Clever Agency Earns Its First Advertising Awards

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Clever achieved several milestones in 2022, including taking home multiple American Advertising Awards and working on its first national TV spot.

The Youngstown-based marketing agency was chosen to partner with Cinemanix, a media production company, to produce and develop a national TV spot for the Werner Co. and its sponsorship of the 2022 NCAA Basketball Tournament.

The spot featured all local talent, basketball players and locations, and aired during the broadcast of the 2022 tournament. 

“It was an incredible opportunity to work with such a respected brand for one of the biggest sporting events in the country,” says Adrienne Sabo, agency founder and creative director. “We’re thrilled that we could be a part of this production and help bring the message to life, while also showcasing a bit of the Valley.”

The agency earned its first American Advertising Federation of Akron  awards in 2022. The team was awarded the judge’s choice award, as well as a silver “Addy” in three categories.

“We were incredibly honored and proud to have our work recognized last year,” says Tony Marr, founder/business development. “The variety of categories we received honors in shows the breadth of our creative work and our ability to create powerful pieces of advertising for clients across all media.”

Clever was also selected by AAF Akron as its creative partner for the 2023 American Advertising Awards. The team is developing all of the creative concepts, elements and executions for the 2023 awards.

Digital marketing continued to dominate much of the agency’s work in 2022.

Two of its largest web development projects included a new e-commerce site for Beresford’s Butchers and a new website for Engage! Cleveland’s Discover the CLE Campaign that provides resources for young professionals looking to make the move to Greater Cleveland.

New websites are set to launch in early 2023 for Choffin Career & Technical Center, American Pinnacle Construction and Engage! Cleveland’s main website.

Also in 2022, Clever again was named the agency of record for Alta Care Group and the Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board.

The agency’s three founders made their first hire in 2022, with Francesca Bryne joining as social media coordinator. Byrne is working to develop social media content on behalf of a number of Clever’s clients.

“Francesca is an amazing addition to the team, and we are thrilled to welcome her on board,” says Whitney Burd, founder/graphic design. “She is a talented writer with fantastic skills in content development that are a great asset to our social media clients.”

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.