Fuseideas WINS 2 BELL RINGER AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

The Publicity Club of New England honored Fuseideas with two Bell Ringer Awards at the 38th Annual Award Ceremony on Monday, June 11. The awards lauded Fuseideas for its professional excellence for Product Publicity and Crisis Communications for client Decathlon Sports, the world’s third largest retailer and manufacturer of sporting goods and equipment. The Bell Ringer Awards are the area’s most prominent public relations recognition program. The competition includes “titan” agencies that dominate the region by years, size and billings.

"We’re very proud at Fuseideas to be recognized for our work and for building a client’s brand success in the United States. To ensure a winning campaign, we put together an 'A-team' comprised of the best partners in the business,” said Dennis Franczak, Fuseideas' President and CEO. “Even during our client’s most difficult of times, our team provided superior counsel to protect their reputation and forge for consumer safety.”

The PR effort for Decathlon Sports was managed by Fuseideas' Maryanne Keeney and Clarity Communications Group’s Loring Barnes. Decathlon's "2 Second Tent,” an award-winning designed outdoor product, was promoted to parents and outdoor enthusiasts nationwide and was featured on NBC's Today Show and in numerous other national media outlets. Print and broadcast impressions reached more than 20 million consumers. Together with the public relations campaign and support by Fuseideas and its branding partner FORGE Worldwide, sales for the 2 Seconds Tent jumped dramatically during the camping season. BusinessWeek recognized the 2 Second Tent as one of the Best Ideas in 2006.

The Fuseideas pr team initiated a crisis program for Decathlon after a secondary manufacturing flaw was discovered in the tents which led to a recall. The public relations team hoped for a “best of” win in the crisis program, but were up against campaigns managing Boston’s largest outbreak of measles and a hospital board facing a 36-count criminal indictment.

“Clearly, this crisis award demonstrates how we gauged the situation and helped Decathlon defuse it immediately,” said Franczak.

Fuseideas is an advertising and new media marketing agency that uses new media and social networking combined with traditional creative and promotions to help clients in industries such as cable television, sports and entertainment, retail and consumer, higher education and business-to-business.