DBED Wins Silver ADDY Award for Maryland of Opportunity Logo

by Christine Hansen for MDBizMedia

MaryLand of Opportunity Logo wins Silver ADDY award.

The State’s Department of Business and Economic Development won a Silver ADDY award in the category of Elements of Advertising from the American Advertising Federation Baltimore.  In its 37th year of celebration, the competition draws more than 50,000 entries.

Last month, MDBizMedia reported on the agency’s next phase of the Land of Opportunity campaign, which is expected to launch this spring. The campaign, launched in December of 2009, and designed by TBC, features notable Marylanders paired with audacious headlines positioning Maryland as a dynamic state to start, expand or locate a business.  Radio ads, featuring prominent business owners such as Paul Reed Smith of PRS Guitars and Sid Meier of Firaxis, are currently being played on WBAL in the Baltimore metro region and WTOP in the DC Metro region.

One of the MaryLand of Opportunity ads featuring Mei Xu of Chesapeake Bay Candle Company

MaryLand of Opportunity was designed to promote the advantages of doing business in Maryland by showcasing some of Maryland’s industry sectors leaders, including famed guitar manufacturer Paul Reed Smith, top chef Brian Voltaggio and renowned scientist Dr. Claire Fraser-Liggett. The ads also boast the State’s unique assets, including a highly-educated workforce, world-class education system, strategic location, outstanding hub of science and research and excellent quality of life. In 2010, the campaign was featured on radio and in print and internet ads, with the suite of ads appearing at Penn Station and at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport.

DBED was the recipient of the President’s Trophy Award by the Northeast Economic Development Association in 2009 for the MaryLand of Opportunity campaign.  The agency’s website, www.choosemaryland.org, also received the New Media Institute Award.