Arizona Tribune - Preston Spire Wins Minnesota AdFed 2026 'Best of Show' for Teachers Unify Project Lockdown Campaign

MINNEAPOLIS, MN / ACCESS Newswire / March 19, 2026 / Preston Spire, the independent, employee-owned, full-service creative agency focused on delivering Good Wins^™, announced today it has won Minnesota AdFed's annual "Best of Show" award for its work on Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence. Teachers Unify is a non-profit, grassroots movement of educators across America whose mission is to amplify the educator voice for change and demand that communities are safe from gun violence.

The Teachers Unify Project Lockdown campaign was also awarded the "Best in Public Service" category. In total, Preston Spire secured seven gold pins, as well as one bronze pin at the event.

"The Teachers Unify Project Lockdown campaign was a real passion project for me, so I'm thrilled to see this cause continuing to garner the attention and visibility it so rightfully deserves," says Brett Essman, Creative Director at Preston Spire. "Minnesota AdFed - or 'The Show,' as it's known - is the premiere showcase for the best and boldest creative work to come out of the Twin Cities each year, which makes winning 'Best of Show' a huge accomplishment."

"This Teachers Unify campaign has one simple call to action: educate as many educators, family members, gun owners and allies as possible about the life-saving act of locking up firearms," says Abbey Clements, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence. "Preston Spire's creative ingenuity enabled us to reach all critical stakeholders with a sense of urgency and optimism. Our results included a 232 percent increase in web traffic; a 31,000 increase in unique social views and a 522 percent increase in non-follower video viewings during the Minnesota lemonade stand campaign."

The Project Lockdown campaign highlighted the staggering fact that two-thirds of school shootings are facilitated by kids accessing unsecured guns at home. Preston Spire was tasked with making safe and responsible gun storage impossible to ignore, developing activations such as a child-hosted "Gun Lock Stand," designed to mimic a classic lemonade stand and showcasing through children's eyes how simple the solution really is; the "Lock-a-Gun Now" initiative with one-click purchases available on Amazon, Lowe's and Walmart; as well as a series of compelling videos and social content.

Minnesota AdFed is a non-profit, professional trade association that has served the Minnesota advertising community including agencies, advertisers, suppliers, and students, since 1906. AdFed is a part of The American Advertising Federation (AAF), the nation's oldest national advertising trade association. The AdFed awards celebrate the best creative work coming out of the Twin Cities each year, spanning agencies, in-house teams, studios and solo practitioners.

About Preston Spire

Preston Spire is an independent, employee-owned, full-service creative agency that supercharges the good in brands so they positively grow. We believe every brand has untapped potential that, when activated, creates transformational growth in marketing performance. With a consistent track record of helping brands achieve previously unreached levels of success. Preston Spire has been named an AdAge Best Place to Work for the past two years and winner of Midwest Small Agency of the Year.

Media Contact:
Kristina LeBlanc
[email protected]
508-930-5636

SOURCE: Preston Spire

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

G.P.Martin--AT