Coillte Panel Products - one of Coillte, the Irish forestry and forest products company’s three divisions - won the hotly contested 2009 Excellence In Marketing award at the annual timber industry awards event held on 17th September by the Timber Trades Journal at the Park Lane Hotel in London.
The multimedia campaign launched SmartPly’s new SiteProtect product - a durable coated panel specifically for site hoarding and security applications - in January 2009. The campaign from Coillte Panel Products was selected from 15 entries for a shortlist of three, and finally beat competing entries from the UK Timber Frame Association and the Western Red Cedar Export Association.
The Excellent In Marketing award was judged by an independent panel, led by David Evington, managing director of Dynamo Marketing. Awards host and guest speaker, former deputy prime minister John Prescott, said of the award winning OSB product launch, “This new concept goes well beyond providing safety and security – it saves time and money, provides the ideal canvas to create maximum visual impact and is FSC certified.”
In describing the campaign for the launch of SmartPly SiteProtect - the smart OSB answer for site hoarding - David Evington said: “This entry convincingly ticked all five boxes for strategy, proposition, integration, creativity and results. Two aspects in particular warrant recognition. The launch mailer built around a product sample was cleverly designed to work as a sales presenter too and, significantly, the majority of first year sales originated from major end users responding to advertising. In summary, a very smart campaign.”
Until now, this coveted marketing award has never been won by the same company twice. Coillte Panel Products takes it for the second consecutive year in 2009, having received the 2008 award for the uncompromising messages and multi-faceted delivery of the ground-breaking TIME2CHOOSE campaign.
Peter Travis of +travis , the creative force and media agency coordinating the work with Coillte Panel Products, said: “Producing the most outstanding and effective marketing campaign within this industry is what was required, and the judges felt this is what was delivered. The teamwork between various companies which were involved was vital and it was the combination of all the many excellent parts of the campaign that made it so impressive.”
Geoff Rhodes, marketing and business development director for Coillte Panel Products said: “This is a remarkable achievement, particularly with such stiff international competition. It is fantastic to have the hard work which goes into our campaigns again recognised in this way, and we are already working on the next challenges for both the SmartPly and Medite brands, and the products they offer.”
Managing director of Coillte Panel Products Gerry Britchfield said: “It is really important for Coillte and our product brands and services that we are well known and respected in both domestic and international markets. Winning these consecutive awards in 2008 and 2009 are testimony to the skill set of the team involved and our company’s commitment to professional marketing, press relations and a strategic approach using all the tools we have available. I am highly delighted."
17 September 2009