TBC Shines at AAF Baltimore American Advertising Awards

Baltimore-based creative agency TBC is thrilled to announce it is the recipient of Baltimore’s first-ever Mosaic ADDY© Award for advertising that best represents the market’s diversity and multiculturalism, a Judge’s Choice Award for favorite entry and two Gold and two Silver ADDY Awards from American Advertising Federation (AAF) Baltimore for its work with clients KT Tape, Tessemae’s and Visit Baltimore. The American Advertising Awards is the advertising industry's largest and most representative competition, attracting nearly 35,000 entries every year in local AAF competitions. The local Baltimore tier is the first of a three-tier, national competition to recognize and reward the creative spirit of excellence in the art of advertising.

“It’s always wonderful to see the work appreciated, but in a year full of challenges, it means a little something more for us. I'm incredibly proud of our team,” says Creative Director at TBC, Jess Brown. “These awards are a moment to pause and celebrate the stellar accomplishments of the creative minds in Baltimore’s advertising community. We were all able to do some remarkable things for our clients this past year, focusing on connecting with audiences in meaningful and socially-driven ways as the world went virtual.”

The agency was also awarded a Silver ADDY for its national advertising campaign for Maryland-based organic food company, Tessemae’s. Rather than trying to teach new—and disinterested—audiences about the nutritional importance of eating clean, TBC led with taste when creating “Flavor You Can’t Ignore,” Tessemae’s first national campaign. The multi-channel campaign was anchored by TV and OTT in several markets, and used a mix of OLV, digital radio, social media and Amazon-focused display units for national reach. Throughout the 10-week campaign, TBC created quite the appetite for Tessemae’s, with awareness and consideration increasing significantly compared to the prior year. Website sessions increased 48 percent, online store sessions increased 56 percent and new users increased 71 percent.

And, in a multi-category win, TBC was honored for its work with Visit Baltimore. This year, AAF Baltimore awarded a special Mosaic ADDY for the first time, and it was presented to TBC for Visit Baltimore’s “We’re Ready” campaign as the entry that best represented Baltimore’s diversity and multiculturalism among this year’s submissions. The campaign also won a Gold ADDY in the category of national integrated advertising, and a Silver ADDY in national television advertising. To help Visit Baltimore let both locals and tourists know Baltimore businesses and attractions were safely open for business after being closed during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, TBC with the help of Unconquered’s team and an experienced production crew took to the streets of Charm City to let the folks who rolled up their sleeves and found creative ways to make more space or modify their businesses tell their story—in their own words. The resulting TV/OTT, OLV, OOH, Print, Social Media, Display and Audio Streaming campaign garnered more than 100 million campaign impressions in six weeks, more than 13 million OTT impressions with an overall 97 percent completion rate, more than 20 million OLV views and overwhelming engagement on social channels with Baltimore’s businesses and neighbors.

“We’re wildly proud of our marketing and communications team and partners at TBC for their impactful work on the ‘We’re Ready’ campaign,” said Visit Baltimore President & CEO Al Hutchinson. “And I would like to thank the City of Baltimore again for supplying the 2020 CARES Act funds that made this campaign possible. It’s no secret that our industry has been decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and we’re proud of the campaign’s ability to inspire East Coast travelers and our local and five-county neighbors to confidently enjoy Baltimore’s many restaurants, museums and attractions while adhering to public health measures and smart precautions. We believe that travel—and especially hometown tourism—will play an important role in the City and State’s economic recovery as our region rebounds from the pandemic.”

TBC’s Gold ADDY Award campaigns for KT Tape and Visit Baltimore will now move on to compete in the next tier of awards at the District level. AAF Baltimore is part of AAF District 2, which includes New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and DC, and some of the toughest competition in the country.

For more information about TBC, visit tbc.us.