MWW Group Wins Two PRWeek Awards
MWW Group was recently honored at the 2010 PRWeek Awards ceremony for outstanding work for Emerisque Brands and IKEA. A limited amount of PRWeek trophies are awarded each year and it is one of the highest accolades in the public relations industry. Given only to the best of the best in PR, the PRWeek Award is a symbol of achievement and we’re honored the following campaigns were selected as winners.
Emerisque Brands: The War of the Whisper Campaigns- Building Momentum for an Unknown Bidder
Category: Investor/Financial Communications Campaign of the Year
When U.K. private investment firm Emerisque was looking to acquire Hartmarx, maker of men’s and women’s apparel which had recently filed for Chapter 11, it tapped MWW Group for support as it sought to win the bidding process and close the transaction.
MWW Group created a campaign to differentiate Emerisque – which wanted to turn the company around, not liquidate it - from other bidding firms and secure the company as a stalking horse in the bankruptcy process. The campaign accounted for the unique communications necessary for Hartmarx employees, lenders and creditors, the union partners in Hartmarx factories, and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
Ultimately, MWW Group drove critical regional and national media coverage, working with the media for quick turnaround on same-day coverage at important junctures in the process, and garnered third-party support among influencers of the process, community leaders and politicians among them. In the end, Emerisque was won the bid and closed the deal.
Americans Embrace Change with IKEA
Category: Promotional Event of the Year
In January 2009, IKEA wanted to elevate the status of its Washington, D.C. stores after making significant enhancements. Coincidently, these positive adjustments to the IKEA D.C. area stores came at a time of “Change” for D.C., which led to the concept of the “Embrace Change ‘09″ Campaign developed by agency partner Deutsch NY and publicized internationally by the MWW Group Consumer Lifestyle Marketing team. During the week prior to the Presidential Inauguration, IKEA kicked off its “Embrace Change ‘09″ Campaign with an “IKEA Oval Office” positioned in Washington, D.C.’s high-traffic Union Station and a mock presidential motorcade that drove through the streets of D.C., with IKEA boxes strapped to the roof and a sofa protruding from the limo trunk.
MWW Group created a dynamic PR strategy carrying the brand message beyond D.C. Within the two weeks surrounding IKEA’s physical presence in the D.C. market, MWW Group generated more than 495,500,000 media impressions from over 400 placements and more than 60 minutes of broadcast coverage in media outlets of every kind ranging from newspapers, magazines, television, key social, pop culture and design blogs, trades and even into a popular late night talk show host’s monologue. Additionally, blog posts mentioning IKEA increased by more than 300% within the duration of the campaign.
