19th Annual FCS Portfolio Awards
Digital took center stage, literally, as each of the five "Best in Show" award winners was either a mobile technology solution, an app, or a multimedia campaign that incorporated social media and the web into more traditional communications efforts. Taking home "Best in Show" trophies were:
Multicultural
MetLife & IW Group Inc.
"Performance" - Multimedia campaign
Digital Media
OppenheimerFunds Inc. & Havas Worldwide
"Globalize Your Thinking" - Apps campaign
Business to Business
OppenheimerFunds Inc. & Havas Worldwide
"Globalize Your Thinking" - Mobile Campaign
Consumer Retail
TradeStation & DiMassimo Goldstein
"The Proof is in the Platform" - Multimedia Campaign
Corporate Image
AllState Insurance Company & Leo Burnett & Starcom MediaVest Group
"Save11" - Multimedia campaign
Citibank took home the most total trophies for the second year in a row, with 18 (5 of them gold), followed by Prudential, with 17 (4 golds), and Bank of America which, including its Merrill Lynch and US Trust brands, walked away with 14 trophies (2 golds). TD Ameritrade won the most gold trophies, with 6.
Among agencies, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners won 11 total trophies, including the 6 golds it won for its work with TD Ameritrade, while The Gate won trophies for work it did for three separate clients (AllianceBernstein, State Street Global Advisors, and the Global Association of Risk Professionals).
In total, 41 different companies took home trophies.* Click here for a full list of this year's award winners.
"Financial marketers have long been at the forefront of embracing and utilizing emerging technologies to connect with their audience," said Kevin Windorf, FCS president and co-chair of this year's Portfolio Awards. "Watching how our award winners have incorporated digital efforts into their work over the past several years has been exciting and this year's winners exemplify the creativity that the best financial communications professionals can bring to this industry."
The awards were presented in three groups: Corporate Image, presented by John Greer, EVP/Corporate Marketing & Advertising, Franklin Templeton; Business to Business, presented by Jamie DePeau, CMO, Lincoln Financial; and Consumer Retail, presented by Colin McConnell, VP/Advertising, Prudential Financial.
Joining Windorf were event co-chairs Stuart Burkhoff, Ameriprise Financial; Cindy Pabst, Business Insider; and Kirti Srikant, OppenheimerFunds.
The lead sponsors of the gala were The Wall Street Journal/WSJ Money; CNBC/CNBC Digital; and Investor's Business Daily/investors.com.
In addition to honoring the work of the financial communications industry, the Portfolio Awards serve as a significant fundraising event for the FCS, which supports three children's charities. On Thursday night, the FCS presented a check for $150,000 that will be shared equally by Hope & Heroes Children's Cancer Fund, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Vermont, and Downey Side Adoption Agency. Since 2000, the FCS has donated more than $1.8 million to these three charities.
Hear from some winners in a short video that captures the spirit of the gala
This year's Portfolio Awards competition included nearly 400 entries, with Gold, Silver and Bronze trophies awarded to ROI, Public Relations, Collateral, Web Sites, and Advertising in print, television, out-of-home, direct mail, interactive and multimedia categories. Winning entries were received from financial services providers, including investment firms, credit card companies, investment banks, brokerages and exchanges, insurance companies, mutual funds, ETFs, hedge funds, accounting firms, clearing corporations and commercial banks.
*Best in Show trophies are awarded based on the highest average scores of the FCS Portfolio Awards judging panel, which also awards the gold, silver and bronze awards in each category. This year's panel consisted of 25 senior executives from financial firms and communications agencies. A full list of judges can be found here.
To view the special music video created for this year's gala, click here.
About the Financial Communications Society (FCS)
The Financial Communications Society (FCS), a not-for-profit organization, is dedicated to improving professional standards in financial communications. It provides professionals in the industry with a forum for gathering relevant information, sharing ideas and building relationships with industry colleagues. The FCS hosts the annual FCS Portfolio Awards, for creative excellence in financial services advertising, a monthly luncheon series featuring prominent industry speakers, and numerous educational events. The capstone of the annual charity-focused activities organized by the FCS is the FCS Race for Kids (www.fcsraceforkids.org) which has raised more than $1.8 million for three children's charities since 2000.
For more information on the FCS, please visit: www.fcsinteractive.com or send an email to info@fcsinteractive.com.
Press Contact:
Kevin Windorf
FCS President
347-276-0044
kevin@fcsinteractive.com