Eckrich was awarded top honors for its "Operation Inspiration" campaign at this year's PromaxBDA Sports Media Marketing Awards contest. The campaign won Gold in the "Just Cause" category, which recognizes best community outreach initiative.

Eckrich, part of the John Morrell Food Group, a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods, launched in 2013 "Operation Inspiration", a campaign designed to honor, thank and support the military families who inspire us. Through the "Operation Inspiration" campaign, Eckrich donated a portion of product sales to Operation Homefront, a non-profit organization which supports military families and wounded warriors. Through the campaign, Eckrich also surprised several military families with well-deserved items and experiences, including a new car, mortgage-free home and special trips, many of which included surprise visits from Al Roker and NASCAR legend Richard Petty among others. 

"Everyone at Eckrich is very pleased to be recognized for our 'Operation Inspiration' campaign," said Charles Gitkin, vice president, marketing, innovation and R&D for the John Morrell Food Group.  "Above all, it was an honor to help America's military families and show our appreciation for them. But it's very nice to be acknowledged by PromaxBDA for our hard work and efforts. We're extremely grateful for the award."

The PromaxBDA Sports Media Marketing Awards contest is a celebration of the campaigns that best demonstrate excellence, creativity and strategic promotion, marketing and design, and the winners exemplify the best the industry has to offer.

This is the first time that Eckrich entered the contest. It beat Coca-Cola's "2013 NCAA Youth Activation Fueled by Powerade" campaign for highest accolades in the "Just Cause" category. Other winners included Verizon, ESPN and EA Sports.

PromaxBDA leads the global community of those passionately engaged in the marketing of television and video content on all platforms, inspiring creativity, driving innovation and honoring excellence. The association represents more than 10,000 companies and individuals at every major media organization, marketing agency, research company, strategic and creative vendor and technology provider and is considered to be the leading global resource for education, community, creative inspiration and career development in the media and media marketing sectors.

Source: Ekrich