2007 International ECHO Awards  

The prestigious 2007 International ECHO Awards for the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) held their annual ceremony in Chicago this October.  The evening took place in the historic and notable Union Station Hall. Howie Mandel hosted the event, peppering the evening with jokes and laughter. The winners encompassed the globe, spanning 26 countries, with 11 awards going to nonprofit campaigns. 

"The campaigns that we honored with ECHO Awards excel across the board — in creative, strategy, and quantifiable results,” noted Mitchell Lieber, chairman of the DMA International ECHO Award Committee.

The coveted Diamond ECHO award was
given to Draftfcb of New York.  Their cheeky campaign featured a comical, “victimized bovine” whose testicles had met the chopping block, been cooked and served up as Rocky Mountain Oysters at the annual charity dinner for the Eagle, Idaho Volunteer Fire Department.  The audacious marketing raised a few eyebrows as well as funds for the fire department. The event broke all attendance records, raised ticket sales 24 percent over the previous year, and increased profits 64 percent.

Another fantastic example of innovation in advertising was found in the new category of Search Marketing Award.  The Denver, CO based ad firm SearchAdNetwork conducted research that helped to track the volume of online users at various times of day for its client Starz Entertainment. Starz was then able to increase effectiveness of its advertising by purchasing top key words at peak traffic times resulting in increased movie downloads.

The gala was enjoyed by all, and in a humorous jest, one guest joked with a server,  “What, no Rocky Mountain Oysters on the menu?”

-Kari Skaflen