Stevie Awards

Search our sites

Search past winners/finalists

Learn about the other Stevie Awards Competitions
  1. Home
  2. Euro RSCG Worldwide PR - Sarah Yansura
Arrow

  • MESA logo

Euro RSCG Worldwide PR - Sarah Yansura

2011 SAWIB WinnerCompany: Euro RSCG Worldwide PR
Company Description: Euro RSCG Worldwide PR is the PR arm of Euro RSCG Worldwide. Its practice areas include B2B, consumer, corp comms, health care, SoMe and tech. ERWW PR is digital at the core and is a longtime leader in cause marketing and corporate social responsibility. The North American division is the second largest in the Euro RSCG Worldwide PR network after France and has a presence across the U.S.
Nomination Category: Individual Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Employee of the Year

Nomination Title: Sarah Yansura

Describe for the judges the activities and accomplishments of the nominated employee during the eligibility period (up to 500 words):

Sarah Yansura, an account supervisor at Euro RSCG Worldwide PR, is a hard worker who often finds herself chatting about innovative PR campaigns with girlfriends rather than the latest Gaga single, and who believes trust and teamwork are two components that drive success.

Shortly after arriving at ERWW PR, Sarah got noticed by her peers because of her dedication and professional attitude. Splitting her time between the Sears and Kmart accounts, Sarah has focused her efforts on leading the retailers’ cause- marketing programs for St. Jude, March of Dimes and Heroes at Home. She helped organize an award-winning blogger event in New Orleans in August 2010 called “Fifty for Five,” for which Sears invited bloggers to help rebuild homes damaged in Hurricane Katrina (and report on doing so).

Plus, this spring, she worked with singer Josh Gracin to create a song based on a military widow’s touching story, to raise donations for military families. The song is popular online—with more than 11,000 YouTube hits in one month, and counting— and has raised more than $3 million.

Most recently, Sarah volunteered time beyond her ongoing client accounts to lead the media relations for a pro bono project to support The French Will Never Forget.  The grassroots organization plans to construct a Twin Towers replica next to the Eiffel Tower to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The tribute is meant to strengthen the Franco-American friendship and send a message of sympathy to Americans. The team, led by Sarah, drafted press materials, conducted outreach to U.S. and European press, and increased the group’s social media presence significantly. Sarah also collaborated with ERWW PR’s French office to conduct media relations abroad and host a media event in Paris before the Towers are revealed. Thus far, coverage is slated to include The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time, Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, ABC News, Fox News and “60 Minutes.”

Leveraging her passion and talent, Sarah was appointed to the agency’s media relations committee. Her clients call her “the ‘Today’ show girl” and have gone as far as calling her a “superstar.” As a result of her aggressive and strategic media skills, Sarah has earned placements on—you guessed it—“Today,” plus “Good Morning America,” “Fox & Friends,” CNN, “Rachael Ray,” USA Today, Chicago Tribune, Redbook, Cosmopolitan and Forbes.com, among many others.

“One word best describes Sarah: Extraordinary,” says Ana Nennig, executive vice president and global brand director. “Her impeccable work for clients, seamless interaction and leadership with peers, and leadership in the agency are unparalleled and make her one of the most unique PR executives in the industry. Sarah is a rising star here and destined to become one of the strongest practitioners in the communications field.”

Sarah was raised in a home where her mother started Wordsmith Communications, her one-woman public relations show. From listening to pitches at the dinner table and stuffing press kits to measuring (literally, with a ruler) ad values, Sarah was born a PR professional.

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]:

Among Sarah’s top placements that are available online:
http://bit.ly/r3dYRT
http://tgr.ph/mXcFxF
http://bit.ly/pkjtoQ

And just a sampling of her press releases:
http://prn.to/j8kK66
http://prn.to/iw92A9
http://prn.to/aDHlFy


Provide a brief biography of the nominated employee (up to 100 words):

Sarah is an account supervisor on the Sears and Kmart accounts, for which she has worked on a dozen programs, most notably leading media relations for the $300 million government-funded “Cash for Appliances” program for Sears, which garnered more than 610 million media impressions. Sarah previously worked at Ogilvy in its Consumer Marketing group, where clients included T.J.Maxx, Marshalls, LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, Ford and Lipton. She launched her PR career as an intern at Ketchum in the New York office. Sarah, who graduated from the University of Florida, is currently a member of the PRSA New York Chapter.