Abrasives North America brings home Communications Star

Communications Star AwardAbrasives North America was recognized by Saint-Gobain with a 2014 Communications Stars Award in the “sponsorship” category for the business’ relationship with the United States Luge Association.

The Star award—the only one received by any North American business this year--recognizes the Winning Edge public relations campaign, which shared the more-than-30-year history between Norton, a brand of Saint-Gobain Abrasives, and the United States Luge Association. Over the years, Norton has supported USA Luge and its athletes in a unique partnership, in which Saint-Gobain has provided engineering expertise and products to help give team members a winning edge.  The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, presented a perfect opportunity to celebrate this longstanding partnership.

Led by Lauren Petit, Manager of Communications and Community Relations in Worcester, a robust public relations campaign was developed to share the story with national and local media, the local community, and company employees at the Worcester and Watervliet, New York, locations.

“Through the use of multiple forms of media outreach, including print, radio, broadcast and social media, Norton enhanced its brand in the marketplace and achieved more than 15 million media impressions in just a four-month time period,” says Brad Johnson, vice president, Saint-Gobain Abrasives North America. “In addition to our robust media campaign, we also experienced a significant increase in employee engagement, of which I am most proud.”

“It was a pleasure to work with Lauren in an effort to maximize the excitement surrounding the 2014 Games for Norton,” says Gordy Sheer, Director of Marketing, United States Luge Association and himself a Luge Olympic Medalist. “From our perspective, we have a great story to tell about our partnership with Norton, particularly related to the technology and sled development expertise provided to us, which was validated in the form of Erin Hamlin's Bronze medal performance at the 2014 Games.”

Sophie Chevallon, global vice president of communications for Saint-Gobain, presented the Star to Lauren Petit during the awards ceremony, which was held at the Eiffel Tower.

For information on entering the 2015 Stars of Communication competition, go to:  http://stars.saint-gobain.com/en/infos-pratiques-2/