Big Waters’ Rebranding Reveal Wins Silver ADDY and Public Service Amy Award

March 14, 2025 | Osprey

In December, Big Waters Land Trust, formerly Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast, concluded their twentieth anniversary year with a surprise name change announcement. The new name was revealed at their Annual Conservation Celebration event via a mission-forward video celebrating the critical importance of land conservation and the impact of the regional not-for-profit land trust. The approximately 90-second announcement closed with the reveal of their new name, Big Waters Land Trust. Big Waters is thrilled to share with the community the exciting news that the video recently received honors during the 2025 American Advertising Awards (ADDYs).

Hosted by the Suncoast chapter of the American Advertising Federation (AAF), the awards ceremony took place on Saturday, February 22, at the Ringling Sound Stages. The ADDYs are advertising’s most widely recognized honor for creative spirit and excellence, attracting nearly 35,000 submissions yearly. Submissions are judged by a panel of experts with winners moving on to compete against winners from other local clubs at the District level. District ADDY winners are then forwarded to the national stage of the American Advertising Awards.

Big Waters’ rebranding reveal won a Silver ADDY award in recognition of its outstanding creative excellence. The video also won the Amy Award as the highest-scoring entry in the Public Service category. Credits include Brad Bryan, President of BRAD!BRYAN Multimedia Inc, as Cinematographer/Editor, and Sam Valentin, Big Waters’ Director of Marketing and Events, as Producer. The two worked collaboratively to conceptualize and create the piece which will now go on to the regional competition.

View the award-winning reveal video on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHervBerURs.

Big Waters Land Trust has protected over 20,000 acres across 61 different properties to date. The region’s only accredited land trust, their service area includes Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, Lee, Collier, DeSoto, and Highlands Counties, and encompasses three national estuaries – Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, and Charlotte Harbor – and four significant rivers – Manatee, Myakka, Peace, and Caloosahatchee. They are committed to their vision for a future where the human and natural worlds flourish together and work with their conservation community every day to realize this vision for the benefit of all who live, work, and play here in Southwest Florida.