Winners were announced at the Thoth Gala from Thursday, October, 18, 2018 at the National Press Club.
Hall of Fame Inductees
This year, we inducted two local public relations leaders into the National Capital Public Relations Hall of Fame. We were proud to honor:
Martha Boudreau
Executive Vice President & Chief Communications and Marketing Officer, AARP
Pattie Yu
Principal, theYucrew
Emcee:
Kamari Guthrie, Director of Communications at Vote.org, served as “Mistress of Ceremonies” for the Gala!
Details of all the 2018 Thoth winning programs are listed below. To find the winners in a particular category, just click on the category in the table below.
Eddy Alexander and the Roanoke Valley Broadband Authority received the Thoth Best in Show award for their David vs. Goliath and Friends of Municipal Broadband campaign. The Roanoke Valley Broadband Authority, a local government-run internet provider, was blindsided by proposed legislation that would eliminate its ability to operate in Virginia. They had recently launched a $4M network and had not recouped the taxpayer investment. They had no funding set aside for public relations and government affairs. The campaign used creative issues management techniques to defeat the proposed legislation.
Research Award
The research award is judged by and presented annually by the Institute For Public Relations.
The 2018 winner is: Truth Initiative with Ketchum and 72andSunny for their entry “Business or Exploitation?”
The winner of this year’s IPR Research Award has demonstrated excellence in the use of research in developing an informed PR strategy and then evaluating the effectiveness of that strategy.
2018 Thoth Winning Entries
PR Agencies and Communication Teams
Nonprofit Communications Team
Thoth Award
American Benefits Council
American Benefits Council’s Communication Team: Small, But Savvy
Despite the small size and limited budget of the American Benefits Council’s communication team, it developed cost- and resource-effective strategies to execute large-scale projects in observance of the Council’s 50th anniversary, while also supporting its core advocacy function throughout congressional health and tax reform activity and regulatory uncertainty in 2017.
Large PR Agency of the Year
Award of Excellence
LINK Strategic Partners
LINK Strategic Partners
LINK Strategic Partners is a social impact strategic communications and stakeholder engagement firm. They help their clients cultivate authentic “hyperlocal” engagement in their communities. In six years, they have served 250+ local and national clients, while proving that doing well and doing good aren’t mutually exclusive!
Large PR Agency of the Year
Thoth Award
JPA Health Communications
JPA: Making People Healthier by Improving and Protecting Lives
At JPA, they share their clients’ commitment to making people healthier. This ideology inspires their work. Their passion drives meaningful relationships. It stimulates intellectual curiosity. It pushes them to combine data and intuition to go deeper and see beyond the obvious. It drives sophistication and creativity to solve complex problems.
New PR Agency of the Year
Award of Excellence
Mission Partners
Fierce in our Focus: Mission Partners
Mission Partners is a woman-owned and women-led Certified B Corporation® based in Bethesda, MD. Their social impact and communications consultancy guides and challenges purpose-driven organizations in moving their missions forward. They help organizations amplify their good work, increase their impact, and build more cohesive teams.
New PR Agency of the Year
Thoth Award
The Reis Group
The Reis Group for New Agency of the Year
Founded in 2016, The Reis Group has quickly grown into one of the country’s leading healthcare public relations agencies. Created by Sharon Reis and her veteran communications team, the firm’s expertise spans all aspects of strategic communications for clients representing the nation’s leading foundations, associations, coalitions, health systems, corporations, and universities
Program Winners
Crisis Communications
Award of Excellence
Eddy Alexander for the Roanoke Valley Broadband Authority
Vrignia Broadband Wars
The Roanoke Valley Broadband Authority, a local government-run internet provider, was blindsided by proposed legislation that would eliminate its ability to operate in Virginia. They had recently launched a $4M network and had not recouped the taxpayer investment. They had no funding set aside for public relations and government affairs.
Events and Observances (fewer than seven days)
Award of Excellence
Padilla with Wilsonart and Grace Jeffers
Helping Designers See the Forests Behind the Wood
Wilsonart recognized that most architects and designers don’t know enough about endangered or threatened tree species to make responsible sourcing decisions. Padilla helped them bridge the gap with the national Day of Learning,” through which they learned about the issue, and gathered tips for sourcing sustainable alternatives, like Wilsonart Laminate.
Events and Observances (fewer than 7 days)
Thoth Award
The World Pancreatic Cancer Coaltion with Hill+Knowlton Strategies and SJR
2017 World Pancreatic Cancer Day
Hill+Knowlton was hired to make World Pancreatic Cancer Day November 16, 2017 bigger and better with a focus across five countries. H+K built a bold campaign to Demand Better. Results exceeded goals in all markets, and the global campaign over-delivered on all core metrics for earned and social media.
Events and Observances (more than seven days)
Thoth Award
American Benefits Council
American Benefits Council’s 50th Anniversary Events, Campaign, and Celebration
The American Benefits Council celebrated our 50-year history through a year-long observance involving multi-faceted PR and communications campaigns and events. The Council also amplified its advocacy efforts during a year in which Congress attempted both health and tax reform with significant implications for the future of employee benefits.
Global Communications
Thoth Award
The World Pancreatic Cancer Coalition with Hill+Knowlton and SJR
2017 World Pancreatic Cancer Day: Demand Better
Hill+Knowlton was hired to make World Pancreatic Cancer Day November 16, 2017 bigger and better with a key focus across five countries. They built a bold campaign to Demand Better. Results exceeded goals in all markets, and the global campaign over-delivered on all core metrics for earned and social media.
Integrated Communications: Associations/Nonprofit Organizations
Award of Excellence
Kurtz Digital Strategy and SaVi PR for Veterans Moving Forward
Changing Veterans’ Lves, One Puppy at a Time
Everyone loves puppies, but few are willing to raise them, then give them up. KDS and SaVi PR created and executed an integrated campaign to help a nonprofit serve more veterans by finding and bringing to them triple the number of volunteers they needed to raise puppies into service dogs.
Integrated Communications: Associations/Nonprofit Organizations
Thoth Award
Crosby Marketing Communications and the DAV (Disabled American Veterans)
“Victories for Veterans” Campaign
DAV (Disabled American Veterans) helps one million veterans annually get the benefits and support they earned through their service. The victories for Veterans” campaign integrated earned, shared and paid media to generate $89 million in donated media, and earned record engagement across channels.
Integrated Communications: Consumer Products or Services
Thoth Award
U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council with Padilla
Bringing Home the Benefits of Fresh Blueberries – Year ‘Round
The Blueberry Council wagered that boosting sales of fresh imported berries would juice sales across the category and cultivate demand in the winter. The Council’s integrated campaign successfully invited blueberries back to the table, as evidenced by a 16.3% spike in fresh blueberry sales in January 2017 over January 2016.
Internal Communications
Award of Excellence
Staff Initiatives Office American Psychological Association
Introducing a new CEO to APA employees
Following events that led the CEO to early retirement, a 10 percent reduction in force, and a major reorganization, the Staff Initiatives office faced the daunting obstacle of keeping staff engaged, ensuring staff feel valued through the changes, introducing the new CEO, and rebuilding trust.
Internal Communications
Thoth Award
Booz Allen Hamilton – Grant McLaughlin, Dana Stirk, Dianna Zangrilli, Don Jones, Tracy Freedman
How Booz Allen Transformed Employees to Tell its Story
Booz Allen set out to crowdsource the Booz Allen story via highly diverse, dispersed and risk-averse employees. Through training, education, and an easy-to-access application, they transformed more than 1,000 employees into safe sharers who tell the Booz Allen story, drive website traffic, and generate six million impressions a month.
Issues Management
Thoth Award
Eddy Alexander for Roanoke Valley Broadband Authority
David Vs. Goliath and Friends of Municipal Broadband
The Roanoke Valley Broadband Authority, a local government-run internet provider, was blindsided by proposed legislation that would eliminate its ability to operate in Virginia. They had recently launched a $4M network and had not recouped the taxpayer investment. They had no funding set aside for public relations and government affairs.
Marketing Business-to-Business Products and Services
Award of Excellence
Burson Cohn and Wolf
Bank of America: Research, Relationships and Resources for Small Businesses
Challenged to bolster business and enhance Bank of America’s reputation as a trusted partner for small business owners, the BofA communications team embarked on a campaign to break through the clutter and successfully reach entrepreneurs via the media they consistently consume.
Marketing Consumer Products and Services
Award of Excellence
The Clorox Company with Ketchum
King of the Commode
Clorox wants to own bathroom conversation but go beyond typical potty humor. Through social listening, we discovered Barney Smith, a 96-year-old artist whose canvas happens to be toilet seat lids. We saw an opportunity for authentic storytelling, inviting consumers to take a seat with Barney, The King of the Commode.
Marketing Consumer Products and Services
Award of Excellence
Reese’s with Ketchum
Reese’s Outrageous Halloween
Reese’s wanted to sneak preview its latest innovation, Reese’s Outrageous Bars, in an outrageous way but the new product wouldn’t be available for seven months. The #1 Halloween candy brand surprised an unsuspecting town with an outrageous treat at its Halloween celebration, generating 1B+ impressions and dozens of sales calls.;
Multicultural Public Relations
Award of Excellence
Ogilvy
What is Brain Health?
With the HHS, Ogilvy launched the What is Brain Health? Hispanic campaign in September 2017, providing information about what seniors can do to reduce risks to their brains. The campaign quickly secured 131M earned media impressions, drove 87,589 visitors to CerebroSano.Gov, and drew a 7.89% engagement rate on Facebook.
Pro Bono Public Relations
Award of Excellence
Weber Shandwick and American Association of People with Disabilities
Raising Awareness for the Disability Equality Index
AAPD and USBLN created the DEI to benchmark and evaluate Fortune 1000 companies on disability inclusion practices across employee resources, hiring practices, supply chain. They engaged WS to raise the profile of the 2017 DEIrelease to further engage the business community in recognizing the contributions of disabled individuals.
Public Affairs: Government
Thoth Award
Eddy Alexander and the Roanoke Valley Broadband Authority
Broadband for All
The Roanoke Valley Broadband Authority, a local government-run internet provider, was blindsided by proposed legislation that would eliminate its ability to operate in Virginia. They had recently launched a $4M network and had not recouped the taxpayer investment. They had no funding set aside for public relations and government affairs.
Public Service
Award of Excellence
Ogilvy
What is Brain Health?
With the HHS, Ogilvy launched the What is Brain Health? campaign in September 2015, providing information about what seniors can do to reduce risks to their brains. The campaign quickly secured 280M earned media impressions and garnered $6.9M in media value.
Public Service
Award of Excellence
Samsung Solve for Tomorrow and Allison+Partners
Promoting STEAM While Changing Communities: Samsung Solve for Tomorrow
To address the STEAM skills gap in schools, the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest gives 6th-12th grade students the resources and tools to create solutions to pressing issues in their communities using STEAM. Samsung tapped Allison+Partners to help raise awareness of these issues with an integrated media campaign.
Public Service
Award of Excellence
Weber Shandwick & American Association of People with Disabilities
Raising Awareness for the Disability Equality Index
AAPD and USBLN created the DEI to benchmark and evaluate Fortune 1000 companies on disability inclusion practices across employee resources, hiring practices, supply chain. They engaged WS to raise the profile of the 2017 DEIrelease to further engage the business community in recognizing the contributions of disabled individuals.
Public Service
Thoth Award
Truth Iniitiativewith Ketchum and 72andSunny
“Business or Exploitation?”
African Americans, low-income neighborhoods, military, LGBTQ communities and those with mental health conditions are disproportionately affected by tobacco use. Truth launched “Business or Exploitation?” to underscore how Big Tobacco deliberately singles out communities that face adversity and inequality with aggressive marketing practices that equal profiling hooking them on deadly tobacco.
Reputation/Brand Management: Business
Thoth Award
Raffetto Herman Strategic Communication with MediaPRO
Exploring the Human Threat to Cybersecurity Across Industries
To position MediaPRO as a top cybersecurity and privacy education company and industry leader across the healthcare, retail, education, finance, privacy and security industries, RH Strategic devised a plan to extended press coverage of MediaPRO’s annual report to draw attention to the vast need for cybersecurity and privacy education.
Component Winners
Blog
Thoth Award
Social Security Administration’s Ticket to Work Program
Ticket to Work – Choose Work Blog
For people with disabilities, the choice to work is multi-faceted. The Choose Work! blog focuses on providing helpful, motivational and enriching information about Social Security’s Ticket to Work program and topics that range from job search tips and mentoring to Social Security’s Work Incentives and disability-related employment.
Brochures
Award of Excellence
National Health Council
Driving Change, Growing Impact: 2017 National Health Council Achievements
The National Health Council created Driving Change, Growing Impact, a brochure highlighting NHC’s achievements in 2017 with the goal of succinctly showcasing the organization’s successes during the year.
Brochures
Award of Excellence
Maryland University of Integrative Health Advancement Department
“Explore MUIH” Brochure
Maryland University of Integrative Health’s “Explore MUIH” campaign consists of a series of fresh storytelling tools that vibrantly illustrate the school’s distinctive ethos. The campaign centerpiece is a comprehensive booklet that details the fundamental principles and history of the University, along with its unique academic offerings.
External Video
Award of Excellence
Ogilvy
Connected Care
CMS OMH partnered with Ogilvy to raise awareness about the benefits of CCM. We executed a push-pull strategy, emphasizing physicians as a key audience and influencers for patients. We created materials to give providers tools they needed to implement CCM and developed an outreach and paid media campaign.;
External Video
Thoth Award
Golin and the National Asphalt Pavement Association
One Moment Can Save a Life – Watch for Us Work Zone Safety Video
Every year more than 700 people are killed in roadway work zones. Construction companies are dedicated to ensuring the safety of their workers and the driving public, but it just takes a moment of distraction for an accident to happen and for lives to be changed forever.
Feature Stories, Editorials, Op-Ed Columns
Thoth Award
BRG Communications and Fisher House Foundation
For Our Nation’s Veterans – Thanking You Isn’t Enough
Fisher House Foundation is a nonprofit that serves the military community by providing housing to families of ill-or-injured veterans treated far from home. BRG developed an article for Foundation Chairman and CEO, Ken Fisher to gain visibility with policy makers during a key moment in time – Veteran’s Day.
Integrated Media Relations – Budget Under $25,000
Award of Excellence
Sage Communications – Lauren Horn, Elizabeth Levy, and Brian Kelley
Rising Above the Crowd: Establishing the Population Association of America
Contracted to drive media interest and participation in the Population Association of America’s annual meeting (PAA), Sage Communications embarked on what would be one of our most successful media campaigns to date, and in the process, established PAA as America’s leading voice on demography for many years to come.;
Integrated Media Relations – Budget Under $25,000
Thoth Award
National Hog Dog and Saunsage Council
National Bologna Day Promotion
Bologna is a food that is a childhood favorite but has fallen out of favor for many. This campaign aimed to drive new perspectives about bologna and different ways it can be enjoyed through a media and social media campaign tied to National Bologna Day.
Integrated Media Relations – Budget of $25,000 and up
Thoth Award
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Keep Us Covered – A Campaign to Maintain Patient Protections in the ACA
Following the 2016 election, Congress committed to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Health insurance status impacts cancer outcomes. As part of a multifaceted campaign urging lawmakers to maintain access to care, the ACS CAN Media Advocacy Team executed an integrated strategy to focus the public debate through the patient lens.
Media Relations: Association/Nonprofit Organizations
Thoth Award
Vanguard Communications and the American Psychological Association
Stress Americans Experienced About the State of the Nation and Health Care
The American Psychological Association conceptualized its annual survey “Stress in America” to underscore the connection between mental health and physical health. The survey also helps position APA and its member psychologists as preeminent authorities on causes of stress and how to help people cope with stress.
Media Relations: Business
Award of Excellence
Lyons PR
Around the World with Sal Lavallo, Countries Conqueror Satellite Media Tour
Lyons PR produced a Satellite Media Tour on behalf of Marriott/Starwood Hotels to share the story of Sal Lavallo, a social media influencer, loyal SPG Rewards member, and one of the youngest travelers ever to visit all 193 countries in the world.
Media Relations: Business
Thoth Award
BRG Communications, Warmart, Inc., and the Walmart Foundation
Walmart Military Programs 2017 Visibility
Walmart and Walmart Foundation recognize sacrifices the military community makes for our freedoms. In 2017, they expanded support through new products, grants, groundbreaking leave of absence policy, and advancement toward their Veterans Welcome Home Commitment. BRG embarked on a year-long media relations campaign leveraging key moments to spotlight these achievements.
Media Relations: Government
Thoth Award
The Virginia Lottery and Padilla
Honoring Virginia’s Teachers, One Thank-You Note at A Time
The Virginia Lottery and Padilla set out to boost awareness of the Lottery’s education mission and recognize teachers around the Commonwealth during their second annual Thank a Teacher campaign. Targeted media relations resulted in 21.5 million earned media impressions. What’s more, Virginians sent over 38,500 thank-you notes to teachers.
Paid Advertising
Thoth Award
Michael Kharfen, DC Health (HAHSTA) and Everett Hamliton, Octane
Think About PrEP
“Think About PrEP” pushed boundaries but also started the conversation around PrEP, the prescription drug that reduces the risk of contracting HIV. DC has the highest rate of HIV in the country, so HAHSTA needed a message that would stand out and grab people’s attention.
Podcast/Webcast
Award of Excellence
Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center
The TBI Family
The TBI Family is a podcast dedicated to caregivers of service members and veterans who’ve sustained traumatic brain injuries. The podcast highlights resources; discusses TBI sequelae and treatment; and tells caregiver stories.
Podcast/Webcast
Thoth Award
Raffetto Herman Strategic Communications
#thinkArctic: A GCI podcast to connect Arctic Influencers
The Arctic’s rapid warming has the world’s attention and as nations look to the region for shipping and resources, we must ensure the U.S. has a strong voice. RH Strategic sought to leverage GCI’s expertise to position the company as a thought leader on Arctic issues with the #ThinkArctic podcast.
Public Service Announcements
Award of Excellence
Robert M. Vincent and Nelia C. Nadal
“Talk. They Hear You.” Dads PSA
SAMHSA developed Dads after receiving consistent requests from parents and campaign partners for products that highlight parent-to-parent conversations about underage drinking prevention. Dads features two fathers engaging in a discussion that leads to one’s recognition that he needs to talk with his own son about alcohol use.
Publications
Award of Excellence
RockDove Solutions, Inc. and The Hatcliffe Group, LLC
The Launch of the New Rules of Crisis Management
This is a successful campaign by VA-based RockDove Solutions to establish relationships with influencers in crisis communications and build awareness for its digital crisis management platform, In Case of Crisis, among PR professionals. The campaign focused on a new crisis playbook for the digital age, authored by crisis experts.
Publications
Thoth Award
American Cleaning Institute and CooperKatz & Company
Foundations for Transformation: 2017 ACI Sustainability Report
The American Cleaning Institute (ACI), a non-profit trade association representing the $30 billion cleaning product industry, released its biennial sustainability report to showcase both the progress made and the improvements needed across the cleaning products industry to address sustainability.
Social Media: Advocacy
Award of Excellence
Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau
#ProtectCropInsurance Social Media Toolkit
The Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau (CIRB) developed the #ProtectCropInsurance social media weekly toolkits which launched on January 30, 2017. These toolkits were sent to CIRB members and crop insurance coalition communications teams. The content included customizable social media messages that focused on crop insurance’s impact on the rural economy.
Social Media: Video
Award of Excellence
Crosby Marketing Communications and HRSA/DoT
Driving Organ Donation Awareness Through Video Content
Crosby worked with HRSA/DoT to produce Facebook video content to boost awareness of organ donation and inspire more Americans to register as donors. The videos featured inspiring stories of real organ recipients and helped to greatly increase engagement and visits to the organdonor.gov website.
Social Media: Video
Thoth Award
Crosby Marketing Communications and DAV (Disabled American Veterans)
“Victories for Veterans” Social Media Video Series
To raise awareness of DAV and tell a deeper story about how the organization helps veterans through a variety of challenges, Crosby created a series of video stories for social media titled victories for Veterans,” capturing the pride of veterans who overcame obstacles after their service
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Websites
Award of Excellence
The Center for Eating Disorders and JPA Health Communications
The Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt: Let’s Check In
Eating disorders often go underdiagnosed and undertreated. Nearly one in 10 Americans experience an eating disorder in their lifetime; yet as few as six percent receive treatment. That’s why the Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt launched the Let’s Check In digital campaign to prevent and treat eating disorders.
Websites
Award of Excellence
Social Security Administration’s Ticket to Work Program
Ticket to Work – Choosework.ssa.gov
The Choose Work website is the central hub for Social Security’s Ticket to Work program information, news and resources for the agency’s disability beneficiaries, and individuals and organizations with an interest in disability employment.
Websites
Thoth Award
Booz Allen Hamilton – Grant McLaughlin, Dana Stirk, and Shauna Hidlebaugh
A New BoozAllen.com: A Foundation for Our Digital Marketing Journey
Booz Allen used technology, strategy and data to transform how we tell our story by launching a new, centralized digital hub. BoozAllen.com and its back-end technologies catalyzed our digital transformation. We are harnessing the power of data to drive decisions, improve performance, and personalize content for our target audiences.