Recognizing Marketing’s Finest
Here we present all of this year’s winning submissions, highlighting a different category each week.
PR—COMMUNITY OUTREACH /
Atlantic Coast Electric Supply (ACES)
ACES Helps the Carolinas
When Hurricane Helene devastated the Carolinas, thousands of families were left without essential supplies. As a locally owned company, ACES recognized the urgency and mobilized a coordinated relief effort within days.
ACES locations in Greenville, S.C.; Charleston, S.C.; Columbia, S.C.; Concord, N.C., and Gastonia, N.C., served as donation drop-off sites. Supplies were consolidated at the Concord location and transported through Operation Airdrop to affected areas. ACES was also listed as an official drop-off site by ABC News 4, enhancing visibility and credibility.
“ACES clearly put a lot of time, effort, and heart into this effort, using its expertise, facilities, and resources to address a very real and immediate need in its communities,” said the judges, calling the effort “an act of community outreach in the biggest and truest sense.”
Parrish-Hare Electrical Supply
PHe Data Center Services
Facing significant challenges in hiring enough technicians to meet its increasing workload in the data center market, Parrish-Hare Electrical Supply focused on strengthening relationships with local trade schools, particularly Texas State Technical College (TSTC).
The process consisted of four steps: understanding recruitment challenges, which included recognizing that the demand for skilled technicians exceeds supply, necessitating a shift toward recruiting young individuals with some technical training; building relationships with local technical colleges, which included presenting at multiple TSTC job fairs and hosting in-person interviews on campus; workforce development, which included on-the-job-training for two currently employed TSTC graduates; and planning future initiatives, which includes establishing a 3,000-squarefoot training facility at its main office.
The judges applauded this “wonderful example of outreach where Parrish-Hare used its industry expertise to address issues in the community” and noted that “because the trade school job fair is associated with the electrical industry, the effort is intrinsically linked to their brand so that people will better remember the effort.”
Codale Electric Supply
Children’s Charity Classic
Codale Electric Supply has hosted its annual Children’s Charity Classic golf tournament since 1993. For its 31st annual event, it partnered with Make-A-Wish Utah.
With a primary goal to rally its network to make a tangible difference by funding at least one child’s wish, Codale maximized impact by engaging loyal customers, vendors, and community members and inviting them to participate in this causedriven event; offering $2,000 sponsorship packages, which included green fees for four, a banquet dinner, and recognition across all event marketing; creating additional fundraising opportunities, such as a silent auction, raffles, and on-course games to encourage broader participation and contributions; and developing a multi-tiered marketing strategy, starting with a save-the-date announcement six months out, followed by sponsorship forms at four months and an introduction to the Wish child three months before the event.
The judges called this a “noble cause” and liked that it was “well executed with a multitiered marketing strategy.”
Lonestar Electric Supply
Houston Christian University—PLC Automation Lab
Recognizing an opportunity to support both the local community and future industry professionals, Lonestar Electric Supply partnered with ABB to donate all of the equipment needed for Houston Christian University’s PLC Automation Lab.
Lonestar worked closely with ABB to ensure the school received everything efficiently and on time. To highlight the partnership, signage was installed in the lab, visually reinforcing the collaboration between the university, Lonestar, and ABB. (The goal was to not only support the university, but also spark interest in Lonestar among students as they consider future career opportunities.) Additionally, a marketing video was created to showcase the impact of the donation and was published and shared on social media, with all partners tagged for maximum reach.
“This is a strong example of a company recognizing an opportunity in the community and using its resources to help out,” said the judges, who also noted the excellent job of promoting it through the media.
Legrand, North & Central America
Making Legrand’s Better Communities Program Better
For more than 10 years, Legrand, North & Central America’s Better Communities (BC) program in North America has improved lives through volunteerism and donations. In 2024, the company wanted to expand the program strategically based on employee feedback to give more opportunities to participate without making it too broad.
Based on extensive interviews with employees and with leadership approval, the focal areas were updated: “Better Homes” became “Better Homes & Neighborhoods” to include activities like park cleanups and Earth Day events, “Better Schools” remained the same in name but now includes fulfilling essential student needs, and “Better Recovery” became “Better Well-being” to include supporting local healthcare needs in addition to community health and well-being events.
The Legrand team created a toolkit that included the updated BC policy explaining the new focal areas and list of approved nonprofits, a template for reaching out to nonprofits to organize events, a guide for event ideas, poster templates for internal promotions of events, and a new online tool for event planning; it also organized the first company-wide “month of service” in April (which is National Volunteer Month).
Impact was communicated externally via LinkedIn and internally via company-wide emails, a video interview, intranet postings, and meetings; and BC activities were incorporated into large company meetings.
“Legrand didn’t miss a detail,” said the judges, who called out the well-done “internal exposure” and liked how “prominently featuring the Legrand name on T-shirts, hats, and hard hats while volunteering will associate the brand with doing good.”
PR—COMMUNITY OUTREACH – Honorable Mention
NorthEast Electrical
Apollo LED
Downlight Series
Tagged with awards, Best of the Best, marketing