For almost four decades, Public Relations Society of America Bluegrass Chapter’s Landmarks of Excellence Awards have recognized individuals and organizations across the Louisville area that have demonstrated exceptional work in the industry. This year, Estes Public Relations submitted five entries to be judged by industry peers and we earned Awards of Excellence or Merit — the top two levels — for each.
Awards & Recognitions
The awards and recognitions EPR received at the 2024 ceremony are mentioned below:
An Award of Excellence for EPR’s work on The Brown Hotel 100th Anniversary Campaign, In the past year, we launched a year-long centennial anniversary campaign to showcase the momentous, century-long existence of The Brown Hotel in the heart of Louisville, highlighting memorable milestones and its longstanding prominence as a hallmark of hospitality proudly serving and hosting guests around the world.
An Award of Excellence for EPR’s work on the 2023 Kentucky Bourbon Festival Influencer Marketing Campaign. EPR was retained in 2021 to help with communications as the festival transitioned to paid ticketing and a 21-and-older format. As the festival looked to expand beyond the local market and attract bourbon enthusiasts from outside the immediate area, utilizing influencers to spread the word was identified as a top strategy. The online whiskey community is active and robust, and EPR developed a plan to identify, recruit and utilize influencers to promote ticket sales.
An Award of Merit for EPR’s work on The Whiskey House of Kentucky opening, the most sophisticated, technically advanced producer of custom bourbon, rye, and American whiskey in the United States. With nearly a decade-long relationship of partnering on prolific Kentucky bourbon projects, David Mandell retained Estes Public Relations’ services again in 2023 to generate local, regional and national media coverage around the initial pre-opening announcement of Whiskey House and its economic growth impact over the next four years.
An Award of Merit for EPR’s work on SupperClub Southend’s Opening Campaigns, a dining and entertainment concept located in the vibrant South End of Charlotte, North Carolina. In the past year, we developed a two-part campaign focused on building relationships and generating coverage from traditional media and local influencers to establish SupperClub as one of the most anticipated restaurants in the city.
An Award of Merit for EPR’s in-house Edible FYI newsletter, a long-standing electronic bulletin published by our agency that is a fun way to share news, recommendations, insider tips and more directly to the public. In the past year, we took a more strategic approach to Edible FYI, distributing the newsletter monthly with our team working collaboratively on a theme, content and design. You can sign up here.
In addition to the awards ceremony, we also got the opportunity to hear from a few notable speakers including Rising Star recipient Alexis Bennett, marketing manager at Heine Brothers Coffee; Excellence in Journalism recipient Shea Van Hoy, editor-in-chief at Louisville Business First; Communicator of the Year recipient Adria Johnson, president and CEO at Metro United Way; 2024 Hall of Fame inductee DeVone Holt, president and CEO at the Muhammed Ali Center; and our very own Tracy Green, managing director at EPR, who was honored with Pinnacle PR Award.
Every year, the EPR team looks forward to showcasing our successful campaigns and celebrating the year’s accomplishments with a night of cheerful camaraderie, inspiring speeches, team bonding and, of course, a few champagne toasts!
