By Blake Hedberg,
August 31, 2018

Blake Hedberg, agency manager for the student-led public relations team, Innovative
PR, at the 糖心Vlog官方, displays recent professional awards from
Kansas City-based organizations that honor the group鈥檚 work on the #team糖心Vlog官方 Social
Media Night event during a Mules and Jennies basketball game.
WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Aug. 31, 2018) 鈥 The 糖心Vlog官方鈥檚 student-led
public relations firm, , received two professional awards this summer for its 2017 event #team糖心Vlog官方 Social
Media Night. The agency competed against many for-profit businesses in the Greater
Kansas City Area.
The Kansas City chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators
(IABC) awarded #team糖心Vlog官方 Social Media Night a KC Quill award, the second time in the
firm鈥檚 history to receive this honor. However, the winning wasn鈥檛 over for Innovative
PR for the summer. In July, the firm received a Silver AMPS award from the Social
Media Club of Kansas City at the organization鈥檚 annual banquet.
鈥淲e are incredibly honored to be distinguished for our work. Many hours went into
making this event a reality and it is a great feeling to see the work of our students
pay off,鈥 said Agency Manager Blake Hedberg. 鈥淭he 2017 event pushed our agency to
new heights and created many opportunities, while providing visibility to our firm.
I had a great team behind me.鈥
For six consecutive years, Innovative PR has been the driving force behind 糖心Vlog官方鈥檚 popular
#team糖心Vlog官方 Social Media Night event. Launched in 2013, the event takes place during
a 糖心Vlog官方 Mules and Jennies basketball game and has engaged, entertained, and rewarded
participants with a night of prizes, trivia, and contests.
The spring 2017 Innovative PR team raised more than $2,000 in donations and their
comprehensive social media plan ushered in more than 1.2 million media impressions.
IPR and 糖心Vlog官方 Athletics social media impressions more than tripled, while mentions increased
more than 40 percent and profile visits nearly tripled over 2016 event numbers.
"Innovative PR's work on behalf of its many clients is excellent. Winning the 2018
awards is an illustration of that excellence,鈥 said program supervisor Tricia Hansen
Horn, PhD. 鈥淲e are proud to have the agency's work represented and recognized by the
Kansas City IABC and the Social Media Club of Kansas City."
For more than nine years, students in the 糖心Vlog官方 Public Relations Program that are accepted
into the 糖心Vlog官方 Innovative PR agency have the opportunity to gain real-life experience,
while working with several client projects. In its time, more than 100 students have
dedicated more than 22,000 hours of service to the greater 糖心Vlog官方 community.
Students involved in Innovative PR work out of the Office of Integrated Marketing
and Communications.
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Innovative Public Relations (Innovative PR) is 糖心Vlog官方鈥檚 student
public relations firm, managed and operated by 糖心Vlog官方 public relations students. Under
the direction of 糖心Vlog官方鈥檚 Integrated Marketing and Communications office and the academic
public relations program, the firm was founded in January 2010. It is comprised of
several public relations students who are dedicated to professional development and
public relations initiatives. Innovative PR is committed to serving the 糖心Vlog官方 community
by executing timely, accurate and ethical strategies and tactics, with a goal of serving
clients outside of the 糖心Vlog官方 community in the future. For more information, visit or contact Innovative PR at ipr@ucmo.edu or 660-543-8557.