Recognizing Marketing’s Finest
Here we present all of this year’s winning submissions, highlighting a different category each week.
PUBLIC RELATIONS/COMMUNITY OUTREACH /
Distributor $101M to $400M
Connexion
CX Equity Challenge
In developing its diversity and inclusion program, Connexion’s initial goals were to further educate its associates and foster safe and meaningful team discussions. When looking to increase the reach of the program, Connexion found a partner in the United Way of Metro Chicago (UWMC), which had recently launched a 21-week equity challenge program for individual community participants. Following suit, Connexion and UWMC worked closely to transform this community-based program into a 21-month corporate program: the CX Equity Challenge. Utilizing content curated by the UWMC, Connexion presents its associates with a monthly theme including up to five educational activities associated with said theme. Each CX team member is encouraged to complete several of these activities and engage in thoughtful discussion during intradepartmental meetings surrounding the monthly topic.
FROM THE JUDGES: “Many companies talk about D&I, but they are really doing it. The execution was very good too, and the organizations Connexion partnered with are very credible.”
Distributor $401M to $700M
Summit Electric Supply
Hatsgiving
Summit’s Hatsgiving allowed the company to leverage its 24 service centers and extensive supplier network to focus on helping increase local food bank donations over the holidays while driving service center traffic and growing key supplier sales. In 2021, eight of Summit’s supplier partners were invited to participate in Hatsgiving. Summit produced eight different co-branded hats and distributed them across its footprint. Customers who purchased $50 worth of a brand and brought in a non-perishable food item received a co-branded hat. Hatsgiving was communicated internally to associates and service center managers, via posters and flyers on display in Summit locations, via customer emails, on a landing page on summit.com, on an intranet landing page on InSummit.com, and on social media.
FROM THE JUDGES: “Fun, targeted, and appropriate. Perfect for the audience and well executed. Also, the visuals are charming.”
Supplier Less Than $250M
Atkore
Atkore Family Foundation
The Atkore Family Foundation supports employees of Atkore, customers, suppliers, and other 501 (c) (3) organizations in the communities where Atkore facilities are located during times of unforeseen financial hardship. A company-wide fundraising event is held annually to generate resources for this cause. In 2021, associates held a coat drive, a Thanksgiving turkey drive and food donation drive, a back-to-school drive, and more. In excess of $190,000 was raised, which is more than any year prior. Promotional materials included branded flyers, banners, and PR.
FROM THE JUDGES: “I like that each branch is free to select its own non-profit. Atkore did a nice job presenting this; I especially appreciated how the brand is reinforced throughout without being heavy-handed.”
PUBLIC RELATIONS/CORPORATE /
Distributor $401M to $700M
Summit Electric Supply
The Summit Way
Noting the high correlation between associate satisfaction and customer satisfaction, Summit’s customer experience officer set out to codify and communicate the company culture by modernizing and championing “The Summit Way” to a new generation of associates. Multiple channels were used—including videos, a brochure, SAP and computer desktop screens, a page on the company intranet, and an associate newsletter. Additionally, mini pizza boxes (which included a pizza cutter and a laminated card that could be kept as a constant reminder of “The Summit Way”) were delivered to associates’ homes, and associates were asked to participate in smartphone video challenge that was shared on the intranet and throughout the organization.
FROM THE JUDGES: “This was a very comprehensive communication strategy. Putting myself in the seat of the receiver of these materials, I would think very positively about working for this company.”
Distributor More Than $700M
OneSource Distributors
Sustainability Solutions
OneSource wanted to develop a dialog with the sustainability community and position itself as the expert go-to solution provider for sustainability energy solutions. It also wanted to take the opportunity to reach out to government officials in sustainability positions to develop a relationship as well as associate OneSource with experts and establish the company as a respected expert solution provider. After creating a “sustainability” microsite within its website and sponsoring a sustainability-focused virtual seminar conducted by Angelbeat, OneSource partnered with Angelbeat to hold a three-event virtual seminar series with focus on energy sustainability. The seminar series featured speakers from eight government agencies, one utility, and Amazon Web Services. The event was communicated to prospects through a combination of
emails in partnership with Angelbeat, social media, banners, and phone calls.
FROM THE JUDGES: “Absolutely brilliant corporate PR executed with a comprehensive strategy. I love this whole look at the sustainability issue and how real experts from the field were brought in.”
Supplier Less Than $250M
Intermatic
Corporate Overview
To help tell its story to new customers and partners, Intermatic set out to create a presentation that would showcase its unique company history, rigorous manufacturing practices, extensive product catalog, and growing global network. The marketing team partnered with internal stakeholders to distill the company’s key messages into a succinct, visually engaging introduction to the brand. The presentation is looped on the monitors at Intermatic HQ and included in employee/sales communications. Sections of it were also repurposed for use on Intermatic.com.
FROM THE JUDGES: “This is a great corporate overview that targets the customers and employees. Nice slide show with a really good design—and including the recruiting message was so smart.”
Supplier More Than $250M
ABB Electrification
New York City 2021 Formula E-Prix & Virtual Policy Event
ABB leveraged the annual New York City E-Prix to inform new and existing audiences how electric mobility and renewable energy solutions contribute to reducing air pollution and fighting against climate change around the world. To kick off the weekend, ABB Chief Communications and Sustainability Officer Theo Swedjemark hosted a hybrid in-person and virtual policy event with DOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Formula E race driver Sebastien Buemi to discuss the social, economic and climate benefits of electrification. ABB also hosted members of New York-based media as well as electrification and EV industry trade media on-site for a behind-the-scenes experience that demonstrated how EV technology that powers an entire global racing circuit is being transferred to mainstream consumer vehicles. Social media, internal communications, in-person customer engagement, and more were used to promote the effort.
FROM THE JUDGES: “A very comprehensive and very impressive event. Real public outreach with the EVs and holding it in New York City generated a lot of media attention. This was a big investment, and ABB used every single medium available to promote it.”
Supplier More Than $250M
Leviton Manufacturing
2021 Distribution Content Marketing
To reinforce its reputation for thought leadership by increasing electrical professionals’ awareness and understanding of industry trends and evolving technologies, Leviton sought to provide a reliable and accessible source for technical application and product solution information for its distribution partners to then educate and inform their contractor customers. As a result, Leviton introduced a monthly newsletter, quarterly e-magazine, a video-based product tour, and a podcast series and expanded its extensive web-based training and webinars. All of these are available via clicks to web links, which are delivered through email and an aggressive social media campaign.
FROM THE JUDGES: “A focused and nicely branded effort that was very well done. This is a great example of top-notch corporate PR.”
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