Chicago, IL - Schawk, Inc, a leading provider of brand point management services, enabling companies of all sizes to connect their brands with consumers to create deeper brand affinity, announced today that its retail marketing group, Schawk Retail Marketing, has been recognized with one Gold and two Bronze RACie Awards (Retail Award for Creativity, innovation and excellence) in the 2010 RAMA (Retail Advertising & Marketing Association) competition.

The RACie Awards honor creative excellence and effectiveness in retail marketing. A panel of advertising, marketing and branding executives in the retail industry selected the finalists and winners from an entry pool that exceeded the previous year by 42 percent. Each piece of work was judged on creativity, strategy, results and innovation. The annual competition is sponsored by the NRF (National Retail Federation).

"Given the historically unforgiving economic conditions of 2009 and its impact on the retail sector, campaigns to drive consumer spending faced unprecedented challenges," noted John Petrakis, president of Schawk Retail Marketing. "Consumers tightened their purse strings and considered every purchase with much greater scrutiny and rationalization. And when they did spend, it was more deliberate and purposeful."

Added Petrakis, "We view this recognition as confirmation of Schawk Retail Marketing's ability to help clients create compelling and consistent brand experiences for consumers that translate into retail sales."

According to Zenith Optimedia's Advertising Expenditure Forecast, direct mail is expected to remain a significant piece of the direct marketing mix for the near future. While direct mail dollars continue to shift to online media, it still represents the largest category of expenditure at 39% of all direct marketing media. The study projects direct mail to grow 2.5 percent in 2010 and 3.1 percent in 2011.

In the Integrated Media Campaign (Large) Category, Schawk Retail Marketing, along with Sears and Y&R Chicago, earned a Gold Award for Sears "Back to School." The full "Back to School" campaign featuring Disney star Selena Gomez in integrated efforts included broadcast, online, in-store and print. Schawk Retail Marketing was responsible for the print advertising efforts.

In the Direct Mail (Large) Category, Schawk Retail Marketing earned a Bronze Award for Bloomingdale's "Fall 2009 Best of Men's."

In the Single Media Campaign/Print (Large) Category, Schawk Retail Marketing earned a Bronze Award for Lord & Taylor's "Spring 2009 Style Books."