Local event … national significance.

(Davenport, IA – October 11, 2009) — Hill & Valley’s  national promotional sponsorship with the American Diabetes Association came home on Sunday, October 11th when over 400 walkers took to the streets of Davenport and stepped out to fight diabetes.  The event, covered in all the local media, generated significant attention locally for Hill & Valley who rallied nearly 350 of the 400+ walkers in attendance despite cold temperatures and a brisk wind.

“It was cold, but this is an important event for our consumers and our company,” explained Hill & Valley CEO, Scott Florence.  ”Diet and excercise are two important factors in controlling Type-2 diabetes for a lot of people and this event helps deliver that message in a very real – and practical – way.”

B&LPR has been working with Hill & Valley for the past three years to develop a tighter working relationship with the ADA and the event in Davenport helped underscore the importance of the relationship to employees, friends and families who might otherwise not see the connection.

ECCO Partner wins major award from German PR society.

(Vienna, Austria – October 8, 2009) – A multi-national, internal communications campaign produced by Vienna-based, communication matters has won the German International PR Award.  Communication matters is a member of the ECCO International Public Relations Network of which B&LPR is a member.

“We offer our heart-felt congratulations to Christian Kollmann and his team in Vienna,” said Mike Bawden, partner at B&LPR.  ”We’ve had the privilege to work with the communications matters team a number of times and they are a highly skilled and creative group.  It’s not really a surprise to me that they would perform so well on the global PR stage.”

Explore diversity – Produce identity
Mr. Kollmann explained the purpose and effect of the campaign, which was developed with  OMV Exploration & Production GmbH, the natural gas exploration and production division of OMV AG.

People from twenty countries work in OMV E&P’s team around the globe. They differ in language and culture; they are joined together in a responsible task. The aim of the agency was to underscore OMV’s common identity and at the same time highlight the cultural differences in a respectful manner, as in the Persian saying “Everywhere you go, the sky is the same colour.”

Hill & Valley/ADA Promotion hits full stride

(Philadelphia, PA – October 4, 2009) — Following months of planning and follow-up, the first big weekend in the StepOut Walks promotion for B&LPR client, Hill & Valley, occurred this past weekend.  Two of the largest ADA walks in the country (Hampton Roads, VA and Philadelphia, PA) hit on the same weekend and Hill & Valley was a major sponsor of both walks.

The company sent several employees and managed to involve their brokers and retail partners in each event.  B&LPR’s Mike Bawden attended the event in Philadelphia, PA and helped out at every level – from setting up the tents to preparing and serving food to taking photography and coordinating details with H&V’s Director of Marketing, Amy Behning.

Back in the Quad Cities, B&LPR’s Liz Lareau continued to coordinate details surrounding upcoming walk activities in Indianapolis (IN), the Quad Cities (IA/IL) and Houston.

To view pictures of the event and H&V’s promotional activities in Philadelphia, click on the appropriate link:

• Promotional event at ACME markets on October 2, 2009
• Walk-day event activities in Philadelphia (PA) on October 3, 2009

ADA Promotion kicks off in Hampton Roads, Virginia

H&V President, Scott Florence (right) and ADA Walk Coordinator, Shelby Frank (left) take a moment to "size things up" outside a participating Farm Fresh grocery store.

(Virginia Beach, VA – September 3, 2009) The first of several market tours conducted by B&LPR’s client, Hill& Valley Premium Bakery, has wrapped up with the successful launch of the final promotional stage behind this year’s StepOut Walks (scheduled for October 3 and 4) in the Hampton Roads area.  B&LPR partner, Mike Bawden, accompanied Hill & Valley’s President, Scott Florence and Director of Marketing, Amy Behning as they made a series of stops at participating Farm Fresh stores, media partners and walk locations.

The Hill & Valley team was assisted by Skip Eby, from Premier Foods, and Shelby Frank, the local ADA’s walk cooridinator and community liason for H&V in the market.  In addition to reviewing in-store displays of product and point-of-sale material, the team also conducted a media outreach effort to engage the local ADA’s media partners as well as hometown newspapers throughout the Virginia Beach/Norfolk area.

The ADA expects nearly 2,000 participants to attend the two walk events in early October and hopes to raise over $150,000.  More information on the walk (and links that will allow you to provide financial support) can be found here (for Virginia Beach) and here (for Hampton).

Visits to four other markets are currently planned in advance of other walk events.  B&LPR is assisting Hill & Valley and the American Diabetes Association in over 20 markets across the country.

B&LPR launches online press room for Hill & Valley Premium Bakery

(Rock Island, IL – August 26, 2009) – As a part of it’s ongoing, promotional sponsorship of the ADA’s StepOut Walks to Fight Diabetes, Hill & Valley Premium Bakery debuted a new, online pressroom featuring up-to-date articles, photographs and other digital content journalists and bloggers need to cover H&V in their respective media.  The web site also includes important trade and community information about Hill & Valley, its employees and its products.

The site, developed by Bawden & Lareau Public Relations, is part of the company’s on-going marketing program and an integral piece of its web strategy.  “As our national promotion with the ADA continues to expand, we needed a way to keep the most current information about Hill & Valley out there in the media ether,” explained Amy Behning, H&V’s Director of Marketing.  “B&LPR has developed online press centers like this for other clients and recommended we set up a similar site as part of a larger, online marketing program.”