Oh, what a night! Our team traveled to Columbia, S.C., last week to attend the Mercury Awards dinner hosted by the South Carolina Public Relations Society of America (SCPRSA.) It’s always exciting to see our peers within the profession and catch up on the latest industry news. It’s even more exciting to have our hard work recognized. And last week we did all three.

At the event, we received a Mercury Award for our public relations work with Carnival Cruise Lines during 2011. Good stuff, right??

For some background, the SCPRSA’s annual Mercury Awards honor top public relations campaigns throughout the state.

So, what made the Carnival Cruise Lines campaign so special? First, you’ll need to know our challenges.

Still a new addition to Charleston, S.C., and a much debated aspect of local tourism, Carnival Cruise Lines faced the challenge of finding new and innovative ways to demonstrate its commitment to the community and strengthen its positive image. Following a successful campaign at the 2010 Cooper River Bridge Run, Rawle Murdy explored ways for the Carnival brand to take their partnership with the MUSC Children’s Hospital to the next level and amplify its presence at the nation’s third largest 10k. Working closely with Carnival, Rawle Murdy aimed to bring the spirit of Carnival fun to Charleston in a memorable yet charitable way. Rawle Murdy was tasked with fostering goodwill, both with the general public and business community, while generating awareness for Carnival, resulting in a dynamic and memorable campaign that made both history and headlines.

So, how did we tackle that? With enthusiasm and big ideas!

Our plan focused on increasing interaction and an ongoing emphasis on FUN and giving back. Additional ways to involve the business community were critical as local debate continued about the cruise industry in Charleston. So, we established a year-long partnership in 2011 between Carnival and the MUSC Children’s Hospital. A major aspect of the partnership was a visual, engaging, first-ever post-race wedding ceremony after the Cooper River Bridge Run in the heart of downtown Charleston – dubbed The Carnival Race to the Altar.

At the end of the day, what did we accomplish?

The 2011 Cooper River Bridge Run and MUSC partnership engaged more than 100,000 participants through multiple touch points resulting in more than 400,000 direct impressions.

Plus, the Race to the Altar pulled off what became the first national event in a year-long Carnival “Didja Ever” campaign. And we secured more than 150 media stories, resulting in 20.5+M impressions.

All of these are reason enough to sail off into the sunset.

Special thanks to Carnival Cruise Lines for being such a great partner in this campaign and here’s to many more!