TORONTO, Ontario (CelebrityAccess) The annual Event & Arena Marketing Conference (EAMC) hosted the fifth EAMC Awards ceremony at Canada’s Hilton Toronto, recognizing the most innovative, strategic and results-driven professionals in the live entertainment industry.
Venue marketers, promoters and publicists from across North America submitted entries for Marketing and Publicity Campaigns of the Year, as well as Best Artist Gift and Best Artist Welcome of the Year. Industry experts judged the campaigns, and then the top entries per category were selected by EAMC attendees. The 2019 winners are:
- Marketing & Publicity Campaign (under $10,000) – Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky – Paul Hooper, and Sheila Kenny for their WWE Easter Egg Hunt campaign
- Marketing & Publicity Campaign (over $10,000) – Scotiabank Arena / MLSE in Toronto, Ontario – Adam Armit, Caroline Wright, and Charzie Abendanio for the Scotiabank Arena’s Venue Naming Rights Campaign
- Most Creative Artist Welcome – Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan – Hilarie Carpenter, Alison Goodyke, Rebecca Chesnut, and Mike Klompstra for their KCAD Fashion Studies Students Elton John Welcome
- Most Creative Artist Gift (under $1,000) – Scotiabank Arena / MLSE in Toronto, Ontario – Adam Armit, Dusty Moreira-Lima, and Emily Agard for custom Childish Gambiono socks in a box set
- Most Creative Artist Gift (over $1,000) – Scotiabank Arena / MLSE in Toronto, Ontario – Adam Armit, Dusty Moreira-Lima and Emily Agard for a custom “XXIVk” Bruno Mars Game Boy console
EAMC also recognized entertainment luminaries for their significant contributions to the live entertainment industry. The top honor is the Gigi Award of Excellence, named after the late Gigi Pilhofer, one of the founders of EAMC. This year, EAMC honored Linda Deckard who is also a current EAMC Hall of Famer. Deckard is founder of Venues Today.
In 2018, she formed Deckard & Associates, and began the process of publishing books, in honor of her professional hero, Ernie Pyle. Her first book is a biography on the legendary Barbara (Mother) Hubbard of American Collegiate Talent Showcase fame, and she has also started a blog entitled BasedOnTruth.com, which shares industry stories.
