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Bronze Reggie Winners

April 14, 2008

            In the hard-knock world of capitalism, words like "biodiversity" and "inspirational" hardly conjure a company with a buttoned up marketing strategy and tactics. That is, unless you're talking about "Seeds of Change," an outfit that started out in 1989 selling organic seeds and quickly expanded into organic sauces, entrees, salad dressings, even chocolate, while donating 1% of net sales to bio-causes.

            In 2007, the company targeted a marketing push in Boston-the #7 "organic market" in the U.S.-to dial up brand awareness, deliver sampling, and support local retailers. Their solution: A Boston train called the "Green Line," which tooled right through the Seeds of Change target: highly affluent neighborhoods that index high in the organic market and offer a number of key accounts at local stops.

            In addition to "station dominations" along the Green Line, Seeds of Change deployed 10 pedicabs wrapped in "Inspire Change" media, sampled product at 21 events, did radio promotion, shot out 35,000 e-mails, and did an online "free ticket" promotion.

            Result: Over 3.5 million impressions, 28,500 full-size samples, 41,000 recipe cards, and most important, total brand sales jumped 69% at a major Boston retailer. In short: Seeds of Change grew in Boston.

            Oxygen is everywhere. The cable network Oxygen, that is. Its original programming doesn't miss a medium. It's online, on air, and on phones, but here's the question Oxygen needed answered: Was it under- or over-estimating the tech savviness of its audience of 18-to-49-year-old women? If an Oxygen program airs on a phone but nobody picks up, does it air at all? As far as advertisers are concerned, the answer is "no."

            But rather than just do another "study," the folks at Oxygen devised a program called "Girls Gone Wired" (rated PG). Not only would Girls Gone Wired get Oxygen's tech questions answered, it would also strengthen retailer relations, do some branding and drive traffic to its Web site. Here's how it worked:

            A sweepstakes, delivered via retailers, offered as a $5,000 "Tech-Over" replete with LCD TVs, TV/DVD combos, computers, etc. To enter, shoppers went to oxygen.com, then they took the "How Girls Gone Wired are you?" tech-profiler quiz.

            Talk about a win-win. Retailers got to promote Girls Gone Wired, which couldn't have hurt store traffic. Consumers got the chance to win fabulous tech toys. And Oxygen got branding, happy retailers, traffic to its Web site and a much better understanding of how enthusiastic-or equipped-its audience is to watch its shows on a two-inch screen.

            While 9/11 certainly counts as a "national" tragedy for the United States, other regions of the country do not have the constant reminders New Yorkers do of just how tragic a loss it was.

            So, to meet its objectives of raising funds and building awareness of the Memorial & Museum being built at Ground Zero in New York City, The National September 11 Memorial & Museum organization created a national 9/11 reawakening with a September 11th Tribute Exhibition.

            Featuring a photography gallery, renderings of the Memorial & Museum, a documentary film, and artifacts recovered from the World Trade Center, the centerpiece of the exhibition were the 37-foot, four-ton steel beams that will be used in the construction of the Memorial. From September through mid-December 2007, the exhibition spent up to two days in 25 cities in 25 states, and clearly the program's planners met their objectives.

            Nearly 50,000 people visited the exhibition, prompted by 2,300 print, broadcast and online media hits with an advertising equivalency of over $6 million. More than $1.2 million was raised since the announcement of the tour, and it is no surprise that donations are still coming in since 90% of exhibition visitors said they would be more inclined to donate after seeing the exhibition.

            When World Vision, the Christian relief and development organization, says of its remarkable traveling AIDS tour, "We believe this campaign has the ability to redefine the model for social and cause-related marketing," it is not overstatement. Designed to promote WV's HopeChild initiative, the exhibit accurately reproduces the sights and sounds and tactile environment of an actual African village.

            Visitors to this emotionally charged exhibit walk through one of four "life lanes" and hear a child's life story as told by the child, including the stigmas and fears experienced by children living in a world where AIDS is so widespread. The stories crescendo when participants are forced to visit an AIDS clinic. Completing their transformation into the child's life and experience, their clinic visit ends when their hands are stamped "Positive" or "Negative."

            So revolutionary was the exhibit that the likes of Hillary Clinton and first-daughter Jenna Bush walked its "life lanes." And the results were as remarkable as the exhibit itself. Over 31,000 peopled visiting the exhibit produced total funds of $2,464,680 including nearly 3,500 individual commitments to sponsor an African child for $35-per-month.

            Of course, even faith-based causes have a bottom line, and for this World Vision program, allowing consumers to experience a cause firsthand created sponsorship percentages unheard-of previously.

            Bounty is No. 1 in the paper towel category, yet its growth had been declining since 2005. P&G marketers last year unveiled the first significant relaunch of the brand in a decade. The revamped One Sheet Bounty boasted a thicker, more absorbent product and a positioning of "Get It Done With One."

            Now, the onus was on the brand to convince consumers that it deserved the "One" moniker. P&G figured the best way to do that was to create interaction at the point of purchase through a host of innovative merchandising tools that not only prominently advertised the new Bounty but also allowed customers to touch and sample the product.

Those included an in-pallet (i.e., shelf) demo; neck hangers with Nanovention technology providing a 3D effect for cross-merchandised products such as baby care; and large-size T-stands placed in strategic locations throughout the store.

            All told, 13.6 million units were shipped to retailers, including 1.5 million to Wal-Mart alone, and sales picked up: Total volume share post-launch was up by 1.8 points, and market share of the main Bounty brand reversed its decline with a 0.6 increase.

Total dollar share was up by 1.0 points as a result of the promotion.

            Southwest Airlines, proudly positioned over the years as a low-cost alternative, didn't have an in-flight entertainment offering. A&E, a top ten cable network with 92 million household viewership, needed to target its growing, tech-savvy 18-49 key audience in nontraditional media channels, leveraging its refurbished image established by the recent success of its edgier reality hits like Dog the Bounty Hunter and Gene Simmons Family Jewels. Civic Entertainment Group, realizing how well the new A&E shows aligned with Southwest's irreverent personality brokered a deal between the two parties whereby A&E's content was promoted exclusively by SWA in airports and aired as value-added entertainment to millions of travelers.

            Aware that nearly 80%of business travelers and 40% of leisure passengers fly with laptops, A&E created a closed-circuit WiFi network at SWA gates in three airports (Chicago Midway, Oakland and Phoenix). While waiting for flights, passengers were able to preview and download full-length episodes of A&E shows as well as shortened versions and a custom game. Gate announcements and signage drove travelers to information kiosks, manned by A&E brand ambassadors. In 13 additional airports,

Southwest gave away DVDs to passengers stuck in middle seats, business travelers heading home or anyone whose flight was delayed.

            Through this effort, A&E registered 130 million consumer impressions online worth $1.8 million between July and November, 280, 000 DVDs were distributed as well as 30,000 downloads registered, at no cost to Southwest.

HERBAL ESSENCES' LATINA MAKEOVER

            Turbulence has ruled the hair care business in recent years, owing to fickle customers and high experimentation across the category. In this environment, Herbal Essences abandoned its scent message in favor of user benefits, leading Hispanic women to ditch the brand en masse. With young Latinas indexing higher than the industry average, it became imperative for Herbal Essences to recapture them.

            They turned to a pop-rock band from Mexico known for "big hair." RBD features an ensemble of men and women from the popular Televisa telenovela Rebelde. The lineup includes three luscious divas that embody the Herbal Essences brand. The association was driven by a dynamic MySpace effort online to leverage young Hispanic women's enthusiasm for social networking.

            A sweepstakes was created online, supported by retail promotion with every bottle of Herbal Essences affixed with a coded sticker, directing consumers to the Herbal Essences MySpace page, whereby unlocking a hidden RBD page with exclusive content, allowing users to register for the contest to win tickets to an RBD concert and a makeover. The promotion was supported via radio, print and point-of-sale.

            The effort resonated greatly with the target as share index was 43% higher than the previous three-year downward trend. The Herbal Essences Brand Health Index increased 29% after the start of the RBD program and the click-through rate for the effort was 213% higher than the average Procter & Gamble rate.

            In 2007, the emerging soymilk sector began to show signs of sluggishness. Most brands had squarely adopted a consumer health pitch, so Silk decided to leverage another healthful aspect of its brand: planet friendly wind energy.

            Promoting the brand's use of 100% wind energy in its production since 2003, the soymilk company launched the Silk® Green Caps for Green Energy program. Consumers were encouraged to buy Silk Soymilk with green caps, then enter the UPC online in a sweepstakes to win prizes with Silk purchasing renewable-energy certificates as donations. This avoided the environmental damage of having the green caps mailed. Silk's integrated promotional campaign enlisted actress and environmental activist Alicia Silverstone as a spokesperson. Online advertising and FSIs in major markets drove consumers to the promotion's Web site to sign up for the contest and to learn more about the benefits of wind energy.

            During the campaign, Silk's Web site traffic increased 146% vs. the average for the previous quarter. Silk also grew its consumer database, increasing registration by over 200%. Overall, the Silk Green Caps effort grew category dollar sales by 34% and volume of sales by 25%, according to IRI. From a PR standpoint, Silk received favorable coverage in print, online, TV and radio, garnering more than 37 million total media impressions, nearly seven times Silk's goals.

            New York is a cultural mecca, a foodie's dream, an artist's inspiration, and so much more. What it's not, however, is a great place to find a clean, well-appointed public restroom. Procter & Gamble's Charmin brand sought to change that.

            Enter the Charmin Family Experience. Beginning just before Thanksgiving in 2007 and ending as the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve, the quintessential bathroom-tissue brand rolled out a restroom experience in the heart of Times Square, a 12,000-square-foot oasis for New Yorkers and tourists in need. Each of the 20 luxurious and immaculate restrooms conveyed the All-American colors of Charmin's white bathroom tissue juxtaposed with the brand's then-new product lines-red for Ultra Strong and blue for Ultra Soft.

            Cleaned after every use, the restrooms and common areas featured hardwood floors, red and blue carpeting, aromatherapy, crown molding, water-conserving Kohler toilets and fixtures, crackling fireplaces and twinkling topiaries: a complete winter wonderland. The one-of-a-kind installation included a retail boutique selling branded T-shirts, boxers and even a Charmin bobble-butt.

            And the results were phenomenal. During the run of the Charmin Family Experience, 825 million media impressions were generated (nearly triple the campaign's goal), 400,000 visitors participated, 4,600 items were sold at the boutique, and close to 311,300 Charmin coupons were distributed.

FSI, FLOWERS, FAST FOOD DRIVE BEE'S BUZZ
CATEGORY: National Consumer (over $5M)
MARKETER: DreamWorks Animation, Glendale, Calif.
AGENCY: In-house

            Bee Movie was definitely not your run-of the- mill theatrical release. For one very important thing, the DreamWorks animated film featured the voice talents of comedian Jerry Seinfeld, a rarity for the comedian-turned- actor-turned-comedian. DreamWorks Animation had to develop a marketing campaign that made the movie stand apart from the Shreks of the world.

            To achieve that, the studio and its in-house agency created a patchwork of partnerships, many with companies or organizations that had never allied themselves with a Hollywood studio. A deal with the National Honey Board, for one, created an FSI program that plugged the movie in more than 14,000 stores, fairs and farmers markets. Another with FTD led to three customized Bee Movie floral bouquets and a "Barry the Bee" honey bottle. And Embassy Suites promoted Bee Movie travel packs that included print and online support.

            More traditional movie tie-ins involved McDonald's and its Happy Meals that promoted the movie along with the fast food chain's milk and Apple Dippers in over 120 countries and on-pack pacts with General Mills' fruit snacks, cereals, Pop Secret and Yoplait brands. The packaged-foods giant also distributed free movie tickets via 25 retailers at more than 6,000 stores. All told, the campaign added up to a sweet success and helped drive the movie to No. 1 at the box office.

            In the climatic chase scene of the suspense thriller The Bourne Ultimatum, Volkswagen's Touareg 2 stars as a supercharged machine zooming through the streets of Manhattan. Ever the innovator in advertising, the German automaker leveraged its new luxury SUV's Hollywood cachet with "Volkswagen Touareg 2 Launch: The Bourne Ultimatum," an in house integrated marketing campaign aimed at increasing product sales and test-drive registrations.

            The campaign's strategy drove traffic through a variety of innovative initiatives, including a television spot featuring the chase sequence, Webisodes with exclusive behind-the-scenes testimonials from the film crew, and a partnership with Google for an online game inviting participants to chase Jason Bourne around the world. In addition to Web-related initiatives (including a vw.com Touareg 2 main page and interactive banner ads), the marketing plan included dealerships offering theater passes to The Bourne Ultimatum, 47 VIP customer pre-release film screenings in key U.S. markets, and press and film events surrounding the flick's premiere. Volkswagen also integrated product data into Bourne Ultimatum's HD-DVD.

            The results proved this promo was the "right turn" for VW: Webisode teaser banner ads boasted a strong click-through rate, and Touareg 2 test drives and subsequent sales increased significantly.

            Even the most venerable and iconic brands-like Kellogg's Pop-tarts-need to stay fresh with young consumers. With that in mind, the best-selling toaster pastry came out with Pop-tart Splitz, an innovative concoction that features two different flavors in one tart.

            To go with the fun, new brand, Kellogg's and cable TV's Cartoon Network came up with a Web-based campaign in which kids could use a variety of Pop-tart assets, such as brand-specific images, video, overlays and sounds, to create their own 30-second Webisode about Splitz.

            The promotion-which ran from September to October 2007 and involved platforms such as on-air, online, broadband and video on-demand-was designed to display kids' creativity and technological wizardry… and deepen their brand engagement.

            The Pop-tarts mini-site created by Cartoon Network for the Webisode competition received hundreds of thousands of visits. And that wasn't all. Once the kids were finished with their online creations, many clicked through to poptarts.com. A third of the traffic for poptarts.com during the campaign's run, in fact, came from the Cartoon Network mini-site. The campaign also lit up the buzz producing blogosphere at digg.com, and it was named the "Site of the Day" by Adobe. Not bad for a brand that was born in the 1960s, long before there was an Internet.

            Want to reach the college crowd? Try using two of their biggest passions: music and football. That was the strategy behind "AT&T World's Loudest Pep Rally," aiming to generate buzz about AT&T's wireless services.

            Launched in September 2007, the promotion entailed a nationwide contest to win a coveted prize: a free Dave Mathews Band concert at the winning school's campus. During the six-week period, fans invited the band to their school either by sending a short code or visiting the AT&T blue room online. They could submit up to 50 invitations daily in the form of text messages, videos, e-mails and photos. The school with the most invites scored the "touchdown," and the winner was the United States Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.

            AT&T also scored big: 72% of participants thought the contest should continue, nearly 3 out of 5 were more likely to remain an AT&T customer due to the promotion and almost half demonstrated increased purchase and recommendation intent. The campaign generated 3 million-plus page views, 3.3 million invitations (350,000 were wireless), an average time of 25 minutes spent at the site, more than 250,000 pieces of user-generated content were uploaded; Webcasts of the pep rally in the blue room received roughly 150,000 connections; more than 20% of fans attending the concert downloaded the band's ringtone. There have been in excess of 92,000 views of the site's archived concert footage. Go team!

            Twentieth Century Fox's Night at the Museum grossed more than $571 million at the box office in 2006. Tough act to follow for the DVD and Blu-ray disc release in 2007. The folks at Fox Home Entertainment and its marketing partner The Borden Agency needed something big, really big.

            Enter Rexy, the film's lovable T-Rex star. A replica of Rexy, weighing approximately one ton and measuring 21 feet long, was dispatched on a whirlwind eight-day coast-to-coast "Night at the Museum TREX TREK" tour, hitting natural history museums along the way. A yellow Hummer like the one used in the movie towed Rexy around. A star-studded send-off, including Mickey Rooney, one of the movie's key players, took place on the steps of New York City's American Museum of Natural History, the film's setting. A documentary film crew trailed the tour, uploading shorts from the daily footage to Yahoo Movies nightly. A second tour was also done with exclusive stops at Wal-Mart stores.

            The results were phenomenal. Over 400 million unpaid media impressions were registered and more than 6 million DVD sales were rung up during the first week, beating seven other new releases. Yahoo Movies reported 22 million unique visitors per week.

            Here's a list of indispensable items for any counterterrorism agent: passport, firearms, laptop, and... deodorant. Or at least that's what Degree for Men humorously suggested in a promotion with the TV series 24 as a way of reinforcing the Unilever brand's tagline, "More protection than you'll need; someday you'll need it."

            During sweeps week last May, Degree for Men partnered with Twentieth Century Fox to create a slate of tongue-in-cheek Webisodes based on the crime series. The online videos followed the travails of rookie Jason Blaine as he gets sent on menial errands that escalate into high-stakes drama. In one scenario, he is caught in a bank robbery and must dodge rapid fire in order to bring back hot coffee to his superiors. Another animated series, 24: Day Zero, featured the voice of Kiefer Sutherland, the actor who plays the TV show's main character, Jack Bauer.

            Degree for Men teased the Webisodes in trailers and commercials that urged consumers to go to CRURookie.com for the denouement of each of the episodes. The content spread virally on YouTube, helping to create millions of impressions.

            Viewership of 24 was up during the week, and Degree for Men's sales jumped 29% as a result of the promotion.

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