South Carolina’s Top Public Relations Campaigns Recognized at Annual Mercury Awards
May 8, 2012
COLUMBIA, SC – May 3, 2012 – The South Carolina Chapter of thePublic Relations Society of America (SCPRSA) hosted its annual MercuryAwards celebration on Thursday, May 3 in Columbia. Forty-eight awardsfor public relations campaigns and tactics were presented tocommunications professionals from across the state.
SCPRSA’s Mercury Awards recognize public relations programs andcampaigns, while the Silver Wing Awards recognize outstanding tacticsused in those campaigns. Public relations practitioners across the stateare eligible to enter the awards competition, which was judged thisyear by the PRSA chapter in Roanoke, Virginia. In addition, SCPRSArecognized several individuals for their contributions to the publicrelations profession.
Chapter President Alice Grey Harrison, APR of Dixon Hughes Goodmanaccounting firm in Greenville took home the overall Best in Show MercuryAward for the state’s top public relations campaign, an internalcommunications campaign called Opportunity + Network. The overall Bestin Show Silver Wing Award for the state’s top public relations tacticwent to Erwin Penland for BI-LO’s Free Fuel Frenzy.
Above Photo is of the Individual Award Winners
Above Photo of Erwin-Penland team who won Best in Show
Alyssa Hasell of Collins and Lacy was recognized as SCPRSA’s Rookieof the Year, presented to a younger member who shows great promise as apublic relations practitioner. Debbie Nelson of DNA CreativeCommunications in Greenville received the George L. Johnson CommunitySpirit Award for her extensive pro bono work in the Upstate community.JoAnn Turnquist, President and CEO of Central Carolina CommunityFoundation, was recognized with the Executive Excellence Award,presented to an executive who shows exceptional support for the publicrelations function in their organization.
New to the competition this year were the Jupiter Awards, presentedto three individuals for exceptional contributions to the use of socialmedia as a communications tool. SCPRSA presented three awards in thiscategory, representing each of the chapter’s regions. Winners were:
• Bobby Rettew of Bobby Rettew, LLC in Greenville
• Mandi Engram of Midlands Authority for Conventions, Sports and Tourism in Columbia
• Heather Woolwine of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston
Following are the winners by category, including the location of eachagency or company. Mercury and Silver Wing Awards are the top winnersin their categories. Awards of merit are runners-up in their categories.
Mercury Awards
Community Relations
• Mercury Award: Erwin Penland (Greenville) for Bojangles’ Teacher of the Year and Teacher Appreciation Month
• Mercury Award of Merit: Rawle Murdy (Charleston) for Carnival Cruise Lines “Race to the Altar”
Brand and Reputation Management
• Mercury Award: Erwin Penland (Greenville) for “Changing Diners’ Perceptions with the Introduction of Denny’s Fit Fare”
• Mercury Award of Merit: Crawford Strategy (Greenville) for Greenville Dermatology Brand Management
Events and Observances, 7 Days or Fewer
• Mercury Award: Obviouslee Marketing (Charleston) for the 2012 PGA Championship
• Mercury Award of Merit: Chernoff Newman (Columbia) for 2011 Liberty Fellowship Summit
Events and Observances, More than 7 Days
• Mercury Award: Crawford Strategy (Greenville) for Ice on Main
• Mercury Award of Merit: Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center for “GHS Has Talent”
Public Service
• Mercury Award: DNA Creative Communications (Greenville) for Project Rx: A River Remedy
• Mercury Award of Merit (tie): Chernoff Newman (Columbia) for Waste Management and LG Electronics eCycles Day
• Mercury Award of Merit (tie): Davis Public Relations and RiggsPartners (Columbia) for “Talk About Giving” for Central CarolinaCommunity Foundation
Marketing Consumer Products
• Mercury Award: Erwin Penland (Greenville) for “Denny’s Celebrates America’s Favorite Food with ‘Baconalia!’ Menu
• Mercury Award of Merit: Leapfrog PR (Charleston) for Fat & Juicy Bloody Mary Mix
Marketing Consumer Services
• Mercury Award of Merit: Chernoff Newman (Columbia) for Santee Cooper’s Free CFL Recycling Drive
Internal Communications
• Mercury Award: Dixon Hughes Goodman (Greenville) for Opportunity + Network
• Mercury Award of Merit: Palmetto Health Foundation (Columbia) for the 2011 Miracle Team Employee Giving Campaign
Integrated Communications
• Mercury Award: FLOURISH Integrated Communications (Greenville) for CBT’s The Nutcracker
• Mercury Award of Merit: Bomar Marketing Solutions (Greenville) for Illuminating the Way
Silver Wing Awards
Media Relations, Consumer Products
• Award of Merit: Erwin Penland (Greenville) for “Erwin PenlandBakes Up Success with Bojangles’ Master Biscuit Maker Challenge”
Media Relations, Consumer Services
• Silver Wing Award: Erwin Penland (Greenville) for “BI-LO Free Fuel Frenzy”
Media Relations, Associations/Government/Nonprofits
• Silver Wing Award: Davis Public Relations (Columbia) for “Talk About Giving” for the Central Carolina Community Foundation
Newsletters – More than 8 Pages
• Silver Wing Award: Municipal Association of South Carolina (Columbia) for “Uptown” Newsletter
• Silver Wing Award of Merit (tie): Medical University of South Carolina (Charleston) for “The Catalyst”
• Silver Wing Award of Merit (tie): Palmetto Health Foundation (Columbia) for “Portfolio”
Magazines, Internal Audiences Primarily
• Silver Wing Award: South Carolina Bankers Association (Columbia) for Palmetto Banker
Magazines, External Audiences Primarily
• Silver Wing Award of Merit: South Carolina Chamber of Commerce (Columbia) for South Carolina Business
Annual Reports – For Profit Organizations
• Silver Wing Award: Sonoco (Hartsville) for “Ready to Grow, Sonoco’s 2010 Annual Report”
Annual Reports – Nonprofit Organizations
• Silver Wing Award: Medical University of South Carolina (Charleston) for “2010-2011 Annual Report”
• Silver Wing Award of Merit (tie): DNA Creative Communications (Greenville) for “2010 ReWa Annual Report”
• Silver Wing Award of Merit (tie): Williams Group PR (Beaufort) for Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce Annual Report
Publications – Single Issue Newsletters or Booklets
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p; Silver Wing Award of Merit: Municipal Association of SouthCarolina (Columbia) for “Raising Hometown Voices to a New Level ofInfluence – An Advocacy Guide for South Carolina Hometowns”
Television Public Service Announcements
• Silver Wing Award of Merit: Fisher Communications Inc. (Columbia) for DUI 2011 TV Campaign
Social Media
• Silver Wing Award: Bomar Marketing Solutions (Greenville) for “Illuminating the Way”
Blogs
• Silver Wing Award: Crawford Strategy (Greenville) for Greenville Dermatology Blog
• Silver Wing Award of Merit: The South Carolina Department ofEmployment and Workforce (Columbia) for Palmetto Workforce Connections
Blogger Campaign
• Silver Wing Award of Merit: Bomar Marketing Solutions (Greenville) for Illuminating the Way
Creative Tactics
• Silver Wing Award of Merit (tie): Chernoff Newman (Columbia) for Chernoff Newman Holiday Gift Guide
• Silver Wing Award of Merit (tie): Medical University of South Carolina (Charleston) for The MUSC Safety Dance
Feature Writing
• Silver Wing Award of Merit (tie): Erwin Penland (Greenville) for “Area Development” Byline Article for Upstate SC Alliance
• Silver Wing Award of Merit (tie): Municipal Association of SouthCarolina (Columbia) for “Training Essential to Well-Run Cities”
Editorials and Op-Ed Columns
• Silver Wing Award: Davis Public Relations (Columbia) for “TalkAbout Giving Op-Ed” for Central Carolina Community Foundation
• Silver Wing Award of Merit: FLOURISH Integrated Communications (Greenville) for The Community Nutcracker Op-Ed
Advertorials
• Silver Wing Award: Municipal Association of South Carolina (Columbia) for “Cities Mean Business” Magazine
External Websites
• Silver Wing Award: Municipal Association of South Carolina (Columbia) for www.masc.sc
• Silver Wing Award of Merit: South Carolina Chamber of Commerce (Columbia) for www.SCChamber.net
Internal Websites, Intranets and Extranets
• Silver Wing Award of Merit: Dixon Hughes Goodman (Greenville) for The SPHERE
Multimedia Communications – External Programs and Presentations
• Silver Wing Award of Merit: Chernoff Newman (Columbia) for “Your Bottom Line with Bill Dunkelberg”
Posters
• Silver Wing Award: Dixon Hughes Goodman (Greenville) for Opportunity + Network
South Carolina PRSA
South Carolina PRSA was founded in 1967 and is one of more than200 chapters of the Public Relations Society of America, the world’slargest professional association for public relations practitioners. Formore information visit www.SCPRSA.org.
