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Congratulations to the 2013 ACE Award Winners!
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The 2013 CPRS Toronto ACE Awards gala was an unforgettable celebration!  On April 24th, CPRS Toronto welcomed over 350 of Toronto’s PR elite to acknowledge and honour the best communications campaigns in the city.

ACE Awards are given to organizations and individuals who have positively influenced the Toronto PR industry, as determined by a judging panel of seasoned communications professionals. Winners left the gala with more than a trophy – being recognized with an ACE Award is a symbol of quality and mutual respect amongst Toronto’s PR community.

Congratulations to the 2013 ACE Award recipients!

Best PR Campaign

  • Argyle Communications and Free for All – 30% off Ontario Tuition

Best Creative PR Campaign 

  • Strategic Objectives and Mondelēz Canada – 100th Birthday of Oreo

Leadership Awards

  • Lois Marsh Award: John Muldoon, APR
  • PR Professional of the Year: Cathy Cowan, Cowan & Company Communications Inc.
  • Volunteer of the Year: Heather Agnew, RBC
  • CPRS Toronto Young PR Professional of the Year: Adrian Seeley, PRAXIS
  • CPRS Toronto Public Relations Student of the Year: Hannah Sunderani, Centennial College

Media Relations – Budget Over $50,000

Gold

  • Strategic Objectives and Mondelēz Canada –  100th Birthday of Oreo
  • Argyle Communications –  The Canadian Pain Summit

Silver 

  • Kraft Canada and Edelman –  MiO Trick Squirts
  • Revera Inc. and Environics Communications –  Thought Leadership – The Revera Reports
  • LOFT and Edelman –  LOFT Canada Launch
  • Novo Nordisk Canada and GCI Group Canada –  Igniting the VA Dialogue
  • NATIONAL Public Relations –  P.F. Chang’s Canadian Launch
  • NATIONAL Public Relations –  Capital One Credit Education Week
  • DDB Public Relations –  autoTRADER.ca: The Most Cars in One Place
  • Shaw Media and Edelman –  The Real Housewives of Vancouver Campaign
  • APEX Public Relations and George Brown College –  George Brown College Waterfront Campus

Bronze 

  • APEX Public Relations, Morin Public Relations and Walmart Canada –  Mom of the Year Award
  • APEX Public Relations and Kao Canada –  John Frieda Precision Foam Colour
  • Environics Communications –  The Talk
  • Citizen Optimum / Future Shop –  Future Shop Holiday 2012
  • eBay and Edelman –  eBay Canada 2012 Holiday program
  • Kraft Canada and Edelman –  Kraft Food for Families
  • NATIONAL Public Relations and Direct Impact –  Ford of Canada Power of Choice Campaign
  • Argyle Communications and PC Financial –  PC Canadian Family Finance Series

Media Relations – Budget under $50,000

Gold

  • APEX Public Relations and Nike Canada –  Sustainable Olympic Track Uniforms

Silver 

  • TD and Paradigm PR –  Credit Cards & You
  • energi PR –  MFPA: Canvassing the Country
  • APEX Public Relations and Nestlé Canada –  Nestlé Assorted Paints the Town Red
  • PRAXIS –  Lifesaving Society: Swim to Survive+
  • Argyle Communications and Staples Canada – Back to School with Staples
  • Fleishman-Hillard Toronto –  One Direction 1D World Toronto
  • SiriusXM and NATIONAL Public Relations – SiriusXM’s Siriusly Sexy Survey

Bronze 

  • APEX Public Relations and Kao Canada –  Summer Beauty with John Frieda and Jergens
  • Citizen Optimum –  ACE Bakery Canada’s Best Sandwich
  • TD and Paradigm PR –  TD Educates About Cyber Fraud

Best Use of Special Events.

Gold 

  • RONA Inc. and MSL Canada –  The Nature of Colour
  • DDB Public Relations –  Subaru’s BRZ Scorches the Competition

Silver 

  • Citizen Optimum / IKEA Canada –  IKEA Winnipeg Store Opening
  • PRAXIS –  CCMadMen Event

Bronze

  • APEX Public Relations and Kao Canada –  YWCA Facility gets a Makeover
  • PRAXIS –  Dean and Todd’s Banff Ice Party at Blue Mountain
  • PRAXIS –  CARSTAR Dirty Car Art Exhibit

New Product or Service Launch Campaign of the Year 

Gold 

  • Energizer Personal Care –  Launch of Schick Hydro Silk
  • McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada Ltd.  –  Our Food. Your Questions.

Silver 

  • Shaw Media –  Continuum Series Launch Campaign
  • Kraft Canada and Edelman –  MiO Trick Squirts
  • Kaiser Lachance Communications –  Sears Canada LOOK! Report Launch
  • NATIONAL Public Relations –  P.F. Chang’s Canadian Launch
  • APEX Public Relations and Kao Canada –  Bioré Welcomes You (Back) to Your 20s

Bronze

  • APEX Public Relations and Nike Canada –  Measuring Movement to Make Life a Sport.
  • Ketchum PR Canada and Philips Canada – Philips Sonicare Diamond Clean Launch

Employee Communications Campaign of the Year

Silver 

  • Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited –  Grow Your Mo’ for Movember Campaign
  • Bombardier – Employee Communications Campaign of the Year Bombardier Aerospace Toronto Site

Community Relations Campaign of the Year 

Gold 

  • Argyle Communications and Free For All  –  30% Off Ontario Tuition

Silver 

  • Citizen Optimum –  Hyundai Hockey Helpers
  • Argyle Communications –  The Crosstown and the Community

Bronze 

  • Ontario Tire Stewardship, OARA and Environics Communications –  Ontario Tire Stewardship and OARA: Annual Tire Take Back Events
  • PRAXIS –  The Courvoisier Collection
  • Environics Communications and Stewardship Ontario –  Make the Drop, Battery Recycling Program

Best Digital Communications Campaign of the Year 

Silver 

  • Energizer Personal Care and Paradigm PR –  Playtex Gentle Glide Communications
  • Unilever Canada and Edelman –  Salty’s Missing Again’s Digital Journey
  • Kraft Canada and Edelman –  Kraft Foods DessertCentre.ca Program

Best Use of Communication Tools (Internet, A/V, Research & Measurement, Print and Publications)

Gold

  • Environics Communications and Pfizer Consumer Healthcare –  Advil Nighttime Year II

Brand Development Campaign of the Year

Gold

  • McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada Ltd.  –  Our Food. Your Questions.

Silver

  • Environics Communications – airmilesshops.ca Holiday Campaign
  • PRAXIS –  Canadian Club 2013 Brand Development

Bronze

  • Veritas Communications Inc. –  SUBWAY Restaurants Commit to Fit
  • Environics Communications –  Panasonic Cooking Canada Campaign
  • Randstad and MSL Canada –  Randstad: 2013 Public Relations Program
  • Ketchum PR Canada and Philips Canada –  Philips Consumer Lighting Campaign
  • Citizen Optimum –  ACE Bakery Canada’s Best Sandwich
  • NATIONAL Public Relations –  Hankook Tire Canada, The Road to the Top
  • PRAXIS –  Pepsi Ultimate Taste Challenge
  • Real Estate Council of Ontario –  RECO’s Consumer Awareness Campaign

Crisis or Issues Management Campaign of the Year 

Bronze 

  • MAVERICK–  Crisis at Toronto Eaton Centre

Best Student PR Campaign of the Year 

Gold

  • Talk is Cheap 5.0 Team, Centennial College –  Talk is Cheap 5.0

Silver

  • BraveArt Committee, Centennial College –  BraveArt
  • Cheryl, Hannah, Kassandra, Jessica & Brittany, Centennial College –  It’s Your Moment LGFB Fashion Show
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CASE STUDY: High Road Communications’ Brighter Life for Sun Life Financial
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By: Miranda Germani

Today’s the big day: the ACE Awards gala takes place this evening! The ACE committee is busy at Arcadian Court rolling out the (metaphorical) red carpet at this very moment. Just like the Oscars’ broadcast rehashes past years’ movies and fashion before the big show, this is the perfect moment for us to take a look into our past with an ACE Awards standout.

The Sun Life Financial and High Road Communications teams took home an award last year with the BrighterLife.ca initiative, awarded in the Digital Communications Campaign category.

I was pleased to talk to Adrienne Connell, Vice President, High Road Communications before the 2013 ACE Awards officially arrive, about the success of this digital campaign.

Can you tell me about your winning campaign? 

BrighterLife.ca is Sun Life Financial’s innovative digital content marketing platform. It is aimed at helping Canadians answer their money, health, family and career questions in an informal, engaging and no-pressure way. The goal is to add real value to Canadians through the power of relevant, credible, useful content. It’s a revolutionary approach that puts the needs of consumers at the forefront and it’s helped Sun Life to connect with a whole new target audience.

What was the objective and why was it so successful?

Sun Life Financial wanted to engage consumers earlier in the sales cycle, before they had considered Sun Life or were even aware that they had a need that might be met by a financial product. They already had digital marketing platforms to engage both prospective and current customers but needed a way to reach consumers who were just at the beginning of their buying journey. Typically, customers have a trigger event, such as starting a family, changing careers or thinking about retirement.  Enter BrighterLife.ca to engage a wide span of Canadians from young professionals, to young families through to mature families and pre-retirees. It’s been a success because there is an incredible team of individuals behind it that ensure we’re creating magnetic content that is portable, and by that I mean letting audiences consume the content in the channels of their choice, be that on the website, e-newsletters, Facebook, Twitter or RSS. They also make a phenomenal commitment to activating that content across channels leveraging a combination of paid, earned, owned and shared channels.

How did winning an award contribute to the agency’s brand? 

At both High Road and Sun Life we’re very proud to work on this award-winning initiative. It’s an amazing honour to be recognized by our peers in the industry for creating innovative ideas that hopefully inspire other brands and it has helped to solidify our voice as thought leaders in the Canadian content marketing space.

What inspired you to submit?

We are always committed to celebrating our client’s successes, and awards such as this play a key role in recognizing their great work and our continued partnership together.

What were the challenges associated with submitting an award?

While we are always looking at metrics to evaluate a program’s success, distilling those down to the highlights and capturing the essence of what makes a particular effort such as BrighterLife.ca unique isn’t always quick to pull together. It took support from Sun Life’s team and High Road’s to ensure our submission told the story of BrighterLife.ca.

What was a “must-include”in your binder submission?

Creative samples of the writing on BrighterLife.ca and the user experience design of the site. We also made sure we included materials that spoke to the overall strategy and goals. Finally we included materials that illustrated the impact we’ve had with BrighterLife.ca and the vibrant community we have built around the brand.

How did it feel to receive your award at the gala?

Really good! We enjoyed a chance to bring our two teams together for a night of celebration and fun.

What advice would you give to other entrants?

Submit! Be creative in your submission while giving a clear indication of what you set out to do, how you did it and what you ultimately achieved.

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THANK YOU TO THE CPRS TORONTO 2013 ACE AWARDS SPONSORS
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By: Natasha Nitsopoulos

The prestigious ACE Awards gala is just two days away. As we’re putting the finishing touches on what promises to be a memorable night, CPRS Toronto and the ACE Awards committee we would like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors who have helped make this celebration of communications excellence possible!

On behalf of CPRS Toronto, we appreciate your support and would like to say thank you to:

AVW TEL-AV, a full-service audio visual resource rental company for corporate events, exhibit programs, trade shows and conventions of all sizes.

Marketwired, a customized communications solutions provider, offering targeted coverage across all media and measurement services.

Leger Marketing, the largest Canadian-owned polling, research and strategic marketing firm, with offices across Canada and the United States.

CNW Group, Canada’s leading newswire service specializing in media monitoring, photography and video services, translation, webcasting, conference call services, regulatory filling and measurement.

Canadian Press, Canada’s trusted news leader, multimedia news agency and creator of our favourite book: CP Style.

Cision, a leader in public relations planning, media monitoring, reporting and communications analysis.

News Canada, a leading provider of ready-to-use, timely, credible, newsworthy and copyright-free news content for editors, broadcasters, web and video content providers.

Infomart, a division of Postmedia Network Inc., is Canada’s leading media consultancy providing media monitoring services, research, brand solutions and corporate data.

See you on Wednesday for the 2013 ACE Awards gala!! Tweeting at the Awards? Make sure to hashtag #CPRSACE.

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Inside the ACE Awards Gala – Thoughts from a veteran attendee
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By: Miranda Germani

Are you considering attending the hottest PR event in town but aren’t quite sure what to expect? Blair Peberdy, vice-president, marketing, communications and public affairs, Toronto Hydro-Electric System, has attended every ACE Awards Gala for the past decade. Blair gives us the inside scoop on what it’s like to join more than 300 of Toronto’s PR practitioners and students to celebrate the best in PR, network with colleagues, and enjoy a delicious meal.

For those who haven’t attended an ACE Awards gala before, this repeat guest and award-winner describes the event as “one of the few opportunities for Toronto’s PR and communications professionals to get together to celebrate excellence in our business. There’s always a fantastic buzz in the room and the quality of the awards submissions is very impressive.”

Blair thinks it’s important for communications professionals to attend the ACE Awards gala, regardless of whether they’re winning an award.

“Attendees have the opportunity to network with some of the best communicators in the country from the agency, corporate, government and not-for-profit sectors at an event that is fun and well attended by senior, intermediate and entry-level practitioners,” said Blair. “The atmosphere is friendly and it’s the best event in Canada featuring top creative and strategic communications programs, executed exceptionally well.”

The ACE Awards gala is a great way to celebrate with colleagues and friends, and everyone can learn something to use in their professional career. As Blair explains, “Great campaigns are always featured and well-presented in a fast-paced format. I usually come away with one or two great ideas. It’s also a fantastic opportunity to quietly gauge how your own communications programs stack-up against some of the top PR professionals in Canada — and it’s usually a pleasant surprise!”

Blair concluded explaining why he has been a loyal attendee. “I like to attend because I enjoy the networking, but most importantly I find the quality of the awards submissions and the excitement at the event to be inspiring.”

The ACE Awards gala is fast-approaching. This year’s ACE Awards is being held on Wednesday, April 24, 2013 at the Arcadian Court, hosted by Global Toronto’s Sean O’Shea.

Eager to get your hands on the hottest PR ticket in town? More information is available on the ACE Awards page. But don’t delay – this event always sells out!

Tweeting about the ACE Awards? Follow @CPRSToronto and use the hashtag #CPRSACE

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Open doors with a CPRS Toronto Leadership Award
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By Miranda Germani

A Beatles’ top award was accidentally used as a doorstop for 30 years* (intrigued? See footnote below), but in a not-so-literal sense, awards can truly open many doors to a young PR professional.

Matt Juniper, winner of the CPRS Toronto Young Public Relations Professional of the Year Award in 2012, realized the impact of the recognition almost immediately.

“Receiving my ACE Award was an extremely rewarding experience,” Matt said. “To be honoured for my work in front of some of the most successful public relations practitioners in Toronto was a memorable and rewarding experience.”

In just a year, the award has made a difference to Matt’s career.

“The award has been not only an excellent addition to my resume, it’s given me stronger name recognition in the Toronto public relations industry. I’ve been invited to multiple conferences as a panelist, I’m frequently asked to contribute as a guest writer on public relations blogs and my colleagues in the industry have greater awareness of who I am. In an industry where networking is so crucial, this added name recognition has been invaluable.”

Matt encourages all PR professionals to consider nominating a young PR professional that they know for this award. “Not only will the award open doors for that individual, nominators will be helping pay tribute to younger professionals in the field. In an industry that moves and changes so quickly, young public relations professionals are a valuable asset and I believe it is important to recognize them.”

Tempted to apply and not sure what to include?

Matt thinks a diverse submission made him stand out, giving these tips:

  • A successful award submission shows balance between work and other experience, like volunteering
  • Highlight many areas of experience – Matt has been involved in corporate, political and not-for-profit communications campaigns through his volunteer work
  • Staying informed and involved in industry trends like social media, and other emerging communications trends

But that’s just Matt’s experience – the judges are looking for you to put your personal stamp on your submission.

The CPRS Toronto Leadership Awards recognizes individuals who have achieved excellence in their careers or made significant contributions to the field of public relations. In addition to the CPRS Toronto Young Public Relations Professional of the Year Award, there are also award categories for Public Relations Student of the Year Leadership Award, Public Relations Professional of the Year, Mentor of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.

More information is available on the CPRS Toronto Leadership Awards page.

The nominations deadline has been EXTENDED to Thursday, March 7, 2013. This is your last chance to nominate yourself or someone else.

The Leadership Awards will be presented at the ACE Awards Gala on Wednesday, April 24, 2013.

* The Beatles’ top gong, a prestigious Ivor Novello award, was given to them after Yellow Submarine sold 1.2 million copies. A woman found it in a derelict London office building in the early 1980s, took it home, and used it to prop open a door for three decades. The now-elderly woman apparently didn’t realize what she had found for 30 years, but found out and sold the award last year at auction.

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Stand out (!) with a CPRS Toronto Public Relations Student of the Year Leadership Award
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By Miranda Germani

It can be tough for students and new grads to stand out from the crowd when looking for that perfect first job. Everyone’s education and work experience tend to be similar, so winning an award can really make you shine.

One person who did just that is Robin Smith, winner of the CPRS Toronto Public Relations Student of the Year Leadership Award at the ACE Awards gala in 2012. Here’s how he used this opportunity to land a role with one of the top agencies in Canada.

“Winning the Student of the Year Leadership Award was a major stepping stone for me. I used my acceptance speech as a ‘pitch’ and advertised myself to the people most likely to make new hires. Before leaving the stage I had received my first business card, and by the end of the night I had met some very important people,” Robin says. This strategy worked, and as Robin went on to explain, “By following up on the contacts I made at the ACE Awards Gala I was able to secure a full-time position with one of the best agencies in Canada, starting my first job after graduating from Seneca College.”

Robin encourages anyone to apply, saying “I think a self-nomination is a great career building move. I knew going into the nomination that it would be a long shot, but the satisfaction and confidence that being recognized brought was a huge reward. If you’re not nominating yourself and you’re giving your colleague the nod, it is a big show of respect for that person. Taking the time to highlight the talents of one of your colleagues is a great way to show that they are appreciated and valued.”

Robin thinks his application stood out to the judges due to a shining reference, with solid volunteer experience sealing the deal.

“Receiving an ACE Award was amazing, totally fantastic. When I got the message from the President of CPRS Toronto it caught me so off guard that I just started laughing. Toronto is one of the most important cities for Canadian PR practitioners, with a large and active community, and being recognized by the group was a huge honour, especially considering how many PR students there are in post-grad programs across the city.”

If you think you or someone else should be recognized, now is your chance to nominate yourself or a deserving peer for the CPRS Toronto Public Relations Student of the Year Leadership Award. And there are no barriers to throwing your hat into the ring – entry is free!

In addition to the CPRS Toronto Public Relations Student of the Year Leadership Award there are also Award categories for Young Public Relations Professional of the Year, Public Relations Professional of the Year, Mentor of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.

More information is available on the CPRS Toronto Leadership Awards page. But hurry, the deadline is soon! Nominations must be submitted by February 24, 2013.

The Leadership Awards will be presented at the ACE Awards Gala on Wednesday, April 24, 2013.

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ACE Awards recognizes the best digital communications campaigns with NEW category
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By Barbara Loureiro

The CPRS Toronto ACE Awards submission deadline is just around the corner. This year there’s a new category recognizing full digital campaigns: Best Digital Communications Campaign of the Year.

As digital strategies have become integral to many communications plans, CPRS Toronto strives to recognize the excellent digital campaigns created and executed over the past two years. This category recognizes campaigns that inform engage and/or monitor targeted online influencers and communities to reach specified communications goals.

If you have a campaign that qualifies, the submission requirements are as follows:

The executive summary must describe the campaign, following the RACE (Research, Analysis, Communication and Evaluation) formula and outline key variables within those headings. Keep in mind the executive summary is limited to two pages and a 10 point font, so keep it concise!

The rationale must explain how the campaign exemplifies the definition of public relations as defined by CPRS Toronto. The second component of the submission is limited to 250 words.

All submissions also must include a completed entry form and online payment through the CPRS Toronto website.

The entry deadline is January 23, 2013. Click here for more information on ACE Awards entry guidelines.

Successful submissions in the executive summary phase will be invited to the second round of judging. We’ll request a “big binder” with a detailed outline of the campaign and a copy of the final product on a USB stick. Those who have advanced to this next stage will be notified by the judging team in February.

Information on the Best Digital Communications Campaign of the Year and other categories can be found on the CPRS Toronto website. If you missed last Wednesday’s informative “Enhancing Your ACE Submission” webinar, you can WATCH HERE.

Tweeting about ACE? Use hashtag #CPRSACE

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How to “ace” your ACE awards submission: Five things you need to know
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By Miranda Germani

Whether you’re wanting to add another trophy to your shelf, or just testing the waters and are new to entering awards, there are five not-so-secret things that you must know to put together a stellar ACE Awards submission.

In the interactive and informative “Enhance Your CPRS Toronto ACE Award Submission” webinar held on January 16, host and ACE Awards Judging Co-chair, Dave Scholz shared the must-know tips to ensure your submission stands out from the crowd. For now, the focus is on the first stage submission – the executive summary and rationale. Click here for more information on ACE Entry Guidelines.

Must-know #1 – Know your deadlines. Sounds simple, but that’s the first hurdle to pass. The entry deadline is January 23, 2013 (i.e. next week, so get your skates on!).

Must-know #2 – Use RACE. A simple acronym, but it can make a world of difference to your submission. RACE stands for Research, Analysis, Communication, Evaluation and all of these aspects are important to your submission. Think about RACE all the way through your submission.

Must-know #3 – Be clear on your evaluation. Don’t assume the judges know what you’ve achieved – you must spell it out and tie your goals to the outcome.

Must-know #4 – Get acquainted with the new Best Digital Communications Campaign of the Year category. If you’ve done a fabulous digital campaign that successfully engaged your audiences and inspired online conversation and/or media coverage, we want to hear about it! This is your opportunity to shine.

NOTE: Digital components to other campaigns must still be included in those separate submissions.

Must-know #5 – The judges will keep your submission to themselves. All submissions are confidential. Nothing will be shared publicly. If CPRS Toronto ever wants to share something publicly, we’ll be in touch in advance.

Bonus must-know #6 – Having details such as budget, or at least a budget range, really helps the judges consider your submission in context.

Hopefully that helps pull back the curtain on what the judging team needs from you so that you can get one step closer to receiving an ACE Award in April. For more information about the ACE Awards, please visit the CPRS Toronto Website or contact ace@cprstoronto.com.

If you missed Wednesday’s webinar, you can WATCH HERE

Tweeting about ACE? Use hashtag #CPRSACE

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Enhance your ACE Award submission!
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logos_colour_low_res-01Back by popular demand, CPRS Toronto invites you to join us on Wednesday, January 16, 2013 at 12 p.m. for an informative, free webinar on enhancing your ACE Awards submission, brought to you by CNW Group – the exclusive professional development sponsor for CPRS Toronto.

Dave Scholz, Executive Vice President at Leger Marketing and CPRS Toronto’s ACE Awards Judging Co-Chair, will pull back the curtain on the ACE Awards and share what the judging team will be looking for in a winning submission. The webinar will also provide insight in to changes made to the digital category.

To register for the webinar, visit:

http://event.on24.com/r.htm?e=564540&s=1&k=EF7CD45C16009CBD8A6618A8C4A085E6

For more information about the ACE Awards, please visit the CPRS Toronto Website or contact ace@cprstoronto.com.

If you are unable to join us on Wednesday the webinar will be available in archive following the live event.

Tweeting about ACE? Use hashtag #CPRSACE!

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Case Study: How Fleishman-Hillard Toronto won a prestigious ACE Award in the Best Use of Media Relations Under $50,000 Category
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Liza_photoBy Liza Butcher

On April 26, 2012 the Canadian Public Relations Society Toronto (CPRS Toronto) celebrated the PR industry’s elite at the annual Achieving Communications Excellence (ACE) Awards gala.

The ACE Awards gala was full of celebration for winning campaigns, where Fleishman-Hillard Toronto won a prestigious ACE Award in the Best Use of Media Relations Under $50,000 for “The National Garage Sale for Shelter” media relations campaign.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Teresa Cugliari, Associate Consultant at Fleishman-Hillard Toronto, to understand more about the success around the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation: The National Garage Sale for Shelter.

Can you tell me about your winning campaign? (What was the objective and why was it so successful?)

Royal LePage is the only Canadian real estate company to have its own charitable foundation, known as The Royal LePage Shelter Foundation. The Royal LePage Shelter Foundation is Canada’s largest public foundation dedicated exclusively to supporting women’s shelters and ending violence against women and children. Each year, the Shelter Foundation hosts The National Garage Sale for Shelter – a one-day charitable garage sale which takes place in more than 120 communities across Canada. Royal LePage brokers and agents volunteer to host the garage sales, which are often held outside Royal LePage offices. One hundred per cent of the funds raised are distributed to local women’s shelters in each community.

To help raise awareness and drive participation in The National Garage Sale for Shelter, Fleishman-Hillard (FH) developed and executed a community relations strategy under $50,000 CDN. FH was engaged to support all communications activities around the event including research, planning, materials development and media relations. At the core of the strategy, Royal LePage brokers and agents who volunteered their time to participate in the event were identified as excellent community champions given their passion and dedication to supporting the cause.

While the media relations strategy called for FH to conduct national media relations, a plan was developed to empower Royal LePage volunteers to conduct their own local media relations to generate awareness and drive event participation in their communities. FH supported this strategy by developing media toolkits for all designated spokespeople consisting of local release templates, interview tips and other marketing materials for use in Royal LePage offices. In addition, FH held a media coaching session with all regional spokespeople via conference call where tips were shared to maximize local media coverage and community engagement while ensuring strong key message penetration.

What inspired you to submit for an ACE Award?

The FHteam felt that this campaign was worthy of an award submission since the media results and overall funds raised exceeded initial goals. Overall, the 2011 National Garage Sale for Shelter generated a total of 369 media stories – a 77 per cent increase over 2010’s total – and 35,833,867 media impressions, an 84 per cent increase over last year. FH was successful in generating coverage in national, major regional and local media outlets, with 21 per cent of all coverage appearing in Tier One outlets.The mix of media coverage shows that messaging developed for the Shelter Foundation resonated with both local communities and larger metropolitan areas alike.

The increased amount of media coverage for the 2011 National Garage Sale for Shelter also led to increased participation in the event, which resulted in a record-setting fundraising total. In 2011, The National Garage Sale for Shelter was successful in raising more than $417,000 for the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation – a 32 per cent increase (and counting) over 2010’s fundraising total.

What are the benefits of winning an ACE Award?

Awards help set you apart from the competition. Not only do they build your agency’s reputation but they also help recognize the hard work put in by your colleagues. FH purchased additional copies of the award for each team member as well as our client. It’s a symbol of success as well as the memories of both the campaign and the gala ceremony. It was a very fun evening that we look forward to each year.

Winning the 2011 CPRS ACE Award for Royal LePage’s Shelter Foundation validated the great results we achieved throughout this campaign and also shows FH’s clients that we are willing to go above and beyond to get them the recognition they deserve.

Do you have any tips for others submitting for Award consideration.

Be sure to get a head start on the submission process and be mindful of submission deadlines. It can be somewhat of a challenge juggling client work as well as your agency’s marketing and promotional needs. Be sure to loop in team members to help with the process so you can submit a high quality award that reflects your team’s hard work.

Also, if you know you are working on an award-worthy campaign, start taking notes during the campaign for your submission. As time passes, you will find these notes invaluable since almost a full year can go by before you start pulling together your submission binder.

What did you make sure to include in your binder submission?

FH’s submission binder included a range of media materials (press releases, social media releases, media advisories, as well as the volunteer media outreach toolkit and interview best practices) and supporting metrics (MRP reports and coverage samples) that allowed the judges to get a better understanding of how the FH team met and exceeded our measurable objectives.

In addition, the FH team also included a sizzle reel highlighting national Tier One broadcast coverage secured with their key spokespeople throughout the campaign. This multimedia addition is a more personal touch that allows the judges to visualize the campaign and give a sense of depth to the quality and variety of coverage FH secured.

How did it feel to receive your award at the gala?

Receiving the award at the gala was extremely meaningful for both the FH team and our client, who was in attendance that evening as well. Lots of hard work and effort was put into the campaign and it was great to share this experience with fellow communications professionals.

Fleishman-Hillard Team Members: Sarah Louise Gardiner, Teresa Cugliari, Michael Gotzamanis

Royal LePage Shelter Foundation Team Members: Shanan Spencer-Brown, Tammy Gilmer, Royal LePage spokespeople

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