M. Roberts Media among others recognized in inaugural East Texas American Advertising Awards

Published 8:20 am Tuesday, February 28, 2023

1. Texas Rose Festival 2022 Souvenir Magazine

M. Roberts Media received a surprise visit from the American Advertising Federation of East Texas, who presented the local media group with two awards last week.

AAF East Texas officials stopped by the office of M. Roberts Media, which owns and operates the Tyler Morning Telegraph, last Tuesday to inform the team of their awards earned in the inaugural East Texas American Advertising Awards.

The awards are the group’s largest fundraiser. Seventy-seven entries from 14 companies representing 34 brands were submitted, according to AAF East Texas.

The group spent all last week surprising the winners with a special drop-in visit and presentation of their awards.

VIEW ALL WINNERS HERE.

The American Advertising Awards are a juried competition with vetted judges from around the nation. The AAF East Texas district includes Tyler, Longview, Marshall and surrounding areas.

M. Roberts Media earned a Silver ADDY for its 2022 Texas Rose Festival Souvenir Magazine, which is published each October during the iconic and historic Tyler event.

According to Austin Sandy, president of AAF East Texas, only 10 Silver ADDYs were awarded in East Texas and it is a high achievement.

“This is a national competition where you can enter locally,” Sandy said. “If you win silver or gold, you have the opportunity to move up to district, potentially to national, so it could keep on going from here.”

A Gold ADDY is recognition of the highest level of creative excellence and is judged to be superior to all other entries in the category, according to AAF. Entries that are also considered outstanding and worthy of recognition receive a Silver ADDY.

The M. Roberts Media team also earned a Judge’s Honors ADDY for the 2022 Texas Rose Festival Magazine.

Judge Stephanie Price, of Amarillo, said the magazine was an exceptional display of the festival and its traditions.

“From the ads to the editorial to the execution, it remained true to its identity,” Price said. “I really appreciate that it was authentically focused on the people making this event. It didn’t have other things that could clutter up the design, copy or editorial. Even the purchased ads were true to theme. It was fun and really well done. I found myself reading more and more pages which is why I made it my judge’s choice.”

The magazine features stories about each member of the queen’s court, along with biographies and photos of the ladies-in-waiting, duchesses, attendants, and escorts. There are also photos of members of the Texas Rose Festival committee. Another element of the magazine’s content are design renderings by festival costume designer Jacob A. Climer.

The magazine also highlights unique aspects of each year’s festival through additional feature stories. For the 89th annual festival, some of the headlines included ‘New float showcases Hispanic culture, traditions’; ‘Months ahead of the festival, court puts in hours of practice time’; and ‘Winn Morton, iconic costume designer, dies after extraordinary career.’

Advertisements in the magazine are also designed in a way that highlights and promotes the local festival and rose industry of Tyler.

The magazine helps promote local tourism and is distributed to attendees of the Queen’s Coronation, one of the special traditional events held before the annual Texas Rose Festival Parade.

Other local groups that received awards include:

Bronze Honorable Mention recipients: Romph & Pou Agency, for achievement in sales and marketing for Celebrate Cooking Bombe Cake Cover Brookshire Grocery Company; 14Forty MC for achievement in online and interactive for Artisan Turf Website Design; Romph & Pou Agency for achievement in sales and marketing for Brookshire’s/Super 1 Catering Guide; Longview ISD for achievement in Out of Home for Longview ISD Draft Day; Romph & Pou Agency for achievement in elements of advertising for FRESH Local Vendor Photoshoot; Callynth Photography for achievement in elements of advertising photography for ENT Associates; KLTV 7 for achievement in film, video and sound for Holiday Spectacular; Romph & Pou Agency for achievement in sales and marketing for Celebrate Cooking Kiwi & Cucumber Brookshire Grocery Company; Starfish Ad Age for achievement in online and interactive for Longview Unplugged Issue 5; KLTV 7 for achievement in elements of advertising for KLTV 7 Studio Reveal; Hospitality Health ER for achievement in film, video and sound for Michael Lavender — HHER; Romph & Pou Agency for achievement in cross platform for Reasor’s Store Signage Kit Brookshire Grocery Company; 14Forty MC for achievement in online and interactive for MyMD Select Website Design; Romph & Pou Agency for achievement in sales and marketing for Celebrate Cooking Surf + Turf Brookshire Grocery Company; and Callynth Photography for achievement in elements of advertising photography for Women of Hope.

Silver ADDY recipients: Starfish Ad Age for achievement in online and interactive for Enveed Wholesale ad; Encore Multimedia for achievement in online and interactive for Dairy Queen Taco Tuesday; AAF East Texas for achievement in art direction for East Texas Innovation Awards; Romph & Pou Agency for achievement in sales and marketing for Celebrate Cooking Sweet Treats Brookshire Grocery Company; Callynth Photography for achievement in elements of advertising photography for Mr. Arthur Tyler Street Team; Stephen F. Austin University for achievement in sales and marketing for 2022-23 Theatre and Dance Season; M. Roberts Media for achievement in elements of advertising for Texas Rose Festival Souvenir Magazine; Romph & Pou Agency for achievement in elements of advertising for Taqueria by FRESH Logo; KLTV 7 for achievement in film, video and sound for Satellite Chronicles First Alert Weather; and Romph & Pou Agency for elements of advertising for FRESH Valentine’s Day Party.

Gold ADDY recipients: Romph & Pou Agency for achievement in cross platform for Brookshire’s Christmas Campaign; KLTV 7 for achievement in film, radio, and sound for East Texas Nowlloween; Romph & Pou Agency for achievement in sales and marketing for FRESH by Brookshire’s Grill Menu; Romph & Pou Agency for achievement in sales and marketing for Celebrating Cooking Sangria Splash Brookshire; and Romph & Pou for achievement in elements of advertising for Umami Sushi & Ramen logo.

Best Of category (awarded to the top score in each of the six primary categories, including sales and marketing; elements of advertising; film, video and sound; online and interactive; out of home; and cross platform):

• KLTV 7: Best Of in film, video and sound for East Texas Nowlloween
• Romph & Pou Agency: Best Of in cross platform for Brookshire’s Christmas Campaign
• Encore Multimedia: Best Of in online and interactive for Dairy Queen Taco Tuesday
• Romph & Pou Agency: Best Of in sales and marketing for Celebrate Cooking Sangria Splash
• Longview ISD: Best Of in out of home for Longview ISD Draft Day
• Romph & Pou Agency: Best Of in elements of advertising for Umami Sushi & Ramen logo

Judge’s Honors (standout piece selected by each judge): Encore Multimedia for Dairy Queen Taco Tuesday; KLTV 7 for East Texas Nowlloween; and M. Roberts Media for Texas Rose Festival Souvenir Magazine.

Mosaic ADDY (chosen by judges panel and displays diversity, equity and inclusion): Callynth Photography for Mr. Arthur Tyler Street Team.

See the full winner book here: shorturl.at/qyGOU

The American Advertising Awards is the advertising industry’s largest and most representative competition, attracting more than 25,000 entries every year in local AAF Ad Club competitions, according to AAF. The mission of the American Advertising Awards is to recognize and reward the creative spirit of excellence in the art of advertising.

Entries could include apps, apparel, music videos, TV advertisements, copywriting, blogs, events, printed newsletters/brochures, audio/video sales presentations, cinematography, web banner ads, direct mailers, printed annual reports, podcasts, photography, social media campaigns, illustrations, packaging, internet commercials, publication designs, websites, posters, sales kits, radio ads, animation and more.

For more information, visit www.aaf-etx.com.