Teamwork Earns MarketingMel Top Awards at Tri-Cities P.R.S.A.

MarketingMel celebrating ten years of Tri-Cities TN/VA P.R.S.A. with other co-founders Bob Feagins and Dr. John King.

Working in public relations is like baseball. There is no way you can achieve a win completely on your own. Rather, it takes a group of creative people and approving clients to make it happen. I have several people to thank for their roles in helping MarketingMel capture six awards at this year’s Tri-Cities TN/VA chapter of the Public Relations Society of America awards banquet in Kingsport last week.

Throughout my career I have loved creating and starting things. It was truly an honor to be recognized for being a part of the founding board of the Tri-Cities TN/VA  P.R.S.A. Together, I served with Bob Feagins, our first president, Dr. John King and Jon Lundberg (who missed the meeting because he is serving in the legislature in Nashville.)  We were honored with a cupcake surprise and a round of “Happy Birthday.” MarketingMel, in business just over three years, captured six awards at the Tri-Cities TN/VA Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America’s annual awards dinner that was held April 17 in Kingsport.  The firm won two “Awards of Excellence,” the highest award given, for Collateral Specialty Item/ Financial Legal Solutions Logo developed for Blackburn, Childers & Steagall and Audio/Visual Productions for “MarketingMel’s Top 10 Tips to Feel Comfortable on camera.”

MarketingMel took top prizes for a logo and video

I teamed with designer Theresa Bellamy to create the logo for client B.C.S., that had to tie five separate companies together under one distinct brand. “The logo had to be non-specific and had to work with any of the five companies as a whole or any combination of the five,” said BCS Marketing Director Kendra Hopson.  “The MarketingMel team also worked well with a large group of business partners with distinct opinions. Each of them wanted something different, and, in the end, it was a unanimous decision.”

The second “Award of Excellence” was for a video, that I created along with Kyle Long of Digital-Fridge. I saw the increase in people using the medium of video on the web and, with my background in television news, decided to create “Top Ten Tips to Feel Comfortable on Camera.” The video, originally created as a guest vlog for Maria Peagler of Social Media Online Classes, was picked up by major P.R. services including PR Daily and has now been seen by thousands of viewers across the world.

Our team took two “Awards of Quality” for Wolfe Development’s Website (developer Jeffery Moore) and for feature writing for a Business Journal article on CapTeeVation’s owner Joy Humphreys. The company also received two “Awards of Merit” for the MarketingMel brochure (designed by Monique Carr) and the MarketingMel e-newsletter.

In the student print category, MarketingMel’s former intern Sarah Rowan, recently hired by the Johnson City Chamber of Commerce, captured three awards for her writing about community activities. Sarah won the student “Award of Excellence” for her news release concerning the Johnson City Public Library board of directors, of which I am a member. Sarah received the Award of Quality for her work with the Johnson City Up and At ‘Em Turkey Trot 5K that MarketingMel helped sponsor. Sarah also received the Award of Merit for a news release about MarketingMel’s attendance at the Inbound Marketing Summit. Congratulations and thanks to all!