PR Notables Gather at SABRE Awards
If we’re in a recession, it sure wasn’t apparent at last night’s SABRE awards event in New York. Held at the glamorous Cipriani across from Grand Central Station, the event had PR’s finest lining up behind red velvet ropes to get in. 360 was there, with programs nominated in three categories (one of which we won for best Media/Magazine Placement).
Our Converge™ network partners were out in force – with Carmichael Lynch Spong, rbb Public Relations and M. Booth & Associates all nominated. rbb won a Gold SABRE in the Corporate Image category for Florida Power & Light’s Storm Secure Program, and Carmichael grabbed two awards, a Gold in the Trade Show category for Sherwin-Williams Paint Stores Group and a Silver for the cleverly named “On Your Bark, Get Set, PETCO!” campaign.
As event host and veteran PR observer Paul Holmes put it, “2007 was perhaps the best year ever for the US public relations business.” Double-digit growth was “fueled in large part by a growing interest in the kind of digital content and online engagement that PR firms are uniquely well positioned to provide.”
The CEO of Taylor, which won Agency Of The Year honors, added that PR firms are no longer competing against each other, “but against the other marketing disciplines.” The theme was echoed by other speakers and award recipients throughout the night: PR is on a roll as an industry and proving its value in, and often leading, the marketing mix.
Best of all, hearing the many campaigns rattled off, you get excited about the potential for 2008 and beyond. Your wheels start turning, you make associations, and you begin thinking about new approaches. Beyond the stage lights, surround-sound announcements and crowds, you get a glimpse of industry best practices and start thinking about that next break-through campaign. See you at next year’s SABRE awards!
It sounds like you and Stacey had a good time! So glad that 360 came away with some honors.