LOS ANGELES, CA – RL Public Relations (RLPR) was honored with three awards during the 25th Anniversary HPRA (Hispanic Public Relations Association) PRemio Awards & Scholarship Gala held in Hollywood last night. 
CEO and Founder Roxana Lissa was named individual public relations practitioner of the year for her outstanding work and commitment to her clients and her company. RLPR also received two HPRA PRemio Awards: corporate media event of the year for its Heineken Green Ribbon program, and food and beverage campaign of the year for the Honey Nut Cheerios “Desayuna con Juan Soler” campaign.
“I feel humbled and elated by this honor, and truly grateful to my team, who accept this award along with me,” said Roxana Lissa. “HPRA is an amazing organization that has helped to raise the profile of our profession. It means so much to me to join the list of inspirational professionals who have received this honor in the past.”
Roxana founded RL Public Relations + Marketing in 1996 at the age of 25, just four years after arriving in Los Angeles from Argentina. She has since driven the company to its leading position in the industry, with two offices in the U.S., iconic brands as clients, a sports division, and gross revenues of $4 million.
A mentor to many and a mother of two, Roxana is committed to her profession, her staff and her clients, and it shows in both her client retention and continued growth. Clients stay and expand their relationship with RLPR year after year: GOT MILK? has been a client for almost a decade, investing close to $1,000,000 in RLPR annually; Nike, the National Honey Board, Heineken USA and Clarins are just some of the clients who consider RLPR their Hispanic Agency of Record.
Heineken Green Ribbon: Corporate Media Event of the Year
As Hispanic PR Agency of Record for Heineken USA, RLPR is tasked each year with developing a compelling Hispanic PR campaign to support Heineken’s sponsorship of the Latin GRAMMY Awards. For the 2008 Awards, the team reinvigorated the brand’s philanthropic effort, the Heineken Green Ribbon – a national initiative that provides funding to Latin music education programs and Latino artists. Four-time Latin GRAMMY award winning group, Banda El Recodo, was engaged as the official Heineken Green Ribbon Ambassadors. RLPR implemented a two-phase media process that involved the Green Ribbon Ambassadors, Houston’s Hispanic community and a great deal of media. RLPR achieved its objective of securing Heineken branded coverage in connection to the Latin GRAMMY Awards, as well as raising awareness for the Green Ribbon program. Heineken-branded, feature placements were secured in the most influential Hispanic media outlets in the country, totaling over 50 million impressions.
Honey Nut Cheerios’ “Desayuna con Juan Soler”: Food and Beverage Campaign of the Year
With Hispanics being one of the groups most vulnerable to heart disease and high cholesterol, General Mills sought to reach Hispanics with a message that Honey Nut Cheerios are “Delicioso y Saludable”. The “Desayuna con Juan Soler” sweepstakes, devised by RLPR, engaged Latinas – the gatekeepers to Hispanic pantries and health. The fully-integrated program included a Web site, product packaging and advertising – as well as public relations and blogger relations. 4,800 entries were received, and the PR campaign yielded more than 155 stories, reaching 35 million Latinos with the Honey Nut Cheerios heart health message.