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BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. July 31, 2003 Doubletree® Hotels was recently honored by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) in the highly-coveted 2003 Bronze Anvil Awards.
The hotel brand received a Bronze Anvil "Award of Commendation" in the media relations/consumer services category, which recognizes outstanding use of creative tactics in a public relations campaign. More than 1,000 entries were submitted for this year's Bronze Anvil Awards program.
The Teaching Kids To CARE(TM) campaign, developed by Doubletree and its public relations agency Cohn & Wolfe-Los Angeles, involved more than 110 Doubletree properties nationwide, who adopted elementary school classes and introduced their new-found "kid volunteers" to the concept of caring for their local community.
At the core of the "Doubletree Teaching Kids to CARE" program was an educator approved lesson plan that was designed to encourage kids to begin making conscious decisions about caring and serving their local community. One of the main activities in the lesson plan centered around a "caring cookie." Each student was encouraged to write a short essay on their "caring cookie" that was shared with their classmates. The essay on the "caring cookie" expressed which group of people the student wanted to give their 2,002 cookies. Each student then decorated their "caring cookie" and placed it on a "Caring Community Cookie Tree" poster in their classroom.
More than 3,000 elementary school students voted for a service or civic group in their community they felt should be recognized with 2,002 fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies. As a result, more than 200,000 cookies were donated by Doubletree hotels and distributed by the students to their local top vote getters during a single week in November 2002, which inspired numerous thank you notes from community organizations, parents and children.
It's no accident that the hotel brand chose to involve its warm, daily baked chocolate chip cookies for this educator-approved program. For several years, Doubletree has developed a loyal following of cookie lovers by presenting more than 100 million of the signature chocolate chip cookies to welcome delighted hotel guests and customers.
"Caring for the local communities in which we serve is part of the Doubletree tradition and passing on that key lesson to another generation of children was a truly memorable experience for every Doubletree team member across the country," said Dave Horton, senior vice president -- brand management of Doubletree Hotels. "We are especially honored to receive recognition for this outward expression of our inspirational CARE program, which is so important to our hotels and team members. To be recognized among hundreds of very worthy entries is terrific, but the continued success of CARE is our greatest reward."
The Public Relations Society of America (www.prsa.org), based in New York City, is the world's largest professional organization for public relations professionals helping to advance the profession and the professional, with nearly 20,000 members with 17 Professional Interest Sections and 116 Chapters nationwide who represent business and industry, counseling firms, government, associations, hospitals, schools, professional services firms and nonprofit organizations.
Cohn & Wolfe is a marketing-focused Public Relations agency with offices in the US and Europe. The agency creates and implements powerful communications programs helping its clients build their brands and their bottom lines. Cohn & Wolfe's core areas of expertise include consumer, healthcare, technology and corporate communications. The agency currently ranks number one by clients for creativity, media placement, client service, senior management and strategic counsel. It also ranks among the top "Best Agencies to Work For" in a recent, industry-wide employee survey.
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