There’s no greater feeling than to be recognized by your peers for your hard work. Last night, thanks to two soulful sisters and a hyperactive insect, Luckie & Company was the talk of the town.

Luckie joined a host of top advertising agencies for the 54th annual ADDY Awards ceremony, honoring achievements by the Birmingham ad industry. Luckie came home with two silver awards – one for our Secret Sisters TV spot promoting the Year of Alabama Music campaign, and another for our Alfa Insurance TV spot, affectionately know as “The Bee.” You can view the award-winning spots below.

Thanks go out to the ADDY Awards committee for the honors and congratulations to all of last night’s winners.

Edward Bowser is Community Manager at Luckie & Company. You can contact him by email or follow him on Twitter.

Edward Bowser, Community Manager at Luckie & Company

Back in October, Luckie & Company was privileged to participate in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night event, which raised funds to battle blood cancers. For more than 60 years, LLS has committed more than $250 million for blood cancer research across the U.S. and in 10 countries.

In keeping with their giving nature, LLS held an awards ceremony last night honoring people and organizations committed to their cause. Luckie was joined by dozens of local businesses and families who helped raise more than $281,000 during last year’s event.

Luckie received several awards for our contributions, but the true winners of the evening were those in attendance who are battling or who have overcome blood cancers. Witnessing the strength of children who have yet to celebrate their sixth birthday and the elation of their parents was an indescribable feeling.

Luckie is very proud to be part of such a worthy effort and is inspired by those who continue to fight the disease. Congratulations to last night’s award winners and many thanks to LLS for their drive and dedication.

Edward Bowser is Community Manager at Luckie & Company. You can contact him by e-mail or follow @etbowser on Twitter.

Our current justification for hallway acrobatics is courtesy of the Alabama Tourism Department “Year of Small Towns and Downtowns” campaign from 2010.  The National Council of State Tourism Directors recently honored the campaign with a 2011 Mercury Award for Best Promotion. It’s even more fun to note that this is the third time in six years that the state’s annual “Year of” campaign has earned this distinction. (We’re currently promoting The Year of Alabama Music, which is already winning awards.)

The 2010 campaign had a wide range of components, including the Tourism Department commissioning more than 200 historic markers to present to each participating town. To help turn this effort into a true celebration, Luckie created “The Great Alabama Homecoming,” which encouraged all Alabama natives and descendants to return home for a visit.

The campaign resulted in tremendous consumer engagement for communities across the state, especially in social media. Luckie created 215 individual Facebook pages for Alabama towns that did not already have a Facebook presence, then trained local representatives on how to use the pages for destination marketing and communication with residents.

To help former residents, descendants of Alabamians and newcomers find these Facebook pages, Luckie created an interactive map that served as the central navigation for The Great Alabama Homecoming website.

By the end of the year, more than 175,000 people had “Liked” the new Facebook pages created by Luckie for these communities.

Luckie’s work for the Year of Small Towns and Downtowns also included charming and heart-warming print and television ads to build awareness for the Homecoming events and to drive travelers to the website and Facebook. You can view the television spot below.

Looking back, this campaign was a great opportunity for Alabama to showcase what makes it such a great place to visit and why we call it home.  It’s a state rich in unique experiences you can find simply by traveling from town to town, each one full of people who treat you like family.  We at Luckie are excited to keep telling this story and can’t wait to show you what’s to come in 2011 and the years beyond.  You might want to go ahead and start packing the car – it’s going to be a fun ride.

Mary Lanaux is an Account Executive at Luckie & Company, where she coordinates the agency’s daily work with the Alabama Tourism Department. She can be reached by email.

Every moment that I have an opportunity, whether it’s when I’m interviewing a prospective new hire or talking to a client, I can say with pride that Luckie & Company is better than ever.

I’ve always been proud of our agency and its rich legacy. But I’ve been especially proud that during the last two or three years, despite one of the worst economic downturns in history, we have been able to thrive.

Yeah, I’m a glass half full kind of guy, but these days, we have even more reason to celebrate. I’d like to share three reasons why Luckie is doing better than ever.

Best Companies to Work for in Alabama

Wednesday evening, Luckie was named the third best medium-sized company to work for in Alabama. We were ranked based on an anonymous survey that was conducted by the Best Companies Group. So, our success is directly attributed to our employees. When our staffers love their job it certainly makes us feel like we’re doing something right.

Acquisition of Integrative Logic

One of our goals is increasing the effectiveness of marketing communications by offering clients a key service they can’t get from most other agencies. That led to our recent acquisition of Integrative Logic, an Atlanta-based data and analytics marketing firm. The Integrative Logic team digs deep into geodemographic, behavioral and sales data to create more targeted advertising, direct marketing, PR, digital and social media programs that help clients achieve a higher return on investment.

Integrative Logic has built a reputation on their unique and innovative approach to business. Their analytical skills and insight will turn data into a competitive advantage.

The new and improved Luckie.com

In the digital arena, Luckie refuses to take a back seat to the competition. If you haven’t done so already, check out the new look of Luckie.com. Our new branding emphasizes that Luckie tells stories that builds brands and that theme permeates throughout the site. Our digital team has created a website that is fresh, contemporary, easy to navigate and has plenty of reasons why we are better than ever.

Now you can see why I can so enthusiastically say these days that Luckie is better than ever.  I know that in the general business of marketing communications one must be proud of your brand to be successful. I am, and we are. Believe the hype.

Tom Luckie is President of Luckie & Company. You can contact him by email.

Photo credit: mstephens7 via Flickr

Luckie joined some of the state’s top companies, including Baker Donelson, Proventix and CTS Inc., as Business Alabama magazine announced the 2011 Best Companies to Work for in Alabama. We’re absolutely thrilled and honored to announce that Luckie ranked No. 3 among the Alabama’s mid-sized companies.

What makes this honor very special is that it comes straight from the heart of Luckie’s employees. Our staff recently participated in an anonymous internal survey conducted by the Best Companies Group, which determined our ranking. Their kind words and positive responses are just as meaningful as the recognition we received.

“To be recognized as one of Alabama’s best places to work is an accomplishment we can all be very proud of,” said Ed Mizzell, Chief Operating Officer/Managing Director at Luckie & Company. “We are often so narrowly focused on producing the best work that we lose sight of building a great place to work. The reality is that those two goals are not mutually exclusive and each fuels the other. A great workplace attracts high-performance individuals who can fulfill their own expectations and exceed performance goals.”

Congratulations to all the companies that were honored last night, and a special thanks to Luckie’s staff, who truly make this a great place to work.

Edward Bowser is Community Manager at Luckie & Company. You can contact him by email or follow him on Twitter.