Adams & Knight Awarded a Gold Effie in Major Win for Connecticut Tourism Marketing

Avon, Conn. (June 1, 2026) — At the 2026 U.S. Effie Awards Gala on May 27 in New York City, integrated marketing agency Adams & Knight, along with its client, the Connecticut Office of Statewide Marketing & Tourism, was honored with a prestigious Gold Effie Award for its “Pizza Capital of the U.S.” campaign.

Widely regarded as the marketing industry’s top honor for “work that works,” the Effie Awards recognize campaigns that deliver the trifecta of breakthrough strategy, exceptional creative, and tangible business results.

Adams & Knight and Connecticut’s Tourism Office bested some of the world’s largest travel agencies and destinations for the only gold award given in the Travel and Tourism category. Other finalists included Havas New York for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, DDB Colombia for ProColombia, Publicis London for Tourism Ireland, VML Miami for City of Miami Beach, and Luquire for Experience Columbus. Out of 128 awards presented across all categories this year, only 28 conferred gold recognition.

“Ever since the agency’s founding, our passion has been to deliver innovative ideas that spark tangible results for our clients,” said Adams & Knight CEO, Jill Adams. “So, this recognition is incredibly meaningful — and so reflective of the powerful partnerships we build with our clients and the integrated campaigns we believe drive real results.”

Launched with a provocative “Welcome to Connecticut: Home of the Pizza Capital of the U.S.” highway sign at the New York border, the campaign was designed to be an evolving, year-long engagement platform. It integrated earned media, paid media, experiential activations, public voting, digital content, and a “rage bait” hotline to keep Connecticut continuously at the center of the conversation.

“The best tourism campaigns don’t just grab attention — they grab hearts,” said Anthony Anthony, former Chief Marketing Officer for the Connecticut Office of Statewide Marketing & Tourism. “We didn’t play it safe. We boldly declared Connecticut the country’s pizza capital, kept the volume at ten for a full year, and forced the entire nation to talk about us — delivering massive, undeniable results.”

The campaign generated extraordinary results, including:

• 19+ billion earned media impressions
• 4,000+ earned media placements
• A viral cultural moment on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
• A 68% increase in nationwide Google searches for “Connecticut pizza”
• A 37% increase in long-distance visitation to Connecticut (500–3,000 miles)
• The largest positive brand perception shift in Connecticut’s history

 “From the beginning, the strategy behind this campaign was to make Connecticut impossible to ignore,” said Michelle Bonner, Vice President of Public Relations at Adams & Knight, who led the campaign’s earned media efforts. “Pizza was never the end goal. It was simply the entry point. That consistency of attention is what transformed the campaign from a moment into impact.”

The Gold Effie adds to a remarkable run of national recognition for Adams & Knight’s work with the Connecticut Office of Statewide Marketing & Tourism. In March, the Pizza Capital of the U.S. campaign earned Gold at the PRWeek Awards, beating out the Coca-Cola Company, Kraft Heinz, Hasbro, and Unilever in “Best in Integration,” one of the industry’s most competitive categories.

“What truly made this campaign — and all the work we do — so effective is our focus on integrated strategies that leverage strategic mixes of tactics in clever, often novel, ways,” said Felicia Lindau, SVP and leader of Adams & Knight’s travel/tourism marketing practice. “Time and again, we’ve proven it all works better when it all works together.”

Earlier this year, Adams & Knight’s work with the Connecticut tourism office also earned seven HSMAI Adrian Awards honors — including two Platinum, two Gold, and two Best of Category awards for the Pizza Capital of the U.S. campaign, the promotion of Connecticut’s Christmas movie trail, and the state’s integrated “Make It Here” brand-building campaign.