. It’s also the scariest. Knowing at the end of the day it all comes down to me can be overwhelming. Fortunately, I have amazing clients that I’ve worked with for years (I worked with several of them at previous jobs!) and we have incredible relationships. At the end of the day, you just have to push the fear out of the way and do the dang thing!
    • Cons: While owning a business seems glamorous, you’re also doing ALL THE THINGS (especially if you’re a small shop like Green Light). I do a lot of the grunt work that I probably wouldn’t be doing in house or at an agency. It’s SO worth it though! I feel blessed every day to get to do what I love AND to get the opportunity to shape a business!
  • What’s your biggest piece of advice to someone who’s trying to decide between in house vs. agency? I get this question a lot, especially from interns or new grads. I ALWAYS say try both. If you can, I’d go agency first and really build up your expertise. At an agency, things are often going a million miles a minute and you’re working on multiple clients at a time. That experience is SO valuable. Once you’ve got that knowledge, you can put it all to work in house somewhere and get fabulous results!

 

Lisa Jeffries, Founder · Principal, Raleighwood Media Group + Raleighwood Event Group

  • Are you currently in an in house or agency position? Agency
  • Length of time in position: 11 years
  • What are the pros and cons you see working within your setting (doesn’t have to be specific to your company)?
    • Pros: Small team environment, relationships, nimble/easier to proceed with change and development
    • Cons: Intense workload since it’s not distributed across various departments
  • Have you had experience working in the alternative setting? (i.e. if you’re currently in house, have you had agency experience? And vice versa)
    • Yes, was in-house at Shoeboxed.com and CBC New Media/WRAL.com
    • Collective time in prior setting: Five+ years
    • Pros: Exposure to cross-divisional departments, other types of work
    • Cons: Projects tend to move slower, more traditional “work life” culture (ie: not as flexible on in-office hours, etc.), office politics/drama 😉
  • If you own your own business, what made you want to start your own business?
    • Pros: Ability to set my own goals, agenda, and culture
    • Cons: No one pays you to do the “business running” activities like cleaning the toilets and running payroll. You either have to outsource it (money out) or DIY (higher-margin business).
  • What’s your biggest piece of advice to someone who’s trying to decide between in house vs. agency? Consider working in both at some point during your career. It really makes for a more experienced professional and will allow you to find your natural best fit.
  • Anything else you’d like to add? I think culture fit is much more important than in-house vs. agency at this point in your career. Who are your people and where do you work best? You’re going to spend 30-60 hours/week in that setting and it needs to be a healthy one!

 

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Five Tips for Submitting Your Best Awards Entry

Have you entered your fabulous PR campaigns in awards competitions only to be disappointed when what you knew was a solid campaign didn’t get recognition from judges? You’re not alone! Rest assured it’s likely not a reflection of your campaign, but a reflection of your entry. Here are five quick tips for submitting your best possible entry:

1. Read the rules! Do the rules specify the length or certain components the entry must have? If so, be prepared to be disqualified if you don’t adhere to those guidelines. Read over the judging criteria, too. If your project is missing key elements of what is required on the entry form (say you didn’t do any research, or you didn’t complete evaluation against your objectives), then it probably isn’t an award-winning project to begin with, regardless of how beautiful or brilliant the work is.

2. Make it easy for the judges. We always advocate those writing awards entries attend one of our judging nights for awards entries from other chapters. . (Shameless plug: Join the RPRS Awards Judging Pizza Party, Monday August 20 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Raleighwood Media Group. RSVP to awards@rprs.org) This gives you the opportunity to read great entries and terrible entries and learn what distinguishes the two. It will also help you understand what judges look for in an entry.

One of the key takeaways I learned was to keep information as simple and easy to digest as possible. Judges are often reading categories with numerous entries, and by the fourth or fifth one, your eyes and brain are tired, and you aren’t reading with the level of detail you were with the first one. I’ve found I’m much more receptive to bulleted key points than I am to a wall of text to wade through to glean the most important information.

3. Measurable Objectives. As practitioners, we harp on it every time it comes up in judging conversation. Why? Because measurement is a critical component of S.M.A.R.T. objectives. Objectives must be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-specific.

Bad: Earn coverage in a national newspaper for summer campaign.
Good: Earn at least one placement in top-tier newspaper (USA Today, New York Times, Washington Post or equivalent) on or before July 31 to promote summer campaign.

See what I did there? Adding those specific components, creating a deadline, and setting an objective that can be measured (one placement in top-tier newspaper vs. coverage in a national newspaper), is an easy way to get full points for your objectives section.

Side note: this should be an early step in every campaign you work on. If it’s not, start doing it!
In the evaluation section, map everything back to your objectives. This shows the judge, at a quick glance, exactly what was outstanding about your work. If you didn’t reach an objective, explain the constraints or what you would have done differently to reach the desired outcome.

4. Leave nothing blank. RPRS revamped the judging criteria recently, and in doing so, they were very specific with the content each entry would be measured on. It’s even broken down by entry type (campaigns and tactics). Entries now follow the widely-recognized RPIE Process (Research, Planning, Implementation and Evaluation). Under each of these headers, we’ve outlined examples of what constitutes each step of the process and highlighted specific information you should include. The points values are also listed next to each section. Don’t give up points because you didn’t address every aspect of each step.

5. Proofread. I can’t stress it enough. I am THE WORST at proofing my own work. Despite my love for a red pen, track changes, and dashing others’ dreams of perfect grammar, I often make silly mistakes when I’m writing. Always have someone else read over your entry before you submit it. Bonus if you can have someone not close to your project read it over—they’ll have the best objective opinion on whether you’ve included too much or left out important information.

And lastly, I’ll leave you with one bonus tip: Submitting your entry is easier than ever this year! RPRS has made the entire process online, including the payment. No more begging accounting to get a check cut for your entries. No more racing across Raleigh to drop binders off before the 5 p.m. deadline. You don’t even have to get up from your desk (except maybe to ask that coworker to proofread your work).

Simply visit rprs.org/awards, follow the “click to submit” button and then click the “register” button on the top right of the page. Once you’re logged in, you can save your work and come back to your entry as much as you like. Nothing is final until you’ve submitted and paid.

You can’t win ‘em all, but hopefully these tips will give you the competitive advantage you need to take home the gold this year.

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RPRS Launches New Website

The Raleigh Public Relations Society (RPRS) is proud to announce the launch of our newly redesigned website. Our updated site was designed and built by TheeDesign Studio, a full service web design and internet marketing company in Raleigh, North Carolina. The new website is built on WordPress, a very user-friendly content management system that allows our team to add and update content, images and any other information. WordPress is also easy to use when adding new pages, without needing a developer to help.

We love the easy navigation of our new site, but some of our favorite custom features are:

WordPress Website with Custom Design and User Friendly Interface

Our team found WordPress to be an intuitive and user friendly platform, making it easy for us to manage our website. Information about our society is presented clearly for members and potential members to find. WordPress also features a simple back end that is just as user friendly. TheeDesign Studio team provided WordPress Training that taught us how to update content, post blog entries, and upload photos.

Events and Jobs Pages

Our site now features an easy method for adding events and job listings to ensure our website can be updated quickly to greater serve our members and the greater Raleigh community. Previously it was difficult and time consuming for our members to add, edit and delete events and job listings, but thanks to WordPress’ simple content management system and TheeDesign Studio’s custom tools for adding job listings and events we can quickly edit information on our site without any coding knowledge.

Contact the Board Directly

Our “Contact Us” form allows us to serve our clients and prospective clients quickly and efficiently. Visitors to our website are able to contact us and send a brief message regarding their inquiry just by filling out our contact form. The online contact form is very beneficial by speeding up and simplifying membership queries, and is one of our favorite features on the site.

What’s The Scoop?

Our new website combines our newsroom and blog feed under “The Scoop” where members can easily find the latest news, event information, photo recaps and other happenings with the Raleigh Public Relations Society. Not only does it benefit our members to have the information easily accessible, but it lets interested parties see what we are up to as well.

We are proud of our new site and excited to show it off to our members. We encourage everyone to test the easy navigation, and check out our blog “The Scoop” for the latest PR news and events happening in the Triangle. If you have questions or comments, fill out our contact form, and we’ll get right back in touch with you.

If you are interested in custom web design or internet marketing please visit TheeDesign Studio at TheeDesign.com or call 919-341-8901.

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RPRS Sir Walter Raleigh Awards Honor Communication Professionals in Triangle

Raleigh, N.C. – Oct. 1, 2013 – The Raleigh Public Relations Society recognized local public relations firms and practitioners during its 2013 Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in Communication. The awards banquet, held on Sept. 24 at the Contemporary Art Museum was emceed by Sean Maroney of WNCN.

“We continue to be impressed by the quality, variety and creativity presented year after year through the Sir Walter Raleigh Award entries,” said Stephanie Llorente, president, RPRS. “As evidenced through this awards program, we are proud to say that the Triangle area is continuing to excel in public relations and creative campaigns.”

The Sir Walter Raleigh Awards competition is a showcase of exemplary work by public relations and communication professionals throughout North Carolina. The competition is held annually and recognizes projects that have achieved excellence in a variety of categories, as judged by an independent panel. This year’s awards were judged by members of the Sacramento Public Relations Association.

RPRS also presented Roger Friedensen, APR with the 2013 Watt Huntley Award for Lifetime Achievement. This award is given annually to an individual who has made meaningful contributions to the field of public relations over the course of a career.

Friedensen is the owner and principal of Forge Communications. He began his consulting career in 1985 with Epley Associates, Inc., one of the Southeast’s leading public relations firms. Over the years, he has managed a wide array of strategic communication programs for a broad range of regional, national and international clients across dozens of industries. Before co-founding Forge Communications in late 2009, Friedensen served as senior vice president of client services at Epley Associates, Inc. and The Catevo Group.

“Roger is an exemplary public relations professional, as well as an engaged leader in our community,” said Lindsay Priester, awards chair, RPRS. “His years of experience and true understanding of the industry make him the perfect Watt Huntley Award recipient.”

Presented in seven divisions, the Sir Walter Raleigh Awards recognized the following winners in 2013:

Best in Division

First Division- Total Communications/Community Relations Campaign Kangaroo Express: Salute Our Troops,Largemouth Communications

Second Division – Publications
Triangle Family Services’ 10th Annual Gingerbread Benefit, Clairemont Communications

Third Division – Public Relations Writing
Newland in The Wall Street Journal, Clairemont Communications

Fourth Division – Interactive Communications
French/West/Vaughan Drives Polo to Capital through Custom Website, French/West/Vaughan

Fifth Division – Audio/Visual Communications
Eight Eighties Rebuilding an America, Media Partners Inc.

Sixth Division – More Bang for the Buck
Triangle Family Services 10th Annual Gingerbread Benefit, Clairemont Communications
First Division – Total Communications/Community Relations Campaign

Category 1 – Promotional Campaign for a Product, Program, Topic or Issue

  • Gold: Kangaroo Express: Salute Our Troops, Largemouth Communications
  • Silver: Gemesis: A New Choice in Diamonds, French/West/Vaughan
  • Honorable Mention: French/West/Vaughan Showcases the Best of the West, French/West/Vaughan; 2012 NC State Tailgate Championship, NC State University/Campus Enterprises; Briar Chapel’s Best Buddy Contest, Clairemont Communications; Hero Match Game, French/West/Vaughan; Community Investment Bonds Public Information Campaign, S&A Cherokee; French/West/Vaughan and Tweetsie Railroad: Full Steam Ahead for the 2012 Season, French/West/Vaughan; My Roots are N.C. State, NC State University/Campus Enterprises; French/West/Vaughan Mounts Up Regional Polo Campaign, French/West/Vaughan

Category 2 – Organizational Identity/Promotion

  • Gold: Briar Chapel; Clairemont Communications
  • Silver: Kangaroo Express Roo Cup Summer, Largemouth Communications
  • Honorable Mention: 2012 Road to Redemption Campaign, Angel Oak Creative; All the Rave about Rave! Catering, NC State University/Campus Enterprises; Analytic Heroes Program, French/West/Vaughan; Mellow Triangle Catering Program, Angel Oak Creative

Category 3 – Political Issue/ Candidate Program

  • Silver: Dix Visionaries: Securing the Future of Dix Park as a North Carolina Destination, French/West/Vaughan

Category 4 – Employee Relations

  • Honorable Mention: Wrangler Dave & the Railinc Cow, Clairemont Communications

Category 5 – Crisis Communications

  •  Gold: Michael Vick: The Power of a Second Chance, French/West/Vaughan
  •  Silver: William Peace University Crisis Communications, MMI Public Relations

Category 6 – Special Events

  • Gold: BBB “Secure Your ID Day,” Articulon
  • Silver : Athleta Grand Opening at the Streets of Southpoint, S&A Cherokee
  • Honorable Mention: Cinco de Moe’s Celebration, French/West/Vaughan; Big Bad Ball, Media Partners Inc.; French/West/Vaughan Generates Spooktacular Coverage for Tweetsie Railroad’s Ghost Train Halloween Festival, French/West/Vaughan; United Way CEO Sleepout, United Way of the Greater Triangle; Moe Legendary Premiere, French/West/Vaughan

 

Second Division –Publications

Category 8 – Brochures, Handbooks or Guidebooks

  • Gold: Mellow Triangle Catering Booklet, Angel Oak Creative
  • Honorable Mention: Ignition Interlock Systems Information, Angel Oak Creative

Category 10-B – Magazines Published with Three or More Colors

  • Silver: Beyond the Specs, S.T. Wooten Corporation

Category 11 – Media Kits

  • Gold: Triangle Family Services’ 10th Annual Gingerbread Benefit, Clairemont Communications
  • Honorable Mention: Eight Eighties Rebuilding an America, Media Partners Inc.

 

Third Division – Public Relations Writing

Category 13 – Opinion/Feature Writing

  • Honorable Mention: A New Beginning – A Dude Ranch Tale, French/West/Vaughan 

Category 14 – News Release

  • Silver: Newland in The Wall Street Journal, Clairemont Communications
  • Honorable Mention: Eight Eighties Rebuilding an America, Media Partners Inc.

 

Fourth Division – Interactive Communications

Category 16 – Website

  • Gold: French/West/Vaughan Drives Polo to Capital through Custom Website, French/West/Vaughan
  • Silver: Wolfpack One Card Services Website, NC State University/Campus Enterprises
  • Honorable Mention: AnalyticHeroes.com, French/West/Vaughan; Shop Downtown Website, French/West/Vaughan

Category 18 – Social Media

  • Silver: Wrangler “George Strait 2012 Tour” Sweepstakes, French/West/Vaughan
  • Honorable Mention: Wrangler Jeans Drives Facebook Fan Growth with its “15 days of Dale” Sweepstakes, French/West/Vaughan; Briar Chapel’s Best Buddy Contest, Clairemont Communications; Gemesis Diamond Company Shines on Social Media, French/West/Vaughan; Thomasville Furniture, Clairemont Communications; NC State University, French/West/Vaughan

 

Fifth Division – Audio/Visual Communications

Category 19 – Audio/Visual Presentation

  • Gold: Eight Eighties Rebuilding an America, Media Partners Inc.
  • Silver: DRA/The Innovative City, French/West/Vaughan
  • Honorable Mention: Town of Cary Community Investment Bonds Video, S&A Cherokee

 

Sixth Division – More Bang for the Buck

Category 22 – Special Event/Campaign

  • Gold: Triangle Family Services 10th Annual Gingerbread Benefit, Clairemont Communications
  • Silver: Media Relations Campaign for Cirque du Soleil’s “Dralion,” S&A Cherokee
  • Honorable Mention: Polar Ice House Creates a Winter Wonderland in Downtown Raleigh, French/West/Vaughan; Band Together NC, S&A Cherokee; Marbles Kids Museum – 5th Birthday, French/West/Vaughan; Riders By Lee Makes Itself Comfortable with NYC Media Event, French/West/Vaughan

About RPRS: 
For more than 50 years, the Raleigh Public Relations Society (RPRS) has advanced the art and science of public relations and strengthened communication, understanding and cooperation among diverse individuals, organizations and institutions throughout the Triangle. The organization regularly hosts professional development opportunities, including monthly meetings and the annual Sir Walter Raleigh Awards banquet, which recognizes the best public relations projects in North Carolina. For more information, visit www.rprs.org.