Gable Group Launches Optical Tech Account At Atlanta Convention
The three-ring binder industry might never forgive the local chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.
This year, PRSA is changing some of the entry guidelines for its annual Edward L. Bernays Mark of Excellence Awards.
Rather than requiring that all entries be put into a binder with detailed research and analysis, the local chapter has decided to have another category with a lot less preparation.
According to Ken David, a board member of the local PRSA chapter, this year’s contest is organized to resemble the national PRSA awards, which are done in silver and bronze categories.
Silver remains the more complex, three-binder entry that looks at complete PR programs, but bronze is a two-page entry with a much simpler explanation. The bronze awards will recognize individual items or components of a PR program or campaign.
With the way the categories are now formatted, it can be a “dry run” for members who want to enter the national awards, said David, who is an account executive at Downtown-based marketing firm matthews/mark.
The idea came up when David and the other members of his PRSA “reputation management committee” , which oversees entries and judging for the contest , were looking for ways to rework the categories.
David’s fellow committee members were Shannon Reed of Sorrento Valley-based firm McQuertergroup and Rene Quaresma of the county of San Diego’s PR department.
The deadline for the awards was Aug. 10, but late entries will be accepted until Aug. 17 at 5 p.m. with an additional $25 fee, David said. The banquet is planned for Oct. 3 at the Bahia Hotel in Mission Bay.
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Signings:
San Diego firm The Gable Group recently signed a deal to handle marketing for locally based optical technology company All Optical Networks, Inc.
The new contract began with a launch program for All Optical at SuperComm 2001, a computer technology convention, in Atlanta. No terms of the contract were disclosed.
The Starmack Group in La Mesa will be handling branding for four resorts in South Florida. The resorts, which will be marketed as upscale properties, are managed by Noble House Hotels and Resorts, which also owns Mission Bay hotel Paradise Point Resort. Locally based Nuffer, Smith, Tucker, Inc. will be handling public relations for the 3rd Annual Viva El Mariachi Festival, which is being organized by the San Diego County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
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Marisa Vallbona is handling local PR for XM Satellite Radio, which is being launched in San Diego next month. Vallbona has brought in fellow practitioners Betsie Brown and Julie Smith Taylor to help out on the project.
Sound Bites: Registration is up for the 3-year-old marketing and media specialist program at SDSU’s College of Extended Studies. According to one of the school’s marketers, the program had 32 students sign up in the 1999 fall semester, and 53 students for the upcoming semester.
Arthur Hill, president of locally based Press Plus, Inc., won the “Ben Franklin” award for service at the Printing Industries Association of San Diego’s recent annual banquet. The local chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists recently elected a new board of officers. SDSPJ’s new president is Erin Massey, Escondido city hall reporter for the North County Times. The other officers are: vice president Crystal Nielsen, a former journalist and current journalism graduate student at SDSU; secretary Kate Callen, features editor for The T Sector; and treasurer Scott Horsley, a KPBS reporter currently on assignment for National Public Radio.
The deadline for the next Media & Marketing column is Aug. 16. Rodrigues can be reached at (858) 277-6359, Ext. 107, or via e-mail at trodrigues@sdbj.com.
