Marketing campaign recognized with global paper industry award 

Cohoes, NY - Mohawk, North America’s largest privately-owned manufacturer of fine papers, envelopes and specialty substrates for commercial and digital printing, has been honored with a 2015 PPI Award for Bringing Paper to Life: Innovative Printing & Writing Campaign of the Year.

Mohawk’s Maker Campaign was recognized by PPI for celebrating the beauty of print and maker culture through the use of high quality papers that effectively demonstrate the versatile use of paper. 

The PPI Awards are presented annually by RISI, a leading information provider for the global forest industry. The PPI Awards honor leadership, vision, innovation and strategic accomplishments within the pulp and paper industry, and are the only global awards dedicated to recognizing the achievements of companies, mills and individuals in the forest products industry. The winners were announced at the annual PPI Awards dinner on September 28 in Chicago, IL.

“The Bringing Paper to Life: Innovative Printing & Writing Campaign of the Yearaward is about the fabulous ways in which the industry promotes its successes through the use of compelling films, eye-catching print quality and grades. In a technological era punctuated with email, tablets and texts, Mohawk believes that a new ‘maker’ culture is emerging, and this winning campaign strikes at the heart of the papermaking community. The Mohawk Maker Campaign communicates experiences that are unique to paper to elevate print, and to highlight the beauty and tactility of paper,” said Erica McArdle, Marketing Manager, RISI.

“We are pleased to receive this prestigious industry award from PPI. Mohawk has taken pride in the art of papermaking for nearly a century. Generations of fine papermakers have honed their craft in our mills in upstate New York, so we are endlessly inspired by the artistry of others and we’re proud to share the beauty and tactility of fine paper,” saidBart Robinson, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Mohawk.  

“The Maker campaign clearly communicates Mohawk’s longstanding dedication to manufacturing excellence and entrepreneurial spirit, and serves as a platform for the company’s beliefs in heritage & innovation, mastery of materials, pride in the details, and respect for a community of makers,” Robinson continued.

The Mohawk Maker campaign was developed by Hybrid Design.  Hybrid initially modeled the campaign as an exercise to raise awareness of the Mohawk Superfine grade, and then it evolved into an investigation of Mohawk as a brand and how the company and paper itself are culturally relevant.  During the process, the paper industry’s chief communication device - the paper sample - was re-imagined to connect with contemporary culture and redefined to alter the industry’s perspective of paper in a progressively digital world.

The Mohawk Maker Quarterly publications serve as paper samples, printed on different Mohawk grades, featuring unique finishes and using varied print techniques.  The elements of the campaign work together to build a compelling narrative around the Mohawk brand and the relevance of fine paper today.

To view the Mohawk Maker Quarterly online or to sign up to receive an issue, visit www.mohawkconnects.com/cultureofcraft.