Award: 3rd Place, Automotive 2017 – Harrisonburg Ford
Competition: Virginia Press Association (VPA) Annual Advertising Contest
Publication: The News Virginian
Continuing my 10-award streak in 2017, this “Back to School” campaign for Harrisonburg Ford earned 3rd Place in the Automotive category. The VPA competition for daily members evaluates automotive entries on their effectiveness in conveying an advertiser’s message, quality of design, and technical execution.
The Automotive category (A08) is highly competitive, featuring everything from new vehicle sales to auto repair services. For this entry, I developed a retail-focused layout that blended seasonal themes with high-volume inventory data.
Design Strategy:
- Seasonal Campaign Branding: Leveraged a “Back to School” theme with school-bus-yellow accents and notebook-inspired graphics to make the automotive sales message feel timely and relevant to local families.
- Complex Data Management: Organized detailed pricing and vehicle specifications for over 15 individual vehicles into a clean, legible grid, ensuring the ad remained effective and easy to read despite the high density of information.
- High-Impact Typography: Utilized bold, urgent headlines to stop the reader and establish an immediate connection to the “Why-Buy-Now” aspect of the promotion.
- Brand Consistency: Integrated the Harrisonburg Ford logo and a professional service-oriented footer to reinforce brand recognition and provide clear contact information.