Construction

The Terex Reality Check microsite just received a Silver ADDY® award from Des Moines’ local chapter of the American Advertising Federation. Nearly 300 entries were judged this year, based on creativity, originality and creative strategy — so it’s a great honor to be recognized in our own community.

We just happen to have a nice, cozy spot for the ADDY next to the Best Print Ad award we picked up for the same campaign from the Construction Writers Association Marketing Communications Awards in San Antonio.

This campaign just keeps on getting attention. Not bad for a brand just entering a category dominated by the competition! (See our previous blog for more details about the campaign.)

With Congress getting ready to head into session on Jan. 24, The Road Connection – a nine-month campaign highlighting the need for increased infrastructure funding – is heading out on the open road.

In the driver’s seat are Curt Peterka and Andrew Gillman who will be traveling cross-country to trade shows, state association meetings, dealerships and everywhere in between to garner support and educate the public on the necessity of passing the reauthorization bill. (It’s only 844 days overdue.)

Over the past few months, we here at PM have had the opportunity to work with the leading sponsor (and brainchild) of this cause-worthy campaign – KPI-JCI & Astec Mobile Screens.

As part of this campaign, we’ve created a microsite where you can contact Congress (hint, hint), nominate a worst road (another hint) and see where the truck is heading next. Check it out at www.theroadconnection.org.

Along with the microsite, we’ve illustrated and designed all elements including the truck wrap, promotional items and much more!

Here are some photos of the truck visiting the PM office and at our kickoff event at AED Summit/CONDEX Jan. 19-20 in Washington, D.C.

Curt Peterka (left), Advertising Manager at Kolberg Pioneer, Inc., and Andrew Gillman, Public Relations, Performance Marketing (a.k.a. The Mobile Journalist). These are the guys in the truck, so wave when you see them.

All set up at the AED Summit Kickoff Event – Washington, D.C.

From left: Curt Peterka, Christian Klein (AED Vice President of Government Affairs and Washington Counsel), Lisa Carson (Marketing Manager, KPI-JCI & Astec Mobile Screens) and Andrew Gillman (PM Mobile Journalist)

You know a great logo when you see one — it speaks volumes with a simple visual. But it doesn’t tell you what it took to get there. That’s why we thought it would be fun to take a look at the evolution of one of our recent branding projects.

First, a little background.
Our PR team has been involved in the Construction Writers Association for over four years, and we recently had the opportunity to be part of the association’s planning committee. We soon discovered they wanted to establish a brand for their annual conference — instead of having a new name and theme every year — to give it a more consistent, recognizable presence in the industry.

Of course, when we heard “construction” and “design,” we were all in. So we volunteered PM’s pro-bono design services.

The committee then brainstormed on a universal theme and kept coming back to the idea of networking and connections — hence, the theme “Connected” was chosen.

Time to sketch.
PM illustrator/creative director Jim Swanson started with the one thing every member of the audience had in common: they’re all writers and journalists. So he observed readers and writers. And he looked for parallels to connect the idea of people who are passionate about the written word with the concepts of connection and construction. He sketched. And sketched some more. (See above.)

From there, we narrowed it down to a handful of ideas and presented them to a small Association group. Three designs were selected and presented to a wider group, which chose the final logo unanimously. It was sent to the entire board for a vote, and again passed unanimously. (Can you guess which one without scrolling?)

We have a winner!
We’re not surprised about the unanimous choice … it was our favorite too. The C not only stands for “construction” but also completes a full circle with the simple tip of a fountain pen, suggesting continuity and, well, connection.

The association is already using the logo to promote this fall’s conference, which takes place October 24-26 in San Antonio. Attendees include industry publication editors, as well as marketing communications people from a wide range of construction manufacturers. (Let’s put it this way: If you write about the construction industry, you’re a member — or you should be.)

Many thanks to the Construction Writers Association for the opportunity to work together on branding this annual conference — we’re looking forward to this year’s event!