HARRISBURG, Pa. (November 14, 2020) — The Central Pennsylvania Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (Central PA PRSA) today announced 17 award-winning projects.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly challenged professionals in our field to pivot promotions, events, and projects and created new opportunities,” said Leslie Amorós, APR, President of Central PA PRSA. “The Central PA PRSA Keystone Awards is the perfect opportunity to celebrate those creative campaigns, best practices and outcomes from campaign successes. We are so proud of our record-breaking number of award submissions this year and the number of professionals who continue to challenge themselves by entering.”
The awards include two levels of recognition:
- Keystone Awards recognize outstanding achievements in public relations, marked by excellent results, thorough planning, game-changing ideas and creativity.
- Silver Keystone Awards demonstrated excellent planning and outcomes.
Volunteers from the Tri Cities Tennessee chapter of PRSA judged the entries and considered research, planning, execution, and results of each project in their scoring out of 100 points.
This year’s top projects — receiving either a Keystone Award or a Silver Keystone Award from Central PA PRSA — included efforts to battle stigma surrounding substance abuse, spread awareness for cystic fibrosis, showcase brand unity and a cohesive brand presence, promote participation in the Census within the local community and a grand opening of new retail store.
2020 Keystone Award Winners are:
- The Deeter Gallaher Group on behalf of their client, Drug Free Workplace PA: “Ditch the Stigma: How Health Care Professionals Can Treat Substance Use Disorder with Sensitivity” project in the written communications piece category.
- The GIANT Company: “Rebuilding a Beloved Brand For Today’s Table” project in the corporate branding category.
- Total Excellence in Association Management (TEAM): “SSMS to TEAM an Association Management Rebrand” project in the corporate branding category.
- PRWorks on behalf of their client, Gamut Theatre: “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe Promotion” project in the digital public relations category.
- Mountz Jewelers: “Inspire 40 Campaign” in the special events and observances category.
- Susquehanna University PRSSA: “Lungs & Roses Project” in the student project category.
- Nell McCormack Abom Communications on behalf of their client, Brain Vessel Gallery: “Brain Vessel’s FAN-Tastic Virtual Voyage” in the media relations/media placement category.
2019 Silver Keystone Award Winners are:
- PA Medical Society: “Putting a face on prior authorization – ghost written editorial” in the written communications piece category.
- The Giant Company: “Small Business Emergency Grant Program” in the overall public relations program category.
- Tri-County Regional Planning Commission: “Dauphin County 2020 Census project” in the government/public affairs category.
- Landis Communities: “Brand Refreshing” in the corporate branding category.
- The GIANT Company: “GIANT Heirloom Market Northern Liberties Grand Opening” project in the special events and observances category.
- Four Diamonds at Penn State Children’s Hospital: “Four Diamonds Giving Day FTK and Virtual Celebration” project in the special events and observances category.
- PRWorks on behalf of their client Holla Spirits: “Salvadili Launch” campaign in the media relations/media placement category.
- Geisinger: “Henry Cancer center expansion announcement” in the media relations/media placement category.
- PRWorks on behalf of their client, The Whitaker Center: “Whitaker Wonderland” in the marketing communications campaign category.
To protect the safety and well-being of members and awardees, the annual awards in-person luncheon was cancelled. Awardees will be featured over social media throughout the month of November.
To learn more about the featured projects, visit the Central PA chapter of PRSA’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
About PRSA: The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is the nation’s largest professional organization serving the communications community with a mission to “make communications professionals smarter, better prepared and more connected through all stages of their career.” Membership collectively represents more than 30,000 members comprised of communications professionals spanning every industry sector nationwide and college and university students who encompass the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). For more information, visit www.prsa.org.
About Central PA PRSA: The chapter was formed in 1959 and is one of the oldest chapters in the country. Its membership is represents a diverse group of professionals at all stages of their careers, including practitioners in corporate, government, nonprofit, education, health care, and association industries with a common desire for professional public relations practice and to continue education and the advancement of the profession. For more information, visit www.prsacp.org.