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.

RPRS Awards

By

RPRS Honors Communications Professionals in the Triangle and Names Lifetime Achievement Recipient

Congratulations to all of our Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in Communications winners!
We had a fantastic time celebrating all of your hard work represented amongst the 57 entries into this year’s award program. The awards banquet was held on Tuesday, October 23, 2018, at Jiddi Space & Courtyard at Sitti restaurant in Downtown Raleigh. Thanks to Sitti Restaurant for the delicious food and beautiful atmosphere!

 

A very special note of congratulations to Rick French who was named our 2018 Watt Huntley Award for Lifetime Achievement winner.

 

 

 

What a fun night! Congrats to all the award winners.

 

 

Our official post-event press release follows:

RPRS Honors Communications Professionals in the Triangle and Names Lifetime Achievement Recipient

Annual Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in Communication awards banquet recognizes PR practitioners for successful campaigns and tactics

Raleigh, N.C. – October 25, 2018 –The Raleigh Public Relations Society recognized local public relations and communications professionals during its 2018 Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in Communicationceremony. The awards banquet, held on October 23 at Jiddi Space & Courtyard at Sitti restaurant in Downtown Raleigh, and the keynote address was provided by Susan Scott, Chief Advancement and Marketing Officer for UNC-TV.

“The Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in Communication have been an integral component of the Raleigh PR Society since we began as an organization in 1959,” said Lindsay Priester, president of RPRS.  “It’s a huge honor for us to be able to host these awards for such a varied and talented group of professionals. The expertise in communications in the Triangle is vast and truly impressive.”

The Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in Communication competition is a showcase of exemplary work by PR 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 of judges. This year’s awards were judged by members of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Oregon Chapter.

RPRS also recognized Rick French with the 2018 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.

 

Rick is the founder, chairman and CEO of French/West/Vaughan. Under Rick’s leadership, FWV has ranked as one of the nation’s 20 largest independently owned public relations agencies and one of the world’s 75 largest integrated marketing agencies. Rick has been named “Business Leader of the Year” twice by Business North Carolina, “Agency Professional of the Year” by Bulldog Reporter and has been recognized as one of the 300 Most Influential Communicators in the World by PR Week in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

 

“All of us at French/West/Vaughan would like to congratulate Rick for this remarkable achievement,“ said David Gwyn, FWV president and partner. “From the beginning more than 20 years ago, Rick had the vision and entrepreneurial spirit to be original, creative and bold enough to do things that had never been done in Raleigh, and that vision has benefitted a great many people – for that we owe him a debt of gratitude.”

 

RPRS Awards Chair David Dean championed the transition from a manual award submission process to an online process for the 2018 Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in Communication. Dean said, “Thanks to the generous sponsorship of York Properties and the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, RPRS was able to integrate an online award submission platform that facilitated a more efficient submission process that generated greater revenue for the organization.”

 

Special thanks to RPRS Banquet Chair Allison Thiebaud, of AT Marketing and Public Relations, for planning and coordinating this year’s awards banquet. The 2018 award winners are listed below. Visit https://rprs.org/awards/for a full description of each winning submission.

 

 

The Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in Communication recognized the following 2018 winners:

 

CATEGORY – Campaigns: Bang for the Buck

 

Platinum Winner

French/West/Vaughan with Earned Media Drives Visitors to Wilmington’s Island Beaches During the Off-Season

 

Gold Winner

FWV with Rodeo Right at your Fingertips

 

 

CATEGORY – Campaigns: Branding

 

Silver Winner

Tompkins International with MonarchFx Rebranding

 

 

CATEGORY – Campaigns: Community Relations

 

Platinum Winner

North Carolina Museum of Art with Art in Bloom

 

 

Silver Winner

FWV with Home Sweet Greensboro

FWV with Bassett Furniture Donates $10,000 Worth of Furniture to Family in Need

 

 

CATEGORY – Campaigns: Special Events – One to Five Days

 

Platinum Winner

Clairemont Communications with Il Palio Fires Up at the James Beard House

 

Gold Winner

Largemouth Communications with Ascom Breaks Through the Noise at HiMSS

 

 

CATEGORY – Campaigns: Special Events – Media Event

 

Platinum Winner

Clairemont Communications with Western Governors University Comes to North Carolina

 

 

CATEGORY – Campaigns: Social Media

 

Platinum Winner

FWV with Greg Olsen Gets Back in the Game

 

Gold Winner

FWV with Melitta Engages with #PourOverLovers

 

 

CATEGORY – Campaigns: Financial 

 

Gold Winner

FWV with PSCU’s Record-Breaking 2018 Member Forum

 

 

CATEGORY – Campaigns: Green/Sustainability – One Time or Special Event

 

Platinum Winner

Clairemont Communications with Briar Chapel’s Pepper Festival Turns 10

 

 

CATEGORY – Campaigns: Green/Sustainability – Ongoing

 

Silver Winner

FWV with Tough Denim, Gentle Footprint

 

 

CATEGORY – Campaigns: Healthcare Program

 

Gold Winner

FWV with Introducing CRISPR-Cas3

 

 

CATEGORY – Campaigns: Integrated Communications 

 

Platinum Winner

Clairemont Communications with Babalu’s Grand Opening Rocks the Guac

 

Gold Winner

FWV with J. Peterman Steps Back Out in Their Derby Day Best

 

 

CATEGORY – Campaigns: Marketing Consumer Products

 

Silver Winner

Butterball, LLC with “Perfectly Imperfect” Thanksgiving

 

 

CATEGORY – Campaigns: Sports Program

 

Platinum Winner

FWV with Taking One for the Team: NFL Agent Leigh Steinberg and Players Score on Super Bowl’s Radio Row

 

Gold Winner

S&A Communications with 2018 SAS Championship Community Outreach

 

 

 

 

 

 

CATEGORY – Campaigns: Student

 

Silver Winner

William Peace University with The Wiz Movie Party for Black History Month

 

 

CATEGORY – Tactics: Word of Mouth

 

Platinum Winner

FWV with The One Percent (Jerome Davis)

 

 

CATEGORY – Tactics: Social Media

 

Silver Winner

Clairemont Communications with The Vita Vite Lifestyle

 

 

CATEGORY – Tactics: Collaterals – Podcasts 

 

Gold Winner

NC F&B Podcast with NC F&B Podcast Episode 95 – James Beard Awards in Chicago

 

 

CATEGORY – Tactics: Magazines – Internal

 

Silver Winner

S.T. Wooten Corporation with Beyond the Specs

 

 

CATEGORY – Tactics: Media Relations

 

Platinum Winner

Clairemont Communications with Talbots and Oprah Magazine Dress for Success

 

Gold Winners

Prep Communications with Veritas Collaborative Opens New Atlanta Hospital

FWV with Introducing CRISPR-Cas3

 

Silver Winner

FWV with Fight for Film

 

 

CATEGORY – Tactics: Media Kits

 

Platinum Winner

Clairemont Communications with Il Palio’s Freshly Baked Media Kit

 

 

CATEGORY – Tactics: Videos – Broadcast/Web Commercial

 

Gold Winner

Clairemont Communications with Wendell Falls Builder Spotlight Videos

 

CATEGORY – Tactics: Videos – Streaming

 

Gold Winner

Largemouth Communications with Mike Holmes Talks Electrical Safety with Eaton

 

CATEGORY – Tactics: Websites –Internal/Intranets

 

Platinum Winner

Butterball, LLC with The Table – Intranet Site

 

 

CATEGORY – Tactics: Writing – Blogs  

 

Gold Winner

S&A Communications with DealersLink.com Blog

 

CATEGORY – Tactics: Writing – News Releases

 

Gold Winner

Prep Communications with Veritas Collaborative Opens New Atlanta Hospital

 

CATEGORY – Tactics: Writing – Op/Ed

Silver Winner

S&A Communications with ACERTUS Guest Article on USA Truck Driver Shortage

 

 

 

 

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, networking socials and the annual Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in Communication banquet, which recognizes the best public relations projects and professionals in North Carolina. For more information, visit www.rprs.org.

 

###

 

 

 

 

By

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.

By

Sir Walter Raleigh makes the digital transformation

Raleigh PR Society Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in CommunicationThe Raleigh Public Relations Society is excited to launch a new, all-digital submission platform for the 2018 Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in Communication. The award submission process will be more efficient, allowing for work to be saved, files as large as 50Mb to be uploaded, and deadline reminder notifications.

RPRS will recognize 38 award categories of campaigns and tactics, as well as PR Team of the Year and PR Pro of the Year. The Watt Huntley Lifetime Achievement Award, the society’s highest honor, will recognize an individual who has made lasting and meaningful contributions to public relations over the course of a career. See a full list of 2018 award categories by clicking here.

A big thanks to our sponsors, York Properties and the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, whose generous contributions allowed RPRS to launch this powerful tool this year.

Below are some FAQs to get you started:

Q: How much do I save by becoming a member?
A: $20 on each award entry, plus $10 each month for luncheons at 18 Seaboard, and discounts at the seasonal socials. Assuming you submit one award entry a year the total estimated annual savings is $150.

Q: How do I become a member?
A: Go to the Join page on the RPRS.org website.

Q: Where can I view the full list of award categories?
A: Click here

Q: How much are the 2018 submission fees and what are the deadlines?

 

 

 

Q: How do I submit my entry?
A: Click this link and register: bitly.com/SirWalt2018. Once logged in, click on “Add Entry.”

Q: What are the judging criteria?
A: Log-in and visit the Judging Criteria page.

Q: When is the awards banquet?
A: Tuesday, October 23 at 6:00 p.m. Location TBA.

Q: I have more questions, who do I contact?
A: Awards Chair David Dean at awards@rprs.org.

Best of luck to all the nominees!

By

RPRS Honors Communications Professionals in the Triangle, Names Lifetime Achievement and Inaugural PR Pro of the Year Recipients

Congratulations to all of our Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellent in Communications winners!
We had a fantastic time celebrating all of your hard work represented amongst the 68 entries into this year’s award program. The awards banquet was held on Tuesday, October 17, 2017, at The Cannon Room, a new Downtown Raleigh event space operated as part of the HQ Raleigh program. What a breathtaking sunset we all were able to experience during the cocktail hour as we were perched high atop town on the 12th floor.

A very special note of congratulations to Susan Friday Lamb who was named our 2017 Watt Huntley Award for Lifetime Achievement winner – her gracious and supportive family joined us to accept on her behalf.

Our official post-event press release follows:

RPRS Honors Communications Professionals in the Triangle, Names Lifetime Achievement and Inaugural PR Pro of the Year Recipients

Annual Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in Communication awards banquet recognizes PR practitioners for successful campaigns and tactics

Raleigh, N.C. – October 20, 2017 – The Raleigh Public Relations Society recognized local public relations and communications professionals during its 2017 Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in Communication ceremony. The awards banquet, held on October 17 at The Cannon Room in downtown Raleigh, was emceed by Seth Crossno, the blogger behind William Needham Finley IV™ of ITB Insider™.

“We received a wide range of categorical Sir Walter Raleigh Award entries from an array of organizations and professionals this year,” said Kelly Propst, president, RPRS. “This is a great testament that Raleigh-Durham is an area acknowledged for high levels of creativity, diversity and strategy-driven public relations agencies and practitioners.”

The Sir Walter Raleigh Awards competition is a showcase of exemplary work by PR 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 of judges. This year’s awards were judged by members of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Memphis Chapter.

RPRS also recognized Susan Friday Lamb with the 2017 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.

 

Lamb served as the public information officer for the North Carolina Museum of History for more than 20 years. In a time with limited state-allocated funds for museums and state historic sites, she found numerous ways to highlight and promote these state treasures. Her dedication, professionalism, and mentorship towards other state agency public information officers and communications individuals are evidence of her service to the state of North Carolina.

 

“Susan is a veritable treasure!” said Betty McCain, North Carolina Museum of History Foundation Board member, as part of Lamb’s nomination. “Susan has made colleagues of many members of the media and they help tell our story through pages of the free press. She enjoys a real gift of descriptive and tantalizing stories that make North Carolinians proud of and interested in attending lectures, visiting the numerous sites and the wonderful museum of history. She works tirelessly to engage citizens of North Carolina in their own state history and all it has to offer.”

 

“Susan sparked my passion for public relations,” said Mary Withers, a previous North Carolina Museum of History intern. “…Without Susan’s mentorship, I never would have worked for a PR firm in Raleigh, and I would never be in my current position.”

In addition, Joe Mecca of Coastal Federal Credit Union is the first to receive the 2017 PR Professional of the Year title. In his role as Assistant Vice President Communication, Mecca serves as company spokesman, and is integral to the credit union’s public relations, corporate communication and political affairs functions. When he’s not working to build up Coastal’s public profile, Joe’s focus is on ensuring that employees and members are kept well-informed. He also lends his talent to several key committees at Coastal and is on the board of the credit union’s charitable foundation.

 

“Over the past year alone, Joe has strategically planned and communicated a number of major milestones for Coastal, all done with excellence and precision,” said Propst. “Coastal is embraced by its membership and well-recognized for its efforts in the community, all stories that Joe has helped to tell. We are thrilled to honor him with the inaugural RPRS PR Professional of the Year Award.”

This year, in an effort led by RPRS Awards Chair David Dean of the Hillsborough Street Community Service Corporation, the RPRS board revised the Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in Communication categories and structure to better reflect the current strategies and tactics communications professionals are implementing in the field. For example, this was the first year to have categories for Blog, Live Streaming, and Corporate Social Responsibility. The updated categories led to a 52 percent increase in award submissions over 2016. In addition, category winners are named based on Platinum, Gold and Silver level award recognitions. Platinum winners must have an average score of 95 or above, with the highest average score per category taking the top recognition. Gold winners are any entry with an average score of 90 and above, except for the Platinum winner. Silver winners are any entry with an average score of 80 – 89.

 

Special thanks to RPRS Banquet Chair Lisa Jeffries of Raleighwood Media Group + Raleighwood Event Group for planning and coordinating this year’s awards banquet. For more information about the Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in Communication, visit www.rprs.org/awards.

 

The Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in Communication recognized the following 2017 winners:

 

CATEGORY – Campaigns: Bang for the Buck

 

Platinum Winner

FleishmanHillard with St. Baldrick’s Foundation Bang for the Buck

 

FleishmanHillard has partnered with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation to raise awareness for childhood cancer research through a comprehensive media relations program for 10 years. In 2016, FH was tasked with further educating the public about the impact of dollars raised for the Foundation, while also sharing the critical need for more childhood cancer research funding to new audiences. FH successfully secured national media placements of a story that did just that in Inside Edition and Martha Stewart Magazine, strategically building momentum that launched a viral reaction, resulting in more than 350 million media impressions.

 

Gold Winners

FWV with Rodeo Right at your Fingertips

FWV with Nathan Beats the Heat with Focused Media Relations

FWV with Media Relations Campaign Puts Heads in Beds During the Off-Season in Wilmington, NC’s Island Beach

S&A Communications with Chad Michael McIntyre Louisiana Flood Relief Effort

 

Silver Winners

FWV with Restoring the Luster of a Legendary Personal Brand

FWV with Introducing CRISPR-Cas3

 

CATEGORY – Campaigns: Branding (Community or Product)

 

Platinum Winner

FWV with French/West/Vaughan Drives Visitation to Family-Friendly Dude Ranches Across the Country

 

Few things evoke feelings of All-American nostalgia like the Wild West. While many people may dream of being a cowboy or cowgirl at some point, more well-known destinations usually win out when it comes time to plan a family vacation. The Dude Ranchers’ Association – a nonprofit organization representing more than 100 dude ranches across North America – needed to increase awareness of its association and member ranches among mainstream consumer audiences through a strategic media relations campaign in 2016/2017. Media features in respected top-tier travel and consumer outlets resulted in a 33:1 ROI on the client’s PR investment, surpassing all campaign goals.

 

Gold Winners

Clairemont Communications – Il Palio Dishes Up Something New

FleishmanHillard – Rise Against Hunger Rebrand Launch

Tompkins International – Tompkins International Branding

 

CATEGORY – Campaigns: Community Relations

 

Platinum Winner

FWV with Fleet Feet Runs Wild with runMoji™

 

The interest and hobby of running was grossly under-represented in the emoji world, with just one emoji depicting the activity. FWV saw the opportunity for Fleet Feet Sports to create an emoji keyboard showcasing experiences of this broad audience and enabling the brand to be a constant presence in everyday conversations within the running community. This would not only keep the brand top of mind but further strengthen runners’ connection to the community and help solidify Fleet Feet’s status as an ambassador of the sport.

 

Gold Winner

S&A Communications with SAS Championship Community Relations

 

Silver Winner

FWV with Wrangler Honors Greensboro’s Textile History

 

CATEGORY – Campaigns: Organizational Identity/Promotion

 

Platinum Winner

Clairemont Communications with Wendell Falls Busts Real Estate Myths

 

Wendell Falls, one of the largest master-planned communities in the Triangle, opened in 2015 and faced the ongoing perception that it was remotely located, inaccessible and lacking vital resources. Developer Newland Communities turned to Clairemont Communications to bust the myths shrouding this new community. Clairemont crafted and implemented a strategic campaign leveraging creative tactics from school partnerships and themed open houses to media dance competitions and video challenges; their efforts ultimately increased home sales by 250 percent in one year and earned Wendell Falls the title as Best Master Planned Community in East Wake County by The News & Observer.

 

Gold Winners

French/West/Vaughan – Fleet Feet Runs Wild with runMoji™

Clairemont Communications – Briar Chapel Back on the Map

 

Silver Winners

Rountree Communications – 2017 Spring Edition of the Southern Ideal Home Show Promotional Campaign Entry

French/West/Vaughan – IGI Breaks Through to Millennials

French/West/Vaughan – Operation POTUS

FleishmanHillard – Lowe’s Arms Employees with Robotics

 

CATEGORY – Campaigns: Special Events

 

Gold Winner

Clairemont Communications with Fire It Up! Briar Chapel’s 9th Annual Pepper Festival

 

Silver Winners

FleishmanHillard with March of Dimes Marches for Babies One Step at a Time

French/West/Vaughan with Strait to Texas

North Carolina Biotechnology Center with VaccinatioNCelebration

 

CATEGORY – Campaigns: Word of Mouth/Viral

 

Platinum Winner

FWV with The Daredevils of Saint-Tite Quebec

 

Since its inception, the Wrangler Network has grown far beyond its original intended purpose. What began as a digital platform designed to allow rodeo fans access to the live rodeo competition coverage they were denied, has evolved into a comprehensive online environment that serves relevant video content to diverse audiences while benefiting the Wrangler brand as a unique content generator. In 2016, The Wrangler Network received 17M+ total content views, resulting in a 280 percent year-over year increase. The Wrangler Network is averaging 1M+ content views per month, and has an external revenue of up to $600K in advertising sales.

 

CATEGORY – Digital Communications: Live Streaming

 

Gold Winner

FWV with Strait to Texas

 

Silver Winner

Largemouth Communications with Mike Holmes Chats Electrical Safety

 

CATEGORY – Digital Communications: Social Media Campaign

 

Platinum

Clairemont Communications with A Taste of Italy at Il Palio

 

Il Palio, Chapel Hill’s AAA-rated Four Diamond Italian restaurant, launched a $1 million renovation and revamped menu crafted by its new chef. The restaurant turned to Clairemont Communications to promote these improvements and boost acclaim. Clairemont crafted a creative social media strategy targeting food bloggers and culinary influencers through personalized, VIP experiences. This “Taste of Italy” campaign secured vibrant coverage, engaged new guests and ultimately helped to position Il Palio as a desirable, modern dining hotspot for all ages, earning the restaurant a Gold Medal from food critics as a “2016 Best Restaurant in the Triangle.”

 

Gold Winners

French/West/Vaughan with Fleet Feet Runs Wild with runMoji™

Largemouth Communications with Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America

 

Silver Winners

French/West/Vaughan with Wrangler (Basket)Ball Talk

Raleigh Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Department with Your Parks. Your Stories.

 

CATEGORY – Digital Communications: Video/Podcast/Videocast Program

 

Platinum Winner

FWV with Launching Directors’ Reserve

 

When the Directors’ Reserve product launched in 2016, there was no better way to tell the story behind its inception than through carefully crafted video. With a small budget and limited opportunities to drive awareness and demand, this video was at the core of the Directors’ Reserve launch strategy, designed to celebrate Pendleton Whisky’s pride in rodeo heritage, but also drive product sell-through among core consumer audiences. It is now the most asked about product on brand owned communication channels.

 

Gold Winners

Clairemont Communications with Our Coffee Cares Video
mpiTOO with WakeUP Wake County Better Transit PSA

 

Silver Winner

mpiTOO with Clarksville Players, Support the Dream Video

 

CATEGORY – General: Event Marketing

 

Silver Winners

French/West/Vaughan with No Place Like Home, Wrangler Jeansboro Day

FleishmanHillard with Scott Safety Scott Sight FDIC 2016

Clairemont Communications with Vita Vite Creates “Raleigh’s Sunday Spot”

 

CATEGORY – General: Media Event

 

Platinum Winner

FWV with Bounce Back Bash

 

The premier female fashion brand, Riders by Lee, hosted an influencer event in New York City to raise awareness around their newest product launch, Bounce Back Denim. As a way to bring consumers closer to brand representatives, develop relationships and celebrate the new launch, the Riders by Lee team invited fashion, lifestyle, mom and plus-size influencers to sample and interact with the brand for an exclusive, experiential night out. Through onsite activation and proactive follow up, the influencer party garnered more than 2M media impressions and reached close to 850K targeted women on social media.

 

Silver Winners

Clairemont Communications with Hoedown Showdown at Wendell Falls

French/West/Vaughan with Operation POTUS

 

CATEGORY – Publication & PR Writing: Opinion/Feature

 

Silver Winners

S&A Communications with Ethics Article in Public Relations Tactics

Largemouth Communications with Pokémon GO and the Future of Fluid Power

 

CATEGORY – Publication & PR Writing: Press Release

 

Silver Winner

Clairemont Communications with DQ’s Miracle Treat Day Benefits Duke Children’s Hospital

 

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, networking socials and the annual Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in Communication banquet, which recognizes the best public relations projects and professionals in North Carolina. For more information, visit www.rprs.org.

 

###