client highlights
Susan G. Komen CT Race for the Cure ®
Puffer PR was contracted as the communications director for the Susan G. Komen CT Race for the Cure for the 2006, 2007 and 2008 Races.
- The 2007 effort won an Award of Excellence Silver Quill from the International Association of Business Communicators Heritage Region for special event communications.
- The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure® Series is the largest 5K fitness runs/walks in the world boasting more than 1.5 million participants a year.
- Raising substantial funds for research and local programs, the Komen Race celebrates breast cancer survivors and empowers women to take charge of their breast health.
This assignment involved creating and implementing an integrated special event communications program that relied heavily on media relations and pushing internal communication through sponsor and grantee organizations. We developed a schedule of thematic messages that were pushed through all media with the same timing. For example, “It’s Easy to Form a Team,” was one message and became the subject of an e-blast, a news release, media pitching, and notices to past teams and current sponsors. 
Our crisp, clear messages were always critical and our unique story-telling approach proved successful throughout. We developed relevant content for targeted and segmented audiences. For example, we were able to place a testimonial story involving a survivor in a Spanish language newspaper, Registro and able to facilitate the production of a half-hour television show in Spanish, with a grantee and two survivors. The show aired locally and on Telemundo. We were able to produce three survivor testimonials with the local NBC affiliate television station and after use on the evening news, they were posted as streaming video on the station's Web site. We were able to place numerous stories within sponsor organizational publications, such as Yale-New Haven Hospital, UPS, AT&T and Pratt & Whitney, that greatly increased their teams’ size and fundraising success. Among other efforts, we negotiated, secured and otherwise managed multiple media sponsorships; and handled spokesperson responsibilities, non-traditional and web placements; art direction and more.
While results represent a a team effort, the Race continues to grow in numbers, but more importantly, money raised. In 2008, the money raised topped $625,000. Komen has poured nearly $18 million into the state of Connecticut for research and programs over its 15 years of operation.