Weber Shandwick Receives IABC Gold Quill Honor for National Marrow Donor Program

Wednesday, July 30, 2008 BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – July 30, 2008 – The Minneapolis-St.Paul office of Weber Shandwick was honored nationally in New York City at the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Gold Quill Awards, receiving an IABC Gold Quill of Excellence for the 2007 National Marrow Donor Drive.

Weber Shandwick with its client, the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), received a Gold Quill of Excellence in the Division 1/Multi-Audience Communication category. NMDP challenged Weber Shandwick in 2007 to recruit 20,000 new marrow donors to its Registry as part of the second annual “Thanks Mom” campaign. Weber Shandwick and the NMDP employed several tactics to achieve their goal, including producing communications and collateral materials, hosting more than 700 live donor drives around the country and developing media pitches for more than 80 focus families who shared their stories with the nation. Weber Shandwick and the NMDP exceeded the campaign goals by recruiting 43,305 donors, raising more than $18,000 for the organization and generating 94.8 million impressions in more than 550 media outlets.

“I am extremely proud of the creative and effective communication effort our office put forth in collaboration with the NMDP,” said Sara Gavin, president of Weber Shandwick’s Minneapolis-St. Paul office. “It’s an honor to accept the Gold Quill of Excellence and be recognized in front of our peers.”

The Gold Quill Awards are a symbol of excellence and accomplishment within business communications. The award represents the top level of professional acknowledgement.

The 2007 National Marrow Donor Drive has set a standard for success. The campaign has been recognized with a Minnesota IABC Gold Quill of Excellence and Pinnacle award, received PRWeek's Healthcare Campaign of the Year and was a finalist for PRWeek’s Campaign of the Year, received a SABRE Certificate of Excellence and a Minnesota Public Relations Society of America Classics Award for Public Service Announcement.

About IABC
The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) enables a global network of communicators working in diverse industries and disciplines to identify, share and apply the world’s most effective communication practices. Established in 1970, IABC serves 14,500 members in 70 countries, 100 chapters and 10,000 organizations.

About Weber Shandwick
Weber Shandwick is a leading global public relations agency with offices in over 79 markets around the world. The firm’s reputation is built on its deep commitment to client service, creativity, collaboration and harnessing the power of Advocates - engaging stakeholders in new and creative ways to build brands and reputation. Weber Shandwick provides strategy and execution across world-class practices such as consumer marketing, healthcare, technology, public affairs, corporate/financial and crisis management. Its specialized services include digital/social media, advertising, market research, and corporate responsibility. Weber Shandwick received the highest client-satisfaction honors in the 2007 Agency Excellence Survey by PRWeek U.S. and in 2006, was named Large PR Firm of the Year (PR News U.S.), European Consultancy of the Year (The Holmes Report) and Network of the Year (Asia Pacific PR Awards). The firm also won the United Nations Grand Award for Outstanding Achievement in Public Relations for the past three years. Weber Shandwick is part of the Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG). For more information, visit http://www.webershandwick.com/.