The countdown is on to the 15th annual AMA Cincinnati Pinnacle Awards in December. The Pinnacle Awards are the highlight of our chapter year and our chance to celebrate regional excellence in marketing. In addition to naming winners in eight different categories, we also induct a new class of Cincinnati Marketing Legends. It is an unforgettable night you won’t want to miss.
Before we get to the main event, submit your work to be considered! Entries for the Pinnacle Awards are open through Oct. 28 on our entry platform. Does your work or your team’s work have what it takes to beat out the best and brightest marketers from the greater Cincinnati area? Take a look at the 2021 Pinnacle Award winners to inspire you to put your name forward.
Best Collegiate/Student Marketing Plan, Campaign, and/or Program: This category celebrates students who have term papers, projects, or capstone courses that require the creation of a marketing plan, campaign, and an extent of execution. The University of Cincinnati Carl H. Lindner College of Business took top honors in 2021 for its Caring for the Underserved Certificate marketing strategy, which launched a new interprofessional certificate for pharmacy and nursing students to add to their graduate degree programs.
Best Brand Launch or Rebranding Effort: Whether a startup or a decades-old company going through a turnaround or rebirth, this category celebrates the brand or rebrand process. Madison Design won the 2021 award for its successful rebranding campaign for Mercy Education of the Americas (MESA), including crafting a new logo and promise statement during the height of the pandemic.
Best Content Marketing: This category celebrates content marketing done well to drive audience engagement. The pioneering marketing team for Cincinnati-based addiction treatment provider BrightView won the 2021 award in this category for leveraging a unique and robust content strategy to change the conversation on addiction and treatment. Their approach included a groundbreaking blend of influencer collaborations, videos, blogs, podcasts, virtual events, and white papers.
Best Customer Experience Execution: Customer experience has been revered as the ultimate marketing tool. This category recognizes organizations that facilitate the pathways that anticipate wants, needs, and problems and addresses them in a way that makes a difference. Health Carousel won the 2021 award for launching its Health Carousel On Demand app to empower nursing candidates to find and land jobs on their terms in their own time.
Best Digital Strategy & Execution: From a website that attracts the right kind of traffic and inspires action with its user experience to a variety of campaigns (paid or unpaid, on established or emerging channels), this category celebrates digital excellence and the metrics that back it up. GDP Creative Agency took the 2021 honors for its work with the Cincinnati NAACP to launch an enhanced digital brand presence for the organization through a consistent brand look and high-quality imagery, clear and concise content, and a simplified member and donor journey.
Best Sales Enablement: This category recognizes the strategic use of people, processes, and technology to improve sales productivity and increase revenue. Health Carousel’s B2B Marketing team won the 2021 award for collaborating with the sales team to drive $40 million in revenue from marketing-generated leads across a single quarter. From content strategy, lead generating campaigns, and enabling a lead sharing and tracking process, the marketing team set up the sales team for success.
Best Scrappy Marketing Campaign: This category is for marketers who fearlessly tackled the creative challenge of getting the most bang for your frugal buck, and how far it went in the end. St. Elizabeth Healthcare won the 2021 award for its Home for the Holidays campaign, which focused on ways to help keep our community safe from COVID-19 by encouraging people to stay home for the holidays at Christmas in 2020 and then reunite for 4th of July in 2021 after being vaccinated.
Best “Non-Marketing” Marketing Program: This category celebrates marketers who successfully implemented disciplines like internal communications, employee relations or recruitment, or community involvement into their marketing. Brightview won the 2021 award for its How to Save a Life marketing campaign. Events took place in more than 40 different cities and towns around Ohio and Kentucky to empower communities to take action against the growing addiction epidemic.
Cincinnati Marketing Legends: Tom Hayes, Dean of the Williams College of Business at Xavier University, and Amanda Hill, CEO of Female Forward, were named to the 2021 Legends class. Read more about their impact on the Cincinnati marketing community on our blog.
Who will be crowned the 2022 Pinnacle Award winners and named to the 2022 Legends class? It could be you! Don’t wait! Enter the Pinnacle Awards today to join these esteemed winners at the 2022 Pinnacle Awards or nominate an influential marketer to be included in the 2022 Legends class. Entries and nominations close on Oct. 28.
