Last week, Allyn Media was awarded the highest honor given in the field of public affairs and political advertising for their work on behalf of Texas State Senator John Carona, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price. The Pollie Awards, often referred to as the “Emmys of Politics,” are awarded each year to recognize work from firms across the country in newspaper, direct mail, phones, Internet, fundraising, radio, television and student categories.

In the Best Republican Direct Mail Campaign category, Allyn Media and Texas State Senator John Carona received a Gold Pollie, the highest award given this year for direct mail series, for the “Who Wouldn’t Vote for Carona” series. This category encompasses direct mail campaigns for all levels of political office, from Presidential to municipal, honoring influential and innovative direct mail strategies. There were no additional Gold awards given for other direct mail campaigns across all parties. To view one of the brochures in the series, click here.

 

 

In the Third Party Direct Mail Campaign category, Allyn Media took home a Bronze Pollie, the highest honor awarded in that category, for Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price. To view one of the brochures in the series, click here.

 

 

 
In the Television Advertising for a Third Party Mayor category, Allyn Media won a Bronze Pollie, again the highest honor award in that category this year, for a commercial they wrote and produced for Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings. To view the TV commercial, click here.

 

“The Allyn Media team is very proud to receive such high honors for our work, especially competing against campaigns from all levels of office throughout the country and even internationally,” Mari Woodlief, President & CEO of Allyn Media, said. “These awards, and the ones we have taken home in previous years show that our approach to messaging, our creativity and our overall campaign strategies are getting attention from voters and helping our candidates win major races.”

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Among all the chatter of “been there, done that” surrounding the Mayor’s Southern Dallas growth plan, our President and CEO Mari Woodlief outlines why she believes that Mayor Rawlings will be successful:

On February 13, Mayor Rawlings rolled out GrowSouth, a comprehensive plan to spur economic growth and private investment in Southern Dallas – and Allyn Media was proud to assist the mayor with developing this presentation. Mayor Rawlings is not the first mayor to tackle the issue of Southern Dallas growth, but I believe his plan will be effective in achieving real growth in Southern Dallas. Here’s why:

Quality of life focus. A good portion of Mayor Rawlings’ plan makes improving the quality of life the primary focus, knowing that economic growth will happen organically if you can achieve an improved quality of life. In fact, the first four items on Mayor Rawlings Top 10 list of priorities have nothing directly to do with economic growth – but rather are designed to change the mindset and the canvas of Southern Dallas. Stronger neighborhoods, better schools, a positive image, a culture of clean – Mayor Rawlings is aiming to build a new foundation and image of Southern Dallas as a desirable place to live and learn, knowing that if people come for those reasons then the business and economic growth will follow.

•  Appealing to private investors. The GrowSouth plan is fundamentally designed around attracting private investment – not relying of public funding. The “quality-of-life” strategy outlined above is equal parts of action and image – with the image portion of it directed not only at Southern Dallas residents, but also at investors looking to make investments.  The GrowSouth plan relies on public funding to provide the needed infrastructure to attract private growth, but it recognizes that sustainable, long-term growth can only come from private investment – mainly from small-to-midsize businesses. And Mayor Rawlings is willing to actively engage in this by establishing what is, in effect, a private equity fund focused on Southern Dallas investments (an idea that mirrors his experience with CIC Partners).

• Comprehensive goals. The success of GrowSouth is not simply defined by money. Instead, Mayor Rawlings will evaluate the progress of the program on a biennial basis, using a comprehensive scorecard that evaluates whether or not we are having success in creating the “live, work, learn” communities that will drive sustainable growth. This factor alone demonstrates the Rawlings perspective on Southern Dallas change: a long term strategy that will be realized by many short term successes.

Click here to look at the beautiful photos that Allyn Media’s creative director Bill Stipp took for the Mayor to use as presentation visuals!

Do you agree with Mari Woodlief that the GrowSouth plan will be effective?

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Is Your Business Sustainable Yet?

February 22, 2012

“What is the use of a house if you don’t have a decent planet to put it on?” American author and poet Henry David Thoreau pondered that question more than 150 years ago as industrialism transformed the American landscape. Today, debates and discussions about the environment are front and center – at congressional hearings and [...]

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Allyn Media Creative Team Wins an Addy Award

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Congratulations to the Allyn Media creative team for winning a Dallas Addy award for their Asia Pulp & Paper television ad series. We submitted a series of three television spots that we wrote, art directed and produced and are very proud of our win! Dallas is a very competitive advertising market and we were competing [...]

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An Early Look at Potential Female GOP VP Candidates

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A couple weeks ago, we speculated that President Barack Obama might swap running mates while seeking a second term in office, with Hillary Clinton headlining the candidates to replace Joe Biden. Since then, Clinton announced that she won’t be serving a second term as the country’s Secretary of State, claiming it’s time for her to [...]

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The right Spokesperson: Can Paula Deen make lemon water out of lemon meringue pie and lead the campaign against diabetes?

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Social Media & Traditional Media: The Message Should Be the Same

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Imagine you’re driving a Range Rover Sport Supercharged. It’s got all the bells and whistles and has great pickup. Plus, it looks really cool. Now, imagine yourself behind the wheel of a Kia Sportage. Kind of plain, but get’s you where you need to go. There’s no doubt that these two vehicles are different in [...]

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Logo Police: Presidential Edition

January 20, 2012

For a graphic designer, there are few projects more daunting than the political logo … imagine the challenge of summarizing the key messaging to save the free world into a 2-3 color graphic that will read well on a yard sign. At the expense of those who have tried, our critics took just a few [...]

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Ten Things You Should Know About Super PACs

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You don’t have to be a fan of Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” to know that super PACs have changed politics in dramatic fashion. While their value to the political process can be debated, their significance cannot. With super PACs already impacting the race for the GOP nomination for president by raising [...]

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