8 Highlights From a Year Full of Growth and Learning

by | Dec 19, 2022 | Award Win, Client Relationships, Company Culture, Promotions, Public Relations

Reflection is a tool that helps move growth forward. As another year wraps up, it’s important to reflect on what went well and why, as well as what could have been improved and how. We’ve taken time at Dittoe PR to do just that. As we think about all we’ve accomplished this year as a team, we want to share some of the highlights with you.

Award Wins

Throughout 2022, Dittoe PR was recognized by 10 awards programs. While we are passionate about seeing our clients receive deserved distinctions, we couldn’t be more proud to see our work, our people and our company earn these notable honors.

  • Bulldog PR Awards: Dittoe PR won Gold in the “Best Issue/Cause Advocacy Campaign” category for our work with SAGE – Advocacy & Services for LGBTQ+ Elders. We also took home Bronze in the “Mid-size Agency of the Year 2022” category of this program.
  • PRNEWS’ Agency Elite Top 100: Our agency was named to this premier list recognizing the most innovative PR and communications firms in the business.
  • PR Daily’s Top Agencies Awards: Dittoe PR was named a winner in the “Boutique Agency” category, and our campaign for Not Another Second won the “Media Relations” category.
  • Indiana Chamber of Commerce “Best Places to Work in Indiana” 2022: Dittoe PR was recognized in the “Small Companies” category among 125 businesses representing more than 35 cities and towns throughout the state.
  • Ragan’s Media Relations Awards: We took home an Honorable Mention in the “Data-Driven Media Relations Campaign” category for our work on Employ Inc.’s 2021 Recruiter Nation Report Launch.
  • PRSA Hoosier Chapter Pinnacle Awards: Dittoe PR was presented with an “Award of Honor” for our media relations campaign on behalf of Newfields’ THE LUME Indianapolis. 
  • 2022 Indy’s Best & Brightest: SVP and Partner Megan Custodio received top honors in the “Manufacturing, Retail & Services” category of this awards program conducted by Junior Achievement of Central Indiana.
  • PR News Platinum PR Awards: Dittoe PR VP of Client Services Ashley McMurray received an Honorable Mention in the “Measurement Expert of the Year” category.

New Clients

Dittoe PR has worked with clients from Atlas Van Lines to the Western Golf Association (BMW Championship) and TCC (subsidiary of Round Room) for over 10 years. In 2022, we celebrated five years of partnering with Medxcel, a leading provider of healthcare facilities services in the U.S. While we’ve worked with a number of clients for several years, we added many incredible organizations to our client roster in 2022, including Hillenbrand, Bone Dry Roofing, WhistlePig, NCAA D1 Women’s Basketball, Four Quadrants Advisory, unMEAT, Platin Audio, The Ice Rink at Holliday Park, US Water Alliance, French Lick Resort, Hotel Tango and a dozen more.

It’s a privilege to become extensions of these organizations and to lead their PR and social media efforts.

Promotions

One of our core values as a company is “Here We Grow.” We never want a team member to feel stagnant in their career, and we continue to provide opportunities to grow from within. We are thrilled to celebrate two major promotions that happened in the second half of 2022:

  • Sara Owens, Director of Accounts.
  • Zoe Spilker, Senior Account Manager.

New Hires

The past year marked our biggest year of growth in the number of employees at Dittoe PR in our 23-year history. We added numerous new team members with various professional backgrounds and experiences, including broadcast journalists, a NCAA Division I director of creative strategies and student-athlete initiatives, an MBA graduate from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, government relations professionals and more. Please join us in welcoming all of our new 2022 team members:

  • Jericho Barr-Redmond, Account Coordinator.
  • Molly Clayton, Account Coordinator.
  • Bella Doss, Social Media Coordinator.
  • Franqlin Gatson, Account Executive.
  • Colton Howard, Account Executive.
  • Paige Isch, Senior Account Manager.
  • Kyle Jeanor, Account Coordinator.
  • Mia Killilea, Social Media Coordinator.
  • Michal Spanjer, Account Coordinator.
  • Matt Waweru, Account Executive.

Our Growing Dittoe PR Family

While we’re on the topic of growing our work family, we can’t forget to mention that several of our Dittoe PR teammates expanded their own families this year. In just a few months, we welcomed three future PR pros to the Dittoe PR family:

  • Ashley McMurray, Henry Dutch, Aug. 17.
  • Sarah Cox-Dedrick, Cameron James, Nov. 11.
  • Lauryn Gray, Avery Gray, Dec. 18.

Standout B2C Campaign

Hotel Tango Distillery recognized an opportunity to create a spirit that is both approachable and adaptable. Enter the mouth-watering ‘Shmallow Toasted Marshmallow Bourbon. With the launch of ‘Shmallow, the brand sought to reach a younger generation of rookie bourbon drinkers as well as a female audience

Hotel Tango reached out to Dittoe PR and was eager to earn national lifestyle media coverage for the first time in its nearly decade of business. Dittoe PR targeted national consumer, foodie and regional markets that were key for Hotel Tango across the nation. In the quarter following the ‘Shmallow launch, Dittoe PR garnered 157 media hits; 60,235,915 media impressions; $738,692 ad value equivalency; and 106 TV segments. Top placements included Thrillist, Delish, Yahoo! Life, PureWow, Trend Hunter and many more.

Exceptional B2B Campaign

As a leader in the talent acquisition space, Employ Inc. required a skilled PR partner to lead its content creation efforts and deliver a strong, consistent message about the brand to the public. The company turned to Dittoe PR to generate fresh, valuable and targeted content, with the primary goals of attracting customers and demonstrating its expertise in the recruiting industry.

The most in-depth pieces of content spearheaded by Dittoe PR were two annual brand-sponsored surveys: Job Seeker Nation and Recruiter Nation. These bi-annual reports were utilized to secure top-tier media coverage, serve as sales and marketing collateral, drive lead generation and more. The 2022 Employ Job Seeker Nation Report generated over 2,200 downloads; nearly 500 media placements; more than 800 million media impressions; and $7.4 million in ad value equivalency. As Employ shifted its report strategy and cadence in the second half of 2022, Dittoe PR was selected to lead PR and media relations efforts for its new Quarterly Insights Reports.

New Website

Our growth extended to our website in 2022. It had been many years since we updated our online presence, and we knew it was time to bring in a professional. We worked closely with Glenda White of White Ox Creative to pinpoint areas to redevelop, the best SEO and accessibility practices to incorporate, and how we could highlight our exceptional team. Visitors can also read our latest news and insights (this blog being one of them) and learn more about all of the services we provide to clients.

A strong 2022 has set us up for a successful 2023 and beyond. We hope that your year has also been full of growth, achievement and gratification. As you move into 2023, please let us know how we can support your public relations, social media and communications efforts to help drive your business objectives.

Dittoe PR

Dittoe PR is a nationally recognized public relations and social media management agency.


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