Posted on Thu, Jun 11, 2009
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - May 26, 2009 - Atlanta-based business-to-business marketing agency MLT Creative earned two awards from the Atlanta chapter of the Direct Marketing Association (DMA). The South Star Awards of DMA-Atlanta recognize excellence in direct marketing strategy, creativity and results. These honors add to a mounting number of industry accolades MLT Creative has earned this year.
MLT Creative won the South Star for the best B-to-B Integrated Campaign in the category of Image Building for its work with Airgas, the country's largest distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases and related equipment. The agency designed a campaign around Airgas's reclamation efforts, which were prompted by the mandated phase-down of the common refrigerant R-22 and other HCFCs. Targeting HVAC technicians and supply wholesalers, the Airgas refrigerant reclamation program includes incentives like providing free gas reclamation tanks and paying wholesalers for returning their used refrigerant gas to Airgas.
To tout the environmental benefits of the program while playing on the color of printed currency, MLT modified it to read "Be Green and Turn Those Used Refrigerants Into Cash." While the direct mail pieces were central, the integrated marketing campaign was branded over multiple platforms, including print and banner ads, point-of-sale materials and collateral.
"This was a really green campaign to work on," said MLT Creative Account Executive Vann Morris, "because we knew that if we were successful, it also meant that we would be keeping ozone-depleting gas out of the atmosphere."
For that reason, she added, "we are so proud of the campaign's success. And the DMA South Star Award is like icing on the cake!"
The campaign's success speaks for itself: Initially, there were no ReKlaim collection center locations. Now there are 230.
MLT Creative's other South Star Award is especially dear to the agency, as it recognizes their ability to promote their most important client: themselves. The agency won in the B-to-B Integrated Campaign - Lead Generation category for its own integrated "'Need a Lift?' Eight-Straight Strategy" campaign.
After developing a new website, the agency capitalized on its launch by kicking off a new business development campaign. They combined the website with self-promotional efforts to attract, engage, convert and retain customers. Pushing for brand awareness and recall, the campaign's strategy included outreaches that were frequent and repetitive. MLT Creative shipped eight tactile, clutter-busting mailers to its target market of 300 Atlanta marketing professionals in a rapid-fire, 10-week schedule.
In order to convey the strengths in both creative and strategic areas, the agency developed a parallel component to the mailers, labeled an "experiment." This experiment invited each recipient to participate in the campaign under the promise of offering a totally transparent view of its goals, strategy, tracking and results. Creative direction shaped these goals as scientific hypotheses, and an interactive microsite dubbed "The Idea Launch Lab" (www.theidealaunchlab.com) served as an experiential environment for sharing the results. The creative team devised, designed and constructed a a series of foam and paper airplanes and rockets that backed up the campaign's "Need a Lift?" theme, designed to drive recipients to The Idea Launch Lab - as were incentives such as a travel voucher and other giveaways.
"Our Eight-Straight ‘Need a Lift?' campaign was a success by enabling us to target, connect and land work with new B2B marketing clients, even in the midst of a slowing economy," said Account Executive Kelly Pires. "To receive this peer recognition from the DMA-Atlanta makes our achievement that much sweeter."
The campaign was successful because it combined innovative ideas with industry best practices and a creative strategy that generated returns three times the investment.
The DMA South Star Awards are the latest in an exciting string of recent nods for MLT Creative. Additional honors this year include the American Marketing Association AMY Award for B2B Visual Branding, with an additional four finalist awards; recognition as a Georgia State University MAX Award finalist; and, most recently, a coveted spot on BtoB Magazine's Top BtoB Agencies List.
About MLT CreativeMLT Creative, based on the east side of Atlanta, GA, with a Northeast office in Rhode Island, was founded in 1984. Known as the idea launch pad
TM for B-to-B marketers, MLT Creative's services include strategic planning, positioning, brand development, advertising and sales promotions.
Contact:Chase Mitchell, Public Relations
MLT Creative, 404-292-4502,
chase.mitchell@mltcreative.com
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Posted on Tue, Jun 02, 2009
ATLANTA - While economic woes have forced many a marketing firm to cut back on staff, Atlanta-based business-to-business ad agency MLT Creative sees a huge upside in swimming upstream, expanding in the face of recession.
Just last year, the agency expanded their operations to Rhode Island - a long way away from its east Atlanta hometown.
"It's definitely a bold move," says MLT Creative Strategic Director Patrick Maness, "but we have never been afraid to take calculated risks; especially one with such potential"
How did it happen? Well, when Maness decided to leave Atlanta over a year ago for the Providence, R.I. area, it opened up a rather serendipitous opportunity for MLT to establish a northern foothold. Rather than leave the company, Maness opted to retain his existing position while, at the same time, working toward a long-term goal of creating a client base up north.
"Essentially," he says, "we were testing the waters to see if a remote office would mesh well with our existing office infrastructure, and after a year, it's worked out great."
More than its own separate entity, the Providence-based post also manages to stay seamlessly integrated into the daily flow of the Atlanta office. And by taking frequent trips back, Maness still makes it to plenty of meetings.
"It's actually worked out really well," Maness says, noting that the move has allowed him to shift his focus to the "broader issues and opportunities facing our clients and the agency."
MLT Creative's founding partners - Billy Mitchell, Craig Lindberg and Glenn Taylor -are dedicated to finding new clients not only in Rhode Island, but in Boston, New York City or anywhere in between.
"There are plenty of opportunities in the Northeast to leverage our niche of working as an extension of corporate marketing departments to deliver top-notch creative solutions that get results," Maness says. "It's the same model that has been such a success for us - and our clients - in the Southeast for the past 25 years.
About MLT Creative
MLT Creative, based on the east side of Atlanta, GA, with a Northeast office in Rhode Island, was founded in 1984. Known as the idea launch padTM for B-to-B marketers, MLT Creative's services include strategic planning, positioning, brand development, advertising and sales promotions.
Contact:
Chase Mitchell, Public Relations
MLT Creative, 404-292-4502, chase.mitchell@mltcreative.com
Posted on Tue, Nov 25, 2008
ATLANTA, GEORGIA (PRWEB) - November 25, 2008 - A big challenge was met with big ideas when Birmingham-based AutoTec asked MLT Creative to help enroll (or re-enroll) every licensed automotive dealer in North America with AuctionACCESS®, the venerable technology platform that connects them to more than 190 wholesale auto auctions across North America.
As AuctionACCESS®, AutoTec's flagship product, entered its tenth year of existence the database of registered dealers was due for an update, and the brand was in need of an overhaul.
Now, as a result of this immense integrated marketing effort, hundreds of thousands of dealer records have been updated, and they have a higher awareness of the immeasurable value that accompanies an AuctionACCESS® membership, which expands their buying and selling capabilities dramatically.
"Right from the start, I understood this was a historic undertaking for the automotive industry," says Billy Mitchell, creative director and president of MLT. "To reach every dealer, large and small, in North America was challenging enough, but we also needed to get them to respond. All 70,000 of them, plus more than 100,000 authorized reps. Well, they responded, and we helped AuctionACCESS® make history."
But making history is never easy, as MLT's strategy director, Patrick Maness, can attest.
"We had a small window of time to get the attention of every dealer coast-to-coast and get them to respond," Maness says, "so we took a multi-faceted approach. We enlisted the help of auctions and national dealer associations to channel our messaging, utilized print advertising and PR for air cover and targeted dealers with direct mail and email. The cornerstone of the campaign was an eye-catching point-of-sale program displayed at hundreds of wholesale auctions."
"There were plenty of long nights and weekends spent pulling everything together," Maness says, crediting the leadership and staff at AutoTec for their close involvement. "It was a totally collaborative effort between agency and client."
Not surprisingly, those at AutoTec are just as eager to sing the campaign's praises.
"The response we got -- from dealers, reps, and auctions -- was just incredible," says AutoTec President and CEO Chuck Redden. "To date we have had over 200,000 dealers and reps renew their AuctionACCESS memberships. MLT took our marketing machine from 0 - 60, and in the process has become an integral part of our team."
Aside from drastically simplifying the registration process for an unprecedented number of dealers, the newly up-to-date information also helps keep out unlicensed buyers and prevent fraudulent purchases. AuctionACCESS® makes wholesale auctions a more secure environment for buyers and sellers alike.
"I'm very fortunate to have been part of this campaign," Maness says, "because the model we helped create will no doubt have a lasting impression on the vehicle remarketing industry."
About MLT Creative
MLT Creative, based on the east side of Atlanta, GA, with a Northeast office in Rhode Island, was founded in 1984. Known as the idea launch padTM for B-to-B marketers, MLT Creative's services include strategic planning, positioning, brand development, advertising and sales promotions.
About AutoTec
AuctionACCESS® was developed ten years ago by AutoTec, LLC, a privately held company based in Birmingham, AL. AutoTec provides e-business solutions to the automotive remarketing industry. AuctionACCESS® is the industry standard for managing access to wholesale auto auctions. It is currently used by more than 190 wholesale auto auctions and online channels across North America, with further expansion into 70 countries around the world. Visit www.auctionaccess.com for details.
Contact:
Chase Mitchell, Public Relations
MLT Creative, 404-292-4502, chase.mitchell@mltcreative.com