Allegory Studios wins national award

Allegory Studios was awarded first place in the promotional campaign category in the Society for Marketing Professional Services' (SMPS) 31st annual National Marketing Communications Award (MCA) against more than 350 other entries from firms across the United States.

"We are really excited to be recognized for our comprehensive approach by both marketing and professional services across the board," said Theresa Agresta Marshall, Allegory Studios partner. "We've done a lot of work with professional services and the hard work has paid off."

Allegory Studios won the award for their work with CSArch Architecture and Construction Management. The winning campaign featured the rebranding on CSArch, which was formerly called Collins + Scoville Architects. Allegory Studios worked with the architecture firm to create a brand new story, logo, corporate identification pieces, website, tradeshow booth, poster and advertising brochure. Together, the companies worked to help reposition the
architecture firm for continued growth and increased community awareness.

"We all have our own stories just by being human," said Account Executive Marquita Rhodes of Allegory Studios. "We can relate to stories or movies just by being human. At Allegory Studios, we come up with an archetype for companies by developing their personal stories."

In October, the same project with CSArch Architecture and Con-struction Management won first prize at the local AMA Mark of Excellence Award against 99 other contestants.

"We're very excited about the CSArch campaign and these awards for our brand development work. It's an honor to be recognized in one of our core markets," Marshall said.

Marshall and her sister Cynthia Agresta Forstmann opened Allegory Studios, formerly known as Write Edge Communications, Inc., in 1998 as a general marketing agency. Over the past 10 years, the agency has evolved into a brand development specialist firm.

"Essentially, we're storytellers. Storytelling is an art that connects people at a deep, emotionally-charged level," Forstmann said in a statement. "Archetypes cross time and culture to reach people with universal appeal."

Forstmann runs Allegory Studios second office in Eagle, Co. Both offices work with clients across the United States and Canada. Both Forstmann and Marshall have learned that with telephone and Internet, it is easy to work together while being physically positioned across the country. Their next endeavor is to concentrate on sharing the success they have had with national brands with regional firms, Marshall said.

"To come up with a company brand, we need to start with the company's story--what drives them, what their goals are. We then develop a personality behind the company, such as a name and a logo. Once we have that foundation, we really develop that company's story to help them move in the direction they hope to go in," Rhodes said.