Agencies were judged on criteria such as marketing capabilities, revenue, revenue growth, client list, geographic expansion, and creative awards.

Capabilities-wise, we’ve built some progressive digital and Web-based marketing programs around Search, Analytics, and Behavioral Targeting that we’re stoked about.

A big, huge, colossal, monstrous, gargantuan, mondo thank you to our current clients for helping us achieve this prestigious honor — again. Applied Systems, Avanade, Clark Nuber, CSG Systems, Douglass Interior Products, Fluke Corporation, HomeStreet Bank, ISIS, Meydenbauer Conference Center, NetMotion Wireless, Northland Services, PhysioControl, Russell Investments, UC4, WatchGuard Technologies, Webasto NA, Windstream Communications –– you all rock. You are our raison d’être.

The writer-art director team for the WatchGuard “Get Red” Campaign was Gary Meyers and Charlie Worcester. The writer-art director team for the CSG “K.O. Churn” campaign was Gary Graf and Charlie Worcestor.

The Communicator Awards is a leading international awards program honoring creative excellence for Communications Professionals and receives over 9,000 entries from companies and agencies of all sizes, making it one of the largest awards of its kind in the world.

This is the second Gold award for the WatchGuard campaign.

The Winners:

Gold
Category: B2B Advertising Campaign
Client: WatchGuard Technologies
Entry: “Get Red”

As we reported in a November 2009 blog, this campaign was designed to give WatchGuard positioning presence and marketing personality in the crowded network security industry comprised of many competitors with “me-too” propositions. WatchGuard is known for its distinctive red hardware. We developed the campaign positioning platform expressed here.

“Get red. Get secured.”
Then we created the red animal ad campaign that WatchGuard is using in print, interactive, and trade show environments. The campaign is also running as backlit display ads in major airports around the world, such as the one below in the United terminal at San Francisco International Airport (thanks to Jason Frummet, our Senior Account Director for snapping this photo with his iPhone for us).

Silver
Category: B2B Advertising Campaign
Client: Applied Systems
Entry: “Epic Acts”

This creative advertising campaign ran in insurance publications introducing Applied Systems’ new Epic™ insurance agency management system. The three-ad series used unusual photo treatments to illustrate how “easy” it is achieve “Epic” acts and by inference how easy it is to run an insurance agency with Applied’s Epic technology. The metaphor comparisons showed an escalator on Mt. Everest, placing a footbridge across the Grand Canyon, and putting a superhighway across the pioneer covered wagon trail.

Bronze
Category: B2B Advertising Campaign
Client: HomeStreet Bank
Entry: “HomeStreet Gets Business”

Our objective with this campaign was to build awareness of HomeStreet’s business banking capabilities and to tout HomeStreet’s substantial lending power and position HomeStreet as a regional bank. The challenge was that research showed that most people thought of HomeStreet strictly as a consumer bank and home loan lender. Many people weren’t even aware that HomeStreet offered business banking.

The solution was “HomeStreet Gets Business”, an integrated campaign (print, interactive and radio) that targeted business owners. Tempered with a touch of humor, the ads salute business owners for the long hours they put in and the risks they take to make our economy go. The ads communicate that not only does HomeStreet understand what it takes to make a business succeed, it has the power to help.

OK, a plug for us.

Hodgson/Meyers has been selected as one of the top 100 Business-to-Business advertising agencies in the country for 2009 by B2B Marketing, Advertising Age’s Business-to-Business sister publication. This is the third straight year Hodgson/Meyers has won the designation, the only Washington State agency so honored.

Agencies were judged on criteria such as marketing capabilities, revenue, revenue growth, client list, geographic expansion, and creative awards.

We’re jacked about winning three straight. There’s no paucity of hard work or energized, conscientious forward-thinking around here.