The Public Relations Society of America’s Central Pennsylvania Chapter has presented PRworks with three awards for projects completed in 2023-2024, bringing the firm’s number of industry awards to 18 during the past five years.

PRworks, a full-service branding, marketing and public relations firm, earned a Keystone Award for revitalizing a brand and website for Harvest View Barn; a Silver Keystone Award for a brand storytelling campaign for the Emily Whitehead Foundation; and a Silver Keystone Award for a strategic media relations program for AAA Central Penn. The industry awards recognize campaigns that comprised the four-step public relations process (research, planning, implementation and evaluation) and experienced measurable success.

“Each of these projects and campaigns touches lives in such meaningful ways, from raising awareness of life-saving therapies for cancer and rare diseases to finding the perfect venue to say ‘I do’ to promoting the importance of safe driving practices,” said Jason Kirsch, principal and senior counselor at PRworks. “We are so honored to receive this recognition from peers in our field. Even more so, we are so grateful to the clients who partner and collaborate with us.”

The award-winning projects included:

Something Old, Something New for a Wedding Barn Venue – A picturesque wedding venue in Elizabethtown, Harvest View Barn exudes timeless elegance. However, its website didn’t fully reflect the charm and beauty of the venue itself. In the competitive wedding market, a captivating online experience is crucial for attracting couples and securing bookings. Recognizing the need for a website transformation, Harvest View partnered with PRworks to revitalize its brand and create a new site to capture the hearts of prospective couples. Just three months after the website’s launch, the site began generating an average of three leads a day with a visitors-to-inquiry ratio of over 6%.

Amplifying the Patient Voice for Advanced Therapies – The Emily Whitehead Foundation supports patients and caregivers affected by childhood diseases and advocates for all patients who can be treated with advanced therapies. At the heart of the Foundation’s mission is amplifying patient voices to inspire researchers and developers in their life-saving work, and to increase awareness and access to advanced therapies. The organization teamed up with PRworks to elevate patient stories and cultivate a larger audience on LinkedIn, a key platform for connecting with researchers, developers and healthcare professionals. The campaign sparked a 104% increase in content reactions, a 300% increase in comments and a 355% increase in reposts.

The Road to Media Coverage for AAA Central Penn – AAA Central Penn provides over 335,000 Pennsylvanians with automotive, travel, insurance and financial services through 10 branches and a mobile member service unit. In 2024, AAA Central Penn sought to increase brand visibility by ramping up its media relations strategy. To lead the strategy, PRworks employed a formula to earn news coverage throughout the year and position AAA as the region’s authority on travel and an organization that cares about its community. The media relations campaign exceeded expectations, achieving a 327% increase in media mentions compared to the previous year.

Public relations professionals affiliated with the Hampton Roads, Virginia chapter of the Public Relations Society of America evaluated entries for the Central Pennsylvania chapter’s Keystone Awards. PRSA is the nation’s largest professional organization serving the communications community with a mission to “make communications professionals smarter, better prepared and more connected through all stages of their career.”

PRworks, founded in 2001, provides a full range of public relations and marketing services including research, branding and creative, content marketing, digital marketing, websites, media relations, and issues and crisis counsel. Emphasizing a strategic approach and the core value of collaboration, the firm’s mission is to bring about positive outcomes for clients and those they serve by providing services grounded in strategy and with the highest integrity. For more information about PRworks, visit PRworksinc.com.