Company: Relevance International
Company Description: Relevance International is a certified woman-owned premier public relations, brand-building, and digital agency offering a 360-degree approach to globally strategic results. The agency operates from three offices in New York, London, and Los Angeles. Known for international campaigns, the agency’s active network of affiliates operate on every continent to take clien
Nomination Category: Communications & Marketing Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Public Affairs
 Nomination Title: Affirmation Tower
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes, explaining the nominated campaign or program - its genesis,development, planning, commission, and performance to date - OR written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video. If you are submitting written answers to the questions, provide them in the appropriate spaces below:
- Specify the date on which this campaign or program was launched:
November 2021
- Describe the genesis of the nominated campaign or program: the reasons it was initiated, the challenges it was created to address, the problems it was developed to solve, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 245 words used.
In March 2021 the Cuomo Administration issued a request for proposal (RFP) for Site K, one of the last remaining government-owned sites in New York City. Site K sat vacant for decades directly across from the single largest convention center in New York City, the Javits Center, representing a massive loss of tax revenue and economic opportunity for the city of New York. Amongst a multi-year pandemic and ongoing social justice upset, NYC needed thoughtful development to drive economic recovery, particularly for women and minorities who were hardest hit by COVID-19. Enter Affirmation Tower – a proposed beacon of hope and inclusion designed to change the NYC skyline for the better, from the ground up.
Developed by The Peebles Corporation, Witkoff Group, Exact Capital, and McKissack and McKissack, the project enacted Affirmative Development, a term coined by Don Peebles, to increase diversity, empowerment and inclusion through real estate and development opportunities. If approved, Affirmation Tower would become a new civic landmark as the new headquarters of the NAACP, the second-tallest building in NYC, the first-ever major skyscraper developed by a majority Black and women-owned development team, and the only major skyscraper in the city’s history designed by a Black architect. Relevance International became the project’s agency of record in November 2021 to generate widespread awareness and support from communities and consumers. As of July 2022, NYC and the world have been touched by Affirmation Tower’s inspirational vision for a more inclusive future, socially and economically.
- Outline the activities and concrete results of this campaign or program since the beginning of July 2020. Even if your initiative started before July 2020, limit your response to activities and results since the beginning of July 2020 only (up to 250 words):
Total 229 words used.
In only nine months, the project accumulated 135+ press placements across 10 countries, reaching over 2.940 billion unique impressions across print, digital, and broadcast media. After an analysis of all print articles secured on the project, more than 53% spoke positively about Affirmation Tower, while 42% were neutral and only 5% were negative.
In January 2022, after just six weeks of the PR + digital campaign, research conducted by Schoen Cooperman Research revealed that due to Relevance International’s PR efforts one-in-four New Yorkers became familiar with the project and over 75% of them supported it. Additional research found that positive messaging on the project was highly effective at generating support and respondents found messaging on the positive economic impact the most appealing of all (Schoen Cooperman, 2022).
Even with the pause on Affirmation Tower’s RFP in December 2021, the development has seen a steep increase in social following & engagement. In the last 9 months, Affirmation Tower’s social media handles have experienced strong growth with their Instagram account seeing a sharp rise in followers, especially throughout the month of July 2022, which led to a 356%+ increase in followers and a monthly reach of over 1,556 new users with a steady increase of interest week-to-week. The Facebook page for the project has also seen continued growth with a 57%+ rate of reach to conversion to prospective followers.
- Describe the development of the campaign or program: the planning process, the goal setting, the creative and media development, the scheduling, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 251 words used. If the word count is more than 25 words over the limit, please deduct one (1) point from your score.
Relevance International set out to accomplish the following:
- Enact a joint public relations and social media campaign with coinciding messaging.
- Attain widespread awareness and positive sentiment with key audiences locally, nationally and internationally.
- Drive name recognition for Affirmation Tower through press coverage, event coordination and harmonious social media and website presence.
- Educate the public on the lack of representation and need for developer-led economic opportunity for women and minorities in the most diverse city in the country.
- Continuously shine a spotlight on the project’s key players to illustrate the project’s forward-thinking nature, economic benefits and groundbreaking inclusionary approach.
- Target multiple sectors of the press with strategic outreach including: business, hospitality, real estate, government, minority and women audiences.
Strategic angles tailored to specific press and consumer audiences included:
- Diversity in hotel development is long overdue (targets: hospitality & business)
- Changing the NYC skyline for the better (targets: design & lifestyle)
- Why economic inclusion is essential for NYC (targets: broadcast, business & political)
- National Women’s Month and Martin Luther King Jr. Day thought leadership (targets: broadcast, real estate, business)
Starting in November 2021, Relevance pitched all planned angles across all target sectors. On December 21, 2021, less than three months into the campaign, the Hochul administration issued an official pause of the RFP review process. Without an upcoming approval date, the strategy shifted to creatively build press and social media momentum. Relevance highlighted thought leaders from the development team and key third-party supporters to increase credibility, steering new cultural, social, and political conversation.
- Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 49 words used.
Affirmation Tower – Top Press: The attached document showcases nearly all the press placements that Relevance International earned during the tenure of the campaign. It provides the outlet, headline, universal viewing metric for each publication and the link to the story.
Please view the attachment of the press tracker.
| Attachments/Videos/Links: |
|---|
|
