Our team won the national Best of NAMA award for company or producer-funded advertising campaign directed to consumers, and we were recognized as a finalist in three other categories for our work with the United Sorghum Checkoff Program! Click the links below to view our work.
First Place Company or producer-funded advertising campaign directed to consumers
National Finalist Website directed to consumers
National Finalist Company or producer-funded advertising element directed to consumers
National Finalist Company or producer-funded PR campaign element directed to consumers
Each year, the National Agri-Marketing Association recognizes the best work in agricultural communications and marketing through the Best of NAMA awards. Awards are given in 63 categories, and Middle took home the top prize in the company or producer-funded advertising campaign directed to consumers category for the Sorghum Secret campaign.
“Competing against some of the leading agricultural agencies and brands who have larger teams and bigger budgets is always intimidating, and this recognition reaffirms that our ingenuity is our greatest asset,” said Ashley Fuhrman, strategy director at Middle. “We work best when clients like the United Sorghum Checkoff Program trust us to take risks and experiment. It’s been such a rewarding experience collaborating with them.”
For the Sorghum Secret campaign, our challenge was to flip sorghum’s perception as the “forgotten grain” to “food’s best-kept secret” and differentiate sorghum from other whole grains. We used bright, bold visuals paired with content that used an irreverent and humorous tone — creative choices that are the exact opposite of what consumers typically see in “wholesome” grain or health food marketing. All of these decisions helped create an attention-grabbing and memorable digital campaign.
“We spent five days in a cold warehouse last January filming a series of 6-15 second ads for Sorghum Secret,” said Killian Millner, production specialist at Middle. “People don’t realize what it takes to create even the shortest bits of content. No matter how much planning goes into it, there’s a lot of trial and error to get the best shots that make your vision come to life.”
Additionally, Middle was recognized as a national finalist in three other categories: website directed to consumers, company or producer-funded campaign element directed to consumers, and company or producer-funded PR element directed to consumers.
“I’m incredibly proud of our team for this accomplishment. We work hard and put in the long hours to create what we think is best for the client, that’s what’s in the back of our minds and what drives us. But, of course, it always feels great to be recognized and validated for that work too, ” said Fuhrman.
