FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Charles City, VA (May 16, 2022): Tahoma 31 Bermudagrass is known worldwide for its cold tolerance and versatility for use on golf courses, sports fields, and lawns. And once again, it’s also recognized for its award-winning marketing campaigns. At the 2022 Turf & Ornamental Communicators Association (TOCA) Awards held in early May in Kansas City, Tahoma 31 won three national awards, including the equivalent of Best in Show for the grasses’ marketing campaigns.
“Winning these awards is a great honor and confirms our commitment to creating engaging marketing messages that support our licensed sod producers while informing the turf industry about the benefits of Tahoma 31 Bermudagrass,” said Chad Adcock, VP of Business Development for Sod Production Services, the licensing agent for Tahoma 31.
The awards include:
FIRST PLACE: WRITING A FEATURE ARTICLE (MARCOMM)
The article, “Grass Selection with a Purpose” co-authored by Stacie Zinn Roberts & Dr. Yanqi Wu, professor of grass breeding and genetics at Oklahoma State University, was published in “By Design” magazine, the official publication of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, (Summer 2021). In it, the authors discuss how research and real-world performance shows Tahoma 31 Bermudagrass is bred to play great and address common golf course issues. The goal of the article was to educate golf course architects about the benefits of grassing their new golf course designs with Tahoma 31 Bermudagrass, a genetically-improved turfgrass variety. Co-authoring the article with the plant breeder gave the article scientific credibility. An Interview with a fellow golf course architect created a peer testimonial. Interviews with golf course superintendents provided testimonials on how the grass performs over time.
FIRST PLACE: COPYWRITING FOR A DISPLAY AD – COMMERCIAL PUBLICATIONS
The campaign, “Swiss Army Knife” was designed to show how Tahoma 31 Bermudagrass has many benefits without just listing them all. A competitor’s grass has just one benefit, drought tolerance, that they focus on. By comparing Tahoma 31 to a Swiss Army Knife, the campaign built upon the idea that Tahoma 31 offers many tools/attributes for many jobs, such as drought, cold tolerance, and early spring green-up. The headline, Like This, But in a Bermudagrass, drew the connections without paragraphs of copy. Arrows pointing to the tools on the knife showed what would have otherwise come as a list.
GARDNER AWARD, “BEST IN SHOW” WRITING – MARKETING
The copywriting for the Swiss Army ad was additionally honored with the prestigious Gardner Award, the equivalent of Best in Show, in the Writing – Marketing category, winning as the best in marketing communications writing of all entries in the competition.
Tahoma 31 Bermudagrass is used worldwide as the premium choice for golf courses, sports fields, and lawns. Projects of note include stadium surfaces for the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles, MLB’s Los Angeles Angels & Dodgers, SEC Football’s University of Arkansas Razorbacks, Liberty National Golf Club, and the National Park Services’ National Mall in Washington, D.C.
ABOUT TOCA
The Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association (TOCA) is comprised of editors, writers, publishers, photographers, public relations/advertising practitioners, industry association leaders, manufacturers, and others involved in green industry communications. It is a national organization based in New Prague, MN.
ABOUT TAHOMA 31
Tahoma 31 Bermuda was developed by the turfgrass experts at Oklahoma State University and is licensed and marketed by Sod Production Services, a division of Riverside Turf, headquartered in Charles City, VA. Tahoma31Bermudagrass.com or 757-345-1120
