PRWeek Magazine Selects CIAA as a Finalist for Multi -Cultural Campaign of the Year
CIAA Commissioner Leon Kerry Provides Award-Winning Leadership

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) has been selected as a finalist for yet another national award, the PRWeek 2002 Multi-Cultural Campaign of The Year. The CIAA will attend the awards gala Thursday, February 21, 2002 in New York City and with hopes of bringing home the honor. The CIAA has already received two of the highest awards in the PR and Marketing industry during the last year, the Silver Anvil Award and the Sabre Award, by the Public Relations Society of America and the Holmes Group, respectively.

Commissioner Leon G. Kerry’s hard work is paying off for the conference. The CIAA Basketball Tournament has experienced tremendous growth under Kerry’s leadership with the tournament’s attendance increasing 70 percent over the last two years. Since coming to Raleigh in 1999, the tournament has had an annual $8.8 million economic impact to the city. Kerry was also recently selected as one of three executives nationally to be interviewed for the Bloomberg Urban Business Report’s "Corporate Color" CD to air in February.

The CIAA prides itself on hosting a unique basketball tournament and using creative marketing tools to market to its fans. Kerry feels this is a winning combination that keeps the fans coming back. The tournament provides new and exciting activities in addition to the tournament such as a fashion show, and after-parties featuring the fan’s favorite celebrities and artists. The tournament has been described as Part Essence Jazz Festival, part NCAA Final Four, part Cannes Film Festival, the tournament offers an experience that can best be described as the quintessential African-American cultural experience. Essence Magazine recently tabbed the tournament as "a must-attend event."

The CIAA’s unique marketing strategy targets students, young professionals, community and alumni. "The CIAA Basketball Tournament was aging and it’s a tradition that must continue and I realized a marketing campaign that appealed to a younger audience should be developed to make the tournament exciting for everyone including the students, alumni and Triangle area." Kerry stated.