TROY, Michigan - Nick Skislak, CEO and founder of SS Digital Media, an award-winning digital marketing agency, will speak at the Detroit Regional Chamber’s leading marketing event called “Digital Marketing Secrets Revealed.” Skislak will join an expert panel to discuss “How to Invest Your Digital Marketing Resources: Interns, Ads, or Agencies.”

The annual event will be held on Thursday, May 3rd at the Greektown Casino-Hotel from 8:00 - 11:30 am and will tackle the tough topics that face digital marketers as they strive to maximize time and resources.

“Today, companies need various levels of specific talent, including strategists, analysts, designers and programmers,” says Skislak. “Finding the right balance of people, both in-house and contracted, is essential for a positive ROI, as the digital marketplace presents such a complex landscape.”

Registration is now open for the event.

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Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2018, SS Digital Media is a nationally recognized digital marketing and advertising agency in Troy, Michigan, focused on the customer journey. Services include e-commerce strategies and development, search and social marketing, brand strategy and implementation, website design and optimization, video production, measurement and analytics. For more information, please visit www.ssdigitalmedia.com.

For Immediate Release

Contacts: Samantha Chyette

(313) 309-7421

SamanthaChyette@JACKEntertainment.com

MATTHEW CULLEN RECEIVES HERB EVERSS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

JACK Entertainment Chief Executive Officer and Rock Ventures Principal honored at the Marketing and Sales Executives of Detroit Evening of Excellence

MARCH 29, 2018 (DETROIT) – Matthew Cullen, principal of Rock Ventures LLC and chief executive officer of JACK Entertainment LLC, was recognized with the Herb Everss Lifetime Achievement Award by the Marketing and Sales Executives of Detroit (MSED) at the 23^rd annual Evening of Excellence on March 27 at the Gem Theater in Detroit. The honor is named after Herb Everss, one of the founders of MSED, and is awarded to outstanding business leaders who have made a significant impact in their company, their industry and the communities in which they reside.

"Matt Cullen is the dictionary definition of a visionary who has generated a paradigm shift in how potential investors now view Detroit," said Dave Harries, chairman of the MSED Evening of Excellence and president of Spartan Marketing Services.

“I am honored to receive the prestigious Herb Everss Lifetime Achievement Award,” said Cullen. “Throughout my career I have been fortunate to have worked with companies and individuals that, while focused on business success, were also very motivated to be strong champions of their communities.  That philosophy of doing good while doing well has really become a part of who I am and my efforts to support the renaissance of my hometown have certainly been amongst the most rewarding experiences for me.”

Matthew Cullen holds the Herb Everss Lifetime Achievement Award next to Herb Everss (left) and Eric Larson (right) at MSED Evening of Excellence on March 27, at the Gem Theater in Detroit.

As chief executive officer of JACK Entertainment and principal of Rock Ventures, Cullen has helped bring hundreds of companies, as well as thousands of new workers and residents, into the city and has helped transform the way people invest in Detroit. To date, Rock Ventures has invested more than $2 billion in Detroit’s central business district and plans to invest an additional $2 billion in the coming years.

Cullen is a 29-year veteran of General Motors (GM), where he was general manager of economic development and enterprise services. In addition to coordinating economic development initiatives in the communities in which GM operates, he created a shared services organization and was responsible for the corporation’s vast 450-million-square-foot global real estate portfolio. He was the chief architect of GM’s $500 million acquisition and development of the Renaissance Center as the automaker’s global headquarters. Since 2003 he has helped oversee the billion dollar redevelopment of the city’s international riverfront as the founding chairman of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy.

Cullen also serves as volunteer president and CEO of the M-1 RAIL Streetcar initiative. The 6.6 mile streetcar, known as QLINE, connects the city’s largest cultural destinations, educational and entertainment facilities and employment centers along Woodward Avenue.

 

The Herb Everss Lifetime Achievement Award is the third award that Cullen has received from MSED. In 2000, Cullen won MSED’s Marketing Innovator of The Year award and was a recipient of the Executive Leadership Award in 2007. Proceeds from MSED events support the Detroit marketing and sales community through educational programming and collegiate scholarships.

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About JACK Entertainment LLC

Detroit-based JACK Entertainment LLC (“JACK”) is a recognized leader in the gaming-hospitality industry that owns and operates casinos that connect and energize the cities that they call home. JACK has gaming properties in downtown Cleveland, Cincinnati, Baltimore and Detroit and racing facilities in Ohio and Kentucky.  The complete JACK portfolio includes 7,000 team members, more than 13,000 gaming positions, 400 hotel rooms, 48 bars and restaurants, 400,000 square feet of gaming space and generates more than $1.2 billion in revenues.  For more information, visit jackentertainment.com.

Media Contacts:                                                                    Troy, Michigan, April 5, 2018

Lisa Washington

(248) 643-6590

meetings@meeting-coordinators.com

Jaclyn Bussert

(248) 269-1122

jbussert@bianchipr.com

Marketing Professionals and Business Executives in Southeastern Michigan receive honors and awards at the MSED Evening of Excellence on March 27^th

Matthew Cullen, principal of Rock Ventures LLC and CEO of JACK Entertainment LLC, Lon Offenbacher, President and CEO of Inteva Products, Jake Sigal, CEO of Tome, along with Platinum Award winners SS Digital Media Founder, Nick Skislak and Detroit Metro Convention & Visitor Bureau (DMCVB) President and CEO Larry Alexander received honors for their accomplishments at the Evening of Excellence hosted by the Marketing and Sales Executives of Detroit (MSED) on March 27 at the Gem Theatre in Detroit.

This 23rd annual Evening of Excellence celebrated the outstanding achievements of exceptional marketing professionals and business executives in southeastern Michigan.

Matthew Cullen, principal of Rock Ventures LLC and chief executive officer of JACK Entertainment LLC, was recognized with the Herb Everss Lifetime Achievement Award. This Award is presented in honor of Herb Everss, one of the founders of MSED, and is awarded to outstanding business leaders who have made a significant impact in their company, their industry and the communities in which they reside. As CEO of JACK Entertainment and principal of Rock Ventures, Cullen has helped bring hundreds of companies, as well as thousands of new workers and residents into the city and has helped transform the way people view investing in Detroit. Prior to his current position, Cullen served as the general manager of economic development and enterprise services for General Motors Corp. He also serves as president and CEO of the M-1 Rail Streetcar initiative. The 6.6-mile streetcar, known as QLINE, launched in May and connects the city’s largest cultural destinations, educational and entertainment facilities and employment centers along Woodward Avenue. The Herb Everss Lifetime Achievement Award is the third award that Cullen has received from MSED.

Lon Offenbacher received the 2018 Executive Leadership Award. Since founding Inteva Products in 2008, he has tripled the size of the company, expanding to nearly 50 sites worldwide and growing the customer base exponentially to 90 automakers. Prior to starting Inteva Products, Offenbacher served as business line executive for the Integrated Closure, Cockpit, and Interior Systems business lines at Delphi Corp. Offenbacher was recently named 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year for the Michigan and Northern Ohio Region and a national finalist for the U.S. Entrepreneur of the Year.

Jake Sigal was presented with the 2018 Trailblazer Award. As co-founder and CEO of Tome, a software company located in Royal Oak, Michigan, Sigal creates organic opportunities to collaborate with established companies and market leaders spanning a variety of industries. The company was named TechWeek Detroit’s 2017 Startup of the Year. Prior, Sigal was founder of Livio, an automotive connectivity company. Sigal sits on the Consumer Technology Association’s Board of Industry Leaders and is a proud supporter of TechStars.

In addition to our three executives, MSED also honored sales and marketing excellence with two Platinum Awards, recognizing individuals in the marketing and sales field who have distinguished themselves by helping their companies achieve critical business success.

Nick Skislak, Founder of SS Digital Media received one of the Platinum Awards for his fully integrated marketing agency with an emphasis on providing clients with a solid digital strategy. The company continually shares its findings with clients, transforming them from being active in the marketplace to advocates championing the needs of their customers.

The second Platinum Awardee is Larry Alexander, President and CEO of the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitor Bureau (DMCVB). The DMCVB sales and marketing team's positive and enthusiastic approach to selling Detroit paid dividends over the past few years. Their new campaign, “It’s Go Time,” reflects the region as a vibrant place to visit with its new tech shops, retailers, restaurants and more. The Detroit Sports Commission (DSC), a subsidiary, was created to better position Detroit to be able to attract multiple high-profile sporting events. In 2017, the DMCVB and DSC hosted over 200 events and over 350,000 combined room nights were booked, worth nearly $500 million. They also successfully secured bids to host the 2019 U.S. Figure Skating Championship and seven future NCAA Championships.

Congratulations to all of the Award Winners! Proceeds from MSED events support the Detroit marketing and sales community through educational programming and collegiate scholarships.

For more information on the MSED or to get information on the next Evening of Excellence, event sponsorships or advertising opportunities, contact Meeting Coordinators at 248-643-6590 or visit the MSED website at www.msedetroit.org/2018Celebration.

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Founded in 1988, the Marketing & Sales Executives of Detroit (MSED) is a non-profit association of accomplished sales and marketing professionals that recognize the powerful advantage of building and nurturing relationships with their peers and their community. MSED provides the network and resources to advance new thinking, exchange counsel, ideas and new business; and help its members advance their sales and marketing careers. MSED contributions to charities and its own scholarship program help foster the value of the sales and marketing profession in the community.

SS DIGITAL MEDIA 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Laura Oliveto 248.993.0229

laura@ssdigitalmedia.com

SS DIGITAL MEDIA TO SPEAK AT SMX WEST

TROY, Mich. -- SS Digital Media Partner, Amanda Farley, has been selected to speak at the 2018 SMX West Conference in San Jose, California, March 13-15, 2018.

Farley will be speaking on the growing complexity of search and social media advertising, and how each is utilized in an integrated marketing strategy. Topics will include ecommerce, multi- location, and other customer-journey strategies.

 

SMX is an annual search marketing expo that offers three days of expert-led, cutting-edge content and high-level networking for search-marketing professionals.

“The very best thought leaders in the country are panel participants at SMX. To be included in a  national conference at this level is an incredible honor for our agency,” says Farley, the company’s accounts director. “SSDM clients value our custom designed approach to their marketing needs, and we wouldn't have this extraordinary opportunity without them.”

SS Digital Media was selected to speak at SMX West to share best-practices through real case studies from 2017. “Digital marketing is a complex discipline and it requires that we stay ahead of every trend,” Farley notes. “We are a team of students. We share knowledge with each other and routinely discuss ways to refine our recommendations to achieve the very best results for our client partners.”

The agency has earned several marketing awards over the past several months and is a finalist for the Killer Content Awards being held in February in Scottsdale.

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Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2018, SS Digital Media is a nationally recognized digital marketing agency in Troy, Michigan, focused on the customer journey. Services include e-commerce strategies and development, search and social marketing, brand strategy and implementation, website design and optimization, video production, measurement and analytics. For more information, please visit www.ssdigitalmedia.com.

950 Stephenson Highway, Suite 110 | Troy MI 48083

Three top executives, Matthew Cullen, principal of Rock Ventures LLC and CEO of JACK Entertainment LLC, Lon Offenbacher, president and CEO of Inteva Products, and Jake Sigal, CEO of Tome, will be honored for their accomplishments at the Evening of Excellence, hosted by the Marketing and Sales Executives of Detroit (MSED), on March 27 at the Gem Theatre in Detroit.

The 23^rd annual Evening of Excellence celebrates the outstanding achievements of exceptional marketing professionals and business executives in southeastern Michigan. Proceeds from MSED events support the Detroit marketing and sales community through educational programming and collegiate scholarships.

“Each year we are proud to honor outstanding business leaders who have made a significant impact in their company, their industry and the communities in which they reside,” said Dave Harries, chairman of the MSED Evening of Excellence and president of Spartan Marketing Services.

Cullen will be recognized with the 2017 Herb Everss Lifetime Achievement Award. As CEO of JACK Entertainment and principal of Rock Ventures, Cullen has helped bring hundreds of companies, as well as thousands of new workers and residents into the city and has helped transform the way people view investing in Detroit. To date, Rock Ventures has invested more than $2 billion in Detroit’s central business district with plans to invest an additional $2 billion in the coming years. Prior to his current position, Cullen served as the general manager of economic development and enterprise services for General Motors Corp. He was credited for inspiring General Motors’ purchase of the Renaissance Center and subsequent $500 million in improvements, and was a driving force for the Detroit riverfront development. He also serves as president and CEO of the M-1 Rail Streetcar initiative. The 6.6 mile streetcar, known as QLINE, launched in May and connects the city’s largest cultural destinations, educational and entertainment facilities and employment centers along Woodward Avenue. In 2000, Cullen won MSED’s Marketing Innovator of The Year award and was a recipient of the Executive Leadership Award in 2007.

Offenbacher will receive the 2017 Executive Leadership Award. Since founding Inteva Products in 2008, he has tripled the size of the company, expanding to nearly 50 sites worldwide and growing the customer base exponentially to 90 automakers. Prior to starting Inteva Products, Offenbacher served as business line executive for the Integrated Closure, Cockpit, and Interior Systems business lines at Delphi Corp. Among his previous industry honors, Offenbacher was recently named 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year for the Michigan and Northern Ohio Region and a national finalist for the U.S. Entrepreneur of the Year.

Sigal will be recognized with the 2017 Trailblazer Award. As co-founder and CEO of Tome, a software company located in Royal Oak, Mich., Sigal creates organic opportunities to collaborate with established companies and market leaders spanning a variety of industries. The company was named TechWeek Detroit’s 2017 Startup of the Year. Sigal has made a career out of creating experiences consumer tech users want. Prior, Sigal was founder of Livio, an automotive connectivity company, which he sold to Ford Motor Co. in 2013. Sigal sits on the Consumer Technology Association’s Board of Industry Leaders and is a proud supporter of Techstars. In 2010, Sigal was named to Crain’s Detroit Business 20 in their 20s and in 2014 he received the Detroit Free Press Automotive Leadership Up and Coming Award.

The ceremony will also recognize southeastern Michigan’s top marketing and sales professionals with MSED’s Platinum Award. Judges on the Platinum Awards panel are made up of marketing and sales executives and past award recipients.

For more information on the MSED Evening of Excellence, event sponsorships or advertising opportunities, contact Meeting Coordinators at 248-643-6590 or visit the MSED website at www.msedetroit.org/2018Celebration.

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Founded in 1988, the Marketing & Sales Executives of Detroit (MSED) is a non-profit association of accomplished sales and marketing professionals that recognize the powerful advantage of building and nurturing relationships with their peers and their community. MSED provides the network and resources to advance new thinking, exchange counsel, ideas and new business; and help its members advance their sales and marketing careers. MSED contributions to charities and its own scholarship program help foster the value of the sales and marketing profession in the community.

Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss, P.C., a leading Michigan business law firm that has a long history of helping businesses succeed, has selected Bianchi Public Relations, Inc. – a metro Detroit public relations (PR) agency with deep media relations and communications experience – as its PR agency of record.

The announcement was made by William Sider, CEO of Jaffe, and James A. Bianchi, PR agency president.

Bianchi PR will help Jaffe with media relations around its key business law growth areas – including entrepreneurial start-ups, technology, real estate, estate planning, intellectual property, privacy and data security, mergers and acquisitions, and nonprofits – as well as promote the law firm’s upcoming 50^th anniversary and related future-focused activities.

Founded in 1968 in Detroit to provide responsive legal services to help business owners succeed, Jaffe has grown into one of Michigan’s top business law firms (ranked #8 in Crain’s Detroit Business’ latest list of largest Detroit law firms). The firm is still deeply rooted in Detroit with an office in the historic Grand Park Centre building at W. Adams and Woodward. Jaffe also operates offices in Southfield and Ann Arbor, Mich. and Naples, Fla. to meet its clients’ needs. Jaffe clients include: American Airlines, Detroit Zoological Society, Feldman Automotive, REDICO, Spirit Airlines, Storage Pros Management LLC, Strength Capital Partners, Sun Communities, Inc., Toll Brothers, Inc. and Zingerman’s Community of Businesses.

Based in Troy, Mich. and celebrating its 25^th anniversary this year, Bianchi PR pioneered the proprietary Social Media Use by Professional Service Firms (SMUPS) study. The study analyzed how the top Detroit law, accounting, engineering service, staffing and architectural firms use social media platforms and identified issues and opportunities for local professional service firms.

Adriana Van Duyn, a PRSA-accredited professional and a 13-year veteran with Bianchi PR, will direct the firm’s work for Jaffe as account supervisor.

About Bianchi PR

With special expertise in business-to-business PR and social media for professional service firms and automotive suppliers, Bianchi PR was founded in 1992 and is ranked among the top three independent PR agencies based in Metro Detroit, according to PRWeek’s 2017 ranking of PR firms.

Among Bianchi PR’s ongoing business-to-business PR clients are Adient, BASF, Cooper Standard, Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies, KIRCO, Schaeffler Group, Toptal Automotive & Mobility, and Yanfeng Automotive Interiors. The firm’s experience also includes work with several law and consulting firms and multiple industry trade organizations. For more information, visit http://www.bianchipr.com or call 248-269-1122.

Bianchi PR is a member of the Public Relations Global Network (PRGN), one of the world’s largest international PR networks. Clients across six continents depend on the combined resources of PRGN to deliver targeted PR campaigns in markets around the world. With revenues of more than $101 million, PRGN harnesses the resources of more than 50 independent public relations firms and 900-plus communications professionals to connect international companies and organizations with individual and culturally diverse markets globally. Visit PRGN online at www.prgn.com, on Twitter at @PRGN and on Instagram at @PublicRelationsGlobalNetwork.  

About Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss, P.C.

Michigan-based Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss, P.C. is a full-service business law firm representing and advising entrepreneurs and businesses nationwide. Focused on results, invested in relationships and driven by opportunity, Jaffe has 110 attorneys at its Detroit, Southfield, Mich., Ann Arbor, Mich. and Naples, Fla. offices.

The firm’s practice areas include appellate, aviation, corporate, criminal, privacy, data breach & data security, e-commerce, electronic banking, emerging and growth business, employee benefits, environmental, estate planning, family law, financial services, franchise law, immigration, impact investing/social enterprise, insolvency and reorganization, insurance, intellectual property, information technology, litigation, labor, mergers and acquisitions, mortgage banking, property tax appeals, public finance, real estate, securities and tax law. For more information, visit www.jaffelaw.com.

SS Digital Media, an industry leader in digital marketing, has been awarded the Best of MichBusiness Award in the Marketing and PR Prophets category by MichBusiness, powered by MBPA (Michigan Business and Professionals Association). 

As described in the judging criteria, winners in this category are “laser-focused on the right audience with the right answer, at the right time.” 

“We live this mantra each and every day,” says Nick Skislak, agency founder and managing partner. “Our teams are constantly studying, attending conferences and seminars, earning certifications and sharing knowledge with each other. It’s absolutely essential in digital marketing, where advancements happen with lightning speed.” 

The Best of MichBusiness Award ceremony will be held the evening of Thursday, November 30 at the MGM Grand Hotel in Detroit. 

SS Digital Media 

SS Digital Media is a nationally recognized digital marketing and advertising agency in Troy, Michigan, focused on e-commerce and B2B companies. Services include e-commerce strategies and development, search and social marketing, brand strategy and implementation, website design and optimization, video production, measurement and reporting. For more information, please visit www.ssdigitalmedia.com. 

MichBusiness

For more than three decades, as the Michigan Business and Professional Association, the organization’s mission and history of successful business partnerships have positively impacted more than 150,000 businesses.

Through interactive programs, affiliates, and sister companies, professionals and leaders in our statewide business community have been able to apply the tools and opportunities we provide to their organizations in order to make their businesses better.

The Marketing & Sales Executives of Detroit (MSED) is seeking nominations for its prestigious Platinum Awards, an award program recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of marketing and sales professionals in southeastern Michigan.

Two Platinum Award winners will be honored at the MSED Evening of Excellence, which has been moved and will be taking place on March 27, 2018, extending the nomination period to February 1, 2018. Nominees do not have to be MSED members and the nominations can be made for a team or individual.

“Marketing and sales professionals are continuing to make a difference in their industry,” said Dave Harries, event chairman, MSED and president of Spartan Marketing Services. “The Platinum Awards provide the opportunity for recipients to be recognized by their peers and celebrate their business success, as well as provide a platform to showcase their expertise.”

The Platinum Awards nomination form can be downloaded at https://www.msedetroit.org/Platinum/. Nominees will be evaluated by MSED judges based on how they are helping their companies achieve critical business success by overcoming obstacles, creating new sales and marketing approaches, meeting company goals, impacting a business or industry, exhibiting exemplary teamwork or leadership, and delivering significant accomplishments between Jan. 1, 2015 and December 31, 2017.

Judges, which will be made up of marketing and sales executives and past Platinum participants, will then select finalists based on qualifications, interviews and in-person presentations. The winners will be announced at MSED’s Evening of Excellence on March 27. They will also have the opportunity to present their stories at a future MSED dinner meeting.

Past Platinum Award winners include individuals or teams from companies such as Hella, MERA, Dow Automotive, Priority Health, Grede Holdings, SKF, Rehmann, The Pink Fund, Reliance One, Altair and Rugged Liner.

At the event, MSED will also honor Southeast Michigan business leaders with its Trailblazer, Executive Leadership and Lifetime Achievement Awards.

For more information on the MSED Platinum Award nominations, event sponsorships or advertising opportunities, contact Meeting Coordinators at 248-643-6590 or visit the MSED website at www.msedetroit.org.

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Founded in 1988, the Marketing & Sales Executives of Detroit (MSED) is a non-profit association of accomplished sales and marketing professionals that recognize the powerful advantage of building and nurturing relationships with their peers and their community. MSED provides the network and resources to advance new thinking, exchange counsel, ideas and new business; and help its members advance their sales and marketing careers. MSED contributions to charities and its own scholarship program help foster the value of the sales and marketing profession in the community.

Global marketing and communications firm Finn Partners today announced that Mike DeVilling, one of Detroit's longstanding public relations professionals, has joined the agency as Senior Partner.

Reporting to Finn's managing partner, Dan Pooley, DeVilling will serve as senior partner in the Detroit office. He will lead new business development, client service and counsel, and will provide a variety of content, media relations and issues management services.

"Mike brings entrepreneurial energy, senior leadership, marcomm expertise, strong community and industry knowledge to our growing Detroit team," Pooley said. "His background in multiple industry sectors is a great match for our Detroit office and his automotive experience adds to our strength in the technologies that are driving the future of vehicle autonomy and mobility. Mike will be a catalyst for both our Detroit office and for Finn Partners' automotive tech expertise around the globe."

For more than nine years, DeVilling ran his own boutique agency in metro Detroit, servicing clients across the country in the automotive, nonprofit, real estate and personal finance sectors. His firm specialized in media relations, social media and content marketing services.

DeVilling was previously on the management team at John Bailey & Associates, Detroit, rising to executive vice president in 2006.  While there, he led several automotive client relationships, including the North American International Auto Show. Prior to that, DeVilling was director of corporate communications for Cars.com. He also served on the management team at Eisbrenner Public Relations after launching his career at Casey Communications.

"Finn Partners has quickly become one of the most respected global marketing and communications firms, and I've found out very quickly, the Detroit team reflects that reputation by doing amazing work for its clients," DeVilling said. "The Agency has a growing operation here, and is uniquely positioned to counsel clients at the intersection of the automotive and technology sectors. I look forward to helping the team continue to grow, both in Detroit and across the agency's network of offices."

About Finn Partners
Founded in 2011 on the core principles of innovation and collaborative partnership, Finn Partners has more than tripled in size in six years, becoming one of the fastest growing independent public relations agencies in the world. The full-service marketing and communications company's record-setting pace is a result of organic growth and integrating new companies and new people into the Finn Partners world through a common "work hard-play nice" philosophy. With over 550 professionals, Finn Partners provides its clients with global access and capabilities in the U.S., Europe and Asia, in addition to its PROI Worldwide affiliates. Headquartered in New York, Finn Partners' other offices are in: Chicago, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Frankfurt, Jerusalem, London, Los Angeles, Munich, Nashville, Paris, Portland, San Francisco, Shanghai, Singapore and Washington D.C. Find them at finnpartners.com and follow them on Twitter and Instagram at @finnpartners.

Contact:
Renee.Martin@finnpartners.com
212-715-1600

SOURCE Finn Partners

SS Digital Media, a full-service digital marketing and advertising agency, recently was awarded the Renaissance Award by the Detroit Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC).

SS Digital Media’s campaign to restore the reputation of the Humane Society of Macomb won a Gold Quill award in the Community Relations category of the Communication Management division. 

Adhering to global IABC standards, the award is bestowed for excellence in strategic communication recognizing smart thinking, flawless execution and results. Each entry consists of two components: the work plan and the work sample. 

SS Digital Media worked with the Humane Society of Macomb when the shelter was being assaulted by protesters, both online and physically on the sidewalk outside its front door. Local TV news stations featured the story often as the accusations involved treatment of animals, a tender subject for most. 

The agency delved into the issues behind the accusations and helped the shelter remedy situations that led to misrepresentation in the media and online. A strategic plan, including operational changes, a new website and social media initiatives were implemented and within a relatively short time period, positive public sentiment was restored. 

“As gratifying as it is to win this award from IABC, the real ‘win’ was the turnaround in public opinion about the Humane Society of Macomb,” says Amanda Farley, accounts director and partner at SS Digital Media. “Swift communications action in a crisis situation is critical and we were delighted at the outcome. HSM has since been recognized as a model shelter and we continue to work with them to spread the word about their caring, compassionate care.” 

The IABC awards ceremony will be held on Wednesday, October 4, from Noon to 2:00 at the Henry in Dearborn. 

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SS Digital Media is a full-service digital marketing and advertising agency in Troy, Michigan. Services include e-commerce strategies and development, search and social marketing, brand design and implementation, website design and optimization, video production, measurement and reporting. For more information, please visit www.ssdigitalmedia.com.