Duffy & Shanley Recognized as Finalist in PRWeek Awards

Duffy & Shanley Recognized as Finalist in PRWeek Awards’ Community Relations Campaign of the Year Category

PROVIDENCE, RI (Jan. 4, 2010) – Duffy & Shanley, Inc., a strategic marketing communications firm, announced today that it has been named a finalist in the 2010 PRWeek Awards’ Community Relations Campaign of the Year category. The PRWeek Awards are the highest accolade in the public relations industry, with only 33 prizes awarded annually to the industry’s best campaigns and PR teams.

PRWeek recognized Duffy & Shanley’s innovative community-relations campaign, “Sagus International: Transforming South Carolina Education for the 21st Century.” Sagus International, a leading furniture-supply company based in Chicago, hired Duffy & Shanley in March 2009 to manage the company’s public relations, with a particular focus on boosting Sagus’s market visibility and positioning the company and its CEO, Darryl Rosser, as leaders in the national effort to improve students’ learning environments.

Duffy & Shanley partnered with Sagus to conceive of the company’s makeover of Dillon, South Carolina’s J.V. Martin Junior High School, providing strategic counsel and guiding the company’s messaging for this tremendous philanthropic effort. Duffy & Shanley determined that Sagus’s generosity and leadership would accelerate long-delayed proposals to rebuild J.V. Martin – a national poster child for America’s failing schools – while also highlighting the importance of building schools nationwide that truly meet the needs of today’s learners. In the end, Sagus’s donation of $250,000 worth of furniture completely transformed the rundown school.

Duffy & Shanley’s media-relations effort earned its client coverage in Time and People magazines, on ABC’s 20/20, and on CNN and MSNBC. The Associated Press story on Sagus’s donation was published in nearly every major U.S. metropolitan newspaper. Duffy & Shanley has also positioned Sagus as a leader in building model 21st century schools.

“We’re thrilled to be recognized for our efforts to advance the cause of 21st century education in South Carolina and to garner this issue the publicity it deserves,” said Duffy & Shanley Vice President of Public Relations Annette Maggiacomo. “We also see this as a tribute to the ongoing work of Sagus and its partners to build a new J.V. Martin that can serve as a model for schools across the nation.”
 
The PRWeek Awards will be awarded March 11 in New York City. Leading the campaign was Duffy & Shanley VP Annette Maggiacomo and Senior Account Executive Meaghan Wims, with support from Account Coordinator Emily Hollenbeck.

About Duffy & Shanley
Based in Providence, RI, Duffy & Shanley is one of the largest independently-owned communication firms in New England. A fully-integrated, creative-led company, D&S is focused on developing and protecting emerging brands. Visit duffyshanley.com, twitter.com/DuffyAndShanley or facebook.com/DuffyShanley for more information.