Falls & Co. Wins Big at the PRSA Cleveland Rocks Awards

It was one of the agency’s best nights ever at the 2024 Cleveland Rocks Awards. Hosted by the Greater Cleveland Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the awards honor outstanding work developed by the local public relations and marketing community in Northeast Ohio. Falls & Co. was proud to be honored with the most awards of any local organization, taking home 17 prizes, including the prestigious Judge’s Choice Award – for some of the agency’s most outstanding campaigns and tactics from the past year.

Judged by peers from the Chicago chapter of PRSA, entries were scored for their strategy and creativity, but primarily for the level of results the campaigns drove for clients. From work with nonprofits and restaurants to home and building products, Falls & Co.’s skill across a wide range of industries was recognized with 5 golds – the top honor in each category; 11 silvers and Judge’s Choice, which is the award that the judges deem is the overall standout out of all entries.

Winners included:

Judge’s Choice + Gold:
Swensons Drive-In Is Off and Running with Brand Refresh

• Category: Brand and Reputation Management Campaign
• Summary: Swensons, the renowned Akron-based drive-in, favored by LeBron James and the Kelce brothers, kicked off 2024 with the return of original menu items and a new brand positioning developed by Falls & Co. The new brand positioning centered around its beloved Curb Servers™, bringing to life the spirit of its 90-year legacy with a new tagline — “We Bring It” — and a refreshed logo and creative that significantly drove media and social impressions as well as helped boost sales.

Gold:
The Menopause Society 2023 National Media Relations Program –and- Event Promotion

• Categories: National Media Relations Campaign – and – Events (Healthcare)
• Summary: With a record number of women entering menopause, The Menopause Society relies on media relations to educate and empower women on making smarter healthcare decisions. Thanks to billions of media impressions secured by Falls & Co. in 2023, the organization has effectively moved menopause out of the closet and into the spotlight, making it a mainstream conversation.  Falls & Co. won an additional gold award for its work to support the Society’s Annual Meeting, being recognized for attracting a record number of participants and media impressions.

Gold:
Kaulig Companies Championship: Teeing Up Success to Give Back to Northeast Ohio  

• Category: Events (Nonprofit)
• Summary: FORE! Falls & Co. partnered with the PGA Tour for the Kaulig Companies Championship (KCC) to elevate awareness of the tournament’s charitable mission through local media. As a longtime partner of the tournament, Falls & Co. is challenged each year to bring fresh ideas to the table and continue to deliver results – and the agency exceeded expectations once again in 2023. Not only did the number of placements exceed our goal, but the quality was better than ever, including national coverage as well as various placements in key local outlets, with attendance at the event up compared to last year.   This event also won a silver award in the entertainment and sports events category.

Silver:
Erie Insurance 2024 Distracted Driving Campaign

• Category: Consumer Product or Service Campaign
• Summary: Falls & Co. conducted a survey with Harris Poll on behalf of Erie Insurance to learn more about Americans and their driving habits with their furry friends. Falls & Co. used this survey data to create the insurer’s annual distracted driving campaign, educating drivers on the dangers of being distracted by unrestrained dogs in the car and tips for making dogs less distracting while on the road. The campaign was a huge success, garnering more than twice as many media impressions as expected and hundreds of placements across online, radio and print.  

Silver:
Team NEO Campaign for the Northeast Ohio Region, Where Businesses and Individuals Thrive

• Category: Public Affairs and Government Integrated Communication Campaign
• Summary: Falls & Co. led strategic efforts on behalf of regional economic development powerhouse Team NEO to develop and implement a new brand to promote the Northeast Ohio Region. Equipped with significant insights from research and stakeholder interviews, Falls & Co. created differentiated brand positioning, core messaging, website copy, and ad copy targeting business decision makers. We helped Team NEO rally partner organizations to amplify regional promotion. Efforts generated a double-digit increase in web traffic to northeastohioregion.com, helped Team NEO drive millions of targeted ad impressions, and garnered interest from multiple business leaders considering expansion.

Silver:
Diversified Fall Protection Media Relations Campaign

• Category: Trade Media Relations Campaign
• Summary: Falls & Co. reimagined a media campaign for fall protection services client Diversified Fall Protection (DFP) that significantly increased visibility for the company through thought leadership, information-based articles and earned media coverage.  Falls & Co. won an additional silver award for DFP in the webinar category for helping generate high-quality sales leads and enhanced opportunities for the company by targeting strategic audiences through effective webinar-based training.