The City of Loveland has earned national recognition by the Public Relations Society of America at the organization’s annual Silver Anvil award ceremony for unveiling the monumental Love Lock sculpture as a Loveland Valentine’s Day trademark in 2019.
An Award of Excellence was given to a team made up of the City’s Economic Development Department tourism staff and outside consultant Fyn Public Relations at the Public Relations Society of America (PSRA) event. The event was conducted remotely in mid-October from a New York City stage where winners were announced.
The Love Lock piece is ten feet tall, 30 feet wide, and weighs in at 12 tons with the artwork spelling the word “love” in crimson letters with a heart making the “o.” Loveland sculptor and engineer Dough Rutledge did the artwork. It was one of three to be recognized in a category for consumer-service marketing in travel, tourism, and hospitality.
Love Lock has moved to a permanent home at the Loveland Area Chamber of Commerce headquarters northwest of the U.S. Highway 34 junction with Interstate 25 since its unveiling for traffic and visitors to see and continue to affix their love locks. Initially, festival-goers had the opportunity to purchase a small padlock and have it engraved with a personal message. At that point, they could make the lock part of the piece by fastening it to a wire grid on the sculpture’s backing.
A second smaller Love Lock sculpture consists of a 10-foot tall heart seen by Eisenhower Boulevard motorists on the southeast shore of Lake Loveland, where it went on display during the Valentine season this year. American Airlines and the Iowa Economic Development Authority joined Loveland in the category competition as well, winning the top Silver Anvil award for its campaign “From Corn to Culture – Reshaping Perceptions of Iowa.”
A total of 111 public relations and marketing campaigns across the nation were recognized at the PSRA event.
For more information regarding the City of Loveland’s ‘Love Lock’ winning national recognition, visit: https://www.cityofloveland.org/Home/Components/News/News/6273/30