Euro RSCG Worldwide PR Named Finalist in Six Categories of the Stevie Awards for Women in Business

NEW YORK, Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Euro RSCG Worldwide PR has been named a finalist in six categories in the seventh annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business: lifetime achievement, service executive of the year, most innovative company of the year (up to 100 employees), communications campaign of the year (nonprofit), blog of the year and employee of the year.

Marian Salzman, president of Euro RSCG Worldwide PR, North America, is a finalist for service executive of the year and the lifetime achievement award. A 20-plus-year veteran of marketing and public relations, Salzman has been in her current position since August 2009. Since that time, under her dedicated guidance, the agency has been transformed, making progress in leaps and bounds -- from winning major accounts and awards, to beginning initiatives benefiting itself and the industry. Its many milestones in the past year are among the reasons the agency is a finalist for most innovative company of the year (up to 100 employees).

Its work for Haitian NGO Yele Haiti -- specifically, a campaign to refocus the world's attention on the country at the six-month anniversary of the January 2010 earthquake that devastated the island nation -- earned Euro RSCG Worldwide PR a spot on the list of finalists for communications campaign of the year (nonprofit). After careful research of the media landscape, the agency made a plan to create an op-ed-driven campaign, to let the voices of Wyclef Jean (co-founder of Yele) and his family tell the story. In the first six weeks, the campaign garnered more than 130 million media impressions -- from four national TV placements to 40 online placements to 12 op-eds in publications worldwide, among others.

The agency's blog for The Sisterhood, Euro RSCG PR's agency-within-an-agency that's by, for and about teen girls, is a finalist in the blog of the year category. The initiative was born out of a study and white paper called "The Teenage Girl as Consumer and Communicator," and it has developed into a social media and intimate communications lab. More than a dozen girls in the U.S. and Europe regularly contribute to the blog (at forsistersbysisters.com).

Allison Pinter, a PR industry novice, has led the operations and internal functions at Euro RSCG Worldwide PR since Marian Salzman plucked her from the human resources department of sister agency Euro RSCG Life. "I immediately saw Ali's promise. I knew her talent would be invaluable to my task of turning an agency around. And then I had a pleasant surprise: My expectations were exceeded; she was even more adept and quick to learn new skills than I had imagined," said Salzman. Among many other responsibilities in the past year, Pinter helped run the media room in London for the inaugural One Young World summit, oversaw the college internship program and led media relations for Wyclef Jean's campaign for the presidency of Haiti.

"Our staff has not only become industry leaders in various categories -- such as social media and CSR -- and marketing innovators, but also key ambassadors for the Euro RSCG Worldwide PR brand, which we have all revamped together," said Salzman. "And what's most important is the work we're doing for clients, who recognize our creativity and pioneering strategy, and our passion. We're all beyond honored to be acknowledged by the Stevies for the work we're doing for our clients and the high standards we're setting for ourselves."

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business honor women executives, entrepreneurs and the companies they run -- worldwide. The Stevie Awards have been hailed as the world's premier business awards.

Winners of the awards -- nicknamed "the Stevies" for the Greek word for "crowned" -- will be announced during a gala event at the Marriott Marquis hotel in New York on Friday, Nov. 12. Nominated women executives and entrepreneurs from the U.S. and several other countries are expected to attend. The presentations will be broadcast live on radio in the U.S. by the Business TalkRadio Network.

More than 1,200 entries -- a record for the competition -- were submitted this year for consideration in 54 categories. Business professionals worldwide chose finalists during preliminary judging. Members of the Awards' Board of Distinguished Judges & Advisors and their staffs will select Stevie Award winners from among the finalists during final judging.

"It was harder than ever to be recognized in the Stevie Awards for Women in Business this year," said Michael Gallagher, president of the Stevie Awards. "Receiving a high score from the judges this year illustrates how well many women in business are doing despite the stiff challenges they face."

Details about the Stevie Awards for Women in Business and the list of finalists in all categories are available at www.stevieawards.com/women.

About Euro RSCG Worldwide PR

Euro RSCG Worldwide PR is the public relations arm of Euro RSCG Worldwide, a leading integrated marketing communications agency with 233 offices in 75 countries. Euro RSCG Worldwide PR, North America, is headquartered in New York City, with offices in Chicago and Pittsburgh. It is part of Adweek's first-ever Healthcare Agency of the Year (2010) and Medical Marketing & Media's 2010 All-Star Network of the Year. The agency provides communications services, social brand momentum and thought leadership, among other services, in core areas ranging from CSR and health care to content creation and social media. Clients include Bayer Corp., Purina, sanofi-aventis, Toyota Motorsports, Transitions Optical and Yele Haiti. Euro RSCG Worldwide is the largest unit of Havas, a world leader in communications (Euronext: HAV.PA) (Paris: HAV.PA).

About The Stevie Awards

Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, The Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about The Stevie Awards at www.stevieawards.com.

SOURCE Euro RSCG Worldwide PR