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| Stephen Banks, Emily Pykett and Sara Hudston from Watershed PR at the Goldsmiths' Hall, London with the 1933 Double Eagle gold coin, worth $7.6m |
A Pan-European campaign masterminded by Watershed PR has won one of the world’s top business awards. Watershed managed the UK launch of the 1933 Double Eagle tour on behalf of a client, the Samlerhuset Group, in March 2012.
The 1933 Double Eagle is the world’s most expensive gold coin and a legend in coin collecting circles. This famous object left its home at the Smithsonian Institution in America to take its first ever exhibition tour of Europe, visiting Samlerhuset companies in the UK, Eire, Belgium, Czech Republic, Poland, Norway and Finland.
The 1933 Double Eagle has a face value of $20 dollars but is worth at least $7.6 million, and had to be chained to a security guard when it was not kept under lock and key in a bank vault. Watershed arranged for the coin to be securely escorted to TV studios in London where it appeared on prime-time programmes such as The One Show and BBC Breakfast.
Watershed’s press conference, held in the Goldsmiths’ Hall, London, sparked media frenzy. The tour generated a massive amount of media coverage in all seven countries and the USA, excited thousands to go and see this fabulous US national treasure and demonstrated how innovative international partnerships between corporate and cultural sectors bring value to the world. Watershed built the 1933 Double Eagle website and set the template for the group’s social media strategy, which was rolled out across all its European offices.
In a related project, the Bridport-based PR agency also made the Samlerhuset Group’s corporate video, which is shown to employees at all its international headquarters.
The success of the 1933 Double Eagle tour resulted in the campaign winning a bronze Stevie® Award in the 9th Annual International Business Awards.
The International Business Awards are the world’s premier business awards programme. The 2012 IBAs received entries from more than 50 nations and territories. Nicknamed the Stevies for the Greek word for ‘crowned,’ the awards were presented to winners at a gala awards banquet at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Seoul, South Korea on 15 October.
More than 3,200 nominations from organisations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted this year. The Samlerhuset Group won bronze in the Communications or PR Campaign/Programme of the Year – Reputation/Brand Management category for the 1933 Double Eagle gold coin tour.
Sara Hudston, Principal of Watershed PR, said: ‘Watershed has a reputation for punching above its weight and this award is another confirmation of our ability to provide top results. It’s great to be a small agency based in Dorset and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with big international firms.’
Peter Swanston, CEO of the Samlerhuset Group, said: ‘Samlerhuset aims to bring the joy of coin collecting to everyone. The 1933 Double Eagle tour was a unique event organized for a unique coin. Throughout Europe, those who knew about it before were amazed to see it; those who learnt about it for the first time were even more impressed. We are proud to have that achievement recognised with a Stevie Award.’
