Anyone who works in the public relations biz can attest to the fact that making sure a client’s initiative is a huge success takes a lot of hard work. At Fish, we always put our heart and soul into each and every account we work on, because we know there’s nothing more satisfying than getting a “Great job!” email from a client when you land a killer media placement or help make an event a hit. You know what they say — happy clients, happy life.
But a few weeks ago, we got more than just a “Great job!” — we got a Bronze Anvil. For more than 45 years, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) has honored “the best of the best” in PR tactics through its Bronze Anvil Awards. Of 639 entries, only 65 organizations were selected. And we’re humbled to be one of them.
The award-winning project was the Buzz Cut Challenge, which we developed on behalf of our client, Great Clips. Every now and then, we get a chance to work on truly special initiatives that are designed to not only generate publicity, but also to give back to a great cause and make a difference in the lives of others. The Buzz Cut Challenge was just that. We created and launched the Buzz Cut Challenge to raise awareness for the company’s Veteran’s Day promotion as well as raise money to benefit a respected, national veterans organization, The American Legion.
The Buzz Cut Challenge was a national campaign comprised of one-day fundraising events that were held at local American Legion Posts across the country where residents were encouraged to get a buzz cut for a suggested $10 donation. All proceeds benefitted The American Legion and its programs to support the needs of veterans and their families in communities nationwide.
To support the Buzz Cut Challenge, the Fish team handled local media relations programs in 11 U.S. markets, including Colorado Springs, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Sioux City, Austin, Grand Rapids, Chicago, Sacramento, Portland and Greenville.
Our efforts included providing franchisees and Legion Posts with marketing collateral, building comprehensive media lists, distributing localized press releases and media advisories, executing aggressive media pitching to key media targets, securing pre-event TV and print coverage, and providing talking points and media training for Great Clips and American Legion spokespeople.
As a result of the extensive media coverage we secured in each local market, the Buzz Cut Challenge events were a huge success and raised nearly $7,000 to benefit The American Legion and veterans nationwide.
In addition to a Bronze Anvil, the PRSA Sunshine District (Florida) awarded Fish a Radiance Award of Commendation for the Buzz Cut Challenge at its district conference in Miami in June.
The Radiance Awards were created to highlight and celebrate Florida’s PR campaigns that demonstrate excellence in research, planning, implementation and evaluation. I attended the awards ceremony with Rachel Tabacnic, one of Fish’s senior account managers who worked on the Buzz Cut Challenge project with me and several of our other Fish teammates. We couldn’t have been more proud to be at the event representing Fish and to go on stage to accept an award commemorating our hard work and the successful execution of a program we all believed in.
On behalf of all of us Fishies, thank you to PRSA for this prestigious recognition!
