Creative superstars Julie Batliner, Peter Marino, Daryl McCullough, Joan Schneider and Patrice Tanaka are among the judges for the 2012 SABRE Awards competition, which will begin accepting entries in a little under two weeks. Batliner is managing director at Carmichael Lynch Spong, the Minneapolis-based agency that has won more industry awards than any other midsize firm in recent years—including 21 SABRE Awards. Batliner’s work has won more than 30 awards over her time with CLS and earlier at Fleishman-Hillard, Valentine Radford and Morgan & Myers Communications. Marino is president of Olson Public Relations, the PR operation of one of the nation’s hottest advertising agencies. The Twin Cities creative shop acquired Marino’s firm, Dig Communications, in late 2010, and the merged firm represents clients including MillerCoors, Wrigley, Southwest Airlines, Harley-Davidson, General Mills, and PepsiCo. McCullough is chief executive of Paine PR, a California-based firm known for its brand-building and cause-related marketing expertise. With 25 years of experience in PR, 15 of them with Paine, Daryl also serves as the firm’s lead strategist and creative director, and has produced award-winning work for clients such as P&G, Sony and Taco Bell.
Schneider is president and founder of Schneider Associates, a Boston-based firm that is best known for its work on new product launches. Joan is the author of New Product Launch: 10 Proven Strategies, a Harvard Business Review article on why product launches fail, and of a new book, The New Launch Plan: 152 Tips, Tactics and Trends from the Most Memorable New Products.
Tanaka is chief creative officer for CRT/tanaka, a firm that came into being in 2005 after Carter Ryley Thomas merged with her firm, Patrica Tanaka & Associates. She is also the ambassador for CRT/tanaka’s whatcanbe philosophy, which permeates the firm’s brand essence, cultural ethos and approach to business. Says Holmes Report founder and chairman of the SABRE judges Paul Holmes: “This year’s jury includes the leaders of global PR businesses, agency entrepreneurs, and clients from some of the world’s biggest brand names. But our first announced judges are all best known for their creative work. When it comes to industry awards, they have demonstrated that they know what it takes to win, and so they are especially well position to select winning campaigns from their peers.”