For more information contact:
Danielle Tejada, Jackson Spalding, 404-419-9345
Beth Alexander, GSU, 404-413-7690
Meda Consumer Healthcare Takes Home 2011 MAX Grand Winner Award
ATLANTA (Feb. 25, 2011) – Organizers of the 19th Annual Marketing Awards for Excellence (MAX Awards) today announced Meda Consumer Healthcare as the Grand Winner for the relaunch of Bifera, the only over-the-counter supplementto offer two types of iron (protein- and plant-based) in one small, easy-to-swallow pill for maximum absorption with virtually no side effects.
Presented by Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business Department of Marketing and Atlanta Business Chronicle, the MAX Awards honor outstanding marketing innovations developed or launched by Georgia companies in 2010.
Meda Consumer Healthcare was honored as Grand Winner for their non-traditional approach to the relaunch of Bifera. To communicate the product’s benefits, Meda Consumer Healthcare focused on consumer education over “pharmaceutical marketing,” leveraging key influencers and grass-roots, word-of-mouth marketing. By narrowing their target market focus and reaching this audience through innovative methods, they restructured the entire market, almost doubling average weekly sales.
The Global Soap Project and the Vidalia Onion Committee with Langston Communications for the Ogres and Onions Program were also named winners. Winners were selected by the Georgia State University Marketing RoundTable, which is comprised of senior marketing executives from many of Atlanta’s top companies. Other finalists include:
· Broadspire – Medical Equipment and Supplies Formulary
· Fiserv – ZashPay Personal Payment Service
· Shaw Industries Group, Inc. – Shaw Web Studio
· UPS – Carbon Neutral
· UPS – Smart Pickup
· Zep – Septi-Tabs Septic System Treatment
Additionally, Georgia State Football received a special recognition award for its inaugural season.
“In an age where technology accelerates product advancement at an unprecedented pace, innovation is more important than ever in gaining a competitive advantage,” said Ken Bernhardt, Taylor E. Little Jr. Professor of Marketing and Special Assistant to the Dean of the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University. “We congratulate our MAX Award winners and finalists, who represent the best in their field and inspire us, as marketers, to develop creative solutions for everyday products and services.”
Winners were presented MAX Awards at the annual awards breakfast held today at the Georgia Aquarium. Jim Lecinski, Managing Director, U.S. Sales, for Google, Inc., served as the keynote speaker.
Also announced during the breakfast ceremony were this year’s recipients of the 2011 GSU Marketing RoundTable Outstanding Minority Marketing Student Scholarship:
· Stacey Jones Spillers, Master of Science in Marketing
· Tatiana Restrepo Jimenez, Master of Science in Marketing
· Alex A. St. Urbain, Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing and Business Economics and minor in French
All of the scholarship winners are expected to graduate in 2011.
About the MAX Awards
The annual Marketing Award for Excellence (MAX) recognizes the creative genius of marketers and marketing in Georgia. Sponsored by Georgia State University J. Mack Robinson College of Business Department of Marketing and Atlanta Business Chronicle, the MAX Awards program is considered the most prestigious marketing awards event in Georgia. The award honors the best in new products, services and marketing innovations. Nominations are open to Georgia-based companies or company divisions for products, services or marketing innovations developed in a designated calendar year. For information on how to participate in the MAX Awards program, visit www.maxawards.com.
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