Jun 21, 2024

Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) has won two Virtuoso Awards for its “Completing Tower Construction for the Gordie Howe International Bridge” video, including the biggest award of the night, the Best of the Best Award. The awards were presented by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) London chapter at a ceremony held at the London Club in London, Ontario on June 20, 2024.

WDBA’s Corporate Affairs and External Relations (CAER), Communications Team was recognized in the Audio/Visual category for its communications plan, storyboard, work plan, and final video highlighting construction completion on the two iconic Gordie Howe International Bridge towers. The towers reached their final heights of 722 feet/220 metres in 2023.

WDBA received a Virtuoso Award of Excellence for its entry. At the end of the ceremony, it was announced that the tower completion video was the top-scoring entry of its division, resulting in the additional Best of the Best honour.

“Our goal is to involve the communities, stakeholders and other interested parties in all aspects of the construction of the monumental Gordie Howe International Bridge,” says Heather Grondin, Chief Relations Officer for WDBA. “I’m honoured IABC London recognized our approach to engage the public in captivating and innovative ways, including giving behind-the-scenes access to the process to complete the bridge’s stunning towers.” 

The award-winning video currently has over 115,000 views on YouTube – the most of any video shared since construction began. 

The judges were impressed with the fact the video was completed in-house by WDBA Communications and called the video “one for the history books”, “innovative”, “extremely professional” and “easy to understand”. Another judge shared “I can’t say enough about how great this video is. The graphics, imagery, drone footage, music - high quality, professional and extremely engaging. Give us more!”

The Virtuoso Awards celebrate excellence in communications and the best in creative strategy and design. WDBA has received two Virtuoso Awards in the past. In 2021, WDBA received recognition for its COVID-19 response and in 2020 for the project’s Community Benefits Plan. 

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