BOSTON – Providence-based RDW Group Inc. took home 20 honors, more than any other local agency, from The Publicity Club of New England’s 2008 Bell Ringer Awards. The annual program recognizes excellence in communications and public relations work across print, broadcast, online and new media.
This year, RDW received nine Bell Awards – the program’s highest honor – and 11 Merit Awards for work in service of a wide variety of clients.
Its total was down slightly from last year, when the agency tied for first place with 21 awards – 13 Bell and 8 Merit awards – and Chairman Michael Doyle received the 2007 John J. Molloy Crystal Bell for lifetime achievement in the field of communications. (READ MORE)
Rhode Island’s Duffy & Shanley Inc. took home six trophies this year – four Bells, up from one last year, and two Merit awards – with campaigns for clients including Foster Grant. “We are proud of our public relations team and honored that The Publicity Club of New England recognized us for our work from the more than 300 entries received,” said President Jon Duffy. “More importantly, we are proud to be working for national consumer product clients that afford us the opportunity to do great work.”
The annual Bell Ringers competition, which dates back to 1969, is judged by members of the public relations, marketing/communications and media communities based on planning, execution and accomplishment of the marketing and communication objectives.
This year, the contest drew 322 entries from 56 companies and public relations agencies across New England, according to Beth Bailey, the president of The Publicity Club of New England.
“The Bell Ringer Awards are the highlight of the club’s year,” said Bailey, who also is vice president and director of public relations for RDW Group.
“It was a very competitive year,” she added. “There were many outstanding entries, making judging especially difficult.
“Nevertheless, RDW Group continues to place among the top agencies each year for our work on behalf of our local, regional and international clients.”
The 2008 winners were honored this Monday with an awards banquet at The Westin Boston Waterfront. For a full list of Bell Ringers and merit awards, go to www.PubClub.org, then click on Bellringer Awards, 2008 Winners.
Rhode Island firms received Bell Ringer Awards in the following categories.
RDW Group Inc., based in Providence with offices in Boston and Worcester
Bell Awards: 9
• Special Publication (single item) – R.I. Resource Recovery Corporation
• Graphic Identity (single item) – Roger Williams Park Zoo
• News Release: Regional (single item) – Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island
• Web site (single item) – Parque Nacional da Gorongosa
• Single Item: News Release: Regional (single item) – BCBSRI
• Marketing Communications Campaign: General (campaign division) – Boston Children’s Museum
• Organizational Identity Campaign (campaign division) – Colleges of Worcester Consortium
• Special Event: Single Campaign (campaign division) – Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence
Merit Awards: 11
• Online Magazine / Newspaper (single item) – Roger Williams Park Zoo
• Bylined Article (single item) – R.I. Consulting Engineers Corp.
• Print Feature or Commentary Placement: Trade Publication(single item) – Dryvit
• Television News Placement: Local / Regional(single item) – Old Sturbridge Village
• Press Kit (single item) – Twin River
• Web site (single item), all three merit awards – one for Roger Williams Park Zoo, plus two for BCBSRI
• Marketing Communications Campaign: General (campaign division) – Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Delaware
• Marketing Communications Campaign: General (campaign division) – Old Sturbridge Village
• Organizational Identity Campaign (campaign division) – WBUR
Duffy & Shanley Inc. of Providence
Bell Awards: 4
• Direct mail – Foster Grant, for a mailing to magazine editors
• Graphic Identity (single item) – R.I. Department of Transportation, for the “Iway” logo it developed for the Interstate 195 relocation project
• Product/Service Launch: Consumer Campaign – Dorel Juvenile Group, for the launch of the high-end Quinny stroller
• Television News Placement: Local / Regional (single item) – Gamer Graffix, for a business feature on NECN’s “New England Business Day”
Merit Awards: 2
• Feature or Commentary Placement: Campaign (single item) – Eurosocks
• New Media (single item) – Dorel Juvenile Group USA, parent of the Safety 1st, Cosco and Eddie Bauer brands
Cape Air, based in Hyannis, Mass.
Bell Awards: 1
• Print Magazine / Newsletter (single item) – Won by Cape Air on its own behalf. The regional airline for Cape Cod and the islands, Cape Air also flies to T.F. Green Airport (PVD) in Warwick and Logan Airport in Boston, as well as Indiana, southwest Florida, the Carribean and Micronesia.
In addition, a campaign for The Make-A-Wish Foundation – by Cone Inc. of Boston – took one of three Bell Ringers in the Marketing Communications Campaign: General category. Cone also took the 2008 Super Bell Award, for a community service campaign it developed for the American Heart Association, plus another four Bell Ringers and eight Merit Awards, many of them for its work with the AHA. Also, a Raytheon Co. campaign in the Special Event: Single Campaign category drew a Merit Award for Text 100.
First place overall this year went to Schwartz Communication, whose 220 employees work out of offices in Boston, London, San Francisco and Stockholm. The firm itself won 27 awards: 12 Bells and 15 Awards of Merit. They included one Bell Award for an organizational identity campaign for Shawmut Design and Construction, a Boston-based contractor with offices in Providence, New York City, Atlantic City and Las Vegas.
The firm’s founders, Steve and Paula Mae Schwartz, were honored for lifetime achievement with the 2008 John J. Malloy Crystal Bell.
The Publicity Club of New England is the region's oldest professional organization for public relations, communications, special events, and marketing professionals. For more information, go to www.pubclub.org.
