AMA Hawai’i Celebrates Marketers at 38th Annual ‘Hawai’i Marketer of the Year’ Awards
MARCH 10, 2015
NEWS RELEASE
Media Contact:
Crystal Yamasaki
crystalclearcomms@gmail.com
(808) 389-2890
AMA Hawai‘i Celebrates Marketers at 38th Annual
‘Hawai‘i Marketer of the Year’ Awards
Winners will be recognized during a luncheon at the Hawai’i Prince Hotel on April 9
Honolulu (March 10, 2015) — The Hawai‘i chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA Hawai‘i) today announced the winners of the 38th Annual AMA Hawai‘i Marketer of the Year awards. New individual recognitions this year were the AMA Lifetime Achievement, which went to Frank Haas and AMA Young Marketer of the Year, Jennifer Armstrong.
Winners this year include:
Best Marketing of a New Product/Service – Gold: Hawaiian Telcom; Silver: CENSEO AV+Acoustics
Best E-Marketing – Gold: Hawaii Pacific Health; Silver: Foodland Super Market
Best Marketing of an Event – Gold: Hawaiian Airlines; Silver – The Joy of Sake
Best Marketing of a Rebrand – Gold: Molokai Ranch; Silver: Frolic Hawaii
Best Nonprofit Marketing – Gold: AccessSurf Hawaii; Silver: Hawaii Tobacco Quitline
AMA Hawai‘i will also present a $500 scholarship to Girlieh Mae Barit, a student at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa Shidler College of Business
Winners will be honored at the annual AMA Hawai‘i Marketer of the Year awards luncheon on April 9, 2015 at the Hawaii Prince Hotel. Tickets and tables for the Marketer of the Year awards are available for purchase online at www.amahawaii.org/events/marketer-of-the-year/.
“Marketing is an always-changing field. It’s important to come together each year to celebrate the very best marketing in Hawai’i,” said Lisette Gonzalez, AMA Hawaii president. “We’re proud to recognize those who continue to elevate and innovate our field.”
This year’s 38th Annual AMA Hawai‘i Marketer of the Year winners include:
FRANK HAAS – AMA LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Frank Haas’ extraordinary career spans the entire spectrum of marketing disciplines, including hospitality, travel, food service, tech, education and advertising industries. He has served as dean of hospitality, business & legal education at Kapiolani Community College; vice president of tourism marketing for the Hawaii Tourism Authority; vice president of marketing for the Ohana Foundation; managing director of Ogilvy & Mather Hawaii; and vice president of marketing for Theo Davies Food Service Group. Today, he lends his immense leadership acumen as principal of Marketing Management Inc.
As former national chairman for the American Marketing Association (1999-2000), he helped guide the 40,000 member professional organization.
JENNIFER ARMSTRONG – AMA YOUNG MARKETER OF THE YEAR
Jennifer Armstrong is the owner of Kaia Consulting, a boutique consulting business specializing in public relations, marketing and social media communications. Armstrong graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1997 and went on to attend Pacific University where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in media arts – journalism with a minor in creative writing. In 2006, she completed her Master of Arts in communications from Hawai’i Pacific University.
Armstrong’s experience includes serving as public relations specialist for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and as assistant account executive at Becker Communications. She has worked with a variety of clients in the nonprofit, event services, publishing, industrial, hospitality, and food and beverage industries and is known for her strategic communications that heightens awareness and changes the way people think about their brand or mission.
HAWAIIAN TELCOM, INC. – BEST MARKETING OF A NEW PRODUCT/SERVICE
To help residential and business consumers understand and embrace Hawaiian Telcom’s new services, which included home TV service, integrated voice and data services, complex data networking and a wide variety of cloud services, the company launched a strategic marketing plan. To do this the company implemented several tactics including creating a brand personality, introducing a spokesperson who was featured across all marketing channels. As a result of their efforts Hawaiian Telcom successfully increased their brand awareness from 65 percent to 79 percent and grew consumer leads for their TV and broadband services by 279 percent online and 24 percent over the phone.
ACCESSURF HAWAI’I – BEST NONPROFIT MARKETING
AccesSurf Hawai’i embraced all promotional venues including media, online, print, and sponsors to successfully market itself to the community. Thanks to their efforts they successfully grew the organization’s programs, volunteer base and donors by conducting outreach, connecting the public with the population they served. Through their efforts AccesSurf Hawai’i was able to form new international partnerships, annual donations increased by 40 percent and volunteer inquiries increased by an average of 20-30 percent.
HAWAI’I PACIFIC HEALTH – BEST E-MARKETING
Over the course of one year, Hawaii Pacific Health unveiled a new mobile-friendly website, created patient e-newsletters, started an online health and wellness blog, established robust social media channels for all four of its hospitals and launched its first YouTube channel. Reaching their patients on their own terms meant being accessible at any time and focusing on an online system allowed patients to more immediately address their health concerns. Launched in November 2014, the new website increased site visits by 87 percent, users by 89 percent, and time spent on site by 49 percent. Page views also increased substantially by 242 percent.
MOLOKA’I RANCH – BEST REBRAND MARKETING
After closing in 2008, Moloka’i Ranch sought a fresh start to rebrand themselves while maintaining community trust. Its objectives were to create and build a new brand identity and generate positive awareness for the ranch by reestablishing active operations. These objectives were carried out through animal husbandry, renewable energy, sustainable farming, and authentic hospitality. Together, these four pillars defined the overall brand identity and strategy for Molokai Ranch. Each pillar had an individual marketing plan addressing the segment with a time-to-market approach.
OrangeRoc’s use of natural and organic graphics and forward-thinking copy, created a comprehensive marketing campaign, which included a redeveloped digital experience, custom photography and illustrations, print collateral and premium items that made sense for each pillar’s theme.
HAWAIIAN AIRLINES – BEST MARKETING OF AN EVENT
To celebrate the re-launch of its HawaiianMiles credit card as an all-new MasterCard, Hawaiian Airlines worked to raise awareness, engagement, and credit card applications. To do this the company held a high-profile kick-off event at the Bank of Hawaii Plaza, in the epicenter of downtown Honolulu. The event served as an exciting culmination to a month-long campaign that helped develop consumer awareness of the product, and drove attendance to the kick-off event. Thanks to its promotions Hawaiian Airlines received more than 1,500 credit card applications and an estimated 104,000 viewers/listeners impressions from its marketing efforts.
For more information on AMA Hawai‘i please visit www.amahawaii.org/. Also, follow AMA Hawai‘i on Facebook at facebook.com/AMAHawaii, on Instagram at instagram.com/AMAHawaii and on Twitter at twitter.com/AMAHawaii.
About AMA Hawai‘i
The American Marketing Association (AMA) is the largest marketing association in the United States. It is a professional association for individuals and organizations involved in the practice, teaching and study of marketing worldwide. It is also the source that marketers turn to every day for information/resources, education/training and professional networking. AMA members are connected to a network of experienced marketers nearly 40,000 strong and include leading marketing academics, researchers and practitioners from every industry. The AMA Hawai‘i professional chapter was established in July 1970.