Annual ADDY Awards Banquet will showcase the best in advertising

The Tri-State Advertising and Marketing Professionals, a local entity of the American Advertising Federation, in February will recognize exceptional advertising created in the tri-state area in all media -- including print, broadcast, out-of-home and public service advertising.

Don Young, a professor at Southeast Missouri State University's Department of Mass Communications and president of the advertising and marketing group, said the 12th annual ADDY Awards Banquet will be Feb. 23 at Drury Lodge.

"All work must have been published or aired between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2006, in the Cape Girardeau, Harrisburg, Ill., and Paducah, Ky., market," he said. "It looks like there will again be some very good competition."

The ADDY Awards is a three-tiered national competition conducted annually by the American Advertising Federation.

Past president Dan Timpe of KFVS12 said last year's banquet was well attended and the level of competition was quite high.

"This has been a productive undertaking for some years now. The people who become involved in it are serious but also have a lot of fun. The creativity really shows," said Timpe.

Since 1992, the Tri-State Advertising and Marketing Professionals have offered educational programs, informational activities and valuable networking that promote excellence across the industry. More than 80 members represent a wide spectrum in the advertising and marketing fields in Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky.

At the banquet last year, Saint Francis Medical Center, Red Letter Communications and The Wright Group won best of show, the competition's highest award. Other awards are ADDYs of Distinction, ADDYs and Citations of Excellence.

Perhaps one the most visible winners last year was Red Letter Communications' best of show for print media. The group won for its billboard campaign for the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau. The billboards run along Interstate 55 and feature historic figures such as Mark Twain, who visited Cape Girardeau in the past.

Of the three best of show winners last year, Red Letter Communications took home a total of seven awards; Saint Francis Medical Center, in addition to winning nine awards, won best of show in electronic media for its January cardiac television campaign; and The Wright Group won best of show in mixed-media with their campaign for Semco Distributing Inc. The business took home a total of seven awards.

Out of 150 entries, there were 60 winners.

As of press time, it is not known how many entries will be in the 2006 competition. Past president Tracey Glenn said the deadline for submitting entries was Jan. 10. She said if there are more entries than last year, it is probable there will also be more winners.

"The number of awards given correlates to the number of entries received," she said. "The judges select a certain percentage."

Glenn said the entries are sorted by category and taken to Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Ark., where a panel of advertising and marketing professionals and university professionals judge them.

"The judging is purposely done out of our market so the local people are not judging entries they may have already seen in the local media during the past year," said Glenn, adding that the judging takes almost a full day. "The judges have to watch all the videos, and there's always a ton of print materials to look at. Many categories are broken down into sub-categories, so it can get pretty complex."

Glenn said the ADDY Awards Banquet is an excellent opportunity for industry professionals to see the creative work done by their peers in the tri-state region. She said the awards are recognition "for the hard work they do."

The Tri-State Advertising and Marketing Professionals forward the entries of those who win best of show or a gold ADDY to district competition. Anyone winning a silver or bronze ADDY can also compete in district, although the creators of the entries will have to pay the competition fee.

The date and site of the district competition has not yet been announced. The winners of district will compete in national competition June 11 in San Francisco.

In 2005, the group began recognizing outstanding achievement in business and marketing with its Tri-State AMP Triumph award. Charles L. Drury and Bob Drury of Drury Hotels were the recipients of the first award, and at the Small Business and Marketing Expo last November, Vernon "Pee Wee" Rhodes of Plaza Tire Service received the award. Rhodes founded Plaza Tire Service with a small car wash in 1963 and has since expanded to 46 full service locations in four states. Plaza Tire has plans to open four new stores this year.