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Utah Business SAMY Awards

Sales and Marketing Excellence Noted at SAMY Awards

Salt Lake City—Utah Business magazine recognized the “lifeblood of every organization” with the 2018 Sales and Marketer of the Year Awards Wednesday.

The seventh annual event honored sales and marketing professionals who have made a difference to their companies, and PR campaigns that have found new and effective ways to connect consumers with clients’ messages. Heather Stewart, managing editor of Utah Business magazine, said the wealth of talent in the state is just one symptom of a culture that prizes passion and encourages people to develop their respective talents.

“I’m a native Utahn, and I think one thing that’s unique to our state is our passion for creativity,” she said. “That creativity also fuels our advertising and marketing industry. Whether it’s a quirky sense of humor, an eye for design, or the ability to craft just the right message, advertising and marketing professionals in Utah are in a class all their own.”

The honorees included Ski Utah for their campaign featuring centenarian skier George Jedenoff hitting the slopes for his hundredth birthday last July. Jedenoff has been a friend to Ski Utah for many years, but the celebration of his birthday, covered by numerous local and national media, was something special for both the skier and the organization, said Raelene Davis, vice president of operations and director of marketing for Ski Utah.

“We’ve been promoting the greatest snow on earth for 40 years, and I’ve had the privilege of working here and promoting it for 32 of those 40 years,” she said, noting that the videos of Jedenoff’s birthday ski run have been viewed thousands of times. “We’ve been doing anything we can to promote it. … [Jedenoff] is a PR dream. He’s a walking soundbite.”

Gabe Larsen, vice president of InsideSales Labs with InsideSales.com, said his years of success and the expertise he has gained through experience are due to the influence of those around him.

“I had a mentor of mine say innovation is creative plagiarism, and certainly in my career I’ve stolen a lot of good things from a lot of good people,” he said. “I think this award is as much for me as it is all those people.”

Cameron Johnson, enterprise campaign manager for 97th Floor, said he was grateful his success had contributed to the growth of the company as a whole.

“I’ve been with the company for a number of years and seen it grow and seen what it can do,” he said. “I’m grateful for this award, as well as all the time and energy everyone from 97th Floor has put in to make this possible.”

You can read more about all of our honorees here or in our January issue.