Brandweek Magazine Announces the 14th Annual 'Marketer of the Year' Winners at Exclusive Awards Ceremony Held at Arizona Biltmore Hotel.

PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Last night, Brandweek Magazine named the 2005 honorees of their prestigious "Marketer of the Year" Awards at a dinner held at The Arizona Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix. The event, held in conjunction with the Association of National Advertisers annual conference, celebrated the industry's top marketers, who have best used creativity and instinct to break through with national brands. Brandweek Editor Karen Benezra presented the awards.

"There's no doubt that 2005 has been a tough year for business across the board, from rising ingredient costs to a spike in gas prices. Today's leaders face unexpected challenges," Benezra said. "Our honorees for Brandweek's "Marketers of the Year" may have been caught off guard, but they did not retreat. They simply reinvented the game."

Brandweek's 2005 "Grand Marketer of the Year":

--Jim Stengel, Global CMO, Procter & Gamble: In 2005, Procter & Gamble boasts 22 billion-dollar brand names. With the purchase of Gillette, P&G added an array of men's grooming brands, which secured its place as the world's largest maker of consumer products.

"Jim Stengel has refocused Procter & Gamble around the needs of its consumers, and freed marketers to take risks," Benezra said. "He has challenged his retail, media and agency partners to bring fresh ideas across its vast portfolio of brands-with remarkable results."

Brandweek's 2005 "Marketers of the Year":

--Jed Connelly, SVP Sales and Marketing, and Jan Thompson, VP Marketing, Nissan: Despite rising fuel prices and rival-employee discounts, overall vehicle sales increased 14.8 percent, the largest gain of any automaker in the U.S.

--Mike Boylson, CMO, J.C. Penney: Adding designer lines by Nicole Miller, Bisou Bisou, Mixit, and Arizona, has changed J.C. Penney into a trendy retailer.

--Barry Sternlicht, Founder, Starwood Hotels and Resorts: By re-marketing the Westin Heavenly Bed, net income will increase 39 percent in 2005 to $484 million.

--Geoffrey Frost, CMO, Motorola: Thanks to a new deal with Apple's iTunes coupled with the innovative "Hello Moto" ads, Motorola has taken a 16.4 percent cell phone provider share worldwide.

--Anne Saunders, SVP Marketing, and Ken Lombard, SVP and President, Starbucks Entertainment: By releasing highly- anticipated CD's by Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, and Alanis Morissette in locations, Starbucks is revolutionizing the method in which brand name music is sold.

--John Mackey, CEO, Whole Foods: Mackey has single-handedly legitimized the natural and organic food market, en route to a $3.9 billion empire.

--Scott Greenstein, President, Sirius Satellite Radio: In 2004, subscription base tripled, and net revenue hit $230 million. In January, Greenstein welcomes crown jewel, Howard Stern, to his satellite radio network.

--Dean Harris, CMO, Vonage: Sold one million Americans on Internet phone service, and made Vonage a household brand-name.

--Kevin Morefield, EVP Strategic Planning, and Brian Woods, CMO, Ameriquest: By sponsoring The Rolling Stones, Major League Baseball, the NFL, and other family venues, Ameriquest's net earnings for 2005 will reach $30 billion.

Brandweek's "Marketer of the Year" Awards, now in its 14th year, are presented to an outstanding shortlist of marketers from candidates developed in-house by a panel of reporters and editors.All candidates are scored by merit and marketplace efforts that not only speak for themselves in terms of brand performance and sales, but can be traced to back to individual efforts. Strategic insight, media usage and creativity are also factored into each final score. The list is then narrowed to the top 10, from which a "Grand Marketer of the Year" is selected. Since 1986, Brandweek has presented its awards at a dinner coinciding with the Association of National Advertisers' annual conference in October.

Brandweek is published by VNU Business Publications USA, a part of VNU Business Media. VNU Business Publications USA publishes 44 b-to-b titles in the entertainment, media, marketing, performance, travel and design industries. Its portfolio also includes The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek, National Jeweler, and Successful Meetings.