SHIFT Communications Wins Two In2 SABRE Awards

BOSTON, March 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- SHIFT Communications, an award-winning integrated communications agency, was presented with two In2 SABRE Awards at an awards ceremony held recently in San Francisco. The Awards are directed by the Holmes Report and represent submissions focusing on insight and innovation from organizations across North America.

SHIFT was recognized in the "New to Market - New Product Launch or Relaunch" category for the Agency's work with Mohu. SHIFT teamed up with the company to launch its highly successful Kickstarter campaign behind a two-month integrated digital marketing and PR program. The Agency used a combination of paid, owned and earned media that involved highly targeted advertising, using Mohu's email newsletter to share updates and key media coverage, and leveraging existing media relationships to secure coverage. Through the campaign, SHIFT helped Mohu more than triple its original funding goal and secure nearly 50 pieces of coverage in target outlets such as Forbes, Lifehacker and Yahoo! News.

"Mohu is extremely proud of the strategic and integrated approach SHIFT took to supporting our product launch on Kickstarter," said Mark Buff, founder and CEO of Mohu. "Through very calculated and targeted planning, coupled with smart and nimble execution, the results we were able to achieve together were phenomenal. We are pleased to call our SHIFT team a true partner."

The Agency also won in the "Best Use of Blogging" category for its work with H&R Block. SHIFT helped the company leverage its Block Talk Blog to consistently engage its audience members and stay relevant year-round outside of the traditional tax preparation window. The Agency worked with H&R Block to create rich written and multimedia content, including infographics and interactive quizzes, and then used this information to engage contributing influencers and more digitally-minded consumers. Given the growing number of bilingual tax professionals and H&R Block's enhanced services available to the Hispanic community, the company also performed strategic outreach to its Latino audience and generated specific content to this demographic. In the end, SHIFT helped H&R Block double its year-over-year growth in Spanish-language visitors during tax season and earn coverage in major outlets like Esquire, Business Insider and The Houston Chronicle that resulted in more than 50 million impressions in September 2014 alone.

"Our team puts a lot of thought and work into creating compelling content that engages our clients year-round, and we're proud to have great partners to help accomplish that," said Jerod Laughlin, Vice President of Interactive Marketing and Media at H&R Block. "This award is recognition not only of our results, but of those relationships."

"We're extremely proud to see these campaigns win among the best of the best in North America," said SHIFT President Amy Lyons. "We pride ourselves on our integrated capabilities and innovative spirit, and these awards serve as testament to that commitment."

About SHIFT Communications 
With a dedication to innovation in communications and social media, SHIFT Communications is an award-winning, privately held national public relations firm that represents some of the best-known enterprise and consumer technology brands, including Toyota, T-Mobile, H&R Block and the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau as well as numerous groundbreaking startups. SHIFT Communications' 100+ employees are located in the Boston, San Francisco, New York and Austin metros. For more information on SHIFT's high-tech public relations, consumer public relations and content marketing programs, visit http://www.shiftcomm.com/.

About the In2 SABRE Awards
Launched last year, the In2 SABRE Awards built upon the SABREs—an awards competition with a 20-year heritage—by introducing a host of new categories to reflect the great digital content being created in a variety of places, from content created for paid, owned and earned channels; storytelling in print, digital and video forms; social media and community management; and the use of data and analytics. Awards this year will recognize everything from animation to the creation of memes. The 2015 North American In2 competition, focused on Insight + Innovation (In2), was judged by industry experts who come from some of the most forward-looking corporations, digital agencies, content/PR firms and beyond, bringing expertise in content creation, community management, and data and analytics.

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SOURCE SHIFT Communications

Related Links

http://www.shiftcomm.com