In The 2003 Magellan Awards
Volvo Receives National Acclaim for Publicizing the Volvo for life Awards, company's public service program
PR team generated more than 350 million media impressions
IRVINE, California (Dec. 30, 2003) - Volvo Cars of North America's Public Affairs staff, based in Irvine, Calif., has won three top awards from the League of American Communications Professionals (LACP) 2003 Magellan Awards, for its work in support of the Volvo for life Awards.
Volvo won in the categories of "Corporate Community Relations Program" and "Most News Coverage" for the Volvo for life Awards, the company's public service program that seeks out and celebrates everyday heroes with $1 million in financial contributions.
Additionally, in an overall ranking of the hundreds of campaigns submitted for the competition, the Volvo for life Awards program ranked second.
Volvo was recognized in partnership with its Minneapolis-based consumer and brand public relations firm Haberman & Associates and its New York-based production firm Fitzgerald Brunetti Productions. The LACP's annual Magellan Awards recognize the most outstanding communications initiatives over the past year in a variety of categories.
Launched in Dec. 2002 at a New York City news conference, the Volvo for life Awards called for people nationwide to visit www.volvoforlifeawards.com and nominate a hometown hero they knew. From a public relations standpoint, Volvo then publicized the powerful, inspiring stories of the unsung heroes and their causes among the media within the heroes' respective communities and/or national media outlets. At the conclusion of the nomination process on Feb. 28, 2003, Volvo enlisted a panel of eight celebrity judges - Hank Aaron, Bill Bradley, Dr. Jane Goodall, Caroline Kennedy, Maya Lin, Paul Newman, Dr. Sally Ride and Eunice Kennedy Shriver - to select the program's top heroes. Winning heroes were flown to New York and honored at the 2003 Volvo for life Awards ceremony, held at Times Square Studios Ltd. Ten finalists received $10,000. The top three finalists each won a $50,000 donation to the charities of their choice. The overall winner, unveiled at the ceremony, received a new Volvo every three years for the rest of his life.
As a result of this grassroots initiative, the Volvo for life Awards Web site generated 2,036 hero nominations and 10 million hits - more than 10 times the company's original goal. More than 350 of the nation's most powerful media attended an emotional ceremony that honored and told the stories of the nation's three top hometown heroes. Most profound: Volvo generated 350 million media impressions, with more than 700 newspaper, radio and television stories about these everyday heroes.
Volvo currently is teaming with Haberman & Associates and Fitzgerald Brunetti Productions to conduct the second annual Volvo for life Awards. Hero nominations are accepted through Jan. 16, 2004 at www.volvoforlifeawards.com, with the Times Square awards ceremony set for April 7, 2004.
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Contact: Eric Davis, Haberman & Associates, 612-338-3900, eric@modernstorytellers.com.
Sören Johansson, Volvo Cars of North America, 949-341-6719,
sjohan44@volvocars.com.
Media: For photos and more information on the Volvo for Life Awards: www.volvocars-pr.com
