Member Article

North East marketing campaigns in national awards

Two North East companies have been shortlisted for the Marketing Excellence Awards 2011, held by The Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Marketing campaigns from both Sage UK Ltd and Newcastle Building Society have been recognised by the prestigious awards.

Thre “Big Little Saver” campaign from Newcastle Building Society ran for three months in the early summer of last year, and aimed to increase awareness of the importance of adopting saving habits from an early age.

Natalie Falkous, Group Corporate Communications Manager, said: “The campaign was a big success on all levels.

“We didn’t have an advertising budget so we had to ensure we added value to the campaign every step of the way.

“We adopted a personal approach and send creative personalised letters to the young savers once the account was opened, which was accompanied by a special savings storybook.”

The campaign also involved the building society holding financial education lessons in North East schools, where children were taught about the history of money, budgeting, earning money and savings.

Over 170 entries have been made for the Awards, which are now in their third successful year, and sponsored by The Marketing Trust.

18 finalists, selected by industry professionals, will also compete for Marketer of The Year, and Marketing Team of The Year.

Sam Meredith, chairman of the North East Branch of the Chartered Institute of Marketing said; “The level of entry this year has been unprecedented and the judges were impressed with the
exceptional creativity, resourcefulness and sophistication of the work submitted, particularly in this tough economic climate.

“The Institute’s awards are the benchmark for excellence and this year’s finalists have again raised the bar.

“It is fantastic to be able to reward their brilliant performance and I’d like to congratulate all the short-listed companies and obviously hope that both Sage and Newcastle Building Society go on to win their respective categories.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .