Cherokee Office of Economic Development Wins Major Communication Awards at the 2019 SEDC Annual Conference
The Cherokee Office of Economic Development received one of the top honors and were recognized for two additional communications pieces at the SEDC Communication Awards Ceremony. The awards ceremony was held during the 2019 Southern Economic Development Council (SEDC) Annual Conference, August 4-6, 2019, in New Orleans, LA.
“These Annual Communication Awards recognize and showcase the leading communication and marketing work done by economic development professionals throughout the south. Cherokee Office of Economic Development hit the mark this year with this communication piece. Its entry in the Websites: Local, State or Regional EDO’s category titled, Cherokee Office of Economic Development Website was recognized with an Award of Excellent and its entry in the Annual Reports category titled, 2018 Cherokee Office of Economic Development Annual Report, was recognized with an Award of Merit. Its entry in the Thinking Outside the Box category titled, Cherokee Film Summit, won a Special Judges Award Comprehensive for Community Outreach and an Excellent Award. This piece not only showed creativity, but also solid messaging and effectiveness at reaching their target audience. We were wowed by all the entries we received this year and were impressed with the high level of marketing work being done in economic development by SEDC members,” said SEDC President Gene Stinson, after the ceremony.
“It was an honor to receive the SEDC Special Judges Award for “Comprehensive Community Outreach” for the 2019 Inaugural Cherokee Film Summit,” said Cherokee Office of Economic Development (COED) Chairman Marshall Day. “This multi-dimensional event brought together Cherokee’s film community for a power-packed day of educational breakout sessions, expert panels, and networking. Filmmaking is a collaborative process, and events like these are key to creating strong, community partnerships.”
The Communication Awards are given each year by SEDC at its annual conference. More than 20 categories of communications and marketing work submitted by SEDC members are evaluated within four divisions. The awards are: BEST OF SHOW, BEST OF CLASS, SUPERIOR, EXCELLENT, MERIT, and SPECIAL JUDGES’ AWARDS. Judging criteria for General Entry Awards include Graphic Appeal, Clarity of Message, Quality of Information, Positioning / Differentiation and Format.
All winning pieces were on full display for attendees to view during the conference.
Judges for the Communication Awards competition are economic development consultants, communication and design professionals from across the southern United States who work with clients in developing strategies for growth in their communities. SEDC chose these judges because of their knowledge of the economic development process, the development of marketing content, and graphic design. They understand the needs businesses have in choosing a site and how communities and economic development organizations can reach prospective clients through their marketing efforts.
The SEDC Annual Conference is SEDC’s main educational event of the year. More than 300 economic development professionals spent three days networking and learning recent economic development trends and strategies from corporate, government and executive professionals.
SEDC is the oldest and largest regional economic development association in North America, with more than 860 members representing a variety of backgrounds. From local, regional and state economic development agencies, chambers of commerce, business and industry, utilities, transportation, finance and education, members share a common interest: the promotion and enhancement of the economic development profession. To find out more about SEDC, please visit www.sedc.org.