The MRL Group Emerges as Most-Awarded Agency in Beverage Category at the 2026 Shop! OMA Awards
FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida — As brands face increasing pressure to earn consumer attention in crowded retail environments, agencies are being challenged to deliver merchandising programs that drive operational scalability, shopper engagement, and commercial performance. That shift was on display earlier this month at the 2026 Shop! Outstanding Merchandising Achievement (OMA) Awards in New Orleans, where The MRL Group earned four awards and emerged as the most-awarded agency in the Beverage, Wine, and Liquor category.
In its first-ever entry into the OMA Awards competition, The MRL Group received two Gold, one Silver, and one Bronze awards for retail display programs and was recognized for their strategic execution, experiential design, and in-store effectiveness.
Presented during Shop! MarketPlace 2026, the OMA Awards are among the retail industry’s longest-running merchandising competitions, recognizing excellence in retail display innovation, shopper engagement, and point-of-purchase execution across more than 20 categories.
For The MRL Group, the recognition reflects a broader evolution already underway across the organization. Over the past nine months, the agency has expanded its leadership structure, invested in strategic and commercial enablement capabilities, refined internal operational processes, and strengthened its ability to deliver integrated retail marketing and merchandising programs.
“These awards validate far more than creative output,” said Michael Levitt, President of The MRL Group. “They reflect the kind of organization we are intentionally building — one capable of connecting strategy, creative development, production, logistics, and commercial performance into a fully integrated marketing execution model.”
The MRL Group’s award-winning programs included:
Gold — Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond Permanent Display: A premium permanent fixture featuring furniture-inspired detailing, walnut finishes, and matte gold accents designed to reinforce the brand’s premium positioning and drive long-term retail presence.
Gold — Evan Williams Eggnog Holiday Display: A seasonal retail activation built around oversized dimensional elements and recognizable holiday cues, designed to interrupt shopper attention during the highly competitive holiday purchasing season.
Silver — Larceny Key Display: An experiential permanent display integrating motion-activated black-light technology to reveal hidden bottle messaging and create interactive shopper engagement directly within the retail environment.
Bronze — 818 Tequila 3D Display: A dimensional merchandising program translating the brand’s digitally recognizable identity into a scalable, physical retail experience engineered for high visual impact across retail environments.
“As retail environments become more competitive and consumer attention becomes harder to earn, brands need partners capable of solving complex creative, operational, and executional challenges simultaneously,” said Juan Fonseca, Vice President of Commercial Enablement at The MRL Group. “The programs recognized with OMA Awards succeeded because they were designed to perform strategically, operationally, and commercially inside real-world retail environments.”
The MRL Group’s OMA Award recognition comes amid continued industry evolution as brands place greater emphasis on immersive retail experiences, integrated shopper engagement strategies, and merchandising systems capable of balancing creativity with operational execution at scale.
To learn more about The MRL Group’s award-winning retail and brand merchandising capabilities, visit www.mrlpromotions.com.
About The MRL Group
The MRL Group is an independently owned end-to-end marketing execution agency specializing in branded merchandise, point-of-sale, point-of-purchase, and retail experience solutions. The MRL Group partners with brands to develop scalable merchandising programs that strengthen visibility, engagement, and retail impact across physical environments.
