Buzz People's Choice Award
Dec 1, 2008
Sometimes, you let the people speak. And speak they did. While judges determined the 17 BUZZ Award winners, all contestants had the opportunity to share their campaigns with the public for a popular vote.
The result? World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) was the overwhelming vote-getter in the BUZZ People's Choice awards, followed by:
• Sapient Interactive, which won for a Facebook application that promoted Coca-Cola's Burn, an energy drink popular in Europe.
• Campbell-Ewald, which ran a test program for the Navy targeting New England parents, particularly moms.
In the case of WWE, Chairman Vince McMahon developed McMahon's Million Dollar Mania to stimulate ratings, drive traffic to wwe.com and attract new fans to Monday Night RAW, WWE's flagship TV show. Twenty-four fans won cash prizes ranging from $2 to $500,000, a total of $3 million.
Over three weeks, McMahon and his team would pick up the phone. If the person on the other end of the line knew the code that was shown live on RAW, he or she won cash. Sometimes, McMahon himself dialed. Other times, WWE superstars called. Fans never knew who was going to call or how much they might win.
WWE flexed its PR muscle with interviews on The Today Show, Power Lunch and Morning Jo. NBC, USA and MyNetworkTV gave coverage. In addition, WWE promoted the sweepstakes across the RAW, SmackDown and ECW television programs.
The first week, fan response was so strong the servers were knocked out, so WWE quadrupled capacity. The last two weeks went smoothly, with more than 4 million entries received.
Total viewership for Monday Night RAW increased 25 percent in its regular timeslot. From June 16 to June 23, the show was No. 1 among the coveted 18-49 male demo. More than 2 million unique visitors came to wwe.com. Since June 2, web traffic to wwe.com dramatically increased, 28 percent among unique visitors and 25 percent for page views, which now stand at more than 15 million per day. WWE added more than 1 million new names to it email database.
That's a lot of people.
For more Buzz Awards Coverage coverage:
2008 Buzz Awards Winners
Millions Are Talking: Do you know who is creating the buzz?
Grand Prize Winner: McDonald's Brave New World
Event Marketing: ABC Domestic TV, Dr. Scholl's for Her
Online: Proximity Canada, Alka-Seltzer
Viral Marketing: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, Adobe Creative Suite
Music: The Marketing Arm, AT&T
Outdoor/Out-of-Home: Butler Shine Stern & Partners, MINI Cooper
Print: Fallon Minneapolis, Sci Fi Channel
Radio: OMD, Visa
Reality TV: Mediavest Worldwide, Herbal Essences
Scripted Television: R&R Partners, Valley Metro
Social Media: OMD, McDonald's
Sports: Mediavest, Sprite
Wireless: Moxie Interactive, FOX Studios/Jumper
Integrated Campaign: Campfire, Verizon
Public Relations: Coburn Communications and AARP
User-Generated: Catapult Marketing, Pedigree
Film/Movie: Davie Brown Entertainment, Mountain Dew
Buzz People's Choice Awards