Hanna Lee Communications' Strategic PR Campaign for The Dead Rabbit, World's Best New Cocktail Bar, Wins PR News' 2013 Platinum PR Award for "Best Branding," a First-Ever for a Bar "World's Best Bar" Campaign Helps Transform a Bar Opening into an Internationally Renowned Brand and a Must-Visit Destination NEW YORK, November 4, 2013—Hanna Lee Communications, Inc., an award-winning marketing agency that integrates traditional public relations with innovative social media marketing, today announces that it has won PR News' 2013 Platinum PR Award in the "Best Branding" category. The award is for the agency's strategic public relations campaign on behalf of its client, The Dead Rabbit, a "Gangs of New York"-inspired drinking saloon. It is the first time in the category's history that a PR campaign for a bar has ever won. The agency also won this award last year for Campari, which was the first time for a spirits company. PR News' Platinum PR Awards are some of the most coveted in the PR industry and recognize outstanding communications initiatives and programs across the U.S. The winners were announced at a ceremony at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York. Some of the other nominees in this year's Best Branding category included: Weber Shandwick for General Motors; Grey Activation for Canon; Hampton Hotels; Ketchum for Double Tree by Hilton; and, Ogilvy Public Relations for View. The award win celebrates the agency's strategic PR campaign for The Dead Rabbit, a tri-level mid-19th century style Irish/New York drinking saloon located at 30 Water St. in Lower Manhattan. The campaign spans generating pre-opening buzz, launch publicity and ongoing intensive media attention and acclaim. It used 360-degree storytelling—from the bar's history-infused concept to its bar personalities, Sean Muldoon and Jack McGarry, from the savvy investor/management team to Lower Manhattan's revival—to communicate the experience of The Dead Rabbit and leverage its various newsworthy assets. "The communications campaign was an integral factor in helping to make The Dead Rabbit the most talked-about bar opening ever and boosting Lower Manhattan's economy overall," says Peter Poulakakos, Partner, HPH. "Hanna Lee Communications collaborates with us every step of the way and the agency's strategic insights add tremendous value. Some of our investor team members were initially a bit skeptical of public relations, to be frank. They are now believers." "There's no question that having Hanna Lee Communications be part of our team makes a tremendous difference," says Muldoon. "They understand our vision for The Dead Rabbit and are able to communicate it accurately and effectively to the media. The buzz has truly gone around the world with coverage as far as the U.K., Spain, Russia, Japan and Australia. It's a dream come true." "Winning the Best Branding award two years in a row is an honor and shows how our boutique-sized agency can create powerful communications programs that impact our clients' bottom lines," says Hanna Lee, President and Founder, Hanna Lee Communications. "Our campaign for The Dead Rabbit competed against entries from some of the largest agencies and most iconic brands in the country. With a team of seasoned PR pros and little hierarchy, we have direct contact with our clients and work together on an ongoing, real-time basis. We respond to opportunities in an instant. These awards demonstrate that our approach works." The Dead Rabbit, the brainchild of Belfast barmen Sean Muldoon and Jack McGarry, went on to win "World's Best New Cocktail Bar," "World's Best Cocktail Menu" and "International Bartender of the Year" at the 2013 Tales of the Cocktail, the world's most prestigious spirits/drinks industry event, thanks in part to the unprecedented level of publicity and media coverage. Media Contacts: Hanna Lee or Jen Neugeboren Hanna Lee Communications, Inc. 212-527-9969 (office) / 646-752-1526 (cell) hanna@hannaleecommunications.com jen@hannaleecommunications.com ###

• published: 15 Dec 2013
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