Named one of the best races in the country by USA Today, the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10K features over 40,000 participants, plus costumed runners, spirit groups, party stops, live music and much more. It’s truly a community event, with people from all walks of life coming together to enjoy a day of fun and physical activity along one of the most beautiful race courses in America.

Elevation created the television commercial above to promote this year’s race. Nearly 100 volunteers brought our theme—10K Together—to life over the course of a two day shoot. Their dedication, along with that of our creative teams and production partners, made this fresh and fun spot possible. We hope you agree that it captures the spirit of this one-of-a-kind event.

Elevation is pleased to announce the acquisition of Fultz Marketing.

Founded in 1994 by industry veteran Barbara Fultz, Fultz Marketing has a longstanding reputation for excellence in producing a wide range of marketing and advertising materials. “We’ve been working with Barbara and her team since we launched Elevation in 2001,” said Frank Gilliam, Elevation’s co-founder and co-creative director. “Our strengths have always matched perfectly with theirs, so this is really a perfect marriage.”

Fultz has been named Senior Vice President of Elevation, where she will continue to provide leadership to accounts including Alcoa Architectural Products, Camp BowWow, Capital One, LeClairRyan and Marriott International, among others. All of Fultz Marketing’s staff will also join the Elevation team at its headquarters at 9 West Main Street in Richmond, effective January 1, 2012.

“Elevation’s clients will benefit from the added depth of production experience that Barbara’s team brings to us,” said Aaron Dotson, Elevation’s co-founder and co-creative director. “And Fultz’s clients will benefit from Elevation’s extensive strategic and creative capabilities. We’re very enthusiastic about the growth opportunities this creates, not only for our combined client roster, but for our staff, too.”

“Joining Elevation is going to be great for my clients and my staff,” Fultz said. “Frank, Aaron and I have created dozens of successful campaigns together over the last ten years, and the chance to officially join forces is very exciting for all of us. We look forward to creating even more great work together in the years ahead.”

Elevation was named the Small Business Greater Richmond Employer of Choice in 2011. Barbara Fultz was named Ad Person of the Year by the Advertising Club of Richmond in 1998. Aaron Dotson and Frank Gilliam were named Ad Persons of the Year by the Advertising Club of Richmond in 2009.

[Click image above to view larger banner]

When our friends at Venture Richmond asked if we could design and produce a giant–as in 30 feet high by 20 feet wide–banner to “poke a little fun” at national sports personality Dick Vitale in less than 24 hours, we answered: “HECK YEAH!” (well, something like that).

The banner above, of course, refers to pre-NCAA basketball tournament comments by Vitale that VCU didn’t deserve to be let into the field of competitors. The Rams made the Final 4, and the banner made national news. It was featured on SportsIllustrated.com, ESPN, Fox Sports and USA Today.

Vitale was a wonderful sport, contacting us and asking to work together to auction the banner to benefit pediatric cancer research. It’s a win-win for Richmond, the Rams, and a great cause.

Elevation is proud to be one of six firms in Richmond to collaborate with Venture Richmond and the VCU Brandcenter to launch a new, open source identity for Richmond: RVA Downtown. The effort is captured at RVACreates.com, and many more examples of how RVA is creative will be coming there in the year ahead.

We created the short video above to introduce the effort to the region, and to inspire everyone in our community to find new ways to be creative. We hope you will enjoy it.

[To view the video, click the image above. Requires a Flash plug-in to view properly.]

Capping two years of planning and development, Elevation and The Community Foundation recently launched GiveRichmond.org, a website that provides access to a wealth of information about the region’s nonprofit organizations, while facilitating donations to those organizations. Elevation pioneered the idea of GiveRichmond Giving Cards, which can be purchased through the site and given to friends and loved ones as a gift. The recipient then gets to choose which of over 300 local nonprofits receives the donation.

Elevation created the name and identity for GiveRichmond, as well as a comprehensive advertising campaign consisting of television, outdoor, online and radio ads. View the TV spot below:

In 2009, Elevation helped Sports Backers and Venture Richmond create Dominion Riverrock, Richmond’s annual celebration of active riverlife. Our work included naming, identity development and brand strategy for the event, as well as creating the marketing plan and implementing all advertising components. This year, the event returns with even bigger thrills—and we’re pleased to be part of the action again! Make your plans to attend Dominion Riverrock May 14-15 on Brown’s Island.

[To view the commercial, click the image above. Requires a Flash plug-in to view properly.]