Toplin & Associates, Inc. a Fort Washington-based marketing, public relations and advertising firm, recently won eight awards, including “Best of Show” and five first place honors, at the Public Relations Society of America Philadelphia Chapter’s 37th Annual Pepperpot and Achievement Awards Gala.
The “Best of Show” award, selected from 118 entries submitted by public relations firms, corporations and non-profits, was for the multi-faceted Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness campaign. Toplin & Associates developed a statewide public relations, marketing and advertising campaign for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Department of Health under the direction of the state’s two organ procurement organizations, Gift of Life Donor Program (based in Philadelphia) and the Center for Organ Recovery and Education (based in Pittsburgh). Toplin & Associates was contracted to raise public awareness and increase the number of Pennsylvanians who choose to be designated organ donors on their driver’s licenses or state identification cards. Diccicco Battista Communications, a Horsham, Pa.-based agency, provided advertising creative support for the campaign. For more information on the award-winning campaign, please visit www.donatelife-pa.org.
“It’s an honor to have our team’s work recognized by our professional colleagues,” said Ellen Toplin, president of Toplin & Associates, Inc. “But our ultimate satisfaction comes from having the opportunity to use our dedicated team’s strategic marketing, communications and public relations skills for such noble causes and to make a difference in the world.”
Toplin & Associates submitted a total of seven entries in this year’s Pepperpot and Achievement Awards, and each submission was prize-winning in its respective category. Those entries and recognitions were:
First Place Awards - Pepperpot Winners
Client: Center for Organ Recovery & Education (Pittsburgh) & Gift of Life Donor Program (Philadelphia)
- Institutional Program, 4 months plus: “Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Program”
- Special Public Relations Program: “Barnstorming Bus Tour for Minority Organ Donor Awareness” (in partnership with BrownPartners Multicultural Marketing)
Client: Council for the Advancement of Public Schools (serving Bucks and Montgomery counties)
- Single Piece Television Public Service Announcement: “When I Grow Up”
- Issues Management Campaign: “Informing the Public About Challenges to Public Education”
- Single Piece Opinion-Editorial Column: “Pennsylvania Act 72: Why Boards Should Opt Out”
Second Place Award – Ladle Winners
Client: Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals
- Single Piece Annual Report: “2004 Nursing Annual Report, TJUH”
Third Place Honor - Meritorious Award
Client: Center for Organ Recovery & Education (Pittsburgh) & Gift of Life Donor Program (Philadelphia)
- Special Events and Observances (Seven Days or Fewer): “Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Kickoff Campaign”
Toplin & Associates, Inc. represents a wide range of companies in the healthcare, law, financial services, education, communications and public service fields. Since 1982, Toplin & Associates has been a leader in the Delaware Valley public relations community, ranked among the area’s top public relations firms by O'Dwyer's, The Council of Public Relations Firms and the Philadelphia Business Journal. The firm has also been listed among the 2004 and 2005 Best Places to Work by the Philadelphia Business Journal.