Bromley/MS&L Scores Triple In 2001 PR Week Awards.

One thousand of the year’s best and most successful public relations programs recently vied for national honors in the 2001 PR Week Awards. San Antonio-based Bromley/MS&L scored goals with three category semi-finalist entries, the only Hispanic marketing company to be bestowed multiple nominations.

Bromley/MS&L was recognized for its client work with both Western Union and Boy Scouts of America in the categories of Multicultural Marketing Campaign and Non-Profit Campaign of the Year. The winners of the competition will be announced at the PR Week Awards ceremony in New York City on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2001.

The Western Union campaign, nominated for Multicultural Marketing Campaign of the Year, helped establish a global community relations initiative to empower Western Union consumers to make positive changes in their lives. Through community partnerships, outreach materials, workshops and special events, the Bromley/MS&L program provided resources to Central Americans in the U.S. in important areas such as health, money, schools, immigration, job opportunities and workers’ rights.

The Boy Scouts of America campaign, entitled ¡Scouting! Vale la Pena, was nominated for two categories, Multicultural Marketing and Non-Profit Campaign of the Year. Bromley/MS&L succeeded in designing a synchronized public relations and advertising outreach campaign to boost awareness of Scouting and the values of Scouting among Hispanic youth, parents and community leaders in South Texas.

The PR Week awards program annually honors the industry’s best public relations efforts based on effective research, objectives, planning and final results.

Western Union’s Eugenio Nigro, marketing director for Latin America and the Caribbean, says the Western Union Helping Hands program was developed to help bring to life its Spanish tagline, “Western Union es Confianza” (Western Union is Trust). “Helping Hands helps people to help themselves,” says Nigro. “To date, our program has assisted not only thousands of newly-arrived immigrants to the U.S., but also to 7,200 people a day in Nicaragua and 2,500 a year in El Salvador.”

“The development of the ¡Scouting! Vale la Pena campaign was strategically planned and executed,” says Phil Bevins, director of external communications for Boy Scouts of America. “Our pre- and post-survey results proved that utilizing public relations for this grassroots effort helped significantly meet and exceed our goal in increasing awareness and membership among Hispanics.”