News

Neimanites and Clients Now Touch Gold upon Entering Agency

Office door is fully functioning, but those who enter must "push harder"

HARRISBURG (March 16, 2010) — Although the sign on Neiman's main office door now reads, "push harder," Neiman employees and clients are discouraged from using extreme force. It's not the door that should be pushed harder, it's expectations and standards, exemplified by the door's new gleaming, golden, one-of-a-kind handle: a Gold Pencil from the 2009 One Show Interactive Awards, the industry's prestigious annual celebration of the most relevant and compelling work from around the globe.

Neiman took its principle of total integration one step further when it installed its most recent Gold Pencil right into the door handle (see attached photo). The bit of engineering wizardry is accompanied by the small, instructional sign, serving as constant motivation to achieve excellence.

"The Gold Pencil is a shining testament to our work and we want everyone who touches Neiman work to 'push harder' and reach for gold," said Associate Creative Director John Gilbert. "Sports teams have their routines of touching something symbolic or lucky before big games and now we've got ours."

Gilbert, along with Associate Creative Director Dave Spink and Art Director Joe Barry, decided the Gold Pencil shouldn't just sit on a dusty shelf; it should be functional and touchable.

"So many times, awards like this one are kept on a pedestal to be admired," said Barry. "This is the pinnacle of achievement in our industry. What's better than putting one of our most meaningful wins front and center?"

Neiman won the Gold Pencil award in 2009 for its groundbreaking anti-teen drinking and driving campaign, Full Apologies, for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Having learned that teens don't believe they will die themselves, but the thought of killing a friend and having to live with the consequences is real and terrifying, Neiman worked with teenagers in the state whose decisions to drink and drive had taken someone's life. Five of their true stories became the foundation of FullApologies.com, where site visitors can watch the heartfelt video apologies and make their own.

In its first six months, the Web site attracted 400,000 unique visitors and more than 4,000 visitors posted their own apologies on the site. The Full Apologies campaign also took the Silver Award at the 2009 4A's Jay Chiat Awards for Strategic Excellence.

"This isn't the first Gold Pencil we've won, and it won't be the last," said Executive Creative Director Hutson Kovanda. "I'm proud to be part of a creative, integrated team that routinely wins — and now uniquely displays — awards."

Stay tuned for news on an all-ADDYs chandelier in the main conference room.