Marketing Firm Wins American Advertising Federation Awards

First Marketing, a national company headquartered in Pompano Beach, Florida, received three ADDY® awards at a March 1 banquet from the Fort Lauderdale chapter of the American Advertising Federation (AAF).

Pompano Beach, FL April 2, 2003. First Marketing, a national company headquartered in Pompano Beach, Florida, received three ADDY® awards at a March 1 banquet from the Fort Lauderdale chapter of the American Advertising Federation (AAF).

A gold award went to a custom calendar created for Kirkland, Wash.-based Nextel Partners (NASDAQ: NXTP), a leading provider of wireless services for businesses in mid-sized U.S. markets. Digitally created images of cellular telephone characters, engaged in such activities as snorkeling, fishing and sunning at the beach, remind customers of the freedom their cellular service provides.

A silver award was earned by an out-of-home campaign designed for the same wireless provider, Nextel Partners. The campaign included two billboards and two bus wraps.

A second silver award was given for a three-dimensional direct mail piece crafted to promote First Marketing. The promotion asked recipients to determine what was missing from the package, which contained all the ingredients to build a snowman - except the necessary snow. The copy challenged readers to examine their own customer communication materials in order to determine whats missing."

These and other local winners have proceeded to one of 14 District competitions. District winners proceed to the National Finals, which will take place in May. National ADDY winners will be honored on June 7 at the ADDY Show in Los Angeles.

First Marketing specializes in developing and delivering ongoing customer communications programs for its clients. The custom marketing programs help build loyal customer relationships and integrate a variety of media in order to increase customer value and achieve critical business growth objectives.

Established in 1972, First Marketing, a member of the AAF and the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), is owned by Taylor Corporation of Mankato, Minn. Its Web site is www.first-marketing.com. First Marketings dedicated teams of more than 160 professionals serve clients in the banking, investment, health, telecommunications, retail, grocery, travel and automotive industries.

Sponsored by the AAF, the ADDY Awards are the world's largest advertising competition with 60,000 entries this year. Well-respected and recognized in the advertising industry, the competition begins at the local level each year with the 210 AAF member clubs around the country. Every year, a group of independent judges select the best and the brightest in the field of advertising. This work, ranging from broadcast media to print advertising to sales promotion materials, defines the passion, creativity and ingenuity of the regions advertising community.

For more information, please telephone Ellen Sagnard at 954-956-3239 or e-mail her at esagnard@first-marketing.com.