Weil-McLain Wins Top Product Design Award

One of the most effective marketing tools to rise above the competition is seeking out and winning awards in your industry. We recently helped client Weil-McLain do just that with their recent recognition for product design excellence and efficiency in the 18th annual Dealer Design Awards Program sponsored by The Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Newsmagazine. The award entry, submitted by LCWA, was chosen by an independent panel of contractors out of 117 total entries.

The company’s ECO^® Tec premium residential gas boiler was the silver winner in the HVAC High Efficiency Residential Equipment product category – the top award presented to any boiler manufacturer for 2021. The ACHR News is the leading trade magazine in the heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration industries.

The Dealer Design awards recognize the outstanding research and development efforts that go into many of the products serving the HVACR industry and the awards issue gives the publication's readers – an integral target audience for Weil-McLain – an opportunity to read about innovative installation and service solutions.

Winning entries in the Dealer Design Awards were featured in the July 26, 2021, issue of The ACHR News, which is distributed nationally to over 27,000 HVACR contractors, wholesalers and distributors, and other industry professionals. Our team is proud to have helped our client gain this important industry recognition with one of the most well-known magazines in the HVAC arena.

LCWA Wins Three “Awards of Excellence” at the PRSA Chicago Skyline Awards

Three very different and successful LCWA campaigns were honored by the PRSA’s Chicago Skyline Awards earlier this month, when work for Trex, First Alert and the AASM received “awards of excellence” from the esteemed organization.

Trex

Trex’s Brand Ambassadors Inspire Consumers to “Do It” campaign was awarded in the
Influencer Marketing category. The campaign drove awareness and engagement by partnering with two influencers. They reached fan bases focused on DIY (do it yourself) and DIFM (do it for me), helping those stuck at home to keep busy and focus on projects they may have been putting off in pre-pandemic times.

First Alert

First Alert’s Be Ready for the Unexpected campaign was awarded in the Integrated Communications – Consumer Products and Services category. With more people staying at home than ever before, First Alert’s campaign aimed to provide fire safety guidance and support to the 91% of consumer households that said their families’ safety was at the top of their priority lists.

AASM

AASM’s Student Sleep Health Week campaign was awarded in the Events and Observances category. Getting the right amount of sleep is crucial to students’ health and success, which is why this campaign virtually encouraged students, parents, coaches and teachers to have conversations about the importance of healthy sleep.

It’s an honor to earn recognition by the PRSA Chicago, and we thank you for your support of our work. Congratulations to all of the winners at the Skyline Awards!

AASM Expert Interview Featured in The New York Times

 As a result of proactive media outreach for LCWA client the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), LCWA secured a timely interview opportunity with The New York Times surrounding the pandemic’s effect on America’s sleep. AASM board member and practicing sleep medicine physician, Dr. Fariha Abbasi-Feinberg was interviewed for the feature story, titled “The Pandemic Messed With Your Sleep. Here’s How to Feel Rested Again,” which published both online (June 8, 2021) and in print (June 15, 2021). In addition to the original article, The New York Times published an abridged version of the article online and also featured AASM COVID-somnia survey results in their weekly health quiz!

The story leads with the AASM’s 2021 COVID-somnia survey results, which found that more than half of Americans (56%) are experiencing an increase in sleep disturbances since the start of the pandemic. In addition to comments from Dr. Abbasi-Feinberg throughout, the article features guidance from a handful of experts and sources to present an in-depth look at the current state of America’s sleep. To bring the story full circle, Dr. Abbasi-Feinberg and other sleep experts answered direct questions from readers on how to achieve healthy sleep. This expert-backed guidance for readers was published in a separate story on The New York Times’ top reader questions about sleep.

For readers who are experiencing sleep problems, the article concludes with a recommendation for readers to seek help by visiting the AASM’s consumer-facing website, SleepEducation.org. Here, patients can find sleep tips and enter their ZIP code to find a board-certified sleep physician at an AASM-Accredited Sleep Center in their area.

This is a good example of how meaningful conversations and timely media outreach can help drive success for client interviews and bring national media attention. In all, this one interview resulted in five separate articles, each bringing light to our client’s essential messaging on sleep health.

LCWA Wins Top Technology Award from Publicity Club of Chicago

Getting the right amount of healthy sleep is important for students of all ages to be healthy
and successful. That’s the main message LCWA and client AASM conveyed via media, partner organizations and online during Student Sleep Health Week in 2020. The campaign, which leveraged influential students, parents, coaches and teachers online to drive conversation, was the winner of the Buell Patterson Technology Award – one of the cumulative, “best of the best” awards announced at the Publicity Club of Chicago (PCC) Golden Trumpet Awards on Thursday night. The campaign also was honored with a Golden Trumpet in the Healthcare Marketing category. This is the second time the combined LCWA and AASM team has won the coveted Buell Patterson Technology Award, having received it in 2015 for the “Sleep Well, Be Well” campaign that was part of the National Healthy Sleep Awareness Project in partnership with the CDC.   

LCWA also was awarded two Silver Trumpets during the PCC Awards. The First Alert team was honored for its “Be Ready for the Unexpected” campaign in the Integrated Marketing Communications category. And in the Business to Business and Business Services category, our Trex Commercial Products trade media program was honored.

Thank you to the PCC for your support of our programs, and congratulations to all of the winners!

Trex Joins Panel of Top Designers to Help Consumers Achieve their Dream Decks

Now, more than ever, outdoor living is in! The COVID-19 pandemic has prioritized how we view and use our homes, with consumers reimagining how to maximize and enjoy their exterior spaces. We leveraged this trend for our client Trex Company, the largest manufacturer of high-performance, low-maintenance, wood-alternative outdoor living products, by collaborating with Country Living and Good Housekeeping on the first-ever Makeover Takeover Renovation Summit, a virtual DIY home improvement event hosted by the magazines.

 
The livestreamed, interactive event served as a highly successful and engaging way to reach home-passionate consumers interested in outdoor renovations during a year when homeowners are expected to invest more time and money in their outdoor spaces. Trex’s Vice President of Marketing Leslie Adkins joined a panel discussion featuring high-profile design experts, including HGTV designer Brian Patrick Flynn along with Chris and Peyton Lambton, co-hosts of DIY Network’s “Yard Crashers,” to help attendees get their decks and yards ready for outdoor living season. From deck design considerations and materials to backyard trends, outdoor living accessories and doable DIY projects, the panelists covered a wide range of topics that allowed for an organic conversation about the benefits of Trex products. In fact, every panelist personally endorsed Trex as their go-to decking brand!

 

Nearly 1,000 consumers from around the world tuned in to the “Great Outdoor Spaces” session. Following that discussion, attendees were invited to connect directly with Leslie in a Zoom breakout room for a live Q&A session. More than 120 consumers joined to learn more about Trex outdoor living products. This was a highly engaged audience that came to ask questions specifically about Trex! Leslie answered questions fielded by moderator Lisa Bergamotto, style director for Good Housekeeping, while a team of “Trexperts” (including Trex and LCWA team members) responded to questions in the live chat. Throughout the breakout session, our client was able to directly connect with consumers about designing their dream decks and outdoor spaces with Trex products.

 

Looking for expert tips to spruce up your backyard? You can check out the virtual Trex panel discussion on the Good Housekeeping website!

AASM “More than a Snore” Radio Media Tour Brings National Awareness to OSA

Many patients are delaying or avoiding medical care due to COVID-19 concerns, including delaying care for common, treatable sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). To help our client the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) drive awareness about the often-misunderstood signs, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment options for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), we coordinated a radio media tour (RMT) which took place on April 29, 2021. To promote the tour, we developed a high-impact media alert, social media posts and schedule of local market details for each station to ensure messaging aligned with each audience.

The tour featured expert insights from AASM board member and practicing sleep medicine physician, Dr. Fariha Abbasi-Feinberg. Over the course of a morning, Dr. Abbasi-Feinberg completed 14 total interviews which aired online and on radio stations across the nation. RMT coverage included a total of 447 radio segment airings with over 17 million impressions.

• Podcasts included Business Radio X – “The Mark Bishop Show” (Listen here!)
• Nationally Syndicated Airings included:
• Global American Broadcasting Network – “Bill Martinez Live”
• Transformation Talk Radio Network – “The Dr. Pat Show”  (Listen here!)
• Wilkins Radio Network – “Let’s Just Talk”
• Radio America – “The Passport Mommy” 
• Local Airings included radio stations in Bluefield, WV; La Crosse, WI; Roanoke, VA; Pittsburgh, PA; Tampa Bay, FL; Seattle, WA; New York, NY; Baltimore, MD; Charlotte, NC; and Providence, RI.

The RMT helped drive awareness to the symptoms and treatment options for OSA, and familiarized patients with what to expect when visiting a sleep center. With such a wide national reach, I feel confident that we were able to enact positive action in many listeners lives.

If you think you or a loved one may have sleep apnea, visit SleepEducation.org to find a board-certified sleep physician at an American Academy of Sleep Medicine Accredited Sleep Center near you.

Trex Recycling Efforts Capture High-Profile Media Attention for Earth Day

Did you know that LCWA client Trex Company’s world-famous composite decking is made from 95% recycled materials? To amplify the company’s “green” story in conjunction with Earth Day (April 22, 2021), we pitched key media with the goal of pointing eco-minded consumers in the right direction for turning their trash into treasure in the form of Trex decking. We found success in our pitch strategy by offering media a turnkey Earth Day package, including Trex stats and facts, along with educational images and videos. We also provided local angles to consider and offered interviews with corporate and local Trex spokespeople.

Our proactive outreach resulted in a number of media placements, including a broadcast TV segment with CBS Dallas-Ft. Worth (KTVT-TV). The two-minute feature aired on the station’s 6 p.m. newscast on Earth Day and focused on the NexTrex recycling program as a way to responsibly dispose of plastic bags and film. The segment featured an interview with Dave Heglas, senior director of materials management for Trex, who discussed Trex’s green values and noted the types of plastic materials that can be recycled into Trex decking.

For a local angle, we coordinated an on-site b-roll shoot at a local participating NexTrex retail recycling location, where residents can dispose of their plastic waste. Additionally, we shipped Trex decking samples to the producer to show on camera and visually bring the story full circle from recycling to finished product.

The CBS segment can be viewed on the station’s website, here. Other high-profile coverage garnered for Trex on Earth Day included The Detroit News, which featured a list of accepted plastics for recycling into Trex composite decking and linked to a list of participating retail locations.

Bonus Trex “Green” Fun Facts:

• Trex uses more than 1.5 billion plastic bags each year to make its eco-friendly outdoor living products.
• Trex has never cut down a single tree to make its products.
• An average 500-square-foot composite Trex deck may contain approximately 140,000 recycled plastic bags.
• A standard 16-foot Trex composite deck board contains recycled material from approximately 2,250 plastic bags.

LCWA looks forward to continuing to grow awareness of Trex’s green story, sustainable values, and recycling programs as we work with the company to celebrate Earth Day, every day!