Today’s featured Search Engine Land Award winner is the DAC Group. The agency’s work with Bridgestone Retail Operations earned it a Best Local Search Marketing Initiative for SEM at the 2017 awards event.

“We’re all big fans, and thought a nod from the organization and exceptional panel of judges would be a true honor if achieved,” says DAC Group Vice President Mike Corak about the Search Engine Land Awards. “We couldn’t be more humbled and thrilled.”

Corak says last year’s award has been celebrated from the top down by his agency and the client and has had a positive impact on both organizations.

If you’re considering submitting an entry for this year’s awards, the cutoff date is quickly approaching. The early-entry deadline is March 31, with submissions being accepted through April 13. There’s still time to submit, but the time for procrastinating on your entry form is getting short.

This year’s awards program will be hosted on June 12 in Seattle, Washington, during the SMX Advanced Conference after-hours events. Search Engine Land and the search community will celebrate top performers in more than 25 categories, along with the following new award titles:

• Best Search & Social Media Marketing Initiative.
• Best Research Initiative by an Agency or Individual.
• Best Research Initiative by a Software Tool or Platform.
• Boutique Agency of the Year — SEO.
• Boutique Agency of the Year — SEM.
• Large Agency of the Year — SEO.
• Large Agency of the Year — SEM.

If you’re thinking about submitting an application but are unsure of the process, check out these recent interviews spotlighting last year’s winners to find out what the experience was like for them: Brainlabs, Trimark Digital, Mediahub, UPMC Health Plan, iCrossing, Merkle Inc., Wolfgang Digital, Metric Theory and Precis Digital.

Best Local Search Marketing Initiative for SEM: DAC Group

According to Corak, determining which campaign to submit for last year’s Search Engine Land Awards wasn’t easy.

“We are fortunate to have a number of amazing partners with great results to share,” he says. In the end, the agency decided to highlight its work with Bridgestone Retail Operations, an automotive services and supply company.

The decision paid off, and DAC Group walked away with the award for Best Local Search Marketing Initiative for SEM at last year’s awards event.

“We’ve been fortunate to partner with each other for some time, and that collaboration has produced an exceptionally strong program, meaningful trust and personal bonds, numerous promotions and employee opportunities for skill and responsibility expansion, and of course great business results,” says Corak of his agency’s work with Bridgestone. “When thinking about who to share the good news with, the Search Engine Land Awards were top of our list.”

Corak says the partnership between DAC Group and Bridgestone Retail Operations has strengthened even more since winning the award, and trust between the two organizations is at an all-time high. Not only has the award benefited the agency’s client relationship, but being recognized as a Search Engine Land Award winner has positively impacted the DAC Group internally.

“Having third-party validation of our collective efforts has also assisted in internal business pluses, like speed to approvals, desire for and deeper integration with other related programs,” says Corak. “Influence has grown, which is also seen in recruiting and business expansion.”

Corak believes the strength of Bridgestone’s results, combined with his team’s dedication to outstanding quality, helped push DAC Group into the winner’s circle.

“This transparency, coupled with digging deep into the approach and process, must have been appreciated,” says Corak, who called the submission process very straightforward and easy. In fact, he found the award application to be more intuitive and less complicated compared to other award programs his team has submitted to in past years.

“The questions went right to the heart of the campaign, and we found that we could easily pull the requested details from our normal day-to-day reporting and operations.”

Based on last year’s award experience and the overall time commitment to submit an entry, the DAC Group confirmed it’s throwing its hat in the ring again for this year’s award program.

“It’s been nothing but an honor,” says Corak about his team’s win. “Being regular Search Engine Land content consumers, we were humbled at all phases, nomination through receiving the award. We also know that the competition is always strong, and the judges are legitimate, making winning something to be proud of.”

If you want to join the esteemed list of Search Engine Land Award winners, please submit your entry before the early entry deadline of March 31, 2018. Submissions will be accepted through the final deadline of April 13. The Search Engine Land Awards team has added several new categories this year, including Best Search & Social Media Marketing Initiative, Best Research Initiative by an Agency or Individual and Best Boutique Agency for SEO and SEM.

Find out more about the Search Engine Land Awards submission process and get tips from the judges at Inside the judging chamber: 21 tips for crafting impressive awards submissions.