Sonnhalter, a communications firm marketing to the professional tradesman in the construction, industrial and MRO markets, received a gold award in the “Trade Media Relations” category at the 20th Annual Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA) Cleveland Rocks Awards competition recognizing excellent communications programs and tactics. 

Sonnhalter received the gold award in “Trade Media Relations” for Franklin Electric’s proactive media program that maximized its effort to increase knowledge of its products among end users, distributors and media.

Sonnhalter worked to develop a proactive, strategic media relations program to leverage the knowledge and expertise within Franklin Electric and take advantage of key opportunities to spread awareness about the company, its products and technologies, and its expert sources. 

The Sonnhalter program included an editorial audit that identified and outlined potential editorial opportunities, a consistent press release program, ongoing media pitches to place bylined feature articles, technical articles, and case histories, pitching Franklin Electric experts as sources for trade editors’ round-up articles covering industry trends, issues and products and arranging one-on-one media meetings at key trade shows

“We are honored to see our work get recognized by other public relations professionals around Cleveland,” said Matt Sonnhalter, vision architect at Sonnhalter. “We are proud to have a collaborative effort between Sonnhalter and Franklin Electric to expand their media relations program, and we couldn’t have done it without them.”

Annually, the PRSA-Cleveland Rocks Awards acknowledge Northeast Ohio’s outstanding communications programs, which incorporate research, planning, execution and evaluation. PRSA Cleveland Rocks Award winners demonstrate leadership in public relations and contribute to advancing the profession locally.