Rebranding an international direct marketing competition

Turning a dated award show into a prestigious honor.

The Global Head of Creative at my previous agency was also on the board of the DMA. He came back from a meeting and gave my Art Director and I a request: rebrand the DMA ECHO Awards. We knew we’d be up against at least 5 other agencies who had also been tasked with the same challenge. Along with the prestige and enduring nature of developing the chosen direction, the winning agency team would also get a free trip to Vegas to attend the award show and conference.

BEFORE + AFTER

MANIFESTO
· · ·

You experience the world differently.

You balance art and science with every decision you make.

You see your work as a a direct reflection of who you are.

Uniting the strength of strategic left-brained thinking, with the

dynamic vision of right-brained creativity, you strike the perfect balance

of data and marketing. You deserve an award that celebrates your

unique perspective and unparalleled passion. Be the architect of your

fate and earn recognition at the DMA International ECHO Awards.

Reflect greatness. Design your destiny.

Create an ECHO that lasts forever.

Outlining the intent of our direction.

Only the best work lives on. With a 90+ year history of recognizing and rewarding data-driven storytellers, the DMA International ECHO® Awards are committed to honoring the greatest among us.

Now and always, may our marching orders be to bolster the bold, champion the creative and strengthen the strategic. ECHO Forever is a campaign that will increase brand awareness, establish a strong tone and deliver a lasting impression of the power behind this prestigious award.

Lay a strong foundation with uncompromising aspirations.

For the first touch, we use concise headlines and actionable supporting copy to tell the complete story of the DMA International ECHO Awards. Attention-getting? Sure. Intriguing? Definitely. Click-Thru-Worthy? You bet.

Placement and purpose is everything.

We knew that making intentional decisions about when and where to promote the 2018 DMA International ECHO Awards would add additional credibility and authenticity to the recruiting process.

With modern designs, bold headlines and strategic site selections, our new direction helped drive submissions from first-time agencies.

Presenting to the board.

Don Williams and I designed and developed a pitch deck, which we shared with the board of directors. They were blown away by the work—one member actually said he “teared up” because it was such a step forward and was aligned with the ideal direction they wanted to go in. It ended up being between us and one other agency concept, but ultimately, our direction was the winner! Don also ended up redesigning the awards that are given out to the winners, and they were produced by the Society Awards, which is the same company that produces the Oscar trophies. each year.

THE RESULTS

The judging + the award show.

In August of 2018, I attended Round 2 of judging in NYC after participating in the online Round 1. I judged work across 5 categories over 3 days and met amazing markets from agencies around the world. The debate was engaging, educational and enriched by the amount of diverse work and judges alike.

Then in October of 2018, we attend the award show and conference at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV. It was an amazing opportunity to reconnect with the judges we met in New York, and to see our work implemented on a grand scale. In the booklet that accompanied the event, there was a page early on that called us out for our rebranding work specifically. We also received an honorary award, were invited onstage to accept it—and our image has been used on their marketing materials ever since (much to our amusement).