MacDonald strikes Pinnacle gold

Oct 4, 2013 | News

By Alyssa Capistrano

Greg MacDonald has reached the Pinnacle of radio promotion.

MacDonald, a Humber Creative Production teacher, won gold at the International Festival and Events Pinnacle Awards (IFEA) for Best Radio Promotion.

“It turns out that this contest wasn’t only in Ontario, or in, Toronto, or Canada but all over the world,” said MacDonald. “It turned out to be a pretty big deal.”

Humber Professor, Greg MacDonald in the studio.

Greg MacDonald in the radio studio at Humber College. (Courtesy Greg MacDonald

The winning promotion is a take on the film ‘The Sound of Music.” The spin-off was aimed at bringing patrons to the Burlington Sound of Music Festival (BSMF), who commissioned MacDonald and his team to create the promo.

“Alex, our writer, had a lot of fun with the whole ‘Sound of Music’ thing,” said MacDonald. “He tied in Julie Andrews (originally in the movie) as the nun, and Whoopi Goldberg, from her movie Sister Act. Basically we took an idea that already existed and tied in two different actresses with no relation and blended them together, and it worked.”

Steve Schmader, the festival CEO and President, said MacDonald should be proud of the recognition.

“It’s always interesting how people all over the world are using radio and new social media,” said Schmader. “It’s cool to see what they’re doing with it and how they’re creating this. They always have to create things in a different way they never had to before. So since he won, hats off to him. It just shows he’s doing a great job.”

Every year, Schmader, along with his team, choose who will judge. The panel of judges is handpicked from all over the world to rule on the categories they specialize in.

The IFEA was founded in 1956, and looks to, “inspire and enable those in our industry to realize their dreams, build community and sustain success through celebration,” according to their website.

MacDonald said the victory was a group effort, and that he couldn’t have done it without a great team alongside him.

Below is a track of the award winning radio promo.