Three area businesses win top awards from marketing group

Three local businesses took home Best of Show awards from the Tri-State Advertising and Marketing Professionals (AMP) annual American Advertising Awards Show on Friday at Isle Casino Cape Girardeau.

More than 120 print, interactive, broadcast and multimedia advertising projects created, published or aired throughout 2013 in Cape Girardeau, Paducah, Ky., and Harrisburg, Ill., were considered in the competition, according to a news release from the organization.

Thirteen gold ADDY awards, 23 silver ADDY awards and 20 bronze ADDY awards were presented to professional organizations, and 19 student ADDY awards were presented to Southeast Missouri State University students, the release said.

* The Wright Group of Cape Girardeau took home a Best of Show ADDY award in the print division for its Lucent brochure produced for Lucent Window and Door.

* Red Letter Communications of Cape Girardeau was given a Best of Show ADDY award in the multimedia/broadcast division for its The BOSS Campaign done for NewWave Communications.

* Red Letter Communications also took home the Judges' Choice award for The Strong Case for NorthPark Sales Kit completed for NorthPark. The project also received a gold ADDY award.

* Saint Francis Medical Center and The Roberts Group of Cape Girardeau were awarded a Best of Show ADDY award in the digital/interactive division for the website redesign for Saint Francis Medical Center.

* More than 30 Southeast students submitted entries, and student Caitlin Brinker was given the student Best in Show award for her Hangover Hall project completed for a Southeast graphics course.

Gold ADDY award winners are eligible to compete in the second level of the three-tiered American Advertising Awards Competition, where judging will take place in March.

The Silver Medal Award, which honors an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the advertising and marketing professions and his or her community, was presented to Johnathan Wright, president and founder of The Wright Group.

The Silver Medal Award dates back to 1959, and Wright was chosen by a committee of three past Silver Medal Award recipients and several Tri-State AMP members, the release said.

"This is going to be a night I'm going to remember for the rest of my life," Wright said after accepting the award.

He attended Oak Ridge High School, Southeast Missouri State University and the Art Institute of Chicago. A high school art teacher encouraged much of Wright's initiative to study the marketing, mass communication and fine art fields, he said.

Wright has multiple PIA Benny awards, Best of Show awards and ADDY award under his belt, and has proved to be "invaluable in solving client's communication needs" and has built a reputation for "providing strategic solutions and personalized service" in the area and the Midwest, the release said.

Wright presented "The Little Engine that Could" to his mother after accepting the award, saying that it is the story of his life and the story of The Wright Group.

ashedd@semissourian.com

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