Baltimore-based advertising agency, Planit, is proud to announce that the agency received two awards at last night’s Best in Maryland Awards Gala hosted by the Public Relations Society of America Maryland Chapter. The event, which was held at The Hotel at Arundel Preserve, celebrates Baltimore-area agencies that have successfully addressed communication challenges with exemplary professional skill, creativity and resourcefulness.
Planit took home an Award of Excellence in the category of Media Relations — For Profit. This was in recognition of the agency’s work with Sheetz, promoting the convenience chain dropping its gas prices to $1.776/gallon to celebrate the Fourth of July and the year the Declaration of Independence was signed. Planit was also awarded a Best in Maryland in the Best Use of Influencer Communication category for its work developing and executing an influencer marketing campaign for Minute Rice’s microwavable cups.
“I’m extremely grateful to the PRSA Maryland Chapter for celebrating our successes and the hard work that our team puts in on a daily basis,” said Ashlene Larson, director of PR & social media at Planit. “Our agency and our team is made up of incredibly talented, dedicated and creative public relations and social media strategists. I’m so proud of the team for all the work we’ve been able to accomplish—not only for these clients—but for all of the companies with whom we work.”
Campaign Development & Execution Leads to Sales
The Award of Excellence for Media Relations — For Profit award was presented to Planit for excellence in its work with Sheetz, a major Mid-Atlantic restaurant and convenience chain with more than 720 locations, all open 24/7/365. In 2023, Planit developed and executed a strategic communications plan announcing Sheetz’s Fourth of July gas deal, resulting in earned and social media coverage nationwide. The announcement generated nearly 6,000 total media placements, over 1.2 billion impressions and more than $6.05 million in earned media value. According to X (formerly Twitter) metrics, on Independence Day, mentions of “Sheetz” on the platform increased by 299 percent, impressions increased by 152 percent and total reach increased by 234 percent. This one-day promotion resulted in record-breaking amounts of gallons of gas sold by Sheetz.
The Best in Maryland for Best Use of Influencer Communication award was presented to Planit for its work with Minute Rice, one of America’s leading rice brands, which offers consumers a variety of rice products available nationwide. The mission of Planit’s influencer marketing campaign for Minute Rice’s microwavable cups was to increase buyership and grow share. The campaign generated over 100 pieces of authentic content and achieved a reach of 6.7 million people, over 7 million video views and over 1 million social media engagements.
Additionally, strategic boosting allowed the brand to hyper target a younger demographic, an important goal for the company. This resulted in more than 2.7 million impressions from 18-24 year olds and over 2 million impressions from 25-34 year olds. On Instagram, influencer content boosting resulted in more than 2.9 million impressions among 25-34 year olds.
“We are extremely proud to be recognized by the PRSA Maryland Chapter and thrilled that our work with Sheetz and Minute Rice, top food brands, was honored by our peers,” said Matt Doud, president and co-founder of Planit. “These awards reflect the drive, dedication and passion our team brings to the table every day for each of our clients.”
About Planit
We’re Planit. A strategic, digitally-minded agency that leads revolutions for national and global clients. Whether that’s through a variety of media channels, PR, social, or the “next big thing”—if it isn’t bold, creative and smart, we’re not doing our job. That’s why clients including Toro, DuPont, Westlake Royal Building Products, SourceAmerica, Kiddie Academy, Sheetz, Preen, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Curio, and Riviana Foods trust Planit. And that’s why we continue to receive stellar industry recognition, including being named to AdWeek’s Fastest Growing Ad Agencies, winning the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award, Entrepreneur Magazine’s Entrepreneur 360™ List, Advertising Age’s Small Agency of the Year, Inc. 5000, Inc. Power Partner, and PRSA Maryland’s PR Team of the Year.