Built to Win: Our 20-Year Awards Journey
The Herald Group’s Track Record of Industry Awards
In celebration of The Herald Group’s 20th anniversary, we look back with pride at our strong track record of success. Our firm’s ability to compete and win in the halls of government has delivered critical policy victories for our clients—and our nation.
We’re also proud that our accomplishments—and many of our team members!—have received industry recognition. In the last decade alone, The Herald Group has taken home more than 20 highly competitive industry awards.
Below, we highlight some of our most notable awards. We think our wins speak volumes about the strength of our firm. We’re a hard-working, creative firm that collaborates closely with clients to deliver winning results. We’re also a great place to work, providing team members at every stage of their career with the chance to shine.
And the Award Goes to…
PR News People of the Year. PR News Top Women in Communications. Bulldog PR Awards. ABA Stevie Awards. And more.
Over the years, The Herald Group has racked up a crowded shelf of personnel awards. Since our founding, we’ve always focused on building an exceptional bipartisan team of public affairs professionals. Our team members have earned recognition for their creativity, cutting-edge use of technology, and their plain hustle and tenaciousness. Here are a few shoutouts to recent winners:
Partner Marc Brumer has been recognized by both the Stevie Awards and Bulldog PR Awards for his strength as a communicator and PR leader. Marc stands out in the industry for crafting, leading, and winning high-profile public affairs and advocacy campaigns in multiple sectors, including healthcare and financial services.
VP Sharon Copeland was recognized as PR News’ Digital PR Disrupter for developing unique data combinations that aligned geofencing and demographics to enhance audience targeting. This approach helps our clients stand out from the noise, reaching the right audiences with the right messages at the right time.
Senior Vice President Ashley Pratte Oates was awarded Mentor of the Year by PR News for leadership that inspires her team to set a high bar and exceed it for what can be achieved in public affairs and communications.
Senior Director Cameron Smith was named a Rising Star in PR News’ Top Women of the Year Awards for her exceptional work supporting medical innovation and patient empowerment. Cameron is a cornerstone of THG’s healthcare team.
Creativity Wins the Day
The Herald Group combines a wide range of capabilities that make us a one-stop shop for integrated public affairs and advocacy campaigns. Of course, capabilities alone cannot propel a campaign to success. At The Herald Group, we’ve been recognized for our creative strategies and tactics, which help our clients stand out in a busy, noisy Beltway. Here are a few examples of The Herald Group’s award-winning creative approaches:
“Donut Touch My Awards,” a food event that captured hearts, minds, and stomachs on the Hill, won Ragan PR Daily’s Guerilla Marketing Award. The Herald Group arranged for a food truck to provide donuts and coffee to members of Congress, staff, and Hill visitors, while advancing the message, “Donut Break Small Business Hearts.” In addition to donuts and coffee, the food truck also handed out information exposing how proposed legislation would take away credit card rewards and limit access to credit. To date, our client has defeated this anti-consumer credit card proposal.
“The Ellie Challenge” campaign creatively leveraged social media to bring attention and broader media coverage to a rare disease called Leukoencephalopathy with Brain Stem and Spinal Cord Involvement and Lactate Elevation (LBSL). The campaign ran a naming contest—The Ellie Challenge—to rename the disease, with the new name selected by patient Ellie McGinn. The campaign earned coverage on The Today Show, ABC News, and other outlets. The Public Relations Society of America National Capital Chapter awarded the campaign its Pro Bono Thoth Award of Excellence for Earned Media.
An Award-Winning Team
To help our clients compete in the halls of government and the court of public opinion, The Herald Group combines exceptional strategy from our client teams with other pieces of the puzzle, including utilizing field teams for on-the-ground engagement, grasstops capabilities, engaging with influencers through our Strategic Alliances team, cutting-edge technology led by our Digital Team, and media relations experts.
Take our Digital Team, for example. More than 90% of our firm’s traditional public affairs clients have added digital components to their campaigns – a testament to Digital’s capabilities. Digital tactics alone can’t win a public affairs campaign, but at the same time, they are essential for many advocacy programs.
The Herald Group continually develops new digital approaches, leveraging cutting-edge technology—and our efforts have been recognized by the industry. Our Digital Team has won numerous AVA Digital and PR News Platinum Awards. These awards have recognized The Herald Group for:
Pushing the envelope. Every week, our Digital Team meets with vendors and partners to explore what’s new in the world of digital advocacy and consumer marketing. We look at the data for ROI and incorporate innovations that make sense into our digital toolbox.
Breadth and depth of reach. Our team knows how to precisely target audiences and reach them with the right messages through the right channels. Our campaigns have leveraged the widest range of digital media to deliver results for our clients.
Growth. Simply put, the success of our Digital Team has been recognized in the marketplace. Year over year, we’ve consistently increased our roster of clients, the number of projects, and our revenue.
In addition, our Chief Digital Strategist, Todd Van Etten, was named a Digital Leader of the Year, and our VP, Sharon Copeland, a Digital Disruptor by PR News. Our team is stacked with digital professionals who design and execute winning programs for clients across a wide range of industries.
If you want to learn more about how The Herald Group can support your policy initiatives or help turn back public affairs challenges with award-winning, creative programs, reach out and start a conversation.