Peter Mayer Public Relations Account Supervisor Larry Lovell was recently awarded the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Silver Quill 2011 Award of Excellence in the Media Relations category. The Award of Excellence is the highest Silver Quill award recognition. Lovell received the award for his media relations campaign for “Living with Hurricanes: Katrina and Beyond,” the Louisiana State Museum’s $7.5 million hurricane exhibit that opened October 26, 2010 in the New Orleans French Quarter.

The campaign was highlighted by national television coverage on CNN, a feature in USA Today and on the homepage of USAToday.com as its top “Nation & World” news story, more than 18 newspaper Travel section cover stories around the country, and a national AP wire feature that generated more than 200 news placements. The entire six-month campaign generated 196 million impressions and an advertising equivalency PR value of $5.55 million. Since opening, the historic Presbytere, which houses the exhibit, has seen a visitation increase of 212 percent and a jump in revenue of 394 percent.

Lovell received the award at the 2011 Region Silver Quill Awards ceremony on Thursday, October 13, at the Southern Region Conference in New Orleans. The IABC Silver Quill Awards competition showcased the work of IABC Southern Region members. Some of the winners of the Award of Excellence from all communications categories include Hewlett-Packard, Pfizer, UPS, JP Morgan, Intel Corp., Hallmark Cards, and Georgia Tech Research Institute, to name a few. Judges from across the country evaluated entries on strategy, effectiveness and creativity.

Download a list of all IABC winners (PDF).