SANTA MONICA, Calif., June 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Santa Monica, CA-based Macerich Company (NYSE: MAC) and Dallas, TX-based Lovell Public Relations were awarded with the PR industry's highest honor, a Silver Anvil Award, on Thursday, June 14 at the 2001 Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) annual awards ceremony in New York City. The winning program, "An Old Glory*ous Celebration," was one of 46 honored and selected from 736 entries.
Winning in the Special Events and Observances category, "An Old Glory*ous Celebration" was a summer-long program designed to appeal to Americans' patriotism during the presidential election year. Based on shopping surveys that included questions on patriotic sentiments and American history, Macerich Company found that while many Americans are not knowledgeable about historical facts, most have a sense of patriotism. Macerich and Lovell Public Relations' objectives for "An Old Glory*ous Celebration" were to brand Macerich Company's mall properties as community centers and to increase summer mall traffic.
As part of the campaign, the company decorated its malls with historic flags and patriotic themes, installed flagpoles, set up educational exhibits on American history, produced a flag etiquette handbook for shoppers, and hosted several incentive programs including a Sing America CD benefiting Save America's Treasures and Smithsonian Institute. Local government, police and veteran groups volunteered their time and services to make presentations and exhibits during the summer.
Many of the malls hosted voter registration groups to make it convenient for shoppers to register to vote. Macerich Company kicked off the campaign in each of the malls on Flag Day 2000 with Star Spangled Banner singing contests, old-fashioned wagon parades, ice cream socials, student essay contests, barbershop quartets, and flag raising ceremonies.
"We were honored to accept this prestigious award from the public relations industry," said Susan Valentine, senior vice president of marketing for Macerich Company. "This program not only brought increased traffic to our malls, but it also provided an opportunity for our shoppers to celebrate their patriotism."
As a result of "An Old Glory*ous Celebration," there was a noted increase in the number of shoppers at Macerich properties during the campaign compared to the same period in 1999. On Flag Day alone, over 75,000 additional visitors went to Macerich properties compared to 1999. In addition, the malls received over 3,000 entries for the various student essay contests. Also, Macerich properties distributed almost 15,000 flag etiquette books and over 13,000 American flags during the summer.
The Macerich Company owns and manages 46 regional malls and five community centers nationwide and is one of the nation's largest owner/operators of regional malls. Founded in 1965, Macerich is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "MAC". For more information, visit the Macerich web site at www.macerich.com.
Lovell Public Relations, Inc. represents local and national clients in a variety of industries, including retail, hospitality, entertainment, technology, and healthcare. For more information, visit its web site at www.lovellpr.com.
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SOURCE Macerich Company and Lovell Public Relations
/NOTE TO EDITORS: Photos available upon request./
CONTACT: Betty Lovell, blovell@lovellpr.com, or Jenny Braga, jbraga@lovellpr.com, both of Lovell Public Relations, 972-788-4511/