AMA Cincinnati Pinnacle Awards 2020

We’re still working out some of the specifics — we promise to update you as soon as we know when, where, and how we’ll be showcasing Cincinnati’s marketing rockstars.

• When: Fall 2020
  
• Where: TBD
• Register: Registration will open at a date TBD.

Important Dates:

• Friday, May 15: Open for Submissions
• July 31: All Submissions Due by 11:59pm EDT
• Fall 2020: Pinnacle Awards Ceremony

Eligibility

The Pinnacle Awards are open to all marketing professionals in the Greater Cincinnati area. Those who submit for an award must submit original work or work they directly supervised. The work submitted must have been created/managed from January 1, 2019, up until June 30, 2020.

Submission Requirements

A summary is required for submissions for categories; supporting materials are highly recommended. See the below section, “How to Submit,” for instructions.

Fees & Payment

Early Bird Submission Fee (Before June 15, 2020) – $60

Submission Fee (After June 15, 2020) – $75

Collegiate/Student Fee – $0

Non-Profit Fee – $0

Marketing Legend Nomination Fee – $0

Deadlines

Submissions must be sent and payment must be received by 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, July 31, 2020.

Judging

Pinnacle submissions will be judged by an American Marketing Association chapter outside of the Cincinnati region. Finalists will be notified in advance of the Awards Ceremony, but winners will not be disclosed until the Awards Ceremony. Scores and feedback will be emailed to those who submitted after the Pinnacle Awards ceremony.

Prepare Your Submission

For all categories except the “Cincinnati Marketing Legends*,” the form submission will require the below information:

• Opportunity / Problem: Provide a brief situation analysis of the opportunity or problem your marketing work addressed.
• Objectives: What were you trying to achieve? Who were your target audiences? What did success look like? Don’t forget measurement!
• Planning & Execution: How did you make it happen?
• Results: Did you achieve your goals and objectives? Did your initial vision of success come to fruition? Don’t forget measurement!

It is highly recommended to include relevant supporting materials to accompany the summary. These supporting materials can be any of the following:

• Final creative proofs or examples
• Multimedia: Photos, videos, audio files, etc.
• Printed collateral (saved as a PDF)
• Social media posts and/or metrics
• Measurement documents
• Testimonials or letters of recognition
• Relevant website links for reference
• Or… surprise us!

How to Submit

We’ve streamlined your award submission and Cincinnati Marketing Legend nomination experience to allow you to spend your brain power on the good stuff. What are you waiting for? Start your submission.

2020 Pinnacle Award Categories & Descriptions

Best Marketing Pivot

Resiliency in marketing has never been more crucial than the present. We are often told to consider the unknown, but how many of our marketing strategies were built with the need to pivot in mind? Share the best examples of resilient marketers who were able to pivot their strategies and campaigns to meet the needs of a world in crisis in 2020.

Best “Non-Marketing” Marketing Program

Marketers wear many hats, and sometimes that means stepping out of some disciplines and into different ones like internal communications, employee relations or recruitment, or community involvement, to name a few. Share your best “non-marketing” marketing and how it drove value for the organization.

Best Collegiate/Student Marketing Plan, Campaign, and/or Program

Calling all students! Many have term papers, projects or capstone courses that require the creation of a marketing plan, campaign, and an extent of execution. Share your work with us to be recognized! Please include results on any execution of marketing plan.

Best Brand Launch or Rebranding Effort

Cincinnati is Brand Capital, USA. Whether you’re a startup or a decades-old company going through a turnaround or rebirth, share your brand or rebrand process with us–from old versus new, graphics, messaging, rollout and education. Oh, and don’t forget applicable metrics!

Best Content Marketing

Valuable. Relevant. Consistent. Content marketing has become the foundation of successful marketing programs. Whether it’s blogs and white papers or podcasts or videos, share with us how your brand tells a story and spark engagement with intended audiences.

Best Customer Experience Execution

Customer experience has been revered as the ultimate marketing tool. This category welcomes submissions in which organizations facilitate the pathways (channels, experiences, you name it) that anticipate wants, needs and problems and addresses them in a way that made a difference.

Best Digital Strategy & Execution

We live in a world of constant digital innovation and transformation. From a website that attracts the right kind of traffic and inspires action with its user experience to the variety of campaigns (paid or unpaid, on established or emerging channels), share with us your best digital work, with the metrics to back it up.

Best Integrated Marketing Campaign

This category welcomes submissions for the best thought-out marketing campaigns that use a variety of channels and vehicles (video, print, web, social media, PR, traditional paid media/advertising, events) with carefully tracked metrics to accomplish their business objectives or solve a marketing problem.

Best Sales Enablement

When marketing and sales work together, everyone wins, but that journey can have hurdles of the organizational, technological or philosophical kind. Share with us your organization’s sales enablement journey, including goals, results, and creative solutions.

Best Scrappy Marketing Campaign

Are you a non-profit operating your marketing initiatives on a shoestring? New manager in a large organization trying to build a business case for something new and fighting for every budget dollar? Startup with lean funds to promote your new business? We want to see what you accomplished! Tell us what you had to work with, how you tackled the creative challenge of getting the most bang for your frugal buck, and how far it went in the end.

Special Merit: In-House Warriors

Not every organization hires an agency partner. Great marketing can come from within the company. Based on entries submitted, this special recognition is for the in-house warriors who led a campaign from brainstorm to execution and measurement, regardless of budget. Consider this a “no agencies allowed!” space. To qualify for consideration for this special merit, check the box “Consider me for In-House Warrior Special Merit” on your submission form and write about it in your summary for the judges.

Special Merit: Research or Insight Catalyst

Who doesn’t love a good backstory? Based on entries submitted, this special recognition is to recognize the research and/or insights that helped spark the effort for a successful marketing campaign, initiative, rebrand, operations innovation, etc. To qualify for consideration for this special merit, check the box “Consider me for Research or Insight Catalyst Special Merit” on your submission form and write about it in your summary for the judges.

Note: Because research may be done well in advance of execution, this recognition is not time-bound to the 2019-2020 timeframe.

Cincinnati Marketing Legends Award

We are happy to welcome a fourth class of Cincinnati Marketing Legends for the 2020 Pinnacle Awards. This prestigious award is like a “lifetime achievement” award; it is not time-bound. Who has made a lasting impact and brought acclaim to the city or the profession of marketing? Please complete the nomination form with the name, current role, social media handles, or links to published work (if available) and 300 words or less on what makes them a Cincinnati Marketing Legend for award recipient consideration. Self-nominations are discouraged. Nominees do not have to be AMA members.

Past Cincinnati Marketing Legends:

• Class of 2017
• Class of 2018
• Class of 2019

Curious about past Pinnacle Award winners?

Learn about them here.