General Shale brings home three ADDYS

Company recognized for marketing materials

By Dawn Henning

General Shale, one of North America's leading brick manufacturers, was honored with three ADDYS at the Northeast Tennessee Chapter of the American Advertising Federation Awards.

Conducted annually by the American Advertising Federation (AAF), the regional awards are the first of a three-tier, national competition. Winners of Gold Addys locally are forwarded to the district competition, and winners there compete nationally for recognition.

General Shale, the North American subsidiary of Wienerberger AG, won a gold Addy for a mobile phone app for smartphones and tablets. The award-winning app is the first of its kind to assist construction professionals and architects with designing buildings, selecting products, calculating costs and purchasing materials for their projects. The app allows users to browse General Shale's extensive line of product colors and sizes in brick, thin brick, pavers and do-it-yourself outdoor living kits, and then email favorite selections or final cost calculations without leaving the app.

The company also won two silver Addys. One silver Addy was for General Shale's Outdoor Living Brochure, highlighting the many new products in the Outdoor Living Product line that includes firepits, mailboxes, outdoor kitchens and pavers. A silver Addy was also presented for the company's third edition of Great North American Homes Magazine. The coffeetable-style book is full of design ideas, photos of beautiful architecture and interviews with homeowners who have chosen to use General Shale products.

"We are excited and honored to be recognized for these marketing materials," says Dawn Henning, Director of Marketing and Retail Sales. "Our focus is to provide our customers with communications tuned to the way they like to use the information. From a printed magazine to a mobile app, General Shale wants to be the best at utilizing appropriate technology for the user."

General Shale worked with Johnson City's Creative Energy, a full-service advertising and marketing agency, on the award-winning entries.

This year's theme for the advertising awards program was "Deep Fried ADDYS." The awards banquet was held at the Johnson City Country Club on Feb. 22, 2014. The awards were engraved cast iron skillets.