A night out with your coworkers is always nice, but when you take home a few awards at the end of the evening, it’s even better.

The Art Directors Association of Iowa recently held its 54th annual design exhibition, and between PM and our own Emily Hughes, we scored four Awards of Excellence and two Best of Category Awards.

The ADAI exhibition is a fun event for us because it’s focused on graphic design. It also showcases lots of inspiring work produced right here in our own professional community. If you’d like to see some of the other winners, check out the photos on Facebook.

Here’s a quick look at PM’s winning submissions …

Ballet Des Moines Fundraising Packet

Award of Excellence for PM

Category: Collateral

The Ballet Des Moines needed a customizable piece that could be tailored for different fundraising prospects. We created this double-fold brochure with a pocket and inserts for various messages. The pro-bono piece is small enough to mail yet makes a big impact with dramatic photography and metallic ink.

Chicago Pneumatic Brand Ad Concepts

Award of Excellence for PM

Category: Unpublished

Some of the coolest designs never make it to press. Kudos to ADAI for having a category to recognize some of them! PM created these ad concepts based on the results of a voice of customer/brand positioning exercise for Chicago Pneumatic. The look is in line with the CP brand, but pushes it farther to make a connection with the hardworking contractor audience.

Thinc Iowa Website

Award of Excellence and Best of Category for PM

Category: Website Design

We can’t say enough good things about working with the Silicon Prairie News team on their first Thinc Iowa event last fall. They trusted us to recommend a creative approach, and this website is the centerpiece of the design. It features parallax scrolling from section to section, instead of traditional multi-page navigation. (Trust us, you just have to see it.) Our cohorts from Shift did the programming. And we had so much fun, we signed up to do it again this fall for Thinc Iowa 2012.

Martha and Ryan Save the Date

Award of Excellence and Best of Category for Emily Hughes

Category: Announcements/Invitations

Beyond her work at PM, Emily Hughes has a whole other creative outlet designing wedding invitations and other announcements. This one is particularly special, since it was for Emily’s cousin — who incidentally wrote the copy. (Creativity must run in the family!) Another PM connection: the photos were taken by our former coworker, Gretchen Scott.

As a side note, this year’s exhibition was organized and emceed by our fellow creative, Paul Richards, who put a lot of heart, sweat and time into the entire event. Many thanks to Paul and the ADAI volunteers for another excellent exhibition. What a great way to spend a warm spring evening!

Editorial Note: This marks the start of a new feature where we post a taste of the work we’ve been doing. We’re calling this section the “Creative Sampler.” Every month, we’ll highlight a few sweet bites of creative. Check back next month, because like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.

Mobile and Merchandising

PM recently developed the brand identity and all of the supporting elements for KPI & JCI & Astec Mobile Screens’ Road Connection campaign.

By “supporting elements,” we mean a truck wrap, a website/blog and tradeshow signage — as well as a huge variety of event giveaway items, from t-shirts to temporary tattoos. The campaign also has a presence on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.

So far, the campaign has resulted in more than 2,000 letters to Congress from 39 states, more than 2,400 Facebook fans, more than 283 Twitter followers and 28 official sponsors. Our mobile journalist has also logged more than 14,000 miles traveling to trade shows, state association meetings and dealerships.

You can read more about this grassroots, nonpartisan campaign to promote long-term infrastructure funding here.

iPad Apps

Our clients at Honeywell Performance Materials and Technology are also taking paper sales tools to the next level. We just finished developing two new contractor apps, which are now in the iTunes App Store.

Since R-22 refrigerants are being phased out, contractors are looking for viable alternatives. The Honeywell R-22 Retrofit product selection tool makes it easy to compare up to three retrofit products based on several factors. The app can also calculate the amount of refrigerant needed for the job.

The second app gives HVAC contractors an electronic option for the paper “slide rule” pressure-temperature (PT) chart they typically carry. The Honeywell PT Chart app helps contractors select a refrigerant and calculate a variety of data points they need to perform tasks in the field.

We’re currently in the process of developing iPhone and Android versions of both apps. Stay tuned!

Check out what Paul Richards and Camille Wolfe have to say about working at PM over the past 10 years.

CAMILLE WOLFE
Creative Team

1. Tell us a favorite memory from within the walls of PM.
My favorite memories mostly involve all of us getting together … and food. When Paul started the annual tradition of a “chili day” around the holidays, it was so nice to take a moment to relax, laugh and share a meal together. I guess that’s why we still do it every year!

2. What do you enjoy most about your job?
Hands down, the part of my job I enjoy most is when I get to design. I started at PM as a writer, so I feel really lucky to be in a place where I’ve not only been allowed but encouraged to develop that interest. The day they loaded InDesign on my computer, I could have wept — it was such a beautiful thing.

3. If you could have any superpower, what would it be (we know this doesn’t have to do with their anniversary, but we were curious)?
I wish I could be more selfless about this, but as the mother of a 4-month-old baby, I would opt for never needing sleep.

4. What are you looking forward to in the next 10 years?
I look forward to watching my girls grow up, continuing to work with people I enjoy and respect, and seeing where technology goes. My first Mac was a beige box with a black-and-white screen, so we’ve come a long way.

5. What does being a PM employee mean to you?
Being myself. Having input. Laughter. My second home.

PAUL RICHARDS
Creative Team

1. Tell us a favorite memory from within the walls of PM.
A favorite memory of mine was moving into our new office space six years ago. I remember thinking that all of our hard work the first few years was really starting to pay off and we were really taking off as a company.

2. What do you enjoy most about your job?
What I enjoy most about my job is that it’s not “work” it’s fun. I can be myself and don’t have to put on a face to be here.

3. If you could have any superpower, what would it be (we know this doesn’t have to do with their anniversary, but we were curious)?
My superpower would be the ability to have “food-growing laser eyes”. I could shoot crazy laser beams from my eyes and end world hunger all at the same time.

4. What are you looking forward to in the next 10 years?
I’m looking forward to watching new talent come in and being able to foster those people the way I was fostered in my first decade.

5. What does being a PM employee mean to you?
Flexibility. Individuality. Comfort. Trust.

We thought a Top 10 list would be a fitting way to sum up our experience at the American Rental Association’s annual convention and trade show.

Top 10 Things We Learned at The Rental Show

10. You can rent anything. From champagne fountains and place settings to log-splitters and construction equipment (and everything in between).

9.   Candy … and cake? Every booth had some sort of sweet treat to lure new customers into their booth. Most creative treat went to the booth with the hurricanes (nice play).

8.   Make friends with the information attendants. They know people who know people and can get you anything. And it sure beats pretending you know where you’re going.

7.   Always carry a USB drive with you. See #6 for more details.

6.   Be nice to the UPS Store employees. You never know when you might need to print last-minute items.

5.   With New Orleans being one of the culinary capitals of the U.S., even the convention center food was tasty. (Roast Beef Po’Boys are awesome!)

4.   Location is key.  There’s a lot to see and you want to be the most visible.

3.   Beads are a fashion statement year-round in New Orleans.

2.   Nothing feels better on your feet than a double-padded booth. (Take note, future exhibitors.)

1.    Do not promise to bring beignets from Café du Monde to a client the morning after drinking hurricanes at Pat O’Briens. It’s not going to happen.

Share some of your trade show experiences with us. Let us know if any of these sound familiar.

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.)

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)

That reputation took another big leap forward with Thinc Iowa, an inspirational gathering bringing startups and established corporations together to find a common ground, share ideas, and learn ways to help each other grow.

The inaugural Thinc Iowa event, presented by Silicon Prairie News, was held October 20-21 in Des Moines, and Performance Marketing was involved in nearly every facet. From the logo to the website to the programs to the venue graphics and displays, we were pleased to see our ideas come to life. Even more, we were pleased to have several PMers on hand to watch the event become an unqualified success — so much so that both PM and Shift have signed on to help out again in 2012.

Above photo by Anna Jones | Art of Photography and Ikonix Studio.

Ben Silbermann of Pinterest

Photo by Anna Jones | Art of Photography and Ikonix Studio.

Photo by Anna Jones | Art of Photography and Ikonix Studio.

Photo by Anna Jones | Art of Photography and Ikonix Studio.

Photo by Anna Jones | Art of Photography and Ikonix Studio.

Race for the Cure was our Q4 team-building event and it’s one that I think we can all relate to in some way. Many of us know someone who has been impacted by breast cancer and at PM we hold it close to our hearts. When I came across a recent doodle in a Converse book it sparked an idea: How neat would it be if PM employees teamed up and designed Converse shoes to be worn at the Race for the Cure for a family who has been profoundly impacted by breast cancer?

The Des Moines Race for the Cure was held Saturday Oct. 22, and we designed shoes for each member of one of our PM families who participated in memory of a loved one. The shoes ranged from toddler to adult and each pair was designed by a pair of PM employees. The children thought they were “amazing”, “super cool” and “really pretty”. One has even taken to wearing her pair every day.

It’s an event that PM will never forget.