Fauth Gundlach & Hübl wins the Gold Stevie Award at the 2017 German Stevie Awards in the category “Communications or PR Campaign / PR Program of the Year – Low Budget (under €10,000).”

Fauth Gundlach & Hübl is an owner-operated communications agency based in Wiesbaden, Germany. The sport of golf is firmly established in the Hessian capital, and that might be one of the reasons why the agency was given the lead in regional media relations work for the Final Four of the German Golf League (DGL).

It is much more likely, however, that Fauth Gundlach & Hübl impressed its customer, Deutsche Golf Sport GmbH, a subsidiary of the German Golf Association (DGV), with its core competency. Managing Director Lars Hübl explains: “We identify the subject matter and create suitable content for it, so that our customers can effectively communicate to their specific target groups. We provide consultation, bring ideas to life and implement them, and offer continuous support for communication-related questions. In doing so, we cover six competency fields: public relations, social media, content marketing, sponsoring communication, CSR communication and brand communication.” Among Fauth Gundlach & Hübl’s customers are international companies from various industries, companies from the Rhein-Main region and sports organizations.

In the public eye, golf in Germany continues to eke out an existence as a niche sport. The German Golf Association (DGV) represents 847 member clubs and facilities, with over 643,000 registered amateur golfers. With the KRAMSKI German Golf League presented by Audi (DGL), the association has had an attractive team competition system since 2013. Each year teams from the men’s and women’s top national league compete in a five-day Final Four tournament at a neutral golf course for the title “German Team Champion.”

The assignment for Fauth Gundlach & Hübl: use the Final Four 2016, in order to generate broader media coverage of the league. Lars Hübl: “In order to be able to generate broader media coverage, we had to considerably increase the basis of the media channels to be reached. Therefore, in addition to the classical golf media, our approach was to reach out to the sports desks of the regional and local media concerning the locations of the golf clubs that had qualified for the Final Four 2016.” To make the topic more interesting, the agency offered the editorial offices personalized stories about the respective teams. In addition, the editorial offices received written topic suggestions and were subsequently contacted by telephone.

“We have clearly achieved the goal of expanding the media coverage of the DGL’s Final Four with the campaign. Altogether more than 100 clippings – for example print, online and radio – were achieved in regional and local media,” summarizes Hübl. “Despite the low budget, Fauth Gundlach & Hübl has helped to increase the media coverage of the Final Four tournament by working with regional media outlets. The regional references and the storytelling approach have contributed significantly to the media success. At the same time, we have established contacts that can be used for coverage of future golf events. The basic approach can be used over and over again, even for changing participants and venues.”

As a reward for the project “Hole-in-one: regional media relations for the Final Four of the German Golf League,” the company won a Gold Stevie in the category “Communications or PR Campaign / PR Program of the Year – Low Budget (under €10,000).” The Gold Stevie Award arrived just in time for the agency’s 10^th anniversary. What began in 2007 has grown within ten years into a motivated and harmonious team of 12 employees.

More on the Internet: 

See Managing Director Lars Hübl in an interview after the German Stevie Awards ceremony in Hamburg:  https://youtu.be/OaONyOFkDxg

Read the gold-winning application from Fauth Gundlach & Hübl here.

A meat lovers pizza with absolutely no calories? If it sounds just a little too good to be true, it is.

But that’s how the Stevie-winning nationwide chain Villa Restaurant Group playfully marketed its new product topped with pepperoni, sausage, ham and bacon, labeling it the “#AlternateFacts” pizza.

The name, of course, is a direct reference to the phrase famously dropped by Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway during an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press. At the time, Conway was defending suggestions about the size of President Trump’s inauguration crowd.

Villa’s humorous take on the episode became a runaway success, garnering 85 news stories and raking in more than 230 million media impressions.

Offbeat Ideas that Work

Behind the restaurant’s cheeky campaign was BML Public Relations, a young New Jersey firm known for pulling out-of-the-box ideas to garner attention for clients.

It’s a company that once concocted the “The World’s Largest Mug of Hot Chocolate” in New York to draw awareness for the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council.

And when a competing fast food chain grabbed headlines by telling social media that a “hamburglar” was on the loose, it helped Wayback Burgers steal headlines by offering the villain a reward for giving himself up.

What made the #AlternateFacts campaign particularly novel was the client’s willingness to plug into one of the most highly-charged political climates in decades. That’s something a lot of companies have been hesitant to do, fearing blowback from their ideologically-diverse customers.

There are exceptions, but they’re relatively few and far between. For example, when ice cream maker Dippin’ Dots drew a number of slights from Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s on Twitter, the company offered to host an ice cream social at the White House.

BML’s CEO, Brian Lowe, believes the current environment provides a great publicity opportunity for corporate America, as long as they take a thoughtful approach.

“I think it is important for brands to be involved in conversations related to social and political issues, even if they are not taking a hard stance,” Lowe told NJBIZ, a New Jersey business publication. “There are a lot of eyeballs on the issues and, as marketers, our job is to put the brand in front of as many eyeballs as possible while being as careful as possible not to polarize our customer base.”

The marketing effort resulted in BML earning a Silver Stevie® Award for Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Social Media Focused, which they received at the June 20 American Business Awards ceremony in New York City.

Plugging Into the Headlines

It’s no accident that one of the company’s most successful ideas came from the world of politics. Each day, Lowe and his mostly female team meet to talk about the stories that are grabbing headlines locally and around the country.

Then, they brainstorm how their clients can leverage those stories to grab some of the media spotlight for themselves. The firm tries to generate input from as many staffers as possible until they land on the most promising concept.

“The idea must be able to go around the room without making anyone feel like they are not on the same page,” Lowe told NJBIZ. “Then, when we have an idea that is strong, that we know will generate brand awareness and help our client develop core connections with its consumer, sometimes we have to go in and fight for the idea.”

The strategy is one that worked especially well for Villa Restaurant Group, which was able to ride a tidal wave of publicity because of its tongue-in-cheek product offering.

It was just as big a win for BML, which got plenty of attention of its own out of the campaign, not to mention the Stevie Award, its first major accolade as a company.

The 2018 American Business Awards will open for entries in October. Request the entry kit now and it will be emailed to you when it's availble. 

Cisco Systems, FleishmanHillard and SHIFT Communications also among best-of-competition prize winners

The Stevie® Awards today announced the Grand Stevie Award winners in The 15th Annual American Business Awards, the top business awards program in the USA. Winners will be presented their Grand Stevie trophies at the ABA gala event on June 20 in New York.

The Grand Stevie Award trophies are best-of-competition prizes that are awarded to the organizations that submit the best body of nominations to the competition, in their own name or in the names of one or more clients.  

Winners are determined by a points system based on the total number of awards won in the ABAs, with a Gold Stevie win counting for three points, a Silver Stevie for two points, and a Bronze Stevie counting for one-and-a-half.  Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie winners in the 2017 ABAs were announced on May 2.

CallidusCloud, the Dublin, CA software developer has received the Grand Stevie for Organization of the Year for the second year in a row, with a record 111.5 points. Stevie-winning organizations are accorded three points for each Gold Stevie win, two points per Silver Stevie win, and one-and-a-half points for each Bronze Stevie win.

Other Grand Stevie winners include:

• Most Honored Interactive Agency: Blue Wheel Media, Troy, MI, with 19 points earned for projects for clients including Billhighway, SHEEX and WellNet, among others.

• Most Honored Marketing Agency: Momentum Worldwide, New York, NY, with 34 points earned for campaigns and projects for clients Allergan, American Express and Lockheed Martin.

• Most Honored Public Relations Agency: SHIFT Communications, with offices nationwide, with 37.5 points earned for nominations submitted on behalf of 12 client companies.

Grand Stevies will also be presented to the 10 other organizations with the most points in the 2017 competition. They are:

• #1: Cisco Systems, San Jose, CA (94 points)
• #2: Melissa Sones Consulting, a New York-based awards consultancy, with 38 points earned for Stevie-winning nominations submitted for eight clients
• #3: FleishmanHillard, the multinational communications consultancy with offices across the U.S.A., earned 35 for Stevie wins on behalf of seven clients
• #4: PAIRELATIONS LCC, an awards consultancy in Centennial, CO with 31.5 points for Stevies won for five clients
• #5 (tie): FIS, St. Petersburg, FL (25 points)
•             John Hancock Financial, Boston, MA (25)
• #7: Makovsky & Co, New York and Washington, DC (22)
• #8: Jeunesse Global, Orlando, FL (20)
• #9: Navicor, LLC, Westerville, OH (18.5)
• #10: Cirkled in, Redmond, WA (18)

All organizations operating in the U.S.A. – large and small, public and private, for-profit and non-profit - are eligible to submit nominations to the ABAs in a wide range of categories, honoring achievement in every aspect of work life, from customer service and management to public relations and product development. More than 3,600 nominations were reviewed in the judging process this year by more than 190 professionals, whose average scores determined the winners. The presentations will be broadcast live via Livestream.

For a complete list of the 2017 Stevie Award winners, visit www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

Tickets for the June 20 awards gala in New York are now on sale.

About the Stevie Awards 
Stevie Awards are conferred in seven programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, and the new Stevie Awards for Great Employers. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 10,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 60 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at www.StevieAwards.com.

The Stevie® Awards have issued the call for entries for The 14th Annual International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards competition, which attracts nominations from organizations in more than 60 nations and territories each year.

All individuals and organizations worldwide -- public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small -- may submit nominations to The International Business Awards. The early-bird entry deadline, with reduced entry fees, is 12 April. The final entry deadline is 10 May, and late entries will be accepted through 14 June with payment of a late fee. Entry details are available at www.StevieAwards.com/IBA.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE

An international judging panel of more than 150 executives will determine the Stevie Award winners. Results will be announced 10 August. Stevie Award winners will be presented their awards at a gala banquet at the W Hotel in Barcelona, Spain on 21 October.

The International Business Awards recognize achievement in every facet of the workplace. Categories include:

• Management Awards 
• Company of the Year Awards
• Customer Service Awards 
• Human Resources Awards 
• Information Technology Awards
• Marketing Awards 
• New Product Awards 
• Public Relations Awards 
• Web Site Awards, Smartphone and Tablet App, and other media awards

Stevie Award winners in the 2016 IBAs included ABS-CBN Corporation (Philippines), BSES Yamuna Power Limited (India), Clickky (Ukraine), Dogus Group (Turkey), Dubai Statistics Center (United Arab Emirates), Forter (USA), Foundation Telefónica  (Spain), Freelancer.com (Australia), Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A.  (Brazil), KEPCO Nuclear Fuel Company (South Korea), Mondelez International (United Kingdom), Ooredoo (Qatar), PJSC Aeroflot - Russian Airlines  (Russia), Polystar  (Sweden), PRIZM (Hong Kong), QLess, Inc. (USA), RheinBrücke IT Consulting (Germany), Roshan (Afghanistan), SABC Pension Fund (South Africa), SUNNY SIDE UP, Inc. (Japan), Telkom Indonesia (Indonesia) and TELUS International (Canada), among many others.

What started with The American Business Awards in 2002, the Stevie Awards are now the world's premier business awards and offer seven programs each year with various awards categories. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at www.StevieAwards.com.

If you've ever been confused about which categories in each awards program are best suited for your organization, sign up for the new Stevie Awards Alerts.

By signing up for Stevie Awards alerts, we'll send you periodic emails about opportunities to win awards in the category group(s) of your choosing and reminders of upcoming entry deadlines. Sign up to recieve one category alert or sign up for them all. 

Stevie Awards Alerts include:

• Web Awards Alerts
  
  
• Sales Awards Alerts
  
  
• Customer Service Awards Alerts
  
  
• PR Awards Alerts
  
  
• New Product Awards Alerts
  
  
• Marketing Awards Alerts
  
  
• HR Awards Alerts
  
  
• Creative Awards Alerts
  
  
• Technology Awards Alerts
  
  

Follow each link to get started with Stevie Awards Alerts.

The 15th annual American Business Awards, the premier business awards competition in the U.S.A. which attracts more than 3,000 nominations from organizations nationwide each year, is accepting nominations for the 2017 program. 

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT.

The American Business Awards recognize achievement in every facet of the workplace. Full entry details are available at http://www.stevieawards.com/aba.

There are 29 categories to recognize public relations professionals, agencies, departments, and campaigns.

All organizations operating in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations -- public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small. The entry deadline is Thursday, February 16 but late entries will be accepted through Wednesday, March 15. 

Information to be submitted online for entries in these categories for the 2017 ABAs will include:

a. An essay of up to 650 words describing the nominee's achievements since January 1 2016.  In the communications campaign categories, this will be a description of the campaign: its genesis, development, execution, and results to date

b. In bullet-list form, a brief summary (up to 150 words) of up to ten (10) of the chief accomplishments of the nominee since January 1 2016.  In the communications campaign categories, this will be a list of the chief features and results of this nominated PR program

c. Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files, works samples, and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges

The Public Relations Awards categories are: 

C01. Public Relations Agency of the Year

C02. Communications Department of the Year

C03. Communications Team of the Year

C05. Communications or PR Campaign/Program of the Year
         a. Arts & Entertainment: campaigns/programs undertaken to promote or raise awareness of an artistic or entertainment endeavor, event, or program.
         b. Communications Research: recognizing research conducted for the development of business / communication strategies.  (new category for 2017)
         c. Community Relations: campaigns/programs that aim to improve relations with communities in which the sponsoring organization has an interest, need or opportunity.
         d. Crisis Communications: campaigns/programs undertaken to deal with an unplanned event and requiring immediate response.
         e. Events & Observances: campaigns/programs that generate awareness of or document commemorations, observances, openings, celebrations, and other types of events.
         f. Global Issues: campaigns/programs that demonstrate effective global communications implemented in at least two countries.
         g. Healthcare: campaign/programs in the healthcare sector, including business-to-business and consumer campaigns.  (new category for 2017)
         h. Internal Communications: campaigns/programs undertaken to inform or educate an internal audience, such as employees or members. 
              - At organizations with up to 100 employees
              - At organizations with 100 or more employees
         i. Investor Relations: campaigns/programs undertaken to communicate information to a company's investors and the investment community and/or to manage the company's relationship with investors. 
         j. Issues Management: campaigns/programs undertaken to deal with issues that could extraordinarily affect ongoing business strategy.
         k. Low Budget (under $10,000): campaigns/programs that cost no more than $10,000 to plan and implement.
         l. Marketing – Business to Business: campaigns/programs designed to introduce new products or promote existing products or services to a business audience.
         m. Marketing – Consumer Products: campaigns/programs designed to introduce new products or promote existing products to a consumer audience.
         n. Marketing – Consumer Services: campaigns/programs designed to introduce new services or promote existing services to a consumer audience.
         o. Media Relations: recognizing effective traditional media relations in a PR campaign. (new category for 2017)
         p. Multicultural: campaigns/programs specifically targeted to a cultural group.
         q. New Product Launch: campaigns/programs undertaken to introduce a new product or service to the marketplace.
         r. Reputation/Brand Management: campaigns/programs designed to enhance, promote or improve the reputation of an organization with its publics or key elements of its publics.
         s. Public Affairs: campaigns/programs specifically designed to influence public policy and/or affect legislation, regulations, political activities or candidacies.
         t. Public Service: campaigns/programs that advance public understanding of societal issues, problems or concerns.
         u. Social Media Focused: campaigns/programs designed to be implemented primarily through online social media.       
         v. Sponsorship: campaigns/programs that promote or create awareness of sponsorship of an event or activity. (new category for 2017)
         w Technology: campaign/programs in the technology sector, including business-to-business and consumer campaigns.  (new category for 2017)
         x. Travel & Tourism: campaigns/programs designed to advance the interests of clients in the transport, travel, hotel or tourism industries. (new category for 2017)

C06. PR Innovation of the Year: this category will recognize singular innovations in communications practice, research, technology, or management since the beginning of 2015.

C07. Communications, Investor Relations, or PR Executive of the Year

C08. Communications Professional of the Year: for non-executive communications, PR, and IR professionals.  There is no entry fee for this category.

There are a number of other ABA categories that should be of interest to communications professionals, including many of the corporate publications and annual report awards categories, web site awards categories, app awards categories, video awards categories, and live event awards categories.

Today, the Stevie® Awards issued the call for entries for The 2017 (15th Annual) American Business Awards, the premier business awards competition in the U.S.A. which attracts more than 3,000 nominations from organizations nationwide each year.  Entry details are available at http://www.stevieawards.com/aba. 

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT.

All organizations operating in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations -- public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small. There are two early-bird entry deadlines this year – November 17 and December 14 – with discounted entry fees.  The final entry deadline is February 16, but late entries will be accepted through March 15 with payment of a late fee.

The 2017 awards will honor outstanding work since the beginning of 2016.

More than 200 professionals nationwide will participate in the judging process in February through April.  The Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie® Award winners will be announced on May 1, and celebrated during a gala event in New York City on June 20.

The American Business Awards recognize achievement in every facet of the workplace. Categories include:

-Management Awards

-Company of the Year Awards

-Customer Service Awards

-Human Resources Awards

-Information Technology Awards

-Marketing Awards

-New Product Awards

-Public Relations Awards

-Web Site Awards, App, Video, Live Event, and Other Media Awards

New categories for 2017 include:

• Mobile Site & App Awards: Family & Kids, Fashion & Beauty, Financial Services, and more
• Video Awards: Travel & Tourism
• Company/Organization Awards: Each of the 34 Company of the Year categories have been broken into 3 sub- categories by company size and/or revenue
• Management Awards: Apparel, Beauty & Fashion, and Consumer Services
• Marketing Awards: Branded Utility of the Year
• New Product Awards: Data Visualization Technology, Endpoint Security Management Solution, Event Management Solution, and more
• PR Awards: Communications Research, Healthcare, Media Relations, and more

Every new product or service nominated in The 2017 American Business Awards will automatically be included in voting for the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products. Voting will open to the general public in May, and the winners will be honored at The American Business Awards banquet on June 20.

The Ministry of the Interior in Seoul, South Korea, won a Gold Stevie for Innovation in Community Relations or Public Service Communications in the Corporate Communications, Investor Relations and Public Relations Awards categories of the 2016 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards. The Ministry also received the Grand Award for Communications/Public Relations.

The 2017 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards will open for entries in October.  Sign up to recieve the entry kit as soon as it's available.

Because of a low birth rate and rapidly aging population, social welfare requirements in South Korea have increased. This has put pressure on local finance, so in 2015, the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) introduced Local Finance Reforms to help address these problems. As a result, the Ministry has significantly improved public service communications with local communities through such activities as locally oriented storytelling, customized field public relations, extensive communications through social media channels, and the production and distribution of visual products such as info-graphics.

We talked with Kim Sung-lyul, Vice Minster at the MOI, about the challenges his office was addressing; what winning the Gold and Grand Stevie Awards had meant to his department; and what the department was planning for the coming year.

Communication is Key

Kim told us that the main objective of the reforms carried out by the MOI since 2015 was to improve local fiscal operative soundness and transparency, which up until then had been the task of local governments. As he put it: “Communication was key, as the process involved different stakeholders such as local businesses and citizens.”

The MOI used various methods to communicate with different people. Kim explained: “A program called ‘Regional Storytelling (Not Text, But Story),’ was developed to cater to regional citizens, along with customized regional promotion campaigns; participatory activity produced by Social Media journalists composed of digitalized policy prosumers; Group Intelligence linking service of portals (Netizens ask and MOI answers); the production and distribution of visual-intuitive contents such as infographics—these were just a few other examples. Public relations were also conducted through the social media channels and other different news media of the MOI.”

The MOI efforts proved a success, Kim told us. “The program to publicize local fiscal reform gained good reviews after a thorough evaluation. And winning the Grand and Gold Stevie Awards shows that our diverse efforts to communicate with the citizens have now received recognition on a wider stage.”

Expanding our Network

Continued Kim: “It is a great honor that our program to publicize local fiscal reform has won an internationally renowned award. It has inspired the teams that contributed to promoting these programs despite difficult circumstances.  Our publicists are more confident and more focused on their work, and our administrators recognize more than ever the important role that communications play in actively motivating people.

“It was also immensely helpful to have learned about other excellent cases and individuals from different countries at the awards ceremony, and to expand our network of policy publicity within the Asia-Pacific region.

“We fully expect that our government-led reforms will be further encouraged as the program is recognized by the international community. We have successfully publicized our different policies, and while we acknowledge the fact that it is a rare thing, it is delightful to have been officially recognized from the outside.  I would also like to express my gratitude to the judging committee and officials of the Stevie Awards.”

Elevating Government Stature

Kim also sees the value of these awards to his government as a whole. “Effective communication and cooperation between central government and local government is crucial for local fiscal reform. The fact that our program for strategic publicity of this reform gained international recognition implies that the innovative administration of the Korean government has been recognized as well. This will play a pivotal role in elevating the stature of the Korean government and the MOI through publicity in the Asia-Pacific region.”

Government 3.0

Looking ahead, Kim told us that the MOI will continue its efforts to communicate with citizens using various practical approaches to allow easier understanding of its major policies.  “We are currently focusing on Government 3.0 tasks. Government 3.0 is based on Article 1 Clause 2 of the Constitution, which states: The sovereignty of the Republic of Korea resides with its citizens. Simply put, we are encouraging citizens to actively participate in evaluating the government’s policies, works and services.”

Kim explained: “The reason Government 3.0 holds such great importance is that unlike in earlier days when the government decided policies unilaterally, now it is co-governance between the government and the people. Also back then, corporations were only required to fulfill their social responsibilities, but now they’re expected to create shared values. It’s officially an ‘era of governance’ where cooperation between the government and the people is more than necessary. The border dividing the two entities is diminishing rapidly.

“A good example of Government 3.0 is the Citizen Policy Design Group, in which citizens proactively participate in the enforcement of government policies. Not only do citizens enjoy the services provided, but also they directly create ideas and services, which the government may adopt or purchase as needed. The society we are living in right now is one where everyone can be a professional and wisdom is valued over knowledge. We have introduced the concept of Do-It-Yourself to public services!”

Putting People First

Kim is enthusiastic about his career and the future: “If I had to live my life again I would still be a civil servant. I can think of no other occupation that is more rewarding. I take care and protect the lives, property, and security of the people. As a public official, I put people first. I can provide what people need and I can make the fallen stand once again.

Kim has a personal credo, which consists of three core values: Pride, Pleasure, and Fulfillment.

“People should have pride and respect for themselves. Being proud and respectful—not arrogant—will lead to success. And people should be proud of their work, organization, boss, and country as well.”

“Secondly, you should enjoy work. Don’t just do it for the sake of doing it, but do it differently from others. Pleasure comes when you see new things and do new things.”

“Last but not least, everything should come with a sense of fulfillment. Work can only be truly rewarding when you feel it in your heart, not just from getting a prizes or being promoted. You should be moved and impressed by your own work.”

About Kim Sung-lyul:

Vice Minister Kim Sung-lyul was born to serve. His father was a police officer, teacher, and a town official. Following in his father’s footsteps, Kim has been a devoted public servant for 30 years. He is immensely proud that his work protects the lives, security, and property of the people.  Kim is also a founding members of the Civil Service Commission, and is proud of his involvement in the establishment of the public officer system, including the senior executive service system, incentive salaries, executive agency system, political executive HR system, and more.

Early in his career, Kim spent two years on dispatch to the United Kingdom’s Home Office, and two-and-a-half years on dispatch to the headquarters of the Organization for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) in Paris, France, which provided him with a strong basis in domestic administration.

Before starting his career as a public servant, Kim studied public policies in the United States.

About the Korean Ministry of Interior:

The Korean Ministry of the Interior is one of the core departments of the Korean government, working to improve the wellbeing of citizens through innovation and local governance. Under the regime of Park Geun-hye, President of the Republic of Korea, the MOI is focused on creating jobs and establishing an efficient government by providing customized services through Government 3.0 under the maxims of openness, sharing, communication, and cooperation.

The MOI is devoting its full capacity to improving local government by fortifying and reforming local finance. Its top priority currently is to fulfill national endeavors to create an autonomous living style in which the people are happy; and to eliminate discomfort in daily life by reviving the local economy through on-the-spot regulatory reforms and innovation of local budgets.

The MOI also supports government operations including parliamentary activities and prizes, national archival management, running the government office, unified operation of governmental resources, and scientific investigations.

Winners to be Celebrated in New York on June 20
(see summary of major winners by major MSA below)

The Stevie® Awards, organizers of the world’s premier business awards programs, today announced the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie winners in The 14th Annual American Business Awards^SM.

All organizations operating in the U.S.A. – large and small, public and private, for-profit and non-profit - are eligible to submit nominations to the ABAs in a wide range of categories, honoring achievement in every aspect of work life, from customer service and management to public relations and product development.  More than 3,400 nominations were reviewed in the judging process this year by more than 250 professionals, whose average scores determined the winners.

2016 Stevie winners will be celebrated and presented their awards during a gala event on Monday, June 20 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York.  Tickets are now on sale.  The presentations will be broadcast live via Livestream.

CallidusCloud (Dublin, CA) is the leader among Stevie Award winners, with 40 wins in a wide range of categories, including six Gold.  CallidusCloud is sure to be among the winners of the Grand Stevie Award trophies, the top overall winners in this year’s ABAs, who will be announced next week.

Winners of four Gold Stevies include CAS (Columbus, OH), Jeunesse Global (Orlando, FL), and MWW (East Rutherford, NJ). 

Notable Stevie winners include:

• 11-year-old Max Ash of MAX'IS Creations (Boston, MA), winner of the Gold Stevie for Product Developer of the Year and the youngest-ever Stevie winner
• TiVo's BOLT, Silver Stevie winner for Best New Consumer Electronics Product. Last week TiVo announced that it would be acquired by Rovi
• Lakeshore Recycling Systems (Morton Grove, IL), winner of 14 Stevies
• TextRecruit (San Jose, CA), winner of three Gold Stevies including B2B Startup of the Year

For a complete list of the Stevie Award winners announced today, visit http://www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

This is the first year in which Stevie winners in The American Business Awards are announced before the awards gala.  In the ABAs’ first 13 years, finalists were announced in advance of the awards gala, but the Stevie winners weren’t revealed until the night of the presentations.   

Every new product or service nominated in The 2016 American Business Awards will automatically be included in voting for the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products, a worldwide public vote. Voting will open tomorrow and conclude on June 3.  People’s Choice Stevie winners will be announced the week of June 6, and will be honored during the June 20 presentations.

About The Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in seven programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, and the new Stevie Awards for Great Employers. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 10,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 60 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com.

Key Stevie winners in some major metropolitan statistical area include, among others:

Atlanta: Arketi Group, Liaison Technologies (Alpharetta), CATMEDIA, Citi Retail Services, MessageGears, One Vision Productions, LLC (Clarkston), Panasonic Automotive Systems (Peachtree City), and QASymphony

Austin: AgileCraft, Dell (Round Rock), Epicor Software Corp, Magnitude Software, mindWireless, and Workplace Answers

Boston: Centage Corporation (Natick), Curriculum Associates (North Billerica), Enquiron, Fiksu, Fleetmatics (Waltham), Globoforce (Southborough) Harvard Business Publishing, HubSpot (Cambridge), John Hancock, MAX'IS Creations, Inc., PAREXEL International (Waltham), Progress (Bedford), Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Ve Interactive, VirtusaPolaris (Westborough), and ZipCar (Cambridge)

Chicago: Accenture , Applied Systems (University Park), BMO Capital Markets, Empire Today (Northlake), Endurance (Northbrook), Lakeshore Recycling Systems (Morton Grove), Peapod (Skokie), SIM Partners, and Wheels, Inc. (Des Plaines)

Dallas: ACTIVE Network, AT&T, Monitronics Security (Farmers Branch), Omnitracs, LLC, Texas Wesleyan University (Fort Worth), and USHEALTH Advisors (Grapevine)

Denver & Boulder: EffectiveUI (Denver), Level 3 Communications (Broomfield), SolidFire (Boulder), and Theresa Bradley-Banta Real Estate Consultancy (Denver)

Detroit: Critical Signal Technologies (Novi), Farbman Group (Southfield), George P. Johnson (Auburn Hills), Great Expressions Dental Centers (Bloomfield Hills), and Shinola (Detroit)

Houston: Effex Management Solutions, Gorilla Safety, PROS, Inc., Signet Interactive, and TopSpot Internet Marketing

Los Angeles: Christmas in Hollywood (Hollywood), Dollar Shave Club (Venice), Ixia (Calabasas), j2 Global® Cloud Services (Hollywood), PMK*BNC (Los Angeles), and ZipRecruiter (Santa Monica)

Miami: Coastal Risk Consulting (Plantation), DCR Workforce (Boca Raton), Future Energy Solutions (Ft. Lauderdale), Lion Agency (Miami), MONAT Global (Doral), ScribeAmerica (Ft. Lauderdale), and TEAM Enterprises (Ft. Lauderdale)

Minneapolis: Ceridian, Deluxe Corporation (Shoreview), Renters Warehouse (Minnetonka), RiverSource Annuities, and RiverSource Life Insurance Company

New York: Broadstreet, Datapipe, Inc. (Jersey City, NJ), Diligent Corporation, Fidelity Investments (Jersey City, NJ), Hudson Group (East Rutherford, NJ), Kaplan Test Prep, Makovsky & Co, MASS Communications, Momentum Worldwide, MWW (East Rutherford, NJ), ProSight Specialty Insurance (Morristown, NJ), Radware (Mahwah, NJ), Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America (Mahwah, NJ), SocialCode, Squarespace, Swiss Post Solutions, Thomson Reuters, TouchBistro, TransPerfect, VertaMedia LLC, and W Magazine

Philadelphia: Broadview Networks (King of Prussia), GetResponse Inc. (Wilmington, DE), Karma Agency, LCG, Ltd. & H.E.L.P.® Legal Plan (Bala Cynwyd), Nutrisystem (Fort Washington), and Worldwide Clinical Trials (King of Prussia)

Phoenix: Allbound (Scottsdale), Beyond20, Casino Arizona (Scottsdale), Digital Air Strike (Scottsdale), Isagenix International (Gilbert), The James Agency (Scottsdale), KEO Marketing Inc., Talking Stick Resort (Scottsdale), and Yeager Marketing

Salt Lake City: 4Life Research (Sandy), 97th Floor (Lehi), IHG, Morinda, Inc. (American Fork), SnappConner PR (South Jordan), and USANA Health Sciences

San Diego: AMN Healthcare, Amobee, The Control Group, PACIFIC, Qualcomm, Red Door Interactive, and RippleNami, Inc. (Cardiff)

San Jose: Cisco Systems, Electric Cloud, EMC, Malwarebytes, PayPal, RiseSmart, TextRecruit, TiVo Inc., and Zoom Video Communications, Inc.

San Francisco: Blueshift Labs, ClearSlide, CoreOS, Demandbase, DocuSign, Godfrey Q, Grow Marketing, Scality, SquareTrade, STRV, Teridion, and Wells Fargo Treasury Management

Seattle: Avalara, Capital One Investing, Microsoft Corporation (Redmond), Talking Rain Beverage Company, and T-Mobile US, Inc. (Bellevue)

Silicon Valley: Actiontec Electronics (Sunnyvale), BDNA (Mountain View), Clinovo (Sunnyvale), Cloudinary (Palo Alto), Host Analytics (Redwood City), Intuit (Mountain View), Jasper (Santa Clara), Nexenta Systems, Inc., (Santa Clara), RiskSense (Sunnyvale), Robin Systems (Milpitas), Simility (Palo Alto), SnapLogic (San Mateo), Tanis Communications (Mountain View), Tintri (Mountain View), TriNet (San Leandro), Vendavo (Mountain View), and WebAction, Inc. (Palo Alto)

Washington, DC: Applied Predictive Technologies (Arlington, VA), Bloomberg BNA Software (Arlington, VA), Clarabridge (Reston, VA), CSC (Falls Church, VA), Cvent (Tysons Corner, VA), Deltek (Herndon, VA), GTT Communications (McLean, VA), ICMA-RC, Lockheed Martin (Bethesda, MD), Meals on Wheels America (Arlington, VA), Merkle (Columbia, MD), Milk Processor Education Program, Neocate (Rockville, MD), Transurban USA (Alexandria, VA), U.S. Green Building Council, and Vistaprint Digital Services (Silver Spring, MD)

With The 13^th Annual International Business Awards entry deadline being just a few weeks away, today we will highlight the new awards categories this year.

A variety of new categories are introduced for the 2016 competition including Technology PR Campaign / Program of the Year, and Re-Branding / Brand Renovation of the Year. The 34 Company of the Year categories have each been split into three categories, based on company size (small, medium-size, and large). See more about each category below.

All individuals and organizations worldwide -- public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small -- may submit nominations to The International Business Awards. The final entry deadline is May 11. Late entries will be accepted through June 15 with payment of a late fee. These are the world's premier business awards, each year attacting nominations from organizations in more than 60 nations and territories. Entry details are available at www.StevieAwards.com/IBA. 

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE

New for 2016:

The Technology PR Campaign / Program of the Year category entails:

• Technology: campaign/programs in the technology sector, including business-to-business and consumer campaigns. 

The Marketing Re-branding / Brand Renovation of the Year category entails:

• Re-Branding / Brand Renovation of the Year: for campaigns that recreated or repositioned an existing brand. 

Company of the Year:

May be for-profit or non-profit, public or private, large or small.  Each of these industry categories now has three sub-categories:

• Small (≤ 50 employees and turnover ≤ €10 m / $11 million)
• Medium-size (≤ 250 employees and turnover ≤ €50 m / $55 million)
• Large (> 250 employees and turnover > €50 m / $55 million)

B01.    Accounting
B02.    Advertising, Marketing, & Public Relations
B03.    Aerospace & Defense
B04.    Automotive & Transport Equipment
B05.    Banking
B06.    Business or Professional Services
B07.    Chemicals
B08.    Computer Hardware
B09.    Computer Software
B10.    Computer Services
B11.    Conglomerates
B12.    Consumer Products - Durables
B13.    Consumer Products - Non-Durables
B14.    Diversified Services
B15.    Electronics
B16.    Energy
B17.    Financial Services
B18.    Food & Beverage
B19.    Health Products & Services
B20.    Hospitality & Leisure
B21.    Insurance
B22.    Internet/New Media
B23.    Legal
B24.    Manufacturing
...and more.

An international judging panel of more than 200 executives will determine the Stevie Award winners. Results will be announced in mid-August. Stevie Award winners will be presented their awards at a gala banquet in Rome, Italy on October 21.

The International Business Awards recognize achievement in every facet of the workplace. Categories include:

• Management Awards 
• Company of the Year Awards
• Customer Service Awards 
• Human Resources Awards 
• Information Technology Awards
• Marketing Awards 
• New Product Awards 
• Public Relations Awards 
• Web Site Awards, Smartphone and Tablet App, and other media awards