news

rbb was among five nationwide finalists at the North American SABRE Awards held May 11 in New York City. Last year, rbb also earned a Silver SABRE in the travel category for its successful campaign to restore industry confidence in the rebuilding of Mexican cruise port Costa Maya, which was damaged extensively by Hurricane Dean the year prior.             

“The campaign’s success was critically important to increase occupancy levels at AMResorts’ Mexico properties and to help rebuild Mexico’s image following last year’s devastating H1N1 epidemic, and rbb worked alongside AMResorts own marketing team and industry partners to regain normalcy as quickly as possible,” said Lisa Ross, rbb’s president and team leader of the firm’s travel and leisure practice. 

“We’re honored to receive this award for the second year in a row from The Holmes Report, which confirms that our work meets the profession’s highest standards of performance,” said Ross. According to Holmes Report Editor Paul Holmes, “This is a terrific accomplishment given the strong level of competition – there were more than 1,600 entries overall, of which only about 20% were finalists, and the quality was the highest the judges have seen in 10 years of SABRE Awards.” 

AMResorts’ “Flu Free Guarantee” campaign was created in direct response to the 2009 “H1N1” worldwide flu epidemic, which jeopardized tourism revenue and delivered a major blow to the Mexican tourism economy. The guarantee promised guests a refund of three-times the cost of their vacations if they contracted the H1N1 virus while staying at any AMResorts property. In May 2009, rbb launched an aggressively proactive, multi-faceted media communications program aimed directly at U.S. consumers to quickly restore confidence in travel to the company’s Mexican properties. By June 2009, occupancy levels across its resorts had risen by 140 percent from its lowest point. The campaign ultimately enlisted AMResorts’ competitors to join in the guarantee and work cooperatively, assuaging tourists’ fears and encouraging safe travel to help galvanize the Mexican economy back to recovery. Mexican officials even lauded AMResorts’ President Alex Zozaya with a major national award. 

The “Flu Free Guarantee” campaign is also a finalist for the Public Relations Society of America’s 2010 Silver Anvil award, which will be held next month. rbb Public Relations is the only Florida firm to be recognized by all the major industry awards. In 2009, rbb was named “Boutique Agency of the Year” by The Holmes Report and the year prior took home PRWeek Magazine’s "PR Agency of the Year" title. The Wall Street Journal has also taken notice, naming rbb one of the best places to work for three years running.  To view rbb Public Relations’ award-winning work visit www.rbbpr.com and to learn more about AMResorts visit www.amresorts.com. 

### 

About rbb Public Relations 

rbb Public Relations has a national reputation for delivering meaningful client results on par with the largest national firms, but with the individual attention of a boutique agency. Its bilingual staff excels in media and community relations, corporate communications, digital/social media and product introductions. The firm’s capabilities encompass a variety of practice areas, including B2B, consumer products, crisis management, travel & leisure, health & fitness and food and beverage. rbb is a member of the Converge network of PR firms. For more information, call (305) 448-7450 or visit www.rbbpr.com.   

Media Contact: 

John Prieur  / john.prieur@rbbpr.com / 305-717-8128