A Draperstown-based company has won a major award.

By Ciaran O’Neill

editor@derrypost.com

Pinc PR has taken top honours in the 2008 Awards for Excellence in Public Relations for its media relations campaign for Rally Ireland, the cross-border Round of the World Rally Championship.

 The local firm beat off competition from a large number of PR firms throughout Ireland at an awards ceremony in Dublin to take the prize for its print and broadcast media campaign for the inaugural round of the World Rally Championship.

The event took place in eight counties north and south, with over a quarter of a million live spectators and a global television audience of 62 million people.

 Director of Pinc PR, Patricia MacBride, said she was delighted with her company’s success.

“Creating public understanding and knowledge about such a unique and exciting event as Rally Ireland was a huge challenge and a great opportunity to undertake an all-island media campaign,” she said.

“We’re delighted that such a young company was entrusted with that challenge and that our strategy was judged by our peers as being solid and correct.

“We could not have achieved this success, however, without the many people who were drafted and dragooned into coming on board to support Rally Ireland, including importantly the thousands of members of Motorsport Ireland and the ANICC, who made sure the running of the event placed us amongst the top events in the Championship.

“We have a huge challenge for 2009 when Rally Ireland will open the Championship to ensure that we continue that level of visibility, goodwill and success for the event and all involved in it.”

Research by the University of Ulster showed that Rally Ireland generated €48/£36 million in additional economic spend for the north-west region.