SAMMY Winners Share Best Practice Marketing Tips

Winners of the 18th annual SAMMY Awards illustrate how creative and economical marketing collateral helps build brand awareness and business success. Learn who won in each category and pick up effective concepts for your own company.

When crafting LifeLine’s sales brochure, the company’s marketing firm, Security Dealer Marketing, mirrored the pamphlet’s design based on LifeLine’s Web site for a more unified marketing approach.LifeLine Security
Best Sales Brochure
Sponsored by Mace Central Station

Brochure Verifies Door-to-Door Sales Firm’s Legitimacy

When Lifeline Security set out to devise a concept for a new sales brochure last year, the primary goal was not simply to generate sales, says Gordon Johnson, the company’s owner. Rather, because his Sacramento, Calif.-based firm uses a door-to-door business model to reach customers, Johnson wanted to validate that LifeLine was indeed a legitimate company.

“One of the downsides to canvassing is you’re going to have a percentage of your customers cancel between the point of sale and the point of the actual install because of buyer’s remorse,” Johnson says. “Our brochure was really designed to lower the cancellation rate.”

LifeLine, which was acquired by GHS Security in May, collaborated with Security Dealer Marketing to help create its SAMMY Award-winning, eight-page brochure. The cover features a smiling family of four, plus the tagline, “Protect What Matters Most.” The brochure’s front page also displays the firm’s Better Business Bureau A-rating, as well as a statement that reads, “Over 36 Years Combined Experience.”

Inside the marketing piece, LifeLine included its mission statement along with an “About Us” section, explaining how the firm differs from its competition. Highlighting that the company is a GE Security Authorized Dealer, the brochure also displays product offerings, as well as a link to its Web site and a phone number to contact customer service to learn more information.

“We wanted to give the customer all the information they would need in the hopes that they wouldn’t try to research on their own and stumble onto a competitor’s site,” Johnson explains. “And this brochure has really helped us maintain our customers.”


Bates SecurityWhat was the greatest challenge rebranding Bates Security? “Not knowing how it would be received,” says company owner and general manager Jeremy Bates. “But we finally went for it and it paid off.”
Best Company Logo
Sponsored by SIA

Simplicity Is Key for Effective Marketing

After rebranding from ADR Security Services to Bates Security in 2011, company owner and general manager Jeremy Bates really wanted to win the SAMMY Award for Best Company Logo. The Lexington, Ky.-based firm submitted its entry for last year’s contest but did not garner a nomination. Bates remained resolute; an entry was sent in for this year’s program. Voilà! Bates would be called to the stage on the night of the awards ceremony to accept the winning trophy.

Bates Security enlisted the help of the Honeywell First Alert Professional dealer program to design a clean, simple and effective company logo. Using an octagon shape reminiscent of a stop sign, the logo uses a bright yellow background to make it visible both day and night. The background is paired with a dark blue font that reads “Bates Security” to make the design really stand out.

Creating the branding piece was no easy feat, as company executives sent the logo through more than 100 revisions before selecting the current design.

“A lot of effort went into creating that logo,” Bates says. “When we were ADR we tried red, but it fades on a yard sign, so I called out to a lot of different people and different security companies to get their input.”

When crafting a logo, Bates warns company owners not to get too caught up in an elaborate, artistic design, which could possibly turn off potential clients.

“I think people have the tendency to sit in front of a computer and say, ‘That looks great!’ But when you’re 20 feet away from it or see it on a van driving down the road, it might not convey what you do with a quick glance,” he says.

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