Susan Davis International
Company: Susan Davis International, Washington, D.C. USA
Company Description: Susan Davis International (SDI) is a full-service, woman owned/operated boutique public affairs/strategic communications firm with a 25-year history of producing award-winning campaigns and events. SDI, with more than 68 agency partners worldwide, services clients including multinationals, the U.S. and foreign governments, federal agencies, non-profit organizations, NGOs, and trade associations.
Nomination Category: Media & Marketing Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Communications Campaign of the Year - Non-Profit
Nomination Title: Congressional Gold Medal Award to World War II WASP
Describe for the judges the objectives, activities, and results of the nominated communications campaign (up to 500 words):
The heroic unsung Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) from World War II were
finally honored with the Congressional Gold Medal in a March 10, 2010 U.S.
Capitol ceremony. The WASP, 1,102 trailblazing civilian female pilots, were the
first women to fly military aircraft. They were not granted military status
until 1977, and today fewer than 300 survive. Susan Davis International (SDI)
worked on behalf of the Women In Military Service for America Memorial
Foundation to tell the story of their service and honor, gaining widespread
international, national, and local media attention with a combined national and
grassroots media strategy.
To increase awareness of the WASP, SDI designed a media campaign to communicate
the unique stories of each WASP as well as the broader story of their collective
service. To create additional opportunities for the WASP and media to interact,
SDI recommended, developed, executed, and managed two events including a Wreath
Laying and Remembrance Ceremony and Military Salute Reception on March 9. SDI
researched and leveraged personal WASP stories to build a comprehensive media
strategy for earned coverage in advance and during celebratory activities.
SDI’s initial press release announced events the Foundation would host to honor
the WASP. Preview articles were secured in national and regional outlets
including U.S. News & World Report and the Los Angeles Times. In advance of the
ceremony, SDI developed state-specific press releases for the ten states with
the highest number of surviving WASP and strategically distributed to print,
online, and broadcast media.
The sole connecting resource between the WASP and the media, SDI managed and
coordinated hundreds of phone and in-person interviews in hometowns and
Washington, D.C. SDI also pitched and secured media interviews for Brigadier
General Wilma Vaught, president of the Women in Military Service For America
Foundation and modern day aviator Lt. Col. Nicole Malachowski, who both
contributed to the WASP story. During celebratory events, the firm worked
closely with WASP and their military escorts to fulfill media requests.
Immediately following the Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony, SDI worked with NBC
and ABC pool cameras to facilitate on-camera interviews per requests from
affiliates across the country, which we had generated through hometown outreach.
SDI also matched specific WASP with print journalists. We had interested ABC
World News in following WASP Bernice “Bea” Haydu on her journey to Washington
and connected the ABC pool camera with her for a conclusion to the story.
SDI’s strategy produced more than 925 print articles, 1,200 online articles, and
68 stories on national radio and television. Local radio and television
affiliates aired more than 1,170 stories across the nation. More than half of
earned media coverage told the individual stories of the WASP, with 174 of those
stories on front pages from Alaska to Maine.
SDI’s efforts produced more than 200 million media impressions, including a CNN
live interview in the Capitol Visitors Center the morning of the ceremony. The
WASP story was told on PBS News Hour, CBS Evening News, CNN, NBC Nightly News,
ABC’s World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer, and NPR, and earned front-page
coverage in the Washington Post, Contra Costa Times, South Florida Sun-Sentinel,
Anchorage Daily News, Denver Post, and more. The WASP story resonated in more
than 180 markets across the nation, ensuring Women Airforce Service Pilots of
World War II their long-delayed, much deserved recognition.
List the URLs (web addresses) of any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that you would like the judges to see that support your entry. IMPORTANT: List each URL on a separate line, begin each URL with http://, and enclose each URL in square brackets. For example, [http://www.yourcompany.com/pressrelease.html]:
http://rcpt.yousendit.com/938540341/0d1df9832ec8d1ce27148d18ce37a0b2
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6283373n&tag=mncol;lst;5
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2010/03/1/intv.seymour.pilot.wasp.cnn?iref=allsearch
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/10/women.pilots/index.html?hpt=C2
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/women-wwii-pilots-finally-due-10067836
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/video/blog/2010/03/post_12.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#35805740
Provide a brief biography of the person or persons who lead the team that created and carried out the nominated communications campaign (up to 100 words):
Susan A. Davis, Chairman and Founder of Susan Davis International, is an expert
in strategic communications. For more than two decades, she has created and
managed innovative, award-winning media and public affairs campaigns for
domestic and international industry leaders, governments in the U.S. and abroad,
non-profits, and NGOs. Ms. Davis is widely known for her expertise in strategic
positioning, alliance and relationship-building, government relations and crisis
communications. During her career, she has provided counsel to government and
industry leaders throughout the United States, Europe and Central America, and
continues to counsel key public figures worldwide.