The full-service public relations and marketing firm, The Communication Solutions Group, is honored to have two award-winning campaigns recognized by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Philadelphia Chapter. Held annually, the PRSA Pepperpot Awards celebrates the best PR campaigns, tactics and professionals in the Philadelphia region. Communication Solutions won a first place Pepperpot Award in the community relations campaign category and a second place Ladle Award in the internal/employee communications campaign category.
Community Relations Campaign Allows Three NJ Fire Districts to Pass Budget Referendums
Accepting the Pepperpot Award for the community relations category.
In the community relations category, Communication Solutions won a Pepperpot Award for running public awareness campaigns for three New Jersey Fire Districts. The campaigns led to all three passing their budget referendums in 2025, allowing the fire districts to purchase the necessary equipment and resources to protect their firefighters and the community.
Most states do not require fire budgets to be approved by voters; however, in New Jersey, voters elect a Board of Fire Commissioners that is responsible for submitting an annual budget to voters for approval.
To prepare for the February 2025 fire district referendum vote, Communication Solutions began its work with each fire district (Freehold Township Fire District #2, Jackson Township Fire District #3, and Hanover Township Fire District #3) by developing key talking points. Although fire districts can’t tell voters how to vote, they can tell them why voting matters. Communication Solutions worked with each fire district to develop their “why” narrative and implemented the following strategies: added a “voting matters” section to the website, pitched press releases, launched a social media campaign, organized local presentations, mailed oversized postcards to residents, purchased informational ads in hyper-local publications, and reinforced messages until polls closed.
On the night of the election, all three fire districts reported higher turnouts and positive feedback from voters. In the days that followed, Communication Solutions awaited and received three exciting phone calls: All three fire districts won their referendums.
“By embracing comprehensive public awareness plans, the fire districts transformed potential opponents into supportive voters,” said Kellie Francello, public relations and marketing manager. “Now their first responders have the equipment and resources necessary to protect lives and property for years to come.”
Social Media Marketing Training Bridges the Generational Gap for Local Real Estate Agency
Accepting the Ladle Award for the internal/employee communications category.
In the internal/employee communications campaign category, Communication Solutions won a Ladle Award for its in-person training program that empowered real estate agents at Quinn & Wilson Realtors to create social media video content.
According to the National Association of Realtors, listings with videos receive 403% more inquiries than those without. With Quinn & Wilson Realtors comprised mainly of Boomers and a few Millennials, social media training was vital to help their team compete with younger, digitally savvy agents.
Communication Solutions conducted a digital survey to assess each agent’s comfort level and existing knowledge of social media platforms. With this data in mind, the team developed a do’s and don’ts presentation and reference sheet. Following this kick-off training, Digital Marketing Manager Jessica Lis led hands-on video editing workshops in small group sessions.
Lis showed agents directly on their personal phones how to use the editing tools to slow down their video, speed it up, cut footage out, change the text font or color, add the location of the property and add text displaying their contact information.
“I designed the curriculum to cover fundamental video editing skills, while also focusing on critical, industry-specific applications, such as pacing a video to highlight key property features,” said Lis.
Since the training took place around the same time as the Oscars, Communication Solutions Group organized a culminating “Quinn & Wilson Hosts the Oscars” viewing party, where agents could showcase their completed videos, making the process empowering and enjoyable. Realtors received awards in playful but meaningful categories like “Best Presentation of a Fixer Upper” and “Best Mirror Selfie.”
After the event, Communication Solutions observed a notable increase in agents posting their own video content and sharing it on the brokerage’s social media channels, proving the lasting effect of this strategic training initiative.
“We are proud to implement campaigns that allow our clients to succeed in their fields and be recognized by the Philadelphia public relations community,” said Leza Raffel, president and founder.
The Communication Solutions Group, Inc., is a full-service marketing and public relations agency that offers exceptional internal and external communication strategies for businesses, nonprofits and governmental organizations. Learn more about Communication Solutions at www.comsolutions.com.