Pasadena, CA – A number of printing firms can boast of multiple awards, but none as many as Castle Press, Pasadena, CA. For its efforts in 2009, the company took top honors in the National Association of Printing Leadership's Second Annual Marketing Plus Awards competition for graphic communications companies by winning 11 awards, including four Gold and four Silver Awards, in a wide range of marketing disciplines.  It also captured a "Benny" from Printing Industries of America and earned PIA's the "Best of the Best Workplace Award." Competitions sponsored by NAPL, Paramus, NJ, and PIA, Pittsburgh, PA, include companies from across the USA, and in the case of PIA, from North America, South America, Asia, Europe and the Pacific Rim.

"We're proud to have earned all these awards," says George Kinney, Vice President and co-owner of Castle Press. "Each member of our staff contributes to our successful efforts, and so we are also proud of the team that won these for the company."

NAPL's Marketing Plus recognizes those companies that have demonstrated their ability to realize the full potential of marketing in all its forms as a key driver of their clients' success and their own growth. It is not a prize for the quality of a printed product or campaign. "Castle Press works with its clients to develop effective, winning marketing campaigns and we also 'practice what we preach' when it comes to marketing, so these awards are especially sweet," Kinney adds.

When the reward is for excellence in printing, Castle Press is also among the North American leaders. The "Benny" from PIA is a statuette of Benjamin Franklin, considered the father of printing in America. It is the highest level of achievement in the annual Premier Print Awards. The 2009 Benny award was for Best Point-of-Purchase Materials for a Mother's Day Sweepstakes promotion for Juanita's Foods.

The idea was simple. Juanita's Foods would promote a sweepstakes giveaway for Mothers' Day. However, producing entry forms and a poster were not enough.

Materials to promote the event included:
Free-standing elliptical stand
Posters
Easel cards
Flyers
Coupons
Ballot Box
Entry Forms
Catalog Envelope

All design was completed in-house by the Castle Press team. This fact was especially gratifying when it comes to the award of this year's Benny. Of the 94 Bennys awarded, very few awardees both designed and printed their entries. In 2009, there were over 4,000 entries competing for the Benny awarded for each of the 94 categories in the competition.

PIA's the Best of the Best Workplace Award  is the top honor in a program  designed to recognize graphic arts companies for their outstanding human relations efforts which contribute to a successful workplace. Since 2000, Castle Press has been recognized four times for the industry leading Best of the Best Workplace in the Americas Award. Additionally, the company has been awarded Best Workplace Award five times. Castle Press is the only company in the Americas that has received one of these two awards for nine years in a row.
Entries are judged on the following criteria:
Management practices
Work environment
Training and development opportunities
Recognition and rewards
Workplace health and safety
Health and Wellness
Financial security
Work-life balance