JT Earns Gold, Silver and More at the Publicity Club Of Chicago’s 2021 Golden Trumpet Awards Ceremony
Lakeview Pantry, Brookfield Zoo and Lake County Health Department take gold, while Forefront Census videos earn silver.
Lakeview Pantry Takes The Gold and A Humanity Award
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, as we were all trying to navigate this new part of our lives, the number of people dealing with food insecurity grew to new heights. Before the “stay-at-home” order began in March, Lakeview Pantry had existed for 50 years to serve those struggling with hunger. During the COVID-19 crisis, they saw an almost 300 percent increase in demand for their food programs.
With limited space at their existing locations on the near North and West sides of Chicago to meet this increased need, Lakeview Pantry sought a solution that would allow them flexibility for their staff and volunteers to address this new demand challenge. In came the Chicago Cubs! Through a partnership with Wrigley Field, Lakeview Pantry was able to set up shop in the much larger space, successfully turning the iconic ballpark into a working food pantry. From food storage, food sorting, box packing to social distancing guidelines and volunteer management, our team provided 24/7 support to ensure that the Lakeview Pantry satellite operation was able to quickly and safely get up and running.
These efforts on Lakeview Pantry’s COVID-19 response earned a Golden Trumpet at the Publicity Club of Chicago’s 2021 Golden Trumpet Awards Ceremony. as well as the high honor of the Edwin J. Shaughnessy Quality of Life specialty award.
Brookfield Zoo Wins A Golden Trumpet for “Bringing The Zoo To You”
In tandem with the communications and digital team at Brookfield Zoo, JT helped brainstorm ideas for future “Bringing the Zoo To You” livestreams, promoted the schedule on all of the zoo’s social channels and secured traditional media coverage. Some of the coverage we saw from our combined efforts included stories from Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, WMAQ-TV, and much more.
Through “Bringing the Zoo to You,” the zoo’s animal care specialists were able to share interesting and fun facts about many of the animals and answer questions from viewers during each stream. This content provided a consistent way for fans to share experiences—like hearing from an animal welfare expert about bottlenose dolphins’ swim patterns or watching a baby river otter be nursed to maturity—which had previously only been possible to experience during operation hours, if at all. “Bringing the Zoo to You” opened an entirely different array of possibilities for guests to see and learn something completely new during the pandemic.
JT and Brookfield Zoo’s combined efforts resulted in the “Bringing The Zoo To You” initiative earning a Golden Trumpet in COVID-19 external response. The BZ/JT team were also nominated for both the Elynore D. Meserow Creativity Award and the Platinum Award – PCC’s highest honor.
Lake County Behavioral Health Campaign Earns A Golden Trumpet
Mental health needs have risen greatly during COVID-19. Last fall, JT worked with Lake County Health Department to reduce stigma and promote expanded mental health services to the Lake County community through LCHD’s “Live Well Lake County” campaign. Through direct outreach, website and video development, and a robust cross-channel advertising strategy, mental health services saw a substantial uptick in interest. One organization’s grief counseling services reached capacity due to our efforts to promote the program – an indication that the campaign moved the needle to reach communities in need.
JT’s efforts on this campaign earned our third Golden Trumpet, in community relations.
Forefront Census Videos Earn A Silver Trumpet
JT put its award-winning video production skills to good use on one of the most important issues of the decade – the Census. We worked with Forefront and IL Count Me In 2020 on a series of videos to educate and encourage Illinoisans to get counted.
Right away, we knew the voices needed to represent all the diversity we see across the state – from farmland in the south, to urban areas up north and everything in between. IL Count Me In tapped into their folks from the field to participate, and we were able to pull together a group of people who really help illustrate our state – all in under 90 seconds! Our host for the shoot, Access Living, not only helped us work on best practices for making the video accessible, but also lent us some staff members to star in the video. We love it when a plan comes together.
We are honored to share that JT’s important work with Forefront to make sure everyone was accounted for in the 2020 Census earned a Silver Trumpet in video production.
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