Airports Council International – North America (ACI-NA) announced the recipients of the 2016 Excellence in Airport Marketing, Communications, and Customer Service Awards on Nov. 3, at an award gala during the 2016 Marketing and Communications Conference in Salt Lake City. Memphis International Airport (MEM) received the 2016 Peggy G. Hereford Award recipient as the airport with the most overall recognition in the contest’s categories.
“Effective marketing, communications, and customer service are essential to the success of an airport,” said ACI-NA President and CEO Kevin M. Burke. “ACI-NA is pleased to recognize Memphis International Airport with the 2016 Peggy G. Hereford Award, the highest honor an airport can receive for creativity and excellence in airport marketing, for their innovative strategies and tactics that have significantly contributed to the airport’s success this year.”
This year’s awards featured more than 320 entries in 19 categories that covered marketing, communications, and customer service field of the airport industry.
The Peggy G. Hereford award is the contest’s top accolade and recognizes overall creativity in communicating the airport’s message, effectiveness in connecting with audiences, and the overall scope of the airport’s effort in marketing and public relations.
A founding member of the ACI-NA Marketing and Communications Committee, Peggy G. Hereford championed the notion that adventure and spirit of aviation should inspire the ways airports tell their stories to the world. She served as the Public Affairs Director at Los Angeles International Airport, where she was the first woman to head the public relations department for a major U.S. airport, retiring in 1977.
“It’s very humbling and gratifying to have our peers recognize the Memphis International Airport as the best of the best in marketing,” said Scott Brockman, President and CEO of the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority. “In reinventing MEM, it’s critical that we have effective, transparent and creative messaging, and these awards are evidence that our marketing staff and our partners at RedRover are doing this in exemplary fashion.”
MEM placed in the following five categories:
- Brand Identity: winner
- Video and Film production: winner
- Newsletters: honorable mention
- Social Media Campaigns: honorable mention
- Public Relations Campaigns: winner
Memphis airport projects that were featured in the winning award entries included MEM’s rebranding campaign, which included a new logo and tagline, a mockumentary that featured Memphis Grizzlies star Tony Allen, the airport’s redesigned e-newsletter, social media contests and campaigns, and overall public relations campaign that included MEM’s partnership with the Grizzlies.
