The seemingly eternal gap between in-person gatherings that celebrate our industry seemed to vanish almost immediately this month, in Las Vegas, of all places. Three years have passed since we all gathered physically in the same room for the always-exciting US Search Awards. And with a single three-hour ceremony, life felt…normal again.Â
Earlier this month, five members of the AIMCLEAR team gathered with dozens of industry colleagues and friends at the beautiful Cosmopolitan on the Las Vegas Strip for a reboot of in-person US Search Awards.Â
It felt truly refreshing being together again.
2022 US Search Awards Wins
Our team was also humbled again to leave Las Vegas with heavier suitcases due to a total of five awards received among highly competitive categories. The new awards bring our total to 27 US Search Awards throughout our company history.Â
The hardware earned is a testament to having exceptional integrated marketers supporting fearless clients who know how to trust their agency partner to deliver results.Â
This year’s awards for our team included two SEO-specific wins – Best SEO Campaign and Best Low Budget Campaign (SEO). These wins were the direct result of having a client in the warehousing space that trusted our homegrown industry-specific expertise and superhuman SEO chops of our SEO Lead Lea Scudamore.
AIMCLEAR also took home Best Integrated Campaign for a treasured client that serves families of children with Autism – and Best use of Search Retail/Ecommerce PPC. These clients entrust Amanda Farley and our entire team of integrated marketers for groundbreaking support. Their trust leads to award-winning output.
Perhaps most humbling of our 2022 awards, though, was our 7th straight nod for Best Integrated Agency. Breaking from protocols of no acceptance speeches, the caring folks at the US Search Awards allowed AIMCLEAR CEO Laura Weintraub to say a few words.
Laura shared about life-altering challenges our team experienced over the past year, not the least of which were the sudden passing of our beautiful friend Erik Stafford and the life-and-death struggle of Marty Weintraub following extensive open heart surgery (just days after Erik’s passing). Laura concluded by thanking our community of industry friends/competitors – and our clients – for their unyielding support during some pretty dark days mid 2021.Â
As a team, we rallied through the storm. We lifted one another up. Individuals stepped in when a colleague/friend needed a break. Amanda joined in the midst of seeming-chaos and provided steady leadership to foster extraordinary transitions. The concept of “integrated” extends beyond aligning services provided. It encompasses holistic alignment of humans who back each other to the nth degree, because of their love for one another as more than just colleagues.
It’s always humbling and gratifying to hear an emcee proclaim “AIMCLEAR!” when an award is announced. But this year, hearing “AIMCLEAR!” as Best Small Integrated Agency took on even deeper meaning. We’re all stronger than we were a year ago. And stronger still compared to where we were three years ago, before…you know…the world completely changed for everyone.  Â
Huge Props to the Don’t Panic Team
We also want to send our heartfelt appreciation to the team at Don’t Panic for the way they kept the US Search Awards as vibrant as they have (along with UK, Euro, and all other regional and industry awards programs). The past three years were challenging on myriad levels for all agencies and clients. The commitment of the Don’t Panic crew was amazing. Whether it was orchestrating virtual awards events that actually kept people entertained, corralling judges to hunker down with in-depth submissions to review in WFM settings around the world, or gently nudging agencies about submission deadlines truly helped keep folks engaged and connected during a global shutdown. The Herculean task is greatly appreciated. Our industry benefited from their commitment to us all. Â
To their entire team – thank you. Â
Our thanks also to our treasured clients who have stood with us through global upheaval and difficult human experiences. They collaborated with our teams for brilliant marketing programs and found ways to thrive and reinvent themselves with us at their side. We’re now all better positioned for healthy, prosperous times ahead.
