TIAK Marketing Awards Winners for 2024

Congratulations to the 2024 TIAK Marketing Award Winners!

TIAK Marketing Awards focus on overall marketing initiatives and recognize state-level winners only. See this year’s winners listed below with some of the judge’s comments included for each submission. View the 2024 TIAK Marketing Award Winner Press Release.

Collaboration

The entries for the Collaboration category provide a way to showcase collaboration among TIAK Members.

Wild West Country was honored in the small budget category for its Local Legends Project.
Click here to learn more about this entry.

  • Love this piece. Held my interest and made me want to visit and explore.
  • It’s an excellent example of using one’s resources (people) to create a marketing piece when one lacks a resource (money).
  • I loved how all the communities came together to highlight Southwest Kansas using local legends as the common theme.

Lindsborg Convention & Visitors Bureau and Visit Wichita won in the medium budget category for their Billboard Share Project.
Click here to learn more about this entry.

  • Excellent strategy. Well executed.
  • The billboards likely incentivized drivers to pull over in Lindsborg or Wichita, if not then, eventually.
  • Great way to collaborate and stretch your campaign dollars.

Abilene, Dodge City, Hays, and Wichita received the large budget category win for their Kansas Gunsmoke Trail.
Click here to learn more about this entry.

  • Exceptional collaboration! Love the website, love the non-app, app. The itineraries are great.
  • People love a trail and this one teaches them about Kansas history, which is always a good thing.
  • Great trail! Excited to see where this goes.

Community Awareness

The entries for Community Awareness category spotlight creative ways our communities promote themselves.

Seneca Area Chamber and Downtown Impact was honored in the small budget category for its Swiftie Scavenger Hunt.
Click here to learn more about this entry.

  • Fun. Contemporary. Exciting that it engaged a younger audience.
  • Based on the KPIs, it’s apparent that the project generated enthusiasm from younger residents and participation from families.
  • Such a cute idea! Love how you guys jumped on the Swiftie trend and used it to engage with your community.

Abilene Convention & Visitors Bureau won in the medium budget category for its World’s Largest I Like Ike Button.
Click here to learn more about this entry.

  • An exceptional job of building on your owned brand assets.
  • The marketing strategy is diverse, including in-person and online traffic.
  • Such a great way to leverage an icon and bring awareness to the community. Great job on the press coverage.

Visit Topeka received the large budget category win for their “See, Be, Free Yourself in Topeka” campaign.
Click here to learn more about this entry.

  • Over the top spectacular! Top flight talent, and it shows. Arresting. Memorable.
  • I appreciate the fresh approach, and one that clearly required immense planning and implementation.
  • Really like this campaign and how it brought the community together.

Events

The entries for the Events category include various events, meetings or conferences.

Seneca Area Chamber & Downtown Impact garnered recognition in the small budget category for its Seneca’s Night Out – A Hometown Murder Mystery Event.
Click here to learn more about this entry.

  • Great job creating and maintaining your theme throughout.
  • The event not only educated residents about historical events, but they are entertained by attempting to solve the mystery.
  • I love how you planned this event right before the holiday shopping season, increasing sales and bringing visibility to the downtown shops was very clever.

Lindsborg Convention & Visitors Bureau received honors in the medium budget category for their Starry, Starry Night campaign.
Click here to learn more about this entry.

  • Brilliant. Successful on every level. I appreciate the collaboration that supported the event and extended your audiences.
  • What a stellar idea! I love this cross-promotional event capturing the attention of Kansas residents and curious out-of-towners.
  • I liked that you collaborated with another community to put on this event.

Visit Kansas City Kansas received large budget honors for its KCK Taco Trail Bus Tour.
Click here to learn more about this entry.

  • Great earned media results. Fun graphics. Strong social media campaign.
  • The trail educates, entertains, and adds dollars to the local economy. Nice touch adding a taco mascot.
  • Love the bus tour idea.

Online/Digital Media

The entries for the Online/Digital Media category include digital advertising, social media, e-mail marketing, website.

Council Grove Area Trade & Tourism Association was recognized in the small budget category for its new website.
Click here to learn more about this entry.

  • Exceptionally well done. Easy to navigate. Filled with great content.
  • I appreciate that the site includes an easy-to-read guide versus a fillable contact form to request a guide by mail.
  • Great website and very user-friendly.

Lindsborg Convention & Visitors Bureau received honors in the medium budget category for its Digital Ads at Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport in Wichita.
Click here to learn more about this entry.

  • I am ever impressed by how you bring your constituents together to support and fund your initiatives.
  • I saw these ads while using the airport. A smart use of advertising in a high traffic area to capture visitors’ attention.
  • The ads look very nice and definitely pop out.

Visit Manhattan received recognition in the large budget category for its “Be Somebody Somewhere” Campaign.
Click here to learn more about this entry.

  • Fun project. Nice results. Good community promo.
  • The video is a visual postcard. It’s very well produced and the script is well-written. I like the idea of piecing out small clips of the video to repurpose on social media over time.
  • I love the collaboration with Bridget, great campaign! The video was really nicely done and awesome engagement numbers on social media.

Print Marketing

The entries for the Print category include newspaper ads, magazine ads, brochures, direct mail, inserts, anything print.

Chase County Chamber of Commerce won in the small budget category for its new business cards.
Click here to learn more about this entry.

  • Love these. Striking. Memorable. Outstanding.
  • Beautiful design! I appreciate the addition of the artwork as it serves as a conversation topic when handing someone your card.
  • Nicely done. Really like the colors and font choices, easy to read and pleasing to the eye.

Lindsborg Convention & Visitors Bureau was the medium budget winner for their AARP Magazine Spread.
Click here to learn more about this entry.

  • Score! A wonderful reward for your constant efforts. I guess that’s why they call it Earned Media.
  • Congrats on reaching a large audience of aging readers quite possibly considering new places to reside.
  • Great article in a well-known publication.

Visit Manhattan received the large budget win for their Manhappiness print campaign.
Click here to learn more about this entry.

  • Fun. Flexible. Energetic.
  • I appreciate the use of the trademarked Find Your Manhappiness messaging used in print pieces with a design that matches the fun-loving nature of the town..
  • I really like this campaign, great job.

Visitor Guide

Council Grove Area Trade & Tourism Association won in the small budget category for its official visitors guide.
Click here to learn more about this winning entry.

  • Neat. Tons of content.
  • An excellent use of visuals and handy information contained in one piece.
  • I love the simplicity of the guide and how easy it is to find things.

Merriam Visitors Bureau received bragging rights in the medium budget category for its 2024 Merriam Community & Visitor Guide.
Click here to learn more about this entry.

  • You had me at the cover. Great photos. Compelling copy.
  • Great job making the visitors’ guide inclusive to Spanish-speaking people.
  • Nicely designed guide. I love how clean and user-friendly the guide is.

Visit Emporia was the large budget winner for its Emporia Community Guide.
Click here to learn more about this entry.

  • Great content. Easy to navigate and use. Sweet design. Engaging images.
  • The effort to design a visually appealing and informative guide in two languages is commendable.
  • Love the cover and the cleanliness of the guide and the color palette used.

Best in Show

Lindsborg Convention & Visitors Bureau was chosen Best in Show for its Starry, Starry Night campaign. See events category for judges’ comments.
Click here to learn more about this entry.

People’s Choice

Visit Kansas City Kansas was chosen as the People’s Choice for its KCK Taco Trail Bus Tour. See events category for judges’ comments.
Click here to learn more about this entry.

Honorable Mention

Visit Topeka, eXplore Lawrence, Visit Emporia & Visit Manhattan were chosen as Honorable Mention for their collaborative “Prairie Pour Tour” campaign.
Click here to learn more about this entry.

  • Love the collaboration! Graphics are great. Website rocks.
  • Great collaboration with other college town CVBs to generate participation for the second year of the tour.
  • ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS! I can’t wait to download the passport and experience the tour.

Thank you to all our participants for sharing their creativity, and to all our judges who diligently reviewed each entry.