Creative Company Sweeps Public Relations Society of America Awards
MADISON, WIS. (November 2, 2010) – Leading public relations and web 2.0 agency, The Creative Company, was honored with five Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Alchemy Awards at a luncheon held October 21st at the Hilton.
“It was an honor to be recognized in this way by our industry peers. It really is a measure of the talent on our team, the value we deliver and the strength of our partnerships with our clients,” said Laura Gallagher, president and CEO of The Creative Company. “Our commitment to innovation, measurement, and disruptive and engaging creativity that connects people in a community has generated terrific results for our clients. It is because of our view that we are all in this together, though, that makes these partnerships so successful. They truly are shared by all of us.”
The Creative Company received three Awards of Excellence and two Awards of Merit. Submissions are judged by public relations practitioners at a PRSA Chapter in the United States. The point system looks at research, audience identification, strategy, execution, budget and results. Twenty one awards were given this year – five of which were won by The Creative Company in the following categories:
- Integrated Communications: Urban League of Greater Madison and Tri-North Builders – Award of Merit
- Newsletter: The Creative Company Website Tips e-Marketing Campaign – Award of Merit
- Newsletter: Bike for Boys & Girls Club e-Marketing Campaign – Award of Excellence
- Website: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services – Award of Excellence
- Special Event: World’s Largest Brat Fest – Award of Excellence
The judges liked that the agency was able to find the story behind the story with each of the campaigns. For example, with the Urban League of Greater Madison, the agency could have chosen to do a traditional grand opening approach, but instead chose to focus on the mentoring relationship that had developed between the builder and one of the sub-contractors. This was also true to the very spirit of the Urban League. You can see the full story here.
The Bike for Boys & Girls Club campaign created thousands of dollars within the first 24 hours because of the strong message and emotional pull of the communication, which focused on the children who take advantage of the after school meals at the club. This story was worth sharing, and people did.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Campaign’s microsite was designed to help save the Karner Blue butterfly. The Creative Company took a step back and thought through what would motivate a land owner in Central Wisconsin to do something to help the effort. The site’s visual hierarchy and easy to navigate links generated terrific results for the government agency. You can visit the microsite here.
The World’s Largest Brat Fest Light the Dome campaign started with an idea that was simple enough. Brat Fest was a terrific community event by all standards, but some people were not aware that the festival raised nearly $100,000 a year for local charity organizations. In an effort to tell a more complete story, 10 days before the festival, The Creative Company organized an event, including a nighttime press conference on the State Capitol steps, and lit the dome yellow to symbolize hope and mustard. This story made national news headlines and achieved the more important goal of shining a light on the many people and organizations that help make this event a success in every sense of the word.
“We know it’s a privilege to tell someone else’s story. The best communication strategists also understand that it needs to be emotionally engaging across channels,” continued Gallagher. “The work achieved what we set out to accomplish and more. We’re so thankful for the additional recognition by our industry peers and look forward to continuing to share stories worth telling.”
About the PRSA Alchemy Awards
The Alchemy Awards serve as the awards program of PRSA-Madison and honor communication that best exemplifies the melding of reactive thought, sound strategy, effective execution and evaluation by the alchemists of our times: public relations professionals. To see the complete list of award winners, click here.
About the PRSA-Madison Chapter
The Public Relations Society of America (www.prsa.org), headquartered in New York City, is the world’s largest organization for public relations professionals with nearly 32,000 professional and student members. PRSA is organized into 109 chapters nationwide. The PRSA-Madison Chapter (www.prsamadison.org) has served the area’s public relations professionals since 1970.
About The Creative Company, Inc.
The Creative Company is a PR and Web 2.0 agency in Madison, Wisconsin serving business and community leaders in Wisconsin and throughout the United States. The agency is the recipient of the Better Business Bureau’s Torch Award for Business Ethics and Integrity and was recognized earlier this year as one of the Best Places to Work by Madison Magazine. For more information about The Creative Company, please visit www.thecreativecompany.com or call Laura Gallagher at 608-442-6336.