Recognizing Marketing’s Finest
FORTY-SEVEN INDIVIDUAL MARKETING EFFORTS EARN AWARDS IN OUR 2019 CONTEST
Judging for tED magazine’s 2019 Best of the Best Marketing Awards Competition took place during April. Our four judges weighed the entries submitted for the contest’s 11 categories, which are separated by company type and sales volume. Ultimately, 47 entries were determined winners, with two companies—OneSource Distributors and Intermatic—taking home the honor of Best of the Best Overall Distributor and Best of the Best Overall Supplier, respectively. “Each year I am more impressed by the creativity we see in these entries,” said Best of the Best judge Jan Niehaus. “From top-of-the-line design to fresh and innovative ways to capture their customers’ attention, marketing in the electrical channel continues to impress.” Here we present all of this year’s winning submissions. Be sure to check out our monthly Best of the Best Awards coverage in this magazine’s “Selling” section for more insight into the winning entries.
PUBLIC RELATIONS—COMMUNITY OUTREACH /
Distributor $401M to $700M
Summit Electric Supply
Locker #505 Support
Summit partnered with Locker #505—a nonprofit clothing bank—in an effort to provide warm clothing for students throughout multiple campaigns. Marketing efforts included promoting the partnership on social media and local television as well as via an email campaign to all Albuquerque, New Mexico-based Summit associates and on flyers posted throughout the area service center and on local bulletin boards.
FROM THE JUDGES: “A solid PR effort, Summit created some warm fuzzies for the company and garnered some positive media coverage from the local CBS affiliate, KRQE New Mexico.”
Supplier Less Than $250M
Service Wire
Operation Gratitude
Marking its 50th anniversary—and seizing the opportunity to reflect on its philanthropic culture and core value of “service” to the families, communities, and country that have been critical to its longevity and success—Service Wire chose Operation Gratitude as its community outreach initiative in 2018.
FROM THE JUDGES: “While it’s admirable to do good work, the real value of PR is leveraging it for media attention. An article about the effort appeared on an industry publication website and Service Wire sent a July 4th e-blast to customers and partners and promoted the effort on social media.”
Supplier More Than $250 Million
Phoenix Contact
Think BIG!
After choosing to support a STEM initiative at a local school district, Phoenix Contact formed a steering committee to work with the STEM coordinator and the school district to knit the planned lessons with the state-required curriculum. Phoenix Contact employees volunteered to teach the class once a month. Additionally, Phoenix Contact coordinates periodic charitable donation drives for the school, which is located in a high-poverty-rate area.
FROM THE JUDGES: “Not only did the program double students’ science and math scores, but also Phoenix Contact was recognized on local Fox and CBS affiliates and the school district’s website. That’s a win for everyone!”
PUBLIC RELATIONS—CORPORATE /
Distributor $101M to $400M
Werner Electric Supply—Wisconsin
MiA: Multifunction instrument Asset
MiA, an 82x26x80 ̋ mobile training unit, was built by Werner Electric Supply—Wisconsin to teach customers and students about automation process control. The strategy included an unveiling event, a video, news stories, and thought-leadership articles, and media communications distributed via BusinessWire.
FROM THE JUDGES: “Werner Electric Supply— Wisconsin unveiled MiA at an event that garnered coverage in local, regional, and trade media. They also produced a video and pushed it out on their own social media, website, and blog. This is how corporate PR is done.”
Distributor More Than $700M
Capital Electric
Fundamentals of Electrical Work
To address the shortage of qualified electricians, Capital Electric offered an introductory course for those wanting to learn more about the field. The goal was to position Capital Electric as a trusted partner and solution provider, no matter what the challenge. Two four- to five-week classes were held in the second half of 2018.
FROM THE JUDGES: “Through flyers, statement inserts, their events catalog, and its website, Capital Electric helped identify potential future electricians and built goodwill in the process. Customers were so grateful that they asked for a repeat of the class, a more basic class, and an advanced class!”
Supplier More Than $250M
Klein Tools
State of the Industry Survey
Klein Tools’s State of the Industry Survey provides an opportunity for the company to learn more about growing jobsite trends by interviewing roughly 800 electricians. The results, delivered in a press release (picked up by multiple media outlets) and as factoids on social media, not only spark dialogue, but also guide internal efforts by refocusing the team on what is most important.
FROM THE JUDGES: “Klein Tools cleverly created a summary infographic using its familiar metal plate background and black and orange color palette to connect it to its brand, and then used results to better understand how the industry is evolving. A solid and successful PR effort.”
Tagged with 2019, awards, Best of the Best, marketing