tED Magazine names Best of the Best marketing award winners

The Electrical Distributor, the official publication of the National Association of Electrical Distributors, has honored 53 of the electrical industry’s finest marketing programs in its 2012 Best of the Best Marketing Awards Competition.

Best of the Best Judges Katrina Olson and Shad Thomas presented the awards at a special ceremony during NAED’s 2012 AdVenture Marketing Conference on August 21.

For 43 years, tED magazine has recognized the electrical industry’s top marketing initiatives with its Best of the Best Award competition. This year’s awards honored 38 electrical distributors and suppliers in 14 categories for stellar campaigns launching in 2011.

Every year, the publication selects one distributor and one supplier to represent the overall best marketing practices for the industry. This year’s “best overall” winners were:

• Connexion – Based in Buffalo Grove, Ill., this distributor earned individual Best of the Best awards in the Brand Awareness Category for its “Incandescent & T12 Lamp Phase Out,” the Digital/Social Media Campaign category for its “Green Scene” and “Contractor News Connexion!” e-newsletters, and the Public Relations/Community Outreach category for its “Science Connexion” program.

• Southwire – Based in Carrollton, Ga., this supplier captured awards in three categories: its “MCAP Cable: Grounded in Reliability” ad won for Print Ad—Single, while “SIMpull Solutions Blueprint for Productivity Campaign” won in both the Print Ad—Campaign and Brand Awareness categories.

In addition, the following companies received 2012 Best of the Best category awards. See all the winning campaigns in the August print issue of tED and in a video on tEDmag.com.

BRAND AWARENESS:

• Distributor under $25 million – National Electric Supply, “NES News”
• Distributor $25 million – $200 million – Connexion, “Incandescent & T12 Lamp Phase Out”
• Distributor over $200 million – Van Meter Inc., “Van Meter Industrial Becomes Van Meter Inc.”
• Supplier under $250 million – Madison Electric Products, “Taking Commitment to Innovation on the Road with the Innovation Express”
• Supplier over $250 million – Southwire, “SIMpull Solutions Blueprint for Productivity Campaign”

CREATIVE DISPLAY:

• Distributor over $200 million – Cooper Electric Supply, “Showroom Interactive House”
• Supplier under $250 million – WAC Lighting, “2011 Custom Display Program”
• Supplier over $250 million – Lutron Electronics, “Maestro Wireless Wingstack”

DIGITAL/SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN:

• Distributor under $25 million – Vaughan Electrical Supply, “The New Generation of EDs”
• Distributor $25 million – $200 million – Connexion, “The Green Scene & Contractor News Connexion!”
• Distributor over $200 million – Summit Electric Supply, “Summit NewsWire”
• Supplier under $250 million – L-com, “A New Angle on Ethernet Cabling”
• Supplier over $250 million – Fluke, “Vibration: See the Unseen”

DIRECT PROMOTION:

• Distributor $25 million – $200 million – Werner Electric (Minn.), “MCAP Southwire Challenge”
• Distributor over $200 million – Dakota Supply Group, “Power Tools Direct Mail”
• Supplier under $250 million – Service Wire, “2011 Products & Services Offerings”
• Supplier over $250 million – Legrand/Cablofil, “Delta Strut Sales Kit”

EVENT:

• Distributor under $25 million – C.N. Robinson Lighting Supply, “On the Road Show & Oktoberfest”
• Distributor $25 million – $200 million – Standard Electric Supply, “2011 Automation Express”
• Distributor over $200 million – Irby, “Jackson, MS Safety Seminar”
• Supplier over $250 million – GE Lighting, “GE Lighting Revolution Tour”

INTEGRATED PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN:

• Distributor $25 million – $200 million – Springfield Electric Supply, “Ride with Springfield Electric & Schneider Electric”
• Distributor over $200 million – Summit Electric Supply, “Online Services”
• Supplier under $250 million  – Universal Lighting Technologies, “2011 Audience Segment Campaign”
• Supplier over $250 million – Eaton, “Eaton City Electrical Navigator”

LITERATURE/SELLING TOOL:

• Distributor $25 million – $200 million – Warshauer Electric Supply, “Future Proof Your Home”
• Distributor over $250 million – Summit Electric Supply, “Round the Clock Convenience with Summit’s Online Services”
• Supplier under $250 million – Fulham, “Comprehensive Lighting Guide (Global Product Catalog)”
• Supplier over $250 million – Philips Lighting, “12.5W EnduraLED A19 Mini-Application Tool”

PRINT AD—SINGLE:

• Distributor over $200 million – Border States Electric, “Supply Chain Solutions Made Simple”
• Supplier under $250 million – Universal Lighting Technologies, “Demand Control”
• Supplier over $250 million – Southwire, “MCAP Cable: Grounded in Realiability”

PRINT AD—CAMPAIGN:

• Distributor over $200 million – State Electric Supply, “North Carolina Ad Campaign”
• Supplier under $250 million – Universal Lighting Technologies, “Revolution Print”
• Supplier over $250 million (tie) – GE Energy Industrial Solutions, “GE is Leading the Future of Electrification”; and Southwire, “SIMpull Solutions Blueprint for Productivity Campaign”

PRODUCT LAUNCH:

• Distributor over $200 million – CapitalTristate, “Your Road to Speed on the Job”
• Supplier under $250 million – RAB Lighting, “Introducing WPLED52”
• Supplier over $250 million (tie) – Legrand/Wiremold, “Evolution Series Floor Box”; and LENOX, “Unplugged (Speed Slot Hole Saw)”

PUBLIC RELATIONS/COMMUNITY OUTREACH:

• Distributor $25 million – $200 million – Connexion, “Science Connexion”
• Distributor over $200 million – NorthEast Electrical Distributors, “Project Green Lights 2011”
• Supplier over $250 million – Prescolite, “College Support Program”

PUBLIC RELATIONS/CORPORATE:

• Distributor over $200 million – Dakota Supply Group, “Touchpoints Video”
• Supplier under $250 million – Federal Signal, “EMComm”
• Supplier over $250 million – Legrand/Cablofil, “Deltra Strut Press Kit”

PUBLICATION:

• Distributor over $200 million – Cooper Electric Supply, “DuPont Connections Newsletter”
• Supplier under $250 million – Fulham, “Comprehensive Lighting Guide”
• Supplier over $250 million – Philips Lighting, “Lighting Specifier Newsletter”

WEBSITE:

• Distributor $25 million – $200 million – Shepherd Electric Supply, “New Website Launch”
• Distributor over $200 million – Graybar, “Graybar.com Redesign”
• Supplier under $250 million – Service Wire, “2011 Website Redesign”
• Supplier over $250 million – LENOX, “LENOX Unplugged”

Details on tED‘s 2013 Best of the Best contest will be released in October. For additional contest information, contact tED Editor Misty Byers at 314-812-5316 or mbyers@naed.org.  

Circulated to more than 25,000 readers throughout the electrical distribution industry, the award-winning tED magazine serves as the industry’s primary source for trends, best practices, and news happening throughout the electrical supply chain. In addition to its monthly print edition, tED produces up-to-the minute news through tedmag.com, twice-weekly e-newsletters, and its LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter channels.

NAED is the trade association for the $70+ billion electrical distribution industry. Through networking, education, research, and benchmarking, NAED helps electrical distributors increase profitability and improve the channel. NAED’s membership operates in approximately 4,400 locations internationally.