Explore Chinatown, ZERO-G Campaigns Head Roster of Winners for M. Silver Associates at 2006 HSMAI Public Relation Awards

Agency Collects 10 Top Awards for Excellence in Public Relations at Prestigious Travel Industry Competition Event

NEW YORK -- Chinatown New York and ZERO-G Corporation were two of the big winners at the 2006 Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Awards gala, walking away with Platinum, Gold and Silver Adrian awards for outstanding public relations programs. For M. Silver Associates, the New York- and Fort Lauderdale-based public relations agency specializing in travel, tourism and lifestyle, the recognition for its Chinatown and ZERO-G campaigns and other programs capped another highly successful year as the agency collected a total of 10 awards on behalf of five clients.

Since HSMAI, a global organization representing hospitality industry professionals, began its annual awards program, M. Silver Associates has earned over 270 awards on behalf of a broad range of clients from the organization and other prominent industry groups.

Among the awards given to MSA at HSMAI gala celebration at the Marriott Marquis in New York were the prestigious Platinum and Gold Adrians for its “Explore Chinatown” campaign. Designed to help revive lower Manhattan’s local economy following September 11, the objectives of the campaign were to restore consumer confidence in the area, increase revenue for Chinatown businesses, increase visitation and gain the support of the local Chinese business community for collaborative endeavors. The program included the first-time development of a wide range of communication resources, from a Chinatown logo and press kit to website and email newsletter to a visitor’s information kiosk and an advertising program. In a related campaign, MSA and Chinatown also won a Silver Adrian for promotion of the destination’s Lunar New Year.

MSA also collected two Gold Adrians on behalf of Fort Lauderdale-based ZERO-G Corporation for generating high level media coverage of the company’s revolutionary flights into weightlessness, specifically feature placements on The Today Show and in Travel & Leisure magazine. A Silver Adrian was awarded for ZERO-G’s service launch and multi-city promotional tour and a Bronze award given for feature coverage in the Wall Street Journal. A pioneer in space tourism, ZERO-G brings the futuristic world of sub-orbital space flight to everyday adventures.

A Gold Adrian was presented on behalf of MSA’s media campaign for Emirates, the Dubai-based international airline that has redefined standards of onboard luxury service. The agency handled the launch of the carrier’s non-stop Dubai to New York service with results of that campaign honored by HSMAI. Other awards collected by MSA included a Silver Adrian on behalf of Millennium Hotels & Resorts for leveraging the company’s Hudson Theatre Tiffany Mosaic Restoration program at the Millennium Broadway in New York, and a Bronze award for television feature coverage of Greater Fort Lauderdale’s “Beach on Wheels” multi-market tour conducted annually to promote the destination in key customer producing cities in the U.S. and Canada during the winter season. The “Beach on Wheels” campaign, launched in 2004, has been a marketing success for the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau and is part of the Bureau’s “Here Comes the Sun” winter sales mission initiative also involving press conferences, media receptions and a media tour for CVB officials as well as sales events for travel agents and meeting planners.

In business for more than 30 years, M. Silver Associates Inc. has established itself as one of the United States’ leading public relations/marketing communications agencies specializing in travel and tourism. The agency’s portfolio includes domestic and international destinations, leading hotels and resorts, airlines, attractions and the cruise industry.

Headquartered in New York City, M. Silver operates a branch office in Fort Lauderdale. Headed up by agency Senior Vice President Rosalie Huerta, the Fort Lauderdale office serves national and regional clients with full-service capabilities as well as directing the agency’s Hispanic practice and Latin America market development. M. Silver Associations is also a partner in The WORLDCOM Group, Inc., a worldwide alliance of independent public relations agencies, which enables the agency to create global and in-market campaigns on behalf of its clients.

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