The Tara Dowdell Group, a social-good public relations and marketing agency, recently was awarded PR Daily’s Media Relations Award in the Campaigns of the Year category for its work with the New York City Racial Justice Commission, at Ragan Communications’ Top Agencies Awards 2023 ceremony.
TDG secured coverage for the commission on numerous TV and digital outlets.
The media exposure contributed to thousands of minutes of testimony by New York City residents despite the hearings occurring amid the COVID-19 pandemic. TDG’s media relations efforts resulted in 166 media mentions totaling an 83 million potential reach and a $16 million publicity value, according to Critical Mention.
“This award is a powerful reminder that the work of PR and communications professionals matters,” Tara Dowdell said. “It can make a meaningful difference. It can be informative as well as transformative.”
Dowdell said TDG is honored to have had the opportunity to be a part of New York City history by leveraging public relations to advance the mission of the Racial Justice Commission.
“A functioning and stable democracy relies on a participatory electorate and accountable government,” she said. “We are immensely proud that so many New Yorkers shared their input, helping to shape ballot measures that passed overwhelmingly.”
In 2021, then-Mayor Bill De Blasio created the New York City Racial Justice Commission, the first in the nation, to identify and propose structural changes to New York City’s institutions to dismantle systemic racism, reduce barriers and promote racial equity for all New Yorkers. Three proposals were developed by the commission and included on the 2022 New York City General Election ballot. The proposals were passed by an overwhelming majority of voters. They included adding a preamble to the city’s charter, creating an Office of Racial Equity and developing a “true cost of living” metric.
PR Daily’s Media Relations Awards is the premiere program for recognizing the best media relations campaigns, events and initiatives from the past year. The awards showcase agencies’ innovative strategies for securing media coverage, crafting engaging stories, maintaining clients’ media coverage and much more. The award is presented to an agency that succeeds at standing out in the media landscape, communicating powerful stories and delivering success for the agency as well as its clients.
