Laura Rinck, president of Rinck Advertising, was the recipient of the Joan Dow Award at the Maine Ad + Design Broderson Awards held June 1 at the University of New England’s Portland campus.
Joan Dow is a strong figure for the advertising industry in Maine. She broke down barriers for other women by becoming the first woman-owned agency in Maine, developing other women-owned businesses, and helping the formation of the Art Directors Club. Her tenacity and work ethic are legendary. The Joan Dow Award is a symbol of recognition for outstanding women in the field of advertising and design. It is presented to those that are role models for others and share the qualities of one of Maine’s greatest women in the industry, Joan Dow.
Nominated for the award by her inspired staff, Laura Rinck is also a force within the advertising industry. As majority owner and President of Rinck Advertising, Laura has led award-winning work for hundreds of brands, volunteered for — and donated pro-bono services to — several worthy non-profits, and shaped the careers of dozens of advertising, marketing, and public relations professionals, many of whom are women working in a male-dominated field.
Founded in 2001, Rinck is a nationally recognized full-service marketing, advertising, and public relations agency headquartered in Maine with remote locations across the U.S. serving clients including the Maine CDC, the Vermont Department of Health, Dunkin’, Dove, Vaseline, VetriScience, MaineGeneral Health, and others. With Laura at the helm, the firm provides expertise in strategic planning, brand building, creative services, media planning, and buying, digital strategy & development, public relations, influencer marketing, affiliate marketing, shopper marketing, and content marketing. Over the last decade, Rinck has built a behavioral change practice specializing in public health marketing, counter-marketing, social marketing, and mass-reach health communications that have yielded measurable social and behavioral change in the state of Maine. The agency team are leaders in the field committed to educating high-risk populations about social issues around tobacco and alcohol use, mental health, cancer, nutrition, health, substance use disorder, and more through proven media tactics that have changed the story for our State. In fact, the work extends beyond the State via work with Vermont Department of Health and the sharing of best-practice campaign strategies and assets to be utilized by other states.
Laura’s impact is also evident through her volunteerism and the reach of the agency’s pro-bono support of many non-profits. She and her husband, Rinck CEO Peter Rinck, have contributed endless hours serving on the board of the Maine Cancer Foundation. Over the years, the agency has generously provided resources to The Dempsey Center, L/A Arts, the Maine Music Society, the YWCA, and many more worthy causes.
When she’s not leading agency work or pro-bono services, or volunteering in her community, Laura can be found inspiring and supporting a team of more than 40 professionals. Under Laura’s leadership, Rinck’s core values embrace a people-first approach that focuses on the health and wellness of all employees. She believes that happier, healthier employees will create a happier, healthier workplace. This people-first approach is a primary reason Rinck boasts an impressive average tenure of more than six years—more than twice the industry average. Additionally, over 60 percent of Rinck employees have been with the agency for over five years (and nearly 25 percent for more than 10 years). The executive leadership team has an average tenure of more than 11 years, and eight of the nine current members of the exec team are women.
Rinck is unwavering in her commitment to her team, clients, and community. Her dedication to innovative and effective marketing solutions has made Rinck Advertising a leader in the field, helping drive positive change.
“Laura is an inspiration to the women on her staff and to those who work with her on community projects,” said Joan Dow. “If there was a Laura Rinck Award, I would be honored to receive it. I have long admired her achievements.”
“I’m honored to carry the torch passed to me by Joan, to continue to blaze the trail for women in advertising,” said Rinck.
