Mekky Media Relations Inc. is celebrating its fourth anniversary with the announcement of a major national honor – a Bronze Stevie Award for Public Relations Agency of the Year in the American Business Awards, the country’s premier business awards program. The agency also is celebrating its recent 2020 Bulldog PR Award, which recognizes the most outstanding PR and communications campaigns throughout the country. Mekky Media received Bronze for Best Not-for-Profit Campaign, in recognition of its PR work for Susan G. Komen Chicago’s 2019 Race for the Cure, for which Chicago Cubs superstar Anthony Rizzo was honorary chair.
These June awards culminate a fast-paced year of growth and success for Mekky Media, which provides PR strategy and media relations, media training, event promotion, social media strategy and influencer outreach. Over the past year alone, the agency has partnered with many leaders in their industries, including The Ark, BKS Custom Clothiers, Cicero School District 99, Devices 4 the Disabled, Girl and the Kitchen, Impact XM, LISA, PN Medical and TCS Education System. These new partners join the agency’s diverse client roster, ranging from innovative start-ups to established businesses to leading nonprofits.
Another success heading into the fourth anniversary was the agency’s invitation to join the International Public Relations Network (IPRN), which shares knowledge and expertise among leading agencies in more than 40 countries. Mekky Media joins IPRN as the group celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.
These milestones demonstrate how far Mekky Media has advanced in just four years, since founder and president Michelle Mekky established the company at her dining room table in 2016, with one client. With her dedication to personal attention, extensive insider media knowledge and contacts, and passion for creative storytelling, she quickly brought in new clients and began achieving high-profile media placements to fuel their growth.
Other Mekky Media clients have included Abt Electronics, Francesca’s Restaurant Group, Inspired Interiors, Wealth Management Group, strategic partner TimeZoneOne and West Edge Design, the agency’s first Los Angeles client. In addition, Mekky Media has represented some of Chicago’s top nonprofits, including the Center for Enriched Living, Chicago Lights, Chicago Scholars, Holiday Heroes, IES Abroad, the Muslim American Leadership Alliance and Susan G. Komen Chicago. Mekky, a cancer survivor, also serves as a spokesperson for the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition.
“It is rewarding to achieve powerful results for organizations that I deeply respect,” Mekky says. “And we’re gratified to know that word is circulating, as businesses of all kinds are frequently seeking us out to help them tell their stories.”
Mekky Media’s growth has even continued throughout COVID-19. Several organizations partnered with the agency throughout the spring of 2020 to communicate the innovative ways they are pivoting during the pandemic to meet the needs of their communities.
Mekky Media has grown to 10 professionals who come from top PR firms and leading newsrooms, and Mekky is planning a further expansion of the team. Mekky says she’s proud of the talented, passionate staff she’s assembled and thankful to collaborate with her team members on “the rewarding, creative work we get to do together every day.”
Mekky Media has helped its clients tell their stories through millions of media impressions in print, broadcast and online Chicago-area and national outlets. The agency has been widely recognized for its successes. In addition to the recent Stevie and Bulldog Awards, the team won two Publicity Club of Chicago Golden Trumpet Awards last year. Mekky also won a 2018 Stevie Award for Women in Business, receiving a bronze medal in the Entrepreneur of the Year category. In addition, she was named a Crain’s Chicago Business Notable Entrepreneur and was selected to be part of the Forbes Agency Council, an esteemed organization for owners and executives of PR, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Mekky Media has received a Women’s Business Enterprise Certification from the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).
Mekky says she and her team will celebrate their 2020 Stevie Award and their incredible year of growth by participating in a live virtual ceremony for the American Business Awards on Aug. 5.
