Drumroll, please. And the winners are…
OK, so I can't exactly announce the winners—yet (we're still judging, after all)—but I can finally share this year's finalists for MarketingProfs' Bright Bulb B2B Awards.
But first, about the awards: We started the Bright Bulb program in 2013 because we thought it was about time that we, as the B2B marketing community, celebrate the excellence, innovation, and brilliance of modern marketers like you. The brands, agencies, and campaigns that you lead repeatedly prove that B2B marketing doesn't have to be boring to be effective. And for that, we thank you.
Now in its second year, the Bright Bulb B2B Awards continue to attract B2B marketing's best and brightest.
Just ask Nancy Harhut at Wilde Agency, one of our 2013 winners, who recently told us, "It was so great to be at the Bright Bulb Awards and meet all the other accomplished finalists—a real 'who's who' of the movers and shakers in our industry. And then when we heard our name called as Best Small Agency... Well, nothing quite compares to that feeling."
There's none better than the 2014 finalists listed below. Check out the marketers and campaigns that rose to the top of each category this year.
B2B Marketer of the Year
- Pawan Deshpande—CEO, Curata
- Lisa Arthur—CMO, Marketing Applications; Teradata
- Deon Newman—Vice President, Marketing; IBM
Brand of the Year
Best Large Team In-House (11 or More In-house Marketers) Campaign
- Grant Thornton LLP—"The State of Higher Education in 2014"
- Bluewolf—"State of Salesforce Website and Interactive Benchmark 2013"
- Vocus—"The Modern Marketing Manifesto: Spring 2014 Release of Vocus Marketing Suite"
Best Large Agency (26 or More Employees) Campaign
- March Communications—"Turning Research into a PR & Lead Gen Tool"
- Magnani Continuum Marketing—"Run The Warehouse: Marriott International"
- Godfrey—"JLG CONEXPO"
Best Small Team In-House (10 or Fewer In-house Marketers) Campaign
- Block by Block—"Something Sounds Fishy"
- Lattice Engines—"Lattice #MKTGnerd"
- Intronis Cloud Backup + Recovery—"Intronis Data Loss Gremlins"
Best Small Agency (up to 25 Employees) Campaign
- Spear Marketing Group—"Sungard AS Brand Transition Campaign"
- Big Scary Cranium—"Big Scary Cranium & Alliance Bus Group"
- Idea Grove—"RiseSmart Super Bowl Campaign"
Best Creative
Best Project
- Omobono—"70 years of PA"
- Wilde Agency—"Nationwide Financial Winback"
- Limelight Networks—"Online Video for Dummies"
- UserTesting—"Peek"
- Vocus—"Branding E-book With Gapingvoid"
Get the full scoop on each of our award categories and our judging criteria.
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If you're curious who will take home the big prize (and I know you are), we'll announce the winners on Oct. 10, 2014, at MarketingProfs' B2B Marketing Forum in Boston. The always-entertaining Ann Handley and wonderful Tim Washer will preside once again as the not-quite-ready-for-the-Oscars masters of ceremonies. It's an event you don't want to miss.
Now, go congratulate a finalist already—they all deserve it!
