Aaron Uhrmacher, Text 100 Public Relations

A 29-year-old peer media consultant at Text 100, Aaron Uhrmacher is a key member of the agency's digital lifestyle group. The fast-growing practice focuses on consumer and entertainment technologies.

During his time at Text, Uhrmacher has been instrumental in building the World Cyber Games from an unknown entity into what MSNBC called "the planet's premier PC and video game tournament." He has also been instrumental in leading the agency's exploration of the PR implications of virtual worlds. He spearheaded Text 100's establishment of a virtual office in Second Life. Upon its completion, he became a company spokesperson on the topic and joined agency CEO Aedhmar Hynes in numerous media and blogger interviews with outlets across North America and Europe.

He has also proven adept at bringing his appreciation and understanding of social media technologies into his work with clients such as Sony, Lenovo, and The MacArthur Foundation. For Sony's PSP, he helped advise the client how to use new media as a viable communications tool. He also helped Lenovo establish a presence in Second Life and helped the MacArthur Foundation build a blog.

He furthered his role as new media evangelist in April 2006 when he delivered a successful presentation to the Arthur Page Society with Hynes and John Seely Brown, former chief scientist of Xerox and director of its Palo Alto Research Center. Uhrmacher spoke to the group's membership about the concept of virtual worlds as a communications platform integral to the development of future peer-to-peer communications.

He has already been recognized internally, winning the 2005/2006 Trusted Advisor Star Award, an annual honor conferred to one Text 100 staffer out of all 160 North American employees. He won the award against a pool of candidates who were all at the account-manager level or above.

Judges were impressed by Uhrmacher's "personal drive" and "breakthrough thinking" and commented that he had an "impressive ability to leverage new media to advance the business."

Finalists

  • Judy Huang
     Weber Shandwick Worldwide
  • Bryan Lam
     RedOctane
  • Jacqi Moore
    GolinHarris
  • Maria Pousa
    The NewsMarket
  • Aaron Uhrmacher
    Text 100 Public Relations

Honourable Mention

Bryan Lam, RedOctane

Bryan Lam joined RedOctane in 2006 as a senior PR specialist – the only internal PR position – and has helped to lead the PR efforts for Guitar Hero II, a highly anticipated video game sequel. As part of this campaign, he helps to manage a PR budget of more than $500,000. He currently works closely with internal and overseas executives to manage information and assets for different international territories, including Europe and Asia-Pacific, along with helping to manage an external PR agency. During a recent business trip to Minnesota, Lam spoke to a group of executives from Best Buy, Target, and Activision regarding the prominence of Guitar Hero II. "He's a good example of how a young professional can leverage his interests to advance the practice of PR," commented one judge.


About the Sponsor

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