Just a few days ago, I traveled to NYC to CooperKatz & Company where I will be working for three weeks as a trainee. I am a media relations manager at the Russian PR company named CROS, which, along with CooperKatz, is a member agency of PRGN (Public Relations Global Network). So I’m going to study how PR works in the US and the differences between PR in Russia and PR in America.

Last week I had one of my best “only in New York” experiences to date: parading through Times Square with more than a dozen brand icons and mascots.

The parade included The Michelin Man, Colonel Sanders, Tony the Tiger, The Kool-Aid Man, French’s Mustard, the Vlasic Stork, the Crash Test Dummies, a Kia Hamster, Mr. Peanut, Smokey the Bear, McGruff the Crime Dog, The AOL Running Man and my favorite, CK client, Sparky the Fire Dog, the official “spokesdog” for the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). All of these iconic characters made their way from the Times Center, through Times Square, to the Madison Avenue Walk of Fame. It was truly a sight to see. I even spotted a few jaded New Yorkers doing double takes.

This was the culmination of Advertising Week’s annual Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame public vote. It was exciting to have the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) official mascot Sparky the Fire Dog among this year’s nominees for favorite icon. Not only is Sparky celebrating his 60^th birthday this year, but the Advertising Week event came just days before the kick-off of the NFPA’s annual public awareness campaign, Fire Prevention Week (October 9-15).

At an awards luncheon on a sunny Autumn afternoon, CooperKatz received an ‘Honorable Mention’ in the PRNews Platinum PR Awards for ‘Help Petfinder Adopt the Internet Day’! As finalists in the Word of Mouth / Viral category, CooperKatz was noted for its 360-degree approach to PR and social media in the planning and execution of this campaign.