Recognizing Marketing’s Finest
Here we present all of this year’s winning submissions, highlighting a different category each week.
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Distributor $401M to $700M
Summit Electric Supply
Phoenix Relocation Celebration
To build awareness for its new Phoenix location, Summit worked with its manufacturers to hold a 10-week “Relocation Celebration” that showcased the new service center and targeted existing Phoenix customers familiar with the old location and prospects located around the new service center.
Summit created the following print pieces to build anticipation for the new location:
- A series of four postcards was sent to existing customers and prospects, informing them of the new facility. The last one, reinforced by email, launched the Relocation Celebration campaign.
- A 12-page brochure described the promotion, featured participating brands, and reinforced Summit’s “30-Second Counter Service Guarantee.”
- Promotional posters and pull-up banners surrounded the new counter.
- The centerpiece of the effort was a 12-page printed catalog that contained advertising from 16 different suppliers. Manufacturers purchased ads in the catalog to advertise unique products and support contest prizes.
FROM THE JUDGES: “Good audience target,” said the judges, who also praised the “very nicely done” brochure that highlighted sponsors and added, “The results are compelling and quite impressive.”
Supplier Less Than $250M
Keystone Technologies
Keystone Takeover Campaign
In advance of Lightfair, Keystone collaborated with tED magazine to “take over” the publication’s June issue. Seven ads and a wrap cover promoted both the company’s new products and its “Light Made Easy” philosophy, which emphasizes customer service through energetic response and high-quality, easy-to-use products.
At a networking event, Keystone’s Josh Brown and Nick Baranowski met with tED Publisher Scott Costa to discuss partnership ideas. Keystone wanted to make an impact quickly with something striking and memorable. Out of a brainstorming suggestion—“Why don’t we place an ad on every single page?”—came the “tED Takeover.”
Keystone’s Susan Rinaldi spearheaded an effort that highlighted a handful of new products and notable Keystone services—emergency downlights, programmable drivers, area lights stocking specials, retrofit trim downlights, wireless controls, high bays, and free samples—for full-page ads, all using the theme “[X] Made Easy.”
Keystone also designed the cover, which was based on a gameboard layout, and contributed to the ideas for articles on staffing issues and partnerships—topics that had been at the center of industry discussions during the COVID era.
The issue was distributed at Lightfair 2022 and available online.
FROM THE JUDGES: “Creative, powerful, and effective.” “The ads are very customer focused, with a lot of consistency. The effort was very outside the box.”
Supplier More Than $250M
Atkore
Atkore FRE Composites
In an effort to increase awareness and communicate the features and benefits of using FRE Composites Fiberglass Elbows, the Atkore team created a campaign featuring an FRE Composites/fiberglass elbows ad.
The ad, which received the “Advertising Excellence Award for Audience Recall” by Baxter Research Center, follows a consistent campaign theme (“Our elbows get around more than you know”) and was inserted in industry trade magazines.
FROM THE JUDGES: “From a creative standpoint, I love this one.” “I like the use of the Atkore logo reflected in the art in the ad; it’s very telegraphic. The headline in green reinforces Atkore, and the copy is compelling.”
BRAND AWARENESS /
Distributor Less Than $100M
Atlantic Coast Electric Supply
ACES Today
In 2022, Atlantic Coast Electric Supply (ACES) celebrated five years of being in business. Looking for ways to celebrate, the marketing team decided to promote the milestone with a publication. However, as planning continued, the team recognized that ACES is still unknown to many. As a result, the first edition switched gears and transformed to include what ACES is, what it is about, and what it believes in vs. a magazine strictly focused on the five-year anniversary.
The team created a list of topics and/or areas for content, conducted interviews with key members of the ACES team, and asked select key partners to participate with ads and/or a featured industry-related article.
Copies were presented at the ACES leadership planning meeting; mailed to employees, current and potential customers, and local trade organizations meetings; and distributed at counter locations. Manufacturers were also given printed copies at ACES’s Circle of Distinction Award presentation and copies are kept at the fulfillment center for ease of branch and marketing replenishment. A second edition of the publication is also planned.
FROM THE JUDGES: “It’s a great introduction to ACES for those who might be choosing a partner for distribution,” they said, noting that it “adds legitimacy and brand value to a relatively new company that might be unfamiliar to a lot of people.”
Distributor $101M to $400M
Agilix Solutions
Brand Launch
When two 100-plus-year-old companies, French Gerleman and IAC Supply Solutions, agreed to merge, it was important for all stakeholders that the strong legacies of each company were carried forward. They also recognized that the future involved a new name, a new brand, and a stake in the ground marking the new journey they were embarking on together.
To accomplish their vision, a three-pronged strategy was put into place:
- Develop messaging pillars and values that authentically married the two existing brands, which was a natural fit due to closely aligned beliefs and operations.
- Draw from the messaging and values to create a new name and brand identity that would feel both familiar and fresh at the same time.
- Launch the new brand and educate key audiences over a one-year period and beyond.
The companies engaged with a leading brand firm and selected a new name and brand identity: Agilix Solutions. Additionally, a “Day One” committee was formed to direct communications surrounding the merger and new name. Those included email communications tailored to each external audience, communication of FAQs about the newly branded company, a video featuring the company CEO and president explaining the merger and new brand, an employee intranet, launch announcement meetings and celebrations in all 13 locations, PR to trade media and 13 local markets, introductory blog posts, social media communications, and paid social media ads.
FROM THE JUDGES: “This campaign contains a great deal of information presented in a well-planned and thoughtful way. It really drove the brand and piqued people’s interest,” said the judges, who also liked how “it was done with great care and consideration for everyone involved.”
Distributor $401M to $700M
Summit Electric Supply
Gameday Giveaway—Open House
In its first major live event since 2019, Summit produced two open houses to facilitate informal interaction between its associates, suppliers, and customers in a fun and energizing environment.
The events, both held in October, used a “Gameday Giveaway” theme, including souvenir jerseys, inflatable sports games, and a BBQ buffet.
Elements of execution included an emailed save-the-date, event invitation, and event reminder to customers and prospects in each market at regular intervals; social media advertising including Facebook and LinkedIn; unique email signatures for use in customer correspondence one month before each event; and promotional postcards. “Gameday Giveaway” event jerseys and other Summit-branded merchandise were also handed out.
FROM THE JUDGES: “An expertly executed branding event,” said the judges, who added that “after two years of not being face to face, it was a celebration that offered a lot to draw people out.”
Supplier Less Than $250M\
Intermatic
Trade Show Strategy in a Post-COVID World
As the pandemic subsided and things returned to “business as usual,” the Intermatic team saw an opportunity to reshape its approach to in-person marketing with one key theme in mind: adaptability.
Using a remixable booth design, a must-see display for its new flagship ARISTA solution, and customer-focused online tools, the team laid a new foundation for event success in the post-COVID era.
The central piece of the branding initiative was a new 10×10´ trade show booth. By scaling back its footprint and giving space for both universal branded themes (e.g., logo, colors, tagline) and modular elements (e.g., changeable side banner, program-mable TV display), the team was able to create a nimble trade show platform that could be adapted to any show in the country.
Because Intermatic also felt it was important to provide a complementary virtual experience for those who still preferred to avoid in-person events, resources used from funds freed up by creating a smaller booth design were invested in interactive tools that would enhance the base setup and emphasize flagship solutions. This included a revamped ARISTA virtual booth, which let visitors demo the latest products, interact in sample installation environments, and browse fresh marketing collateral from a tablet or computer.
Along with this, the team developed a unique bar-themed vignette to engage booth visitors at ARISTA-focused in-person events.
FROM THE JUDGES: “I love that they did a physical booth as well as a virtual booth, and that the two complement each other,” said the judges. “They set forth this objective that they had to deal with COVID now that’s in a different stage, and they came up with this approach. It’s very effective.”
Supplier More Than $250M
Service Wire
Back to School
Service Wire created an online learning platform to support its goal of becoming a training resource for the wire and cable industry. The “Back to School” brand awareness campaign was created to reinforce this tool and Service Wire’s reputation by promoting enrollments and increasing completions in the “Wire & Cable 101” training series. “Students” who successfully completed the courses earned a “Wire & Cable” completion certificate and an exclusive Service Wire Academy jacket.
The marketing team developed graphics, emails, a web page, and social media posts to drive Service Wire Academy activity. The campaign launched with an email to customers that introduced the promo, sharing how customers could earn their exclusive Service Wire Academy jacket. Jackets featured the academy logo and “Wire & Cable Certified” badge on the sleeve.
FROM THE JUDGES: “A simple, effective, and very necessary program that was easily implemented and tracked,” said the judges, who particularly liked that “they made enrollment easy from the website.”
Supplier More Than $250M
Legrand
GFCI 50th Anniversary
As Legrand approached the 50th anniversary of the introduction of its GFCI receptacles, it recognized an opportunity to celebrate the legacy of point-of-use ground fault protection and reinvigorate awareness of Legrand’s GFCI devices and its commitment to continuous invention.
The campaign started with interviewing retired Pass & Seymour team members who worked on the initial GFCI product launch in 1972, combing company archives for product samples and marketing content, and exploring the progression the NEC has taken when it comes to ground fault protection.
The information compiled was used to create a variety of assets in multiple mediums and included a timeline of key innovations for Pass & Seymour GFCI outlets and receptacles, a “50 Years in 50 Seconds” video that showcases the Pass & Seymour GFCI product line and innovation, a “Saving Lives, Protecting Homes” video that showcases the impact of GFCI protection and GFCI receptacles, digital banners and ads, social media content, email campaigns, a celebration with special guests and press at the Pass & Seymour office, and various PR.
FROM THE JUDGES: “It’s brilliant that they tied their product introductions to the introductions of NEC requirements, positioning themselves as an industry leader,” said the judges, who also “loved the juxtaposition of the images of vintage appliances with the state-of-the-art new outlets.”
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