Advertising Excellence recognized by the West Virginia Press Association

AWVPA Staff Report

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Four West Virginia newspapers earned first-place General Excellence awards, which honor outstanding achievement by circulation division, in the 2019 West Virginia Press Association’s Advertising Awards Competition.

The General Excellence Award winners were as follows: Charleston Gazette-Mail in Division 1; The Exponent Telegram and The Inter-Mountain, tied in Division 2; The Times Record and Roane County Reporter in Division 3; and The Princeton Times in Division 4.

The Exponent Telegram won the 2019 Advertisement of the Year for its online promotion of BlueGoldNews.com.

The results of the annual competition, which honors excellence in newspaper advertising sales and design, were announced Friday, Aug. 2, during a luncheon at Lakeview Resort in Morgantown.

“The West Virginia Press Association is extremely honored to recognize these newspapers and their advertising staff,” said Don Smith, executive director of the West Virginia Press Association. Readers throughout West Virginia are able to see such great design and creative work on a daily or weekly basis and now this work has been recognized on a state level. The talent seen at these newspapers is a great example of why newspaper advertising works in West Virginia. An outstanding collection of entries was submitted this year. All the winners should be very proud.”

Newspapers across the state compete in four circulation groups, two each for daily and weekly newspapers. The contest has 24 categories, ranging from Best Small Ad Campaign to Best Process Color Ad and Best Promotion of Public Notice. In 2019, 26 newspapers submitted 1,070 entries. The overall awards for General Excellence are based on total points earned in the basic categories.  

For General Excellence, the West Virginia Press Association recognized three places in each division. The newspapers recognized for General Excellence in advertising in 2019 were as follows:

Advertising General Excellence

Division IV (Weeklies 4,000 and under):   

1^stPlace: The Princeton Times

2^ndPlace: Moorefield Examiner

3^rdPlace: The Record Delta

Division III (Weeklies over 4,000):  

1^stPlace: The Times Record and Roane County Reporter

2^ndPlace: Spirit of Jefferson

3^rdPlace: Hampshire Review

Division II (Dailies 16,000 and under):

Tie for 1^stPlace The Exponent Telegram and The Inter-Mountain

2nd Place: The Bluefield Daily Telegraph

3rd Place: The Journal of Martinsburg

Division 1(Dailies over 16,000 circulations):

1^stPlace: The Charleston Gazette-Mail

2^ndPlace: The Herald-Dispatch

3^rdPlace: The Parkersburg News and Sentinel

For more information on the ad contest of the WVPA, contact Smith at 304-550-0454