Washington, D.C. – The National Grocers Association (NGA), the trade association representing the independent supermarket industry, is now accepting entries for its annual Creative Choice Awards, recognizing the leading marketing and merchandising programs of the past year.
The new lineup of 2023 award categories includes:
- Marketing
- Connections Through Omnichannel
- Traditional Media – TV Radio and Print
- Community Engagement
- Grand Opening or Remodel
- Merchandising
- Local, Specialty or Emerging Products
- Seasonal Event or Campaign
- Center Store/Frozen/GM/HBC
- Fresh Departments
In addition to the main categories, two special-recognition categories highlight prominent industry initiatives, with each holding significance for their respective sponsor:
- Kellogg’s Excellence in ESG Award, which recognizes those campaigns that focus on wellbeing, people, community and sustainability.
- Unilever’s People Positive Award, which honors efforts that promote workplace diversity and inclusion.
“We all witnessed independent community grocers emerge from the pandemic having demonstrated their ability to pivot, innovate and think outside the box,” said Laura Strange, NGA senior vice president, communications and external affairs. “Now, it is time to recognize the outstanding innovation, creativity and persistence we’ve seen across our industry through the Creative Choice Awards”.
Retailers, wholesalers, suppliers, manufacturers and advertising agencies that create marketing and merchandising programs for independent grocery stores may submit entries; however, the Creative Choice Awards contest is a retailer competition and the retailer that implements the campaign will be awarded. Events, campaigns or promotions held between Dec. 1, 2021, and Dec. 1, 2022, are eligible.
All completed entries are due Friday, Dec. 9, 2022.
Entries will be judged based on creativity, clarity and effectiveness. From the category winners, one “Outstanding Marketer” and one “Outstanding Merchandiser” winner will be selected by the public through online voting. These winners will be announced during the 2023 NGA Show and recognized yearlong.
More information about the award categories and how to enter can be found at www.NGACreativeChoice.com.
About NGA
NGA is the national trade association representing the retail and wholesale community grocers that comprise the independent sector of the food distribution industry. An independent retailer is a privately owned or controlled food retail company operating a variety of formats. The independent grocery sector is accountable for about 1.2 percent of the nation’s overall economy and is responsible for generating more than $250 billion in sales, 1.1 million jobs, $39 billion in wages and $36 billion in taxes. NGA members include retail and wholesale grocers located in every congressional district across the country, as well as state grocers’ associations, manufacturers and service suppliers. For more information about NGA, visit www.nationalgrocers.org.
