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Wins bronze in industry excellence awards for sales innovation/Featured at gala dinner/Garners feature story in
this week’s Advertising Age magazine
Winnipeg May
9, 2007
Winnipeg-based PCM International won a
bronze in the Industry Excellence Awards at
the Yellow Pages Association 2007 Conference
and Exhibition in Las Vegas. The award was
for sales innovation for an innovative,
client-trade-show marketing strategy
developed by company President, Elizabeth
Gage.
Besides Yellow Pages Group from Montreal,
PCM was the only other Canadian award winner
in the competition. PCM was competing with
U.S.-based industry giants like TMP
Directional Advertising, which has $500
million in annual billings.
"We're honoured and thrilled to receive this
recognition, considering the very tough
competition we faced," Gage said.
PCM was also a high-profile participant at
the conference that hosted 600 delegates
representing 250 publishers and certified
marketing representatives from around the
world involved in the $26-billion global
Yellow Pages directory marketing industry.
Gage's flamboyant, brand-focused approach to
demonstrating the value of Yellow Pages
advertising involved creating what she calls
"marketing-theatre" that included developing
a Yellow Pages-branded gown trimmed with the
walking fingers logos. In the bright-yellow
gown, she became an instantly recognizable
living brand to demonstrate her marketing
point that not only is Yellow Pages an
excellent advertising medium, but to have
maximum impact, it is important to stand out
among the crowd of competitors.
Her excellence-award application attracted
the attention of Yellow Pages Association
conference organizers who asked Gage to
participate in the April 29 to May 1
convention to add colour and brand message
to the event.
To create impact for the event, she created
a complete custom PCM team wardrobe. In
addition to the Walking Fingers yellow gown
she also wore a white business suit
promoting the White Pages and a black
business suit promoting the Yellow Pages
brand, right down to custom shoes and
handbags. Male members of the team wore
yellow neckties with the walking fingers
logo and black business suits.
Gage was featured at the convention's
opening reception and trade show and at the
women's networking reception. PCM's company
team led guests into the conference's gala
dinner where Gage and an Elvis impersonator,
who she located through the Las Vegas Yellow
Pages, performed a theatrical skit about the
value of Yellow Pages.
"We accomplished what we set out to do,
which was to leverage awareness for our
company in a competitive market and convince
our colleagues that outside-the-box
marketing can have real impact," Gage said.
Advertising Age journalist Ken Wheaton,
whose story about Gage with photo appeared
in the May 7 print and online editions of
Advertising Age, the leading advertising
industry publication distributed worldwide,
asked Yellow Pages Association President Neg
Norton about Gage. He said the industry
attracts "professionals who appreciate
tradition and advertising flair."
About PCM
PCM International is a leading full-service
national Yellow Pages marketing and
consulting company. PCM delivers
professional directory and Internet
advertising, development and design services
to national, corporate, franchise and
dealer/distributor firms that need a
presence in multiple directories across
Canada, the United States and around the
world. With corporate headquarters in
Winnipeg and offices in Toronto and
Vancouver, PCM is currently planning for
expansion to Calgary and Montreal.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION OR INTERVIEWS, PLEASE CONTACT
ELIZABETH GAGE AT (204) 958-7788
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Who We Serve: As a Certified Marketing Representative (CMR), PCM serves regional and national organizations requiring a presence in 20 or more Yellow Pages directories across Canada, North America or the World. Yellow Pages publishers’ commissions pay for our service, which allows you to benefit from our in-depth research, creativity and expertise for no more than doing the work yourself.
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