Forty-nine entries win honors in 2004 ad awards competition.

• Position: Marketing edge - ABA Marketing Network 2004 Ad Awards

Here's something worth advertising: 49 awards were presented in September in connection with the ABA Marketing Network 2004 Ad Awards.

The awards were given at the 32nd annual ceremony, which was held during the ABA Marketing Conference in Scottsdale, Ariz. One public relations campaign was honored with a Best of Show award. A multimedia ad campaign was given a Special Branding Award. In addition, 10 entries were honored with Best of the Best awards, and 37 received Certificates of Excellence.

A total of 485 entries were submitted for this year's competition, which included advertising or marketing materials printed or broadcast during calendar year 2003.

Many of the campaigns focused on brand or community involvement, according to Doug Adamson, executive director of the ABA professional development group. Adamson presented the awards.

One trend was a growing emphasis on satisfying customer needs, Adamson noted. "In the past, most financial services organizations focused their message on services and products, thus reinforcing the notion that the industry was commoditized. Now, we are seeing more messages about tile customer and about how we, as bankers, can help these customers make their financial dreams a reality."

For the year ahead, Adamson predicted more advertising dealing with the themes of protection against identity theft, the establishment of higher business standards and improvement in customer relations.

"As technology and segmentation strategies allow bank marketers to target their advertising messages more effectively, creative marketing and advertising will become even more important," he added.

Illustrations of the winning entries will be published during the next 12 months in the Idea Bank section of ABA Bank Marketing magazine.

Below is a list of the winning entries by category.

Best of Show

Zions Bank, Salt Lake City, Utah; public relations, "Zions Pays for As." Assets: over $5 billion.

Special Branding Award

PlainsCapital Corp., Dallas, Texas: multimedia, "PlainsCapital Bank No Fences Campaign." Assets: $1 billion to $5 billion.

Best of the Best

Alliance Bancshares CA/Alliance Bank, Culver City, Calif.; annual report, "Alliance Bancshares California 2003 Annual Report." Assets: $250 million to $1 billion.

The MassMutual Trust Co., FSB, Hartford, Conn.; direct mail series, "Congratulations! Direct Mail Campaign." Assets: $1 billion to $5 billion.

Michael Flora & Associates for Comerica Bank, Troy, Mich.; direct mail...