Riester Wins Top 2019 PRWeek Award in the Nation

Youth voter education campaign wins ‘Best in Public Sector’ campaign

Riester and client the Citizens Clean Elections Commission were triumphant at the annual PRWeek Awards which celebrates the best of the best corporate, agency, nonprofit, and government PR teams and the work they produced during the entry period. The team won the top PRWeek Award in the nation for the ‘18 in 2018’ youth voter education campaign in the category of ‘Best in Public Sector’ campaigns. Only 45 trophies are awarded each year across all categories of competition, so each one is truly special.

Riester and Citizens Clean Elections Commission competed against the best of the best national brands and agencies, including Procter & Gamble’s “Always” feminine products “Period Poverty Campaign” which received runner-up honors and “HPV Vaccination is Cancer Prevention” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases and “Covered In Art” by Covered California Fifth Open Enrollment.

Following the award presentation, the Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Voter Education Director Gina Robers said, “We are ecstatic to bring the PRWeek Award for ‘Best in Public Sector Campaigns’ for ’18 in 2018’ home to Arizona. Shining light on the importance of civic involvement before a national audience of industry leaders was gratifying. We will continue to challenge ourselves to best meet the needs of voters and are already collaborating with Riester on the next big idea to increase voter participation in our state.”

The origins of the ‘18 in 2018’ campaign came from Riester’s idea to capitalize on the last two digits of the year ‘18’ as a way of emphasizing that the legal voting age is 18. It quickly evolved into a multifaceted campaign that combined art and technology. Specifically, knowing that street art and social media were definite subcultures for this age group and a way to engage this audience, Riester designed the campaign centerpiece—an art installation of 10’ x 10’ multi-colored wings combined with an augmented reality (AR) mobile experience that led people to the Citizens Clean Elections Commission website to register to vote. With a few clicks on an app and a unique QR code, the wings begin to move and the person appears to be on the verge of taking flight; and why the mural is called Take Flight, with an implied: with your vote. The mural continues to be hugely popular and will continue to animate with AR through 2019. There have been thousands of pictures and videos taken at Take Flight installed in the Phoenix arts district as well as a popular concert venue in Tucson, Arizona. This win is especially meaningful to Riester, as the company marks its 30th year in business.