PITTSBURGH – Gatesman, one of the fastest-growing, privately owned marketing communications agencies in the U.S., and longtime client SHOP ‘n SAVE, earned recognition for outstanding creative at two different award competitions – the National Grocers Association’s (NGA’s) 2019 Creative Choice Awards and the 2019 American Advertising Awards (Addy’s).

SHOP ‘n SAVE’s Free Turkey Promotion took home the first-place award in the Store Event category at this year’s NGA Creative Choice Awards, selected from more than 500 entries. The SHOP ‘n SAVE’s 2018 Westmoreland County Airshow Campaign was also recognized with Public Service or Charitable Cause Event category at the NGA awards and then again during the 2019 American Advertising Awards with two silver ADDYs in the Cross Platform and Elements of Advertising categories.

“Creating a comprehensive campaign that gets people excited and motivates them to change their usual shopping experience is an impressive feat – one that our team is no stranger to,” said Julie Allard, EVP, executive creative director. “We’re proud to have worked closely with SHOP ‘n SAVE on two campaigns that not only were recognized by our industry peers, but fostered success for SHOP ‘n SAVE’s business.”

In a space as competitive as the grocery industry, the key to standing out is understanding and connecting with shoppers in-store and in the community. For the 2018 Turkey Promotion, Gatesman expanded on SHOP ‘n SAVE’s consumer-centric marketing approach to put its customer’s personal truths and shopping behaviors in the spotlight. For instance, the TV spot highlighted the all-too-familiar habit of stacking a shopping basket ceiling-high with groceries for the holidays. Through owned, paid and shared channels, this campaign engaged customers, increased brand awareness and provided shoppers with the opportunity to earn a free turkey just for completing their routine shopping at SHOP ‘n SAVE.

In 2018, SHOP ‘n SAVE served as the title sponsor of the Westmoreland County Airshow for the fourth consecutive year. Gatesman launched an integrated campaign that targeted SHOP ‘n SAVE customers and event attendees across multiple touchpoints, featuring pre- and post-event activations, such as: in-store signage, a real-life replica of an airplane runway used as an in-store floor graphic, a social media series, media relations outreach and event execution.

The Creative Choice Awards is hosted by The National Grocers Association, the trade association representing independent retail and wholesale grocers in U.S. The prestigious awards honor and recognize the best marketing and merchandising programs in the grocery industry. This year’s awards ceremony was held in San Francisco from February 24-27.

The ADDY Awards is the industry’s largest and most representative competition, attracting more than 40,000 entries every year in local AAF Club competitions. The goal of the ADDY Awards is to give recognition and to reward the creative excellence in the art of advertising.The 2019 ADDY Awards were held in Pittsburgh on March 8.

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About Gatesman:

Gatesman is one of the fastest-growing, mid-size, privately owned agencies in the U.S. With offices in Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Springfield, Mo., Gatesman tackles communications challenges with its proprietary Hacking Human BehaviorÔapproach and offers expertise in strategy/branding, advertising, public relations, social media, digital and analytics. Gatesman is a partner in AMIN Worldwide, an alliance of over 50 independent marketing agencies, and IPREX, a global communications network. Gatesman acquired Quest Fore in 2014 and Noble Communications in 2017.