Global SABRE Awards Recognizes 'The CROWN Act' As The #1 PR Campaign Of The Year, Among The World's Top 40 PR Programs

WASHINGTON, Oct. 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- JOY Collective, an award-winning Black-owned, women-owned, poly-cultural marketing and advertising firm has been recognized with a GLOBAL Sabre Award as the #1 PR campaign of the year for its advocacy work with Dove and the CROWN Coalition, on The CROWN (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural hair) Act.  The CROWN Act was awarded the #1 PR campaign in the world, selected from the top 1% of the work created in the past year.  The Global SABRE Awards recognizes superior achievement in public relations, branding, reputation, and engagement.

The CROWN Act was recognized as #1 of 5,500 PR campaign submissions and top-ranked in the world by the Global SABRE Awards.  The SABRE Awards includes competitions for the North America, Latin America, South-East Asia, Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA), and the Asia-Pacific regions, and attract more than 5,000 entries from more than 60 countries. The winners of the Global awards are the elite of the elite, representing best practice in categories ranging from social media to social responsibility, from public affairs to employee communications.

"Our mission at JOY is grounded in purpose-driven work that drives meaningful change for our brand partners and the consumers and communities they serve. We don't just talk about it – we make things happen," said Kelli Richardson Lawson, JOY Collective CEO.  "We are incredibly proud of our work with Dove and the CROWN Coalition on 'The CROWN Act', which has been recognized throughout the nation and has inspired a global movement. We are honored to support Esi Eggleston Bracey and the Dove team to create a more equitable and just society for all."

While many brands have shifted their focus to the current climate, JOY Collective has always done work with purpose. For months, the country has been focused on dismantling systemic racism, but JOY has consistently delivered in this space since the company was founded. JOY has been working with clients to deliver powerful programs that encourage companies and consumers to look inward, have courageous conversations, and create movements that lead to transformative change. For the past 3 years JOY has been offering Cultural Immersion training to business leaders and managers, and more recently has been conducting "Healing Circles", psychologically safe spaces for Black employees. JOY's commitment to driving real impact is even more evident in it's most recent work on Shea Moisture's "It Comes Naturally" campaign and the groundbreaking Commit To C.A.R.E. (Care About Racial Equity) Now Initiative, a partnership between Dove Men+ Care and the National Basketball Players Association to change the way the world sees and treats Black men. Both programs artfully expand the equity and life's work of each brand with a lens on the Black community.

Earlier this year, JOY was awarded the Platinum SABRE Award for Best in Show with the public relations campaign of 2019, for their work with Dove and the Crown Coalition on "The Crown Act."  The campaign also won a Gold SABRE Award for Advocacy in the Public Affairs category.

The CROWN Act has now been signed into law in 7 states, New York, California, New Jersey, Virginia, Colorado, Washington, and Maryland. Twenty-one other states have taken some form of action to end hair discrimination. A federal bill was introduced in December of 2019 and passed in the U.S. House of Representatives in September. It will now head to the U.S. Senate for consideration.  The CROWN Act has become a movement of social and legislative change over the past year.  The law, first introduced in the state of California in January 2019 by Senator Holly J. Mitchell, was created to protect against discrimination based on hairstyles by extending statutory protection to hair texture and protective styles in the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and state Education Codes. This legislation, now adopted in other states and municipalities to model the California bill, addresses unfair grooming policies that have a disparate impact on Black women, men, and children and has drawn attention to cultural and racial discrimination in workplaces and K-12 public and charter schools.

ABOUT JOY COLLECTIVE

JOY Collective was founded by Kelli Joy Richardson Lawson, an award-winning marketing executive and entrepreneur. Kelli's love of brand marketing and unique ability to make big ideas come to life led her to form an agency where intellect and creativity thrive from a place of authentic passion and positivity. Together in partnership with fellow marketing maven, Orlena Nwokah Blanchard, they have built JOY Collective into what it is today – a powerhouse group of branding, ideation, marketing, production, event, and digital/social media experts who elevate brands with intelligent marketing, creative storytelling, and nothing but JOY. In 2019, JOY was ranked AdWeek's 6^th fastest growing agency in the world. JOY's past and current client roster includes: Dove, Dove Men+Care, SheaMoisture, WW, OWN, Diageo, BET Networks, The U.S. Naval Academy, Tory Burch, Susan G. Komen, and more.

For more information on JOY Collective, visit www.joycollective.com.

Contact
Marcy Polanco
202.885.5527
[email protected] 

Shemika Harmitt
202.885.5527
[email protected]

SOURCE JOY Collective

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https://joycollective.com/