Recognizing Marketing’s Finest
Here, we present all of this year’s winning submissions, highlighting a different category each week.
PR – COMMUNITY OUTREACH /
Granite City Electric Supply
The Mooin’ Bruin
In early 2023, the CowParade New England had 75 life-sized cows designed by local artists displayed at highly trafficked landmarks throughout Greater Boston. At the end of the public art event, the cows were auctioned off, with all proceeds benefiting the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
“Seeing this as a great opportunity to engage with the local community, Granite City Electric bid on and won the Boston Bruins-themed cow. We then held an internal contest to name the cow and The Mooin’ Bruin was born” was written on the entry form.
To align the celebration of Granite City Electric’s 100-year anniversary with the Boston Bruins hockey team (also celebrating its 100th anniversary), the marketing team utilized the Mooin’ Bruin for a customer/fan “selfie” submission program. The cow was moved to a new branch every two weeks and $10 was donated to the Dana-Farber Jimmy Fund Foundation for every picture taken with it and posted on social media.
Promotion included a page on the company website, radio spots, banner advertising, sales flyers, email, and social media posts.
“There’s nothing to not like about this effort that supported a local, well-known charity and rallied community support,” said the judges.
NorthEast Electrical
DE&I: Community Scholarships & Grants
In March 2023, NorthEast launched seven $1,000 scholarships and six $500 grant opportunities for graduating high school seniors throughout New England in a program designed to demonstrate support for the trades and encourage workforce diversification in the vocational fields. Students submitted essays on the topic: “What does diversity, equity, & inclusion mean to you?”
“At NorthEast Electrical, diversity, equity, & inclusion must be part of our culture. These topics are on top of everyone’s mind these days and will only grow in importance as companies continue to invest and take a leadership position to drive change” was written on the entry form.
Promotion included a landing page on the needco.com website, emails sent to all customers and local schools, an advertisement on TV screens at 16 counter locations and on social media, and flyers and postcards sent to all branches and outside sales associates and distributed to local high schools.
“I love the concept and that it also brings awareness to job opportunities in trades,” said the judges, who also appreciated how the effort “was well branded and heavily supported.”
Sonepar USA
Bright Lights, Brighter Futures
Sonepar’s Bright Lights, Brighter Futures program provides three nonprofits with a lighting retrofit.
“Many nonprofits don’t have the resources to coordinate this important upgrade. Sonepar does. These projects will provide lighting upgrades free of charge to a charitable organization in need, including everything from hardware, audit, installation, and recycling” was written on the entry form.
Sonepar collected nominations (any charity or nonprofit was eligible), which were evaluated by a board of directors. One nomination was selected per Sonepar region (North/Central/West).
When all three projects were complete, each operating company celebrated by sponsoring an on-site event at the charity. This included luncheons and other activities to raise awareness of the charities and publicize their work.
The judges called the program “smart,” noting that Sonepar is “doing good while tying in their products and getting coverage. A
perfect example of community PR.”
DWC—Distributor Wire & Cable
Walks for Heart Health
In 2023, Distributor Wire & Cable (DWC) celebrated its 15th year in business. One of the ways the company chose to commemorate the occasion was to embark on a charity campaign in support of the American Heart Association (AHA).
“Heart disease and stroke are the No. 1 cause of death for Americans. This is an issue that is deeply personal for us at DWC as we lost a team member a few years back to a sudden heart attack” was written on the entry form.
After some discussions and brainstorming sessions, the idea of Walks for Heart Health was born: During each home game at Coors Field in Denver, DWC would make a $50 donation to the AHA every time a Rockies batter drew a walk. During the first Rockies walk of the game, DWC and the AHA were featured on all of the digital scoreboards in the stadium while the announcer introduced and promoted the campaign.
During the final game of the season, AHA representatives joined DWC staffers on the field for a donation presentation ceremony.
The judges praised the “good visibility and PR value for their efforts.”
Acuity Brands
EarthLIGHT in Action
EarthLIGHT is a central tenant to Acuity Brands’s company strategy and reflects its comprehensive approach around ESG topics. “Through EarthLIGHT, we improve our performance, increase transparency, and better highlight our results on numerous ESG priorities” was written on the entry form.
In an effort to make EarthLIGHT a consistent and recognizable program to showcase the collective good through community and environmental actions, Acuity Brands extended its social media campaign to include its independent sales network and customers, encouraging them to “do good” in their communities and post about it on their corporate social media, tagging @AcuityBrands and #EarthLIGHTinAction.
Those who did so were automatically entered into a chance to win a $10,000 donation to the charity of their choice. Drawings are conducted at the end of each quarter, and one winner is chosen from the independent sales network and one from the customer base. EarthLIGHT activities were also held at internal and customer events to further encourage doing good in its communities.
“They are helping many wonderful charities and doing a good job of associating Acuity Brands with their efforts so that members of the community will see them positively,” said the judges.
Tagged with awards, Best of the Best, marketing