THE marketing campaign that captured the imagination of the public and turned Northern Ireland pink for the Giro d'Italia was one of the big winners at the CIM Ireland Marketing Excellence Awards.
The hottest marketing campaigns from every business sector were recognised at the 15th annual awards at Belfast City Hall.
"These awards recognise the impact marketing has on the economy in Northern Ireland and the hard work and dedication of people working in this profession," CIM Ireland chair Christine Watson said.
"We've recognised 15 individuals and companies and commended many more for delivering marketing campaigns which played a major part in the success of our recovering economy."
The way business embraced the Giro to deliver impact for the public in the north and to commerce was highlighted in the awards.
The Northern Ireland Tourist Board was a big winner, romping home with two awards and a further two commendations - notably Best Use of Digital Marketing and the Chair's Award.
For the first time ever the Chair's Award was shared between four winners - all who took the Giro campaign to the heart of their marketing plans. In addition to NITB, Irwin's Bakery, Phoenix Natural Gas and Limeforge Ltd (trading as See Sense) received the top accolade.
"The Giro was the spectacle of the year. Northern Ireland really embraced the race and marketers played a key role in creating the buzz that turned everything you saw pink," Ms Watson said.
"It's critical for marketers to embrace opportunities which allow them to communicate their messages to their customers as part of the buzz around a major international event coming to Northern Ireland.
"The judges saw a theme coming through and we wanted to recognise and celebrate the impact that this event had in bringing millions of pounds into the economy."
The awards were held as part of marketing month celebrated annually in November. Details of marketing month events can be found at cim.co.uk/Ireland.
The winners in all categories were: * Marketing with Impact - Professional Services Sponsored by Amadeus and Selective Travel: University of Ulster n Marketing with Impact - FMCG, Food, Retail sponsored by Posh Nosh Catering Company: Smarts Communicate (Bushmills) n Marketing with Impact - Hotels, Leisure, Bars, Restaurants, Travel, Tourism and Venues sponsored by Emirates: McComb's Coach Travel - Game
of Thrones Tours n Marketing with Impact - Construction, Engineering, Automotive, Transport, Manufacturing sponsored by Corporate AV Hire: Marcon
* Marketing with Impact - Charity, Community and Voluntary Sector sponsored by 3Sixty Create: Lough Neagh Partnership (River to Lough Festival) n Marketing with Impact - Public Sector sponsored by CIM: Derry City Council (Legenderry Food Festival)
* Marketing Exporter of the Year sponsored by Invest NI: CDE Global Ltd n Best Marketing Campaign for an Event sponsored by Inform Communications: Smarts Communicate (Bush-mills Campaign)
* Marketing with Impact - Best Use of Digital sponsored by Leaf: NITB
* Marketing Gamechanger sponsored by McGowan's Belfast: Geoff Wilson Consultancy (Eye for Education and the Irish FA Enterprise Project)
* Marketing Team of the Year sponsored by The Irish News: Total Mobile
* Marketing Agency of the Year sponsored by PML Group Northern Ireland: Ardmore Advertising
* Marketing Freelancer of the Year sponsored by NIMMS: Stephen Rust -Freshways Food Co
* Marketer of the Year sponsored by Selective Travel: Elaine Donaghy
* Chair's Award: NITB, Irwin's Bakery, Phoenix Natural Gas, Limeforge Ltd - trading as See Sense.
* EXCELLENCE: Christine Watson, chair of the CIM Ireland board and TV presenter Sarah Travers present the CIM Ireland Marketing Excellence Chair's Award to four organisations who all ran excellent campaigns promoting the Giro D'Italia race. They include: NITB, Irwin's Bakery, Phoenix Natural Gas and Limeforge Ltd (trading as See Sense).
* MARKETING EXPORTER OF THE YEAR: Above, sponsored by Invest NI, the winner was CDE Global Ltd. Pictured from left to right, TV presenter Sarah Travers with Alan Beck, Leonard Reid, Ursula O'Dowd and Peter Craven (all CDE Global Ltd) and Nigel Sands (Invest NI). Top, named as MARKETING GAMECHANGER was Geoff Wilson Consultancy (Eye for Education and the Irish FA Enterprise Project). Pictured are: Brian Crawford (from sponsor McGowan's Belfast) and Geoff Wilson (Geoff Wilson Consultancy)