The Blog

First Experience Communications took gold and silver awards for Public Relations Campaign and Tactical initiatives at the 2009 Public Relations Society of America Mercury Awards.

This was Southern New England’s 14th annual Mercury Awards, which were designed to honor creative and strategic excellence in public relations, communications and marketing.

FEC’s silver award was for its public relations and marketing communications work with Leadership Greater Hartford in developing the “Hartford Cares” initiative to encourage people to take personal responsibility to address the senseless acts of violence and callousness that plagued Hartford and its reputation after the hit and run of Angel Torres was captured on video and replayed across the country. Hartford Cares launched with a candlelight vigil in Bushnell Park; and has continued as an ongoing initiative.

FEC’s gold award was for its direct mail student enrollment campaign for the Greater Hartford Public Safety Academy. The student recruitment campaign achieved what many school officials had believed to be “impossible.” In two months, the campaign generated enough student enrollments to meet the Sheff mandates, which allowed the Public Safety Magnet School to open on time for the 2008-09 calendar year.