Rivers Agency is thrilled to have won eight MarCom Awards for our creative work in 2021. MarCom Awards honor excellence in marketing and communications while recognizing the creativity, hard work and generosity of industry professionals. The MarCom Platinum Awards are the highest honor in the competition, and Rivers won three for Nymbus Niche Model Banks, Broadstone Oak City and Carolina Performing Arts.
We also received five Gold Awards for First Bank, EveryAge, Northwood Ravin and two Hampton Farms campaigns, plus an Honorable Mention for our website work for Wolfspeed and Duke Office of Durham & Community Affairs.
Judged by members of the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP), the MarCom Awards program is one of the largest and most prestigious creative competitions in the world. It is an incredible honor to have our work and clients recognized by our peers in the industry. Let’s look at our three top winners.
Nymbus Niche Model Banks
Nymbus is a banking technology solutions provider that enables banks and credit unions to attract new market segments with “niche model banks.” These banking programs were designed to have a structure and format that would appeal to specific demographics. Rivers worked with Nymbus to develop the branding for each of its niche model banks. This included a unique brand, logo, website, email messaging and display ads.
Our art and programming teams created niche bank brands for franchisees, law firms, families, recent college graduates, loan borrowers, solar panel purchasers and gig workers. The inspiration for each brand’s look came from the audiences they were designed for. To find inspiration for each bank’s imagery, our team studied the demographics to find resonant imagery relevant to each group.
Broadstone Oak City
Developers looked to turn the former site of an iconic Raleigh hotel into a hospitable, luxury apartment complex. Rivers leaned into the property’s history to name the project and develop its unique, whimsical new brand. The project was named “Broadstone Oak City” and Rivers equipped it with a retro color scheme and a playful tone emblematic of the property’s 1970s origins. The keywords Rivers associated with the brand were “Elevated,” “Thoughtful” and “Modern,” and these themes served as guides in telling the story of Broadstone Oak City as a sleek home for modern creatives.
The award-winning style guide we created detailed the Broadstone Oak City logo, tagline, color palette, typography, patterns, shapes and textures. It also captured the brand story and included targeted messaging for residents as well neighbors.
Carolina Performing Arts
Carolina Performing Arts (CPA) is the performance program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that hosts plays, musicians, comedians, installations and more. After its 2020 season was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization was eager to welcome audiences back in 2021. Rivers created a direct mailer calendar to showcase the upcoming season to patrons.
The piece presented the recipient with bold colors and dynamic photos, consistent with the CPA brand. One side of the mailer calendar featured the schedule of the performance season and promoted ticket sales. The alternate side highlighted “Atmospheric Memory” — the immersive art installation that served as the centerpiece for the season — as well as CPA fun facts and safety protocols.
Telling stories that excite, inspire and resonate with people is what we love to do. Our team’s combination of skill and passion for our clients is what made 2021 such a killer year. We hope you will join us for 2022!