Cockburn ARC has won the 2018/19 Australian Institute of Australia (WA) PRINTSYNC Pinnacle Award for Marketing Excellence.
The award was announced at a gala event in Perth on 22 March and takes to 15 the number of awards won by the $109m aquatic and recreation centre since opening in May 2017.
The award recognised the ARCs entire brand development in the lead up to and since opening, including a provocative SunSmart campaign which attracted attention due to its effective floor stickers sporting the memorable “It’s not called Cockburn for Nothing” slogan, as a way to encourage patrons to slip, slop, slap and slide to prevent sunburn and skin cancer.
The award prize is a $20,000 leadership and management training package to be donated to a WA charity with Cockburn ARC naming Cancer Council WA as the worthy recipient.
The award provides recognition for an organisation that has achieved outstanding results through key initiatives that demonstrate leadership and commitment to excellence in marketing and public relations.
Cockburn CEO Stephen Cain said the ARC had stiff competition from great campaigns run by the other finalists such as the West Coast Eagles, West Coast Fever, and the City of Albany’s Visit the Great Southern campaign.
“Good ideas only become great ideas, by giving the flexibility to good people to make them great,” Mr Cain said upon acceptance of the award.
“The ARC may have been a good idea, but it took the collective and creative skills of a whole range of our staff to make it the great project that it is today.”
City of Cockburn Mayor Logan Howlett said the ARC’s popularity was unrivalled with 2.45 million people through the door since it opened and total visits during the month of January up 9 per cent on last year’s figures.
Cancer Council WA SunSmart Manager Mark Strickland congratulated the ARC on its win and for extending the training package to the well-known charity.
“Thanks for running such a great campaign and also for thinking of Cancer Council with regard to the prize. We all had a chuckle when we saw the floor stickers. We are thrilled with the way it’s all unfolded,” Mr Strickland said.