Rand McNally Wins Big at HSMAI Adrian Awards

Bestowed a Gold Adrian Award for Digital Marketing Excellence

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Mar 13, 2012, 02:00 ET

SKOKIE, Ill., March 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) honored Rand McNally with Gold at the coveted Adrian Awards for web marketing excellence for their winning entry in the 55th annual Adrian Awards Competition. The HSMAI Adrian Awards Competition is the largest and most prestigious global travel marketing competition globally. There were more than 1,000 entries from around the world judged by top executives from all sectors of the industry.

Rand McNally was rewarded with the competition's prestigious Gold Adrian Award for the inventive web marketing campaign, "Best of the Road," in the Contest/Sweepstakes-Digital Marketing category. In partnership with media sponsor USA TODAY, Rand McNally called on Americans to nominate and vote for the best small towns in America in the following categories: Most Beautiful, Most Patriotic, Friendliest, Most Fun and Best for Food, which culminated in a three-week cross-country "Best of the Road Rally."

Five teams of amateur travelers revved their engines from New York to Los Angeles to crown the best small towns and compete for $10,000 and a 2011 Saab 9-4X. In terms of results, more than 2,200 stories written, more than 20,000 Americans weighed in to nominate comment, upload photos and vote for the best small towns in America on BestoftheRoad.com and convention and visitors bureaus from 600 towns nominated their towns to be named one of the country's best small towns in America and noted their presence in the media and via social media channels. While traversing the U.S., the five teams traveled a combined 20,000 miles and posted hundreds of tweets, reviews and videos online of their experience.

Rand McNally achieved their objectives of creating buzz for its new travel website BestoftheRoad.com and capturing the attention of Generation X and Y, in the saturated market of online travel guides and travel contests.

About Rand McNally – Rand McNally is the most trusted source for maps, directions, and travel content. Rand McNally's products and services include: Interactive travel referral service, Tripology; IntelliRoute® truck routing software and GPS devices; and the leading geography-based educational resources for the classroom. The 88th edition of America's #1 Road Atlas by Rand McNally will be available shortly and it includes digital TAGs which connect smartphone users to special mobile web pages. Consumers, businesses, truckers, and educators depend upon Rand McNally to help navigate today's world. www.randmcnally.com

About USA TODAY – USA TODAY is a multi-platform news and information media company. Founded in 1982, USA TODAY's mission is to serve as a forum for better understanding and unity to help make the USA truly one nation. Today, through its newspaper, website and mobile platforms, USA TODAY connects readers and engages the national conversation. USA TODAY, the nation's number one newspaper in print circulation with an average of nearly 1.8 million daily, and USATODAY.com, an award-winning newspaper website launched in 1995, reach a combined 5.4 million readers daily. USA TODAY is a leader in mobile applications with more than ten million downloads on mobile devices. The USA TODAY brand also includes USA TODAY Education and USA TODAY Sports Weekly. USA TODAY is owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI).