Packaging & Merchandising Awards

PMA Winners Honored at the National Hardware Show

The North American Retail Hardware Association (NRHA) is proud to announce the results of the first-ever NRHA Packaging and Merchandising Awards Program. Over 115 manufacturers throughout the United States and Canada submitted their best packaging and merchandising/point-of-purchase display materials in hopes of receiving recognition as one of the best in the industry. To determine the winners, NRHA invited seven expert judges to contribute their experience and knowledge to the program, including home improvement retailers, wholesaler buyers, packaging design experts and a packaging production expert. After convening at NRHA’s Indianapolis headquarters last month to thoroughly review and critique each entry, judges’ scores were tallied and winners were selected.

Three special awards were presented to entries that exemplified the highest standards of packaging and merchandising excellence. The highest ranking entry in both the packaging and merchandising categories were honored with the “Whole Package” award. Additionally, the Environmental Packaging of-the-Year Award was given to the packaging entry that displayed the greatest advancements in “green” initiatives such as sustainability and waste elimination.

Entries that demonstrated a superior level of packaging or merchandising excellence in the program were named Gold Award Winners. In total, 39 Gold Awards were named. Silver Award Winners were those entries that demonstrated above average packaging and merchandising efforts. Thirty-six total Silver Awards were granted. All other entries received an Honorable Mention distinction.
Each PMA entry was displayed at the PMA Expo in the NRHA Village at the National Hardware Show®, which took place at the Las Vegas Convention Center May 4-6, 2010. In addition, entries were featured in a special 2010 NRHA Packaging & Merchandising Awards Program Official Show Guide which will be distributed at the show, and will also be featured in the June issue of Hardware Retailing magazine.

The Whole Package Award Winners

Environmental Packaging of-the-Year Award Winner

Packaging Gold Award Winners

Packaging Silver Award Winners

Merchandising Gold Award Winners

Merchandising Silver Award Winners

Program Benefits

Participants will gain exposure to over:

• 36,000+ independent retailers
• Global Merchants from every leading International Retailer attending the National Hardware Show®
• 2,000 wholesale executives from the United States and Canada
• Over 1,500 Big Box executives

Each entry will also receive:

• Recognition in the June issue of Hardware Retailing magazine.
• Recognition in a special publication distributed at the 2010 National Hardware Show®.
• Critiques and comments from judges.
• Ad slicks that can be used in advertising and marketing materials.

2010 Judges

Home Improvement Retailers:

• Bernard Aubuchon Jr.-VP of Purchasing, Aubuchon Hardware, Westminster, Mass.
• Craig Cowart - Senior VP of Merchandising and Marketing, Marvin's Building Materials & Home Centers, Leeds, Ala.

Wholesale Buyers:

• David Helfenberger - Vice President of Marketing, House-Hasson Hardware, Knoxville, Tenn.
• Dave Pagelkopf - Director of Merchandising, United Hardware Distributing Company, Minneapolis, Minn.

Packaging Production/Design Expert:

• Michael Daum - Marketing Manager-Graphics Resource Center, Temple-Inland, Indianapolis, Ind.
• Loren Heinzeroth - President, Heinzeroth Marketing Group, Rockford, Ill.
• Mike La Londe - President, Midwest Graphics & Steel Rule Cutting Die, Indianapolis, Ind.
• Matthew Napoleon - Owner, Napoleon & Company, Boston, Mass.

“We are honored to have such a distinguished group serving as judges for the 2010 NRHA Packaging and Merchandising Awards Program,” says Bill Lee, Managing Director of NRHA. “We made sure to include professionals from each stage of the process, including packaging design and production experts, as well as representatives within our industry responsible for purchasing, distributing, marketing and selling these products at retail. With such a wide range of experts offering their critiques for each entry submitted, not only will we recognize the most innovative packaging in the industry, we will provide each manufacturer who submits an entry with valuable feedback that can help them improve their product's sales potential in the marketplace.”
The panel convened at NRHA's Indianapolis headquarters in March 2010 to conduct the judging of entries.

More Information

• Download PDF
• For more information on the program please contact Allison DeWitt at 317-275-9414 or adewitt@nrha.org.