REI is among the finalists for a 2006 RACie Award, or Retail Award for Creativity innovation and excellence, which will be presented by the Retail Advertising & Marketing Association (RAMA) during the Retail Advertising Conference (RAC) February 8-10 at the Hilton Chicago. The most coveted award in retail advertising, RACie Award finalists were selected by a distinguished panel of top advertising executives in the retail industry.

“Through their work, each of this year’s finalists has successfully showcased creative innovation and talent while inspiring their peers,” said Mike Gatti, Executive Vice President of RAMA. “With the competition fierce, this year’s winners will have the honor of being recognized as the best in the industry when it comes to building retail brand awareness and loyalty.”

Award winners will be announced at the Awards Dinner and Ceremony on Thursday, February 9 at 7:00 p.m. Hosted by Chris Madden, celebrity designer for JCPenney, the dinner will feature the newly designed RACie Award and feature live audience voting on select award categories.

2006 RACie Award finalists include:

  • Arctic Cat
  • Best Buy
  • Buca Di Beppo
  • Build-A-Bear
  • EXPO
  • Geek Squad
  • Holt Renfrew
  • Home Depot
  • JCPenney
  • Kohl’s
  • Linens N Things
  • Macy's West
  • Marshall Field's
  • MasterCraft
  • Meijer
  • Mervyn's
  • Minnesota Twins
  • My M&M's
  • Naturalizer
  • NTRA
  • Parisian
  • REI
  • Sears
  • Staples
  • Target
  • Target.com
  • The Home Depot
  • Various Car Dealers