The www.meetingraz.at umbrella brand campaign, aimed at positioning Graz as a destination for meetings, conferences, corporate events and trade shows, has won the 2005 Austrian State Prize for Advertising jury’s special award.

The meetingraz partners are Grazer Congress, the Graz Convention Bureau and Messecenter Graz.

Accepting the award, Grazer Congress CEO Nikolaus Breisach, who was responsible for the campaign idea and conception, said, “This honour vindicates our decision to get away from the conference industry’s usual ‘bigger and better’ advertising message.”   

The jury’s explanation of its decision states: “What appeals about this campaign is the way that it captures the essence of the message despite a modest budget. It highlights the city’s artistic and intellectual aspirations (city of culture) without indulging in the usual tourist hype.”

This year 74 campaigns were submitted for the awards. The objective of the Ministry of Economics and Labour’s State Prize for Advertising is to showcase the Austrian advertising industry and strengthen its competitiveness.

The jury assesses and commends advertising campaigns in terms of their creative design, efficiency and impact.