Office of Economic Development and Thompson & Bender honored at Big W Awards

The Westchester County Office of Economic Development and its advertising agency, Thompson & Bender, were the big winners in the Advertising Club of Westchester's 40th Annual Big W Awards program held June 8. The County Office of Economic Development and Thompson & Bender won seven awards plus Best of Show - the top award of the program - for Westchester County's "Intellectual Capital" campaign. The Best of Show Award is determined by the highest average scores of all entries as given by a panel of judges. The "Intellectual Capital" campaign also won three Gold Awards for Best Business to Business Website, Best Promotion & Collateral Material Media Kit and Best Integrated Campaign. In addition, it captured two Silver Awards (Best Corporate Identity for logo design and Best Consumer Campaign for print advertising) as well as two Bronze Awards for Best Free Standing Insert and Best Promtion Material Outdoor for the display at the Westchester County Airport. "This prestigious Best of Show award, combined with the recent marketing awards from the New York State Economic Development Council, reaffirm that our Intellectual Capital campaign is right on target in aggressively positioning Westchester as a great place to do business," said Westchester County executive Robert Astorino. Under the leadership of Laurence Gottlieb, the county's director of economic development, the Westchester County Office of Economic Development initiated an innovative branding campaign last fall that is focused on Westchester's highly skilled and educated workforce. At the center of the branding platform is the trademarked slogan "Westchester County - New York's Intellectual Capital." The branding campaign includes print and online advertising, new website (thinkingwestchester.com), monthly e-newsletter, digital brochure, outdoor displays and an ongoing public relations program. "These awards, as decided by a jury of exceptional creative professionals, reaffirm that the bold decision we made to accentuate Westchester County's workforce - above other highly desirable qualities - was the right move," said Gottlieb. "Especially coming on the same day we announced the global headquarters for Atlas Air Worldwide, one of Westchester's largest employers, is staying in the county, really made this an even sweeter victory for my office."