Adams & Knight, Inc. was honored with ten Mercury Awards at the Southern Connecticut Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA) 2011 Mercury Award Ceremony, which was held June 23 in North Haven, Conn.

“We’re thrilled to be recognized in so many different categories — everything from interactive and social media to media relations and crisis communications,” said Gary Griffin, director of public relations for Adams & Knight. “More and more clients truly understand the value of an integrated communications program.”

Adams & Knight received Gold Mercury Awards for its integrated campaign for CHET (Connecticut’s 529 program), its special events management for the CHET Dream Big! Award Ceremony and its marketing campaign for Hartford Stage’s Antony & Cleopatra.

The agency was presented with another seven Silver Mercury Awards for a wide array of programs and clients, including media relations for the Sun & Ski Sports’ Bike Samaritan Program, a customizable brochure for Symmetry Partners, a webinar for the Council for Disability Awareness (CDA), a by-lined article for Sun Life Financial’s Employee Benefits division, research/promotion of the CDA’s consumer attitudes survey, crisis communications for Shiloh Church and a social media campaign for Hartford Stage’s Antony & Cleopatra.

About the Southern Connecticut Chapter of the PRSA

The Southern Connecticut Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America was formed to advance the public relations profession and the PR professional. The chapter represents a diverse group of mid- to senior-level professionals who are committed to enhancing the practice of public relations in Southern Connecticut. Professionals in the chapter represent advertising agencies, independent consultants, business and industry, government, hospitals and healthcare organizations, professional associations, and education and nonprofit organizations. http://www.prsact.org

Adams & Knight, Inc. was honored with two Gold Bell Awards during the 42nd Annual Publicity Club of New England Ceremony. The 2011 Bell Ringer Awards Ceremony, which recognizes and honors excellence and achievement in the communications and public relations profession, was held at The Westin Waltham Boston on June 7.

“We strive to deliver effective, results-focused public relation strategies for all of our clients,” said Gary Griffin, director of public relations for Adams & Knight. “It’s an honor to have our efforts recognized by such an established organization.”

The two Gold Bell awards were presented for the agency’s crisis communications campaign for  Shiloh Christian Church and for its local television news placement for Sun & Ski Sports. The agency also received a Merit award for its response to breaking news for KBE Building Corporation.

About the Publicity Club of New England

Founded in 1949, The Publicity Club of New England is the region’s oldest not-for-profit public relations trade organization. The Publicity Club strives to promote and encourage involvement in the communications industry and specifically the professions of public relations, promotions and marketing. Additional information can be found on the Club’s website at www.pubclub.org.

Adams & Knight, Inc. was honored with three Best of Industry Awards at the 57th Annual Advertising Club of Connecticut Awards Show, held May 10 at the Crowne Plaza in Cromwell, Connecticut. The prestigious awards were presented to the agency for its work with Hartford Hospital, NewAlliance Bank and Mystic Seaport in the categories of healthcare, financial and retail marketing. The agency was honored with a total of 24 awards.

“It’s an honor to be acknowledged by the Advertising Club of Connecticut,” said Jill Adams, principal of Adams & Knight. “We’re proud of the results that we generate for our clients and to be recognized for our creative work in the agency’s specialty areas of healthcare, financial and non-profit services.”

More than 70 awards were given out over 47 categories. Adams & Knight’s award-winning work spanned a wide range of advertising categories, including consumer outdoor signage and transit, consumer posters, consumer interactive, B2B magazine, radio, public service, television, and public service posters and logo design.

Adams & Knight was also recognized for its work for Seven J’s Farm, Diversified, Masonicare, Bike Walk CT and Canton Raptor Care.

About the Advertising Club of Connecticut
The Advertising Club of Connecticut, founded in 1913, is the largest professional association in the state, serving advertising and marketing professionals. More than 500 members belong to the Advertising Club of Connecticut. For more information, visit www.adclubct.org.

Adams & Knight, Inc. was recognized by the Connecticut Chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA) with top accolades for nine of the eleven 2011 Mark of Excellence Awards. The Mark of Excellence Awards are judged by a panel of AMA marketing professionals from across the country and are evaluated based on overall campaign strategy, creative and results.

The Avon-based integrated marketing communications agency was awarded top honors in six categories: Business to Business Campaign, Consumer Marketing Campaign, Event Marketing Campaign, Marketing Research Project, Not for Profit Marketing Campaign and Public Relations Campaign.

“We’re proud of the number of awards that we received on behalf of so many clients and across so many disciplines,” said Jill Adams, president of Adams & Knight. “Most importantly, we’re honored that the American Marketing Association recognized our continued focus on delivering measurable results.”

The AMA panel presented awards for NewAlliance Bank, Sun Life Employee Benefits Group, SPARTA Insurance, Mystic Seaport, the Connecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET) Dream Big! Competition Awards Ceremony, the Council for Disability Awareness (CDA), Hartford Stage’s “Anthony & Cleopatra” Campaign and Shiloh Church.

“The campaigns submitted this year returned impressive results, making the judges’ job harder,” said Aimee Furness, AMA-CT President. “The final scores were very high, setting new benchmarks and, we believe, representative of the great marketing produced by our local marketers.”

The Avon-based integrated communications firm also won 12 Mark of Excellence (MOE) awards across a wide array of marketing disciplines — integrated marketing campaigns, public relations, research, Web site development, special event promotion, television and radio advertising.

The Dreyfus, Ashby Web site was the only entry to earn a perfect 50 out of 50 score from the panel of nationwide judges based on the site’s strategy, execution and results. The user-friendly Web site enables different types of users to “tour” Dreyfus, Ashby’s wine cellars however they prefer. Not only does the Web site create a distinctive brand image for this importer of wine from the world’s most prestigious wine families, it’s increased unique visitor traffic by 60 percent and increased contact requests ten fold.

“We are pleased that the American Marketing Association has recognized Adams & Knight as Marketer of the Year five out of the last six years,” said Jill Adams, president of Adams & Knight. “More importantly, we’re thrilled that we have been able to deliver measurable results across all media and across all types of clients.”

The Advertising Club of Connecticut awarded Adams & Knight five Gold Awards, the most of any agency, at their 55th Annual Awards Show, held May 20th at the Aqua Turf in Plantsville, Connecticut. Adams & Knight also earned eight silver and nine bronze awards, receiving the most awards of the evening. More than 80 awards were given over 50 categories.

“We are honored this year, as we are each year, to be acknowledged by our industry peers for work we do that reaches across many industries, including healthcare, non-profit, and financial services,” said Jill Adams, principal of Adams & Knight. “Our agency is proud of the highly creative work we produce that stands out from the crowd and generates results for our clients.”

Adams & Knight’s award-winning work spanned a wide range of advertising categories, including consumer interactive, consumer posters, public service, television, promotional marketing, and collateral.

About the Advertising Club of Connecticut
The Advertising Club of Connecticut, founded in 1913, is the largest professional association in the state serving advertising and marketing professionals. More than 500 members belong to the Advertising Club of Connecticut. For more information, visit www.adclubct.org.

Agency’s Results Recognized During 40th Annual Bell Ringer Awards Ceremony

Adams & Knight was awarded two Bell Awards and three Merit Awards by the Publicity Club of New England, the region’s oldest not-for-profit public relations trade organization, during its 40th Annual Bell Ringer Awards ceremony. More than 50 agencies, companies, and organizations from across New England were honored during the ceremony, held June 1, 2009 at the Boston Westin Waterfront.

“The Bell Ringer Awards recognize results, and Adams & Knight is dedicated to developing compelling public relations campaigns that generate the results our clients need to reach their business goals,” said Bill Knight, Principal of Adams & Knight. “We are honored to be recognized as one of the most effective public relations firms in the region.”

Two Bell Awards were presented to Adams & Knight, the first for a crisis communications campaign created for KBE Building Corp. and a second for an integrated public relations campaign developed for Girl Scouts of Connecticut.

Adams & Knight received a Merit Award for the “Keep Our Hearts in the Right Place” campaign developed for the Heart Center of Greater Waterbury, and two additional Merits for a KBE Building Corp. Corporate Social Responsibility Report, and the business-to-business event “Winning the Retirement Income Challenge,” designed for Jefferson National Insurance.

About the Publicity Club of New England
Founded in 1949, The Publicity Club of New England is the region’s oldest not-for-profit public relations trade organization. The Publicity Club strives to promote and encourage involvement in the communications industry and specifically, the professions of public relations, promotions and marketing. Additional information can be found on the Club’s Website at www.pubclub.org.

“We’re honored to be recognized by NESHCo for two very distinct and compelling healthcare communications programs,” said Jill Adams, President of Adams & Knight. “Each campaign uniquely demonstrates our approach of using emotion to inspire action, and it’s gratifying to see our results earning recognition.”

A heartfelt public relations campaign developed to keep the Heart Center of Greater Waterbury, Connecticut from closing received a Gold Lamplighter award in the Public Relations category. Adams & Knight leveraged the power of the media—and the community—to mobilize both residents and state officials to support the Heart Center, which successfully avoided closure and achieved “permanent status” from the state.

Winning the Mark of Excellence award in the Total Advertising Campaign category was a campaign created for Hartford Hospital to restore public confidence after the hospital was placed on probation. By refocusing people’s attention on the hospital’s exceptionally qualified physicians, Adams & Knight’s “The Most Important Decision of Your Life” campaign was able to increase physician referrals by 57 percent, Web traffic by 38 percent, and inpatient admissions by 26 percent.

NESHCo is New England’s premier professional society for healthcare communications, public relations, marketing, advertising and public affairs. The Lamplighter Awards recognize excellence in healthcare communications. Each year, winners are presented in a wide variety of categories, including media relations, crisis communications, photography and design. Entries are judged by communications professionals from outside the region in order to ensure objectivity.

Adams & Knight also won a record number of 15 other awards in a wide array of categories.

“We’re pleased to be recognized by the American Marketing Association for work on behalf of so many different healthcare, financial, industrial, government, and nonprofit clients,” said Jill Adams, President of Adams & Knight. “We’re particularly pleased to win for such a diversity of initiatives, including public relations programs, online marketing, Web sites, broadcast advertising, special events and integrated campaigns.”

Adams & Knight received 56% of the Mark of Excellence awards handed out at the ceremony, including awards recognizing work for Berkshire Life, the State of Connecticut’s CHET 529 College Savings Program, Conning, Fidelity Investments, Girl Scouts of Connecticut, Hartford Stage, Jefferson National Insurance, KBE Building Corporation, Masonicare, MassMutual, Symmetry Partners and United Way.

Adams & Knight won the prestigious top award for a multifaceted public relations campaign that rallied public support and saved The Heart Center of Greater Waterbury from imminent closure by the state. The entry was the only one that earned a perfect score from the nationwide judges, who evaluated each entry’s strategy, execution and results.

“We’re pleased to be recognized by the American Marketing Association for work on behalf of so many different healthcare, financial, industrial, government, and nonprofit clients,” said Jill Adams, President of Adams & Knight. “We’re particularly pleased to win for such a diversity of initiatives, including public relations programs, online marketing, Web sites, broadcast advertising, special events and integrated campaigns.”

Adams & Knight received 56% of the Mark of Excellence awards handed out at the ceremony, including awards recognizing work for Berkshire Life, the State of Connecticut’s CHET 529 College Savings Program, Conning, Fidelity Investments, Girl Scouts of Connecticut, Hartford Stage, Jefferson National Insurance, KBE Building Corporation, Masonicare, MassMutual, Symmetry Partners and United Way.