American Standards

Introducing the winners of the PRO Awards 2000. Well-known names and little-known companies. New products and ageless brands. Highly visible campaigns and under-the-radar efforts. Big budgets and small expenditures. Complex strategies and the simplest of ideas. Finalists for the PRO Awards 2000 competition came in all shapes and sizes, but they did have a few things in common: a great and workable idea, impressive execution, and most of all, success. (Oh, and they were also all conducted between March 1999 and April 2000.)

A panel of industry experts gathered in New York City in July to pore over more than 175 entries to this year’s program, and here’s what they found: 32 campaigns considered worthy enough to be finalists in 15 categories for this year’s PRO Awards.

You’ve just checked out a little bit about the winners during this special PROMO Expo luncheon. Now, this supplement will give you the details on what made these campaigns so successful. We’ve devoted most of our coverage to the 13 campaigns selected as category winners and the Best Overall Promotion. But we’ve also tipped our hats to the other winning finalists who made this year’s judging process one of the most competitive ever.

So sit back, relax, and take notes.

BEST OVERALL PROMOTION Most Innovative Communication Strategy Campaign: Tamiflu Launch Agency: Momentum, St. Louis (New York City office) Client: Roche Pharmaceuticals, Nutley, NJ Several judges cheered when this campaign was announced as winner of the Most Innovative Communication Strategy category, and that reaction served as a harbinger of its eventual selection as the best promotion of the year.

Mobile marketing is the promotion tactic du jour, but Roche Pharmaceuticals and Momentum put a winning spin on things last winter with an effort to introduce Tamiflu, a new prescription flu medication. Roche had been beaten to market by rival Glaxo-Wellcome’s Relenza, and thus needed to make a bigger splash than its competitor. Doing its first work for the company and in the new direct-to-consumer pharmacy category, Momentum found a panacea: a tour that deployed eight mobile, glass-enclosed residences housing actors to cities in which flu epidemics had just broken out. The outbreaks were reported by Roche’s proprietary FluStar tracking network of health clinics. “Everyone was juiced about how quickly we could respond,” says Dan Stevenson, vp-creative director at Momentum.

The actors conducted their lives on the backs of flatbed trucks, seemingly oblivious to the curious crowds they attracted. The punch line was displayed on the vehicles (including their tops for office-building viewing): “One person in this town who can probably feel safe from the flu. For the rest of us flu sufferers, there’s Tamiflu.” At events, “kindly grandma-type” staffers handed out brochures and packets of chicken soup. A national P-O-P initiative in pharmacies supported.

The result: The tour hit 71 markets for stays of two days to two weeks from Jan. 1 to March 15. A parallel p.r. campaign helped drive more than 100 million impressions through TV, print, and radio coverage. Tamiflu outsold its early-bird competitor by a three-to-one margin, gaining a 58-percent share of market. “I would say this has broken new ground,” says Nancy Berkow, consumer product director for Tamiflu. “The neatest part about it was the reaction of the people. They were flabbergasted, but they got it.”

Best Multidiscipline Campaign Campaign: Refresh the Roll Agency: In-house Client: Nabisco, Inc., Parsippany, NJ Nabisco’s LifeSavers added plenty of flavor to its marketing program last summer with a campaign developed and managed in-house to play off the Year 2000 buzz and get consumers involved in the product’s R&D.

A heavily integrated three-month campaign – the biggest in the brand’s history – asked candy lovers to vote on whether the company should retain the classic pineapple (shown by research to be the least-favored flavor in the brand’s classic five-flavor roll) or replace it with strawberry or watermelon. The angle was that LifeSavers “engineers” had discovered that pineapple was not Y2K compliant, and would have to be “fixed” to remain in the roll.

Consumers were allowed to cast their votes by telephone or at lifesavers2000.com. Voters were automatically entered into a sweepstakes offering four home theater packages and numerous other prizes. The promotion was communicated through a heavy schedule boasting TV, radio, and Internet advertising, an extensive p.r. campaign, a 38 million-piece FSI, and in-store activity in more than 30,000 outlets that included riser cards, tear pads, front-end shelf-talkers, aisle danglers, and sampling programs. EastWest Creative, New York City, handled the P-O-P materials.

More than 500,000 votes were cast. The p.r. effort generated 460 million impressions, and activity on the Internet produced 240 million page views. Volume sales rose 10.5 percent for five-flavor rolls and 5.1 percent for all five-flavor pack sizes during the promotional period.

“We expected it to be big, but not as big as it was,” says promotion manager Lauren Taveroni. “I think it was so successful because it keyed into emotional ties consumers have with the brand. It turned into the gold standard for promotions around here. We now have to top ourselves.”

Pineapple won out. “We really thought strawberry or watermelon would be a contender,” says Taveroni. “But consumers went crazy. They were very passionate about it.”

Best Use of Advertising Campaign: Golf Dream House Agency: Momentum, St. Louis Client: Buick Motor Division, Flint, MI Momentum had a variety of objectives when it began preparing this campaign for Buick, with which it has worked for two-plus years. Fortunately, it had an ace in the hole in professional golf star Tiger Woods, who had recently signed an endorsement deal with the General Motors car brand.

Buick asked Momentum to create an effort that would enhance awareness for its PGA event sponsorship, increase TV viewership of the CBS-broadcast Buick Invitational Tournament in February, establish the link between the brand and Woods and, naturally, build a database of future prospects. “We had all those realities on the table and we had to bring them together,” remembers Momentum creative director Jeff Coburn.

The concept was to run a sweepstakes in which golf fans could win a time-share at what would come to be known as the Buick Golf Dream House. Buick agreed to invest extra money by building a house within Florida’s World Golf Village. “The idea was to create a prize that could be used again,” explains Coburn. “Buick sponsors four tournaments a year, and they can now use [the house] for every one.”

Humorous TV spots (created by Momentum and produced by sister unit McCann Detroit) and print ads had Woods – who is averse to straight product pitches – challenging consumers to guess (via telephone or tiger.buick.com) what his score would be in the Invitational’s two televised rounds, with two winners randomly selected to receive a 45-day share in the house, a Buick Century, and other prizes. CBS liked the idea, and helped out by creating its own promotional messages gratis.

The sweeps generated 155,000 qualified names (141,000 via the Web) for the Buick database and drove tournament ratings and unaided awareness of Buick as a PGA sponsor up by more than 25 percent. The brand reran the campaign last August for another tournament.

Best Use of Direct Marketing Best Activity Generating Brand Loyalty Best Copywriting Campaign: Camp Jeep Agency: FCB Worldwide/1-2-1 Marketing, Southfield, MI Client: DaimlerChrysler, Auburn Hills, MI DaimlerChrysler’s annual August Jeep-owner loyalty building getaway, a PRO Award winner in 1999, earned triple honors this year by taking a successful strategy and making it better. In other words, the costs were reduced.

Charged once again with securing 2,500 attendees – counted in vehicles, not people – FCB Worldwide and 1-2-1 Marketing (which last year were doing business as Bozell Worldwide and Budco) sought to reduce overall invitations but still reach its goal in timely fashion. The agencies targeted a group of “Jeep Friends” comprised of the owners most likely to attend the three-day event in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. The list whittled down Jeep’s 1.8 million-strong owners and lessees to 320,000 who attended either a previous Camp or another Jeep event, had inquired about the Camp, or lived nearby.

That group was hit with a campaign designed to keep Camp Jeep top of mind by beginning the mailings earlier (a holiday-themed “save the date” postcard went out in December), making them more regular (monthly updates), and adding a little fun (Valentine’s Day “Love on the Rocks” warnings went to those who hadn’t yet registered). “We wanted to keep it in their minds for a longer period of time, give them a taste of what to expect, and have them excited by the time they got the invitation,” says Bruce Clayton, FCB’s senior vp-director of one-to-one marketing.

The early mailings helped: About 1,000 attendees signed up online before the official invitations even went out. The mailing total was reduced by 130,000 and the cancellation rate cut by 50 percent. “We’ve been able to hone in on what works for us. And the Web has been critical in reducing our costs,” says Lou Bitonti, senior manager for Jeep direct marketing. “We feel like the cylinders are all open now.”

Best Use of New Media Campaign: Online Racing Auction Agency: In-house Client: Valvoline Co., Lexington, KY Old met new with this in-house program from Valvoline, which sought to increase traffic to the corporate Web site by leveraging the company’s 30-year sponsorship of NASCAR.

Oil maker Valvoline had become a corporate partner of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America program in 1999, and wanted to jump-start the relationship by raising money for the charity. “We saw how successful online auctions had been, and decided to marry that with our racing heritage, which is a big part of our core equity,” says vp-marketing Sean Mitchell.

Consumer marketing manager Michelle Bronson rallied the in-house troops, enlisting 20 co-workers from various departments to devote extra time to the campaign. Using the contacts it has in the industry, Valvoline put out a call for prize donations, and ultimately received more than 750 memorabilia items and racing opportunities, such as driving lessons. “We got donations from Paul Newman and Ashley Judd,” says Mitchell. “It was really bigger than we expected it to be,” adds Bronson.

The company considered hosting the auction itself, but decided that using the well-known auctioneer eBay.com – which had become a Big Brothers partner as well – would better generate traffic. Links were established to valvoline.com, which hosted an e-mail service that provided updates on the bidding (and beefed up the company’s database) during the month-long auction last spring.

A live launch event at the California Speedway in Los Angeles, a USA Today ad, extensive p.r. from Edelman Worldwide, Internet ads, and in-car cameras carrying auction notices during two NASCAR races supported.

The auction raised $150,000 for the charity, increased traffic to valvoline.com by 85 percent, and scored 20 million impressions for the brand on eBay. “We couldn’t have done this without the Internet,” says Bronson. “When you’re trying to reach this many consumers with really no budget at all, it’s the perfect way.”

Most Effective Long-Term Campaign Campaign: Celebrate the Century Express Agency: In-house Client: U.S. Postal Service, Washington, DC The always noteworthy U.S. Postal Service gave its marketing schedule wheels along with legs this year by turning a four-car Amtrak train into an ever-moving community education program.

The concept centered on a Celebrate the Century educational program that would offer a museum-like look at Post Office and stamp history. “We wanted to show that the postal service is part of the fabric of every community,” says promotions manager Gary Thurow.

In a partnership with Amtrak that would prove vital to the campaign’s logistics, USPS obtained the train, which was made up of a restored Railway Post Office car, an old-fashioned baggage car, a historical business car, and a modern car to house the displays. The Post Office then began putting together a schedule that would keep the Express on the rails from March 1999 until this fall. “It’s the longest program we’ve ever done,” says Thurow.

Figuring out where and how the tour would stop proved difficult, because you just can’t park a train anywhere overnight. (Amtrak helped.) The goal was to hit cities not normally on promotional itineraries, so visits to White Fish, MT, Atmore, AL, and Danbury, CT, were included. USPS also had to find a dozen employees willing to spend more than a year on the train. Volunteer staffers had to be rallied at each stop as well. Although the costs were relatively high, “it was cheaper than producing a commercial and airing it 20 times on Seinfeld,” says Thurow.

By the spring of 2000, the Express had logged 15,000-plus miles, stopped in 47 cities in 26 states, and attracted more than 250,000 visitors. The tour has been popular among kids, about 300,000 of whom were sent educational kits that tied the train into USPS’s popular stamp-voting initiatives. “We have 800,000 employees, and it was a nice way to reach them, too,” Thurow says.

Best Activity Generating Brand Awareness/Trial Campaign: Launch of Blue Agency: Momentum, St. Louis (New York City office) Client: American Express, New York City If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then proof of this campaign’s strength came in September, when Best Buy commissioned Momentum to host a free concert by Sting in New York City’s Central Park.

Why? Because Momentum used the same concept and venue last September to help AmEx launch its new Blue card for young adults. In that iteration, the concert was Sheryl Crow and Friends, an event that aired as the first-ever national “trimulcast” on Fox TV affiliates, 80-plus radio stations, and the Internet at blueconcerts.com.

The campaign kicked off with a press conference five days before the show featuring Crow and AmEx executives announcing the event. Soon after, “Blue Crews” hit the streets of Manhattan to give away 25,000 concert tickets through an instant-win game designed to reinforce Blue’s technological enhancements. Players swiped a card through an electronic scanner, with one out of four scoring tickets. Winners were directed to kiosks to supply information and learn about Blue. “We made everyone learn about the product,” says Chris Weil, executive vp-account services.

Radio stations tracked the Crew locations for listeners during the four days of giveaways leading up to the concert. Meanwhile, a national print and radio campaign drove tune-in.

Momentum worked with Crow to shape the concert into a form that would meet Fox’s two-hour limit and leave ample room for planned commercial breaks. During the show, photographers took digital shots of crowd members, then directed them to a Web site where they could see themselves and apply for the card.

Ultimately, the number of Blue cards in force exceeded company goals by 71 percent, while Internet applications exceeded goals by 150 percent. A post-concert survey found that 80 percent of those “very likely” to apply for Blue were not American Express cardholders. “People take notice. We are a society that appreciates good marketing,” says Weil.

Best Activity Generating Brand Volume Campaign: Vote for Your Favorite Donut Agency: Flair Communications, Chicago Client: Dunkin’ Donuts, Randolph, MA To celebrate its 50th birthday, Dunkin’ Donuts wanted a long-term campaign that would float all boats – sales volume, store traffic, p.r. visibility, and employee excitement – because the company’s goal is full integration with every marketing program it runs. “It’s easy to say, but it’s one of the hardest things to do,” says sales promotion manager David Kennealey.

Flair was able to supply just that with a February-through-April effort that asked consumers to pick their favorite for a chance to win cash or free products ($50,000 and donuts for life was the top prize). “Looking at [the chain’s] core mission lead us to a product-focused concept,” says Warren Field, Flair’s director of strategic development. And a voter theme during presidential primary season was “a wonderful way of getting a lot of press,” he says.

Once franchisees were brought on board, Flair set the stage with news releases to TV, radio, and print media. Promotional packets containing employee attire, signage, and a host of P-O-P including six-foot-high voting booths and ballot boxes were sent to 5,000 stores. Local radio broadcasts from stores, tags on national TV and radio spots (part of the chain’s most powerful media plan ever), a 35 million-piece FSI, and a special Web site supported. Beginning in early March, employees hit the streets in 10 cities for off-site events to generate more awareness.

The results were staggering: Sales rose 28 percent, store traffic jumped 51 percent, more than 816,000 votes were cast, and more than 121 million media impressions were recorded. Boston Kreme won the election. “We had no clue how many consumers would participate, but we had 10 times the response of other programs,” says Field. “It was a great idea, it was well thought out, and it had great execution,” says Kennealey. “We only have a 50th birthday once, so we had to do it right.”

Best Business-to-Business Campaign Campaign: Boise High Agency: Momentum, St. Louis Client: Boise Cascade Office Products, Boise, ID No one got into the promotion business to sell office supplies. But the four-year-old relationship between Boise and Momentum has made the task quite rewarding.

Last year was Boise’s 35th in business as a product supplier, which is “a non-event for customers,” says Momentum vp-account director Linda Neff. So how to celebrate without really celebrating? By turning the fall product catalog into a faux 1964 high school yearbook, thereby letting Boise’s customer base (primarily women 18 to 49) relive their own memories.

The company mailed 255,000 copies of the 40-page yearbook, along with pennants, cardboard pop-ups, pressed flowers, and an offer for Steve and Judy dress-up magnet sets. (Steve and Judy are the fictitious couple that serves as the catalog’s stars.) Products were advertised as if they were typical yearbook features – “Brightest Student” was a rainbow pack of folders – and Boise ceo C.C. Milliken became the principal.

An Internet overlay drove customers to a Web site chronicling Steve and Judy’s romance in weekly installments. “People really identified with them. Some even thought they were real,” says Boise marketing director Kevin Koertje. The characters were so popular, in fact, that they were brought back in a Boise High Reunion campaign last winter. “We felt like we had to do it, because we were getting so many e-mails,” he says.

The effort, which also included events and a sales force overlay, generated a 44 percent increase in sales of promoted products and a $5.5 million return on Boise’s investment. The Steve and Judy romance nearly doubled click-through rates for Boise’s opt-in e-mail program.

“Our customers made a connection, and that’s what it’s all about,” says Koertje. “It’s about balancing entertainment with relevant information,” says Neff. “If we can make them laugh, then we’ve involved them.”

Best Account-Specific Retail Campaign Campaign: Intergalactic Encounter Agency: In-house Client: Saban Entertainment, Los Angeles One of the biggest problems in conducting a hugely successful promotion is finding a way to top it the following year. But Saban Entertainment had no problem with the sophomore jinx in spring 1999.

Having worked with master toy licensee Bandai America and retail partner Wal-Mart on a goal-busting retail tour for the Power Rangers property in 1998, Saban came back with an even bigger event last year by creating what would be classified as the World’s Largest Inflatable Structure by the Guinness Book of World Records.

The inflatable moon walk attraction was the centerpiece of a weekend tour that hit 31 Wal-Mart parking lots, backed by an on-air sweeps from sister unit Fox Kids Network and heavy local support from Fox affiliates including on-air promos and events. Wal-Mart provided incremental purchase of various Power Rangers products, a special in-store boutique, local media buys, and a follow-up national promotion in August. Bandai chipped in with prizes for the sweeps, local radio buys, TV spots in top markets, and a cross-sell brochure to be distributed on-site. Affiliates were given Fridays as their own to host nonprofit tie-ins or events for advertisers or employees.

More than 4,000 fans attended each weekend, and more than 92,000 people entered the sweepstakes. Bandai’s sales increased by more than 400 percent and sales of other Power Rangers products rose 40 percent at each stop. The sixth season of the Power Rangers TV show earned a 10.7 rating and 34 share among boys six to 11. More than 85 percent of Fox affiliates sold the promotion to third-party sponsors.

“Everybody was on board from the beginning, because they saw the successes in the past,” says Saban vp-promotions Gina Mace-Sands. “It was a fabulous publicity machine.” The company is putting together a third go-round for next spring.

Best Dealer/Sales Force Activity Campaign: Spice Islands World Flavors Introduction Agency: WatersMolitor, Minneapolis Client: Tone Brothers, Des Moines, IA Tone Brothers needed a major push to launch its first new product line in four years, but didn’t have a lot of time in which to do it. The company hired WatersMolitor last December, and charged the agency with breaking a campaign for the World Flavors line of ethnic spices by March 1.

“When we pulled the trigger, it happened very quickly,” says brand manager Christopher Bentley. “WatersMolitor nailed the essence of what the brand stood for right away. It’s very evident in the materials.”

The agency’s trade campaign centered on Old World imagery playing off the origins of the nine spices in the line, and featured confident messaging themed “Takin’ Back the Business” for Tone’s sales force – which was undergoing a massive turnover just as the effort broke.

Retailers received free samples in treasure chests that proved to be a real hit. (“I’m still sending out about 20 of those a week,” says Bentley.) The locked chests could only be opened by keys delivered within the sales brochure. Public events and in-store displays including shippers, racks, and shelf strips brought the message to consumers. A unique five-panel label spiced up packaging with a variety of recipes.

“We wanted integrated communication across all audiences,” says WatersMolitor president Dori Molitor. In that respect, the short time frame may have helped, “because we were putting all the components together at the same time.”

In the end, all of the targeted accounts accepted the full line of World Flavors SKUs, and overall Spice Islands sales rose 20 percent compared with the previous year.

“The brand had a meaningful story, so it was relatively easy to get going. Part of it was that we really believed in the product,” says Molitor. “We’re absolutely delighted with the results,” says Bentley. “This really set the benchmark for our company.”

Best Idea or Concept Campaign: Can You Resist? Agency: Frankel, Chicago Client: Frito-Lay, Plano, TX Tie-ins to the May 1999 release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace were supposed to be a sure thing. But don’t count Frito-Lay among the promotional partners unhappy with results from their efforts.

A massive campaign from agency-of-record Frankel helped the snack leader score its best merchandising sell-in ever (90-plus percent), increase its market share by 2.8 percent over the all-important July 4th holiday, and spike brand regard among kids by nine points.

The effort centered on an instant-win game delivered in 110 million product packages that let consumers choose their odds: play for one of two $1 million payoffs or go for a one-in-10 chance to win one of 11 million other prizes. “We were trying to bring to life the power of the property, and connect with it in a way that was elegant and inextricable,” says Lora DeVuono, Frito’s vp-retail marketing.

Packages contained one of 12 instant-win cards that doubled as collectibles. The cards were released in four waves during the promotion’s 12-week window. A limited-edition 13th card encouraged more repeat purchases. P-O-P and packaging (Landor Associates worked on the latter) rolled out in two phases, the first to seed the challenge and the second to call out the game more explicitly. In-store executions were supported by heavy media buys (including TV spots from BBDO Worldwide) and a canyouresist.com Web site.

Elements of the U.S. campaign ultimately expanded to 24 countries. “It was pretty intense. We started a year and a half in advance,” says Robert Balick, Frankel’s senior vp-creative director. “But it all came together in the way you want it to every time.”

A post-op poll of retail customers found that 97 percent would give the same or more space to a similar promotion in the future – which means the Force might be with Frito-Lay again, either literally or figuratively.

Best Art Direction Campaign: Jordan to the Max Agency: Beyond DDB, Chicago Client: Giant Screen Sports, Evanston, IL Attracting attention for a film produced by an unknown company in a relatively obscure segment of the film industry can be daunting. But as any sports fan knows, having Michael Jordan on your team can make any effort a lot easier.

Beyond DDB was hired by Giant Screen Sports to handle marketing for Jordan to the Max, a documentary about the basketball great produced after brothers Don and Steve Kempf (who had connections to Jordan’s Chicago Bulls) decided the giant-screen IMAX format was short on sports titles.

Working with a limited budget and a short 100-day window before a planned May 1999 release, DDB set out to create imagery that would reflect the film’s two main thrusts: “motion and emotion,” says group creative director Mike Meyers. That is, the movie would offer Jordan in all his on-court glory, but also give viewers a chance to get inside the star’s head. “The art needed to be simple, but it needed to be powerful, too,” says Meyers.

The duality of the image was necessary for more than just artistic purposes: Giant Screen had to pitch the title to the institutions that run educational IMAX releases but also to mainstream theaters looking for Hollywood fare. Jordan had cooperated with the project, but was unavailable for any photo shoots, which left DDB art director Megan Lane to pore over thousands of images to find the right ones. Once she had, the agency began using them for theater sales materials, press-screening invites, ad slicks, teacher-activity guides, and print ads and posters.

Ultimately, 58 of the nation’s 137 IMAX theaters agreed to run the film (more than had signed up for Disney’s Fantasia release), and the movie has grossed more than $4 million. “The key art they designed was perfect,” says co-producer Don Kempf. “I’ve had calls from [Hollywood] studios asking who we used.”

FINALISTS Best Multidiscipline Campaign Campaign: Baby Bonus Savings Club Agency/Client: Mars Advertising/Farmer Jack Supermarkets Mars helped Farmer Jack keep the discount stores at bay with a loyalty program designed to bring young families back to grocery aisles. Club members automatically receive $20 cash back at checkout whenever they purchase more than $200 in baby products, relieving participants of any maintenance. The program is communicated through press releases, a direct-mail magazine, goody bags at hospitals, circulars, media advertising, and P-O-P. Each month, about 4,000 birthday cards are mailed to one-year-olds. Sales of baby products have risen 17 percent and market share has jumped 39 percent since the launch.

Best Use of Advertising Campaign: Dare to Stay Pure Agency/Client: 141 Integrated Communications/Allied Domecq Looking to improve its status among young, urban males, Allied’s Sauza brand challenged 141 to devise a “better Tequila experience.” The resulting Dare to Stay Pure campaign featured on-premise events in nine markets. Images from the brand’s TV advertising were projected onto female models dressed in white “body socks” to guarantee a captive audience. Supporting activities included on-premise sampling, radio spots, and private parties for accounts. More than 20,000 samples have been passed out at 400 events in an ongoing program that runs through September.

Best Use of Direct Marketing Campaign: Operation K-9000 Agency/Client: The Botsford Group/Cryovac The Botsford Group went to the dogs for packaging systems manufacturer Cryovac, which was looking to introduce a new product called K-9000 to dry pet food makers. A two-pronged effort began at the Pet Forum trade show, where fresh-baked cookies packaged in the K-9000 were hung from hotel room doors. A high-level list of 150 industry executives then received two additional K-9000 treats: a 20-pound bag of popcorn and two Omaha Steaks (the latter dubbed “The Ultimate Doggie Bago). The pitch produced a 33-percent response rate and 22 qualified leads – more than triple the goal.

Campaign: Virtual Install Agency/Client: The Launch Group/Quantum Quantum, the leader in the network storage market, charged The Launch Group with introducing the new Snap Server, a less-expensive and more user-friendly system. Three-dimensional mailers sent to 2,500-plus large accounts contained a photo of the server and four screws that could be used to install the real thing when it arrived. Recipients were directed to a Web site where they could interact with a demo, then receive a Black & Decker cordless screwdriver if they agreed to a sales call. The effort scored a 24-percent response rate, including numerous accounts with multiple-unit potential.

Most Innovative Communication Strategy Campaign: Uncle Sam Operation Cows on Parade Agency/Client: Flair Communications/Dairy Farmers of America The year-old Dairy Farmers of America cooperative needed a program to educate the world about its organization and goals. Flair found a perfect vehicle to do so right outside its office: Chicago’s Cows on Parade summer publicity event, which had Windy City businesses and organizations buying and decorating bovine statues to line the streets. DFA’s cow was dressed as Uncle Sam, and the image was leveraged across all the association’s direct-mail, premium, display, Internet, and other initiatives. The program surpassed goals, brought a 20-to-one return on investment, and even raised $3.4 million for the DFA Dairy Relief charity.

Best Use of New Media Campaign: Smell-O-Vision Agency/Client: In-house/Nickelodeon Nickelodeon once again showed why packaged goods partners like Glenview, IL-based Kraft Foods are always ready for a tie-in with Smell-O-Vision, a special programming block that let kids play along at home with 3-D glasses and scratch-and-sniff cards. The cable network ran promotional spots for five weeks directing viewers to grocery stores, where 25 million packages of Kraft Kids Brands carried the specs and cards. (Blockbuster Entertainment also passed out kits in its outlets.) More than 20 million viewers tuned in, which represents almost 40 percent of all children two to 11 with cable access – plus five million adults. Kraft’s volume rose 7.7 percent during the period.

Campaign: Juicy Fruit Scavenger Hunt Agency/Client: Promotions.com/Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. After a two-year advertising hiatus, Juicy Fruit roared back last summer with a Gotta Have Sweet TV effort from BBDO, then turned to Promotions.com to extend the buzz to the Internet. Banner ads on partnering Web sites drove would-be contestants to juicyfruit.com, where they learned how to play and were sent back to partner sites to find branded buttons that either gave away an instant prize (product or movie tickets) or let them enter a sweepstakes for trips, meetings with celebrities, or a Sega Dreamcast. Juicy Fruit banner ads scored a 1.4 percent click-through rate – three times the industry average – and inspired 200,000 sweeps entries.

Most Effective Long-Term Campaign Campaign: Rock Star Agency/Client: Beyond DDB/United States Gypsum Did you know that Sheetrock was a brand name? USG was aware that its building product had become a generic term for drywall, so it sought Beyond DDB’s assistance in reestablishing its uniqueness. The three-year Better Idea campaign targeted contractors and installers with direct mail, trade advertising, a sweepstakes, and a Rock Tour of nationwide visits to construction sites highlighted by purchase incentives, premium giveaways, and sweeps sign-ups. USG ratcheted up the program each year, adding a NASCAR tie-in for year two and TV spots in year three. The efforts paid off with an eight-percent increase in sales and a 14-percent jump in brand awareness.

Campaign: Miss Chiquita Summer Fun Agency/Client: The Botsford Group/Chiquita Fresh North America Chiquita’s annual summer program has earned kudos before (1999 PRO Awards). Last year’s campaign utilized the strategic foundation of the last two efforts, but refreshed the creative through a Miss Chiquita’s Summer Fun Adventures sweeps dangling three vacations and 100 family tents. Shoppers took entry forms from P-O-P displays, affixed the famous Chiquita sticker, and mailed them in. A full-page ad in People and radio spots in 20 markets supported. Retail participation increased by 30 percent in ’99, and sales growth hit double digits for the third straight year.

Best Activity Generating Brand Awareness/Trial Campaign: IBM Store Agency/Client: Einson Freeman/IBM The inventor of the personal computer hasn’t been known for its PCs in decades. OfficeMax was also having trouble with sales in the category. Einson helped bring the two together for a store-within-a-store that got upfront positioning and put IBM-trained sales associates face-to-face with shoppers. Advertising in circulars, grand opening activities, and premium giveaways supported. After the first 12 weeks, IBM PC sales were up 37 percent over prior-period and year-ago numbers. This campaign is also the Hard Luck Story of the Year: IBM reversed strategy at the end of `99 and halted all retail sales activity. (Rival Gateway took its spot in OfficeMax stores.)

Campaign: Kissmobile Tour 1999 Agency/Client: Marketing Werks/Hershey Foods The numbers are huge: 234 million impressions (including placements on three TV programs and in The Wall Street Journal), 520 event appearances, three million samples distributed, and $2 million raised for Children’s Miracle Network. And all that from just two traveling vehicles. Granted, those vehicles were shaped like Hershey’s Kisses, and they did traverse the country for most of the year. Marketing Werks’ tour nearly tripled Hershey Foods investment in media value alone. Add in the goodwill generated by a cause overlay, visits to schools and children’s hospitals, and all that free chocolate, and you’ve got a tasty campaign.

Best Activity Generating Brand Volume Campaign: Austin Powers Groovy Giveaway Agency/Client: Communicator/Nabisco, Inc. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me was a smashing success for its theatrical marketing partners, and Communicator figured it could get equally good results by connecting Nabisco’s Cornnuts brand with the film’s fall video release. An instant-win game ran on 15 million packages and was supported by 10,000 P-O-P displays, print ads, a Web site, and stickers and inserts in the video. An in-school component got three million sample bags into the hands of pre-teens and teens. Fourth-quarter sales jumped 23 percent over the prior period, reversing a 10-percent decline. Trade support rose 30 percent.

Best Activity Generating Brand Loyalty Campaign: Beauty on the Move Agency/Client: In-house/Sara Lee Branded Apparel How do you reach the 49 million American women size 14 or above? How about a mobile tour that visits 100 Wal-Marts in 14 states? That’s what Sara Lee’s Just My Size brand did this year with a program that launched in February. A transformable 18-wheeler contains seven different exhibits including touch-screen computers and interactive kiosks, a product showroom, a photo studio, a cosmetic center, and the Wheel of Prizes. Procter & Gamble hopped on board to sample HBA products. The effort thus far has reached more than 48,000 women and pushed sales volume up almost 15 percent at tour stores.

Best Business-to-Business Campaign Campaign: Windows 2000 Launch Agency/Client: Momentum/Microsoft Corp. Launching a new product while daily headlines trumpet the government’s anti-trust case against the company is no easy feat. Momentum assisted Microsoft in steering attention toward the Windows 2000 operating system with a special event held during a three-day programmers conference. A 60-foot laptop literally set the stage for an event that brought Bill Gates, actor Patrick Stewart, and guitarist Carlos Santana before a live audience of 5,000, a Webcast crowd of 50,000, and 150,000 people in 60 countries via satellite. The event sparked 200 press reports and a 10-percent rise in positive perception among IT professionals, and helped sell one million copies of the software in the first month.

Campaign: FSI Council Awareness Agency/Client: FCB Worldwide/FSI Council A campaign by the industry for the industry: The newly established FSI Council needed a program to educate marketers and retailers on the brand-building capabilities of the insert – in a manner that would inspire increased usage. FCB assisted in putting together an effort focused on the underwriting of eight research studies, the results of which were then used to create engaging direct-mail pieces and trade ads. Since the initiative began in 1997, attrition among consumer packaged goods makers has been halted, average coupon duration has risen, and the percentage of full-page FSIs (vs. half-page ads) has increased.

Best Account-Specific Retail Campaign Campaign: Wal-Mart Veterans Day Agency/Client: Idea Connections/Eastman Kodak Co. In a campaign to spark trial of Kodak’s Picture Maker photo-reprint kiosk, Idea Connections tapped into the emotion of Veterans Day, offering free five-inch-by-seven-inch reprints of any shot of a man in uniform. Copies of the photos were also used for in-store displays “Honoring Our Hometown Veterans.” Outlets without kiosks worked with “buddy stores” to expand the program’s reach. Merchandisers, posters, employee badges, PA announcements, and notices in Wal-Mart fliers supported. In an overlay with American Greetings, shoppers signed giant cards that were delivered to local VA hospitals. More than 34,000 photos were compiled for the tribute. The campaign will run again this year.

Campaign: Pre-paid Phonecard Launch Agency/Client: DVC Group/AT&T AT&T had just won Wal-Mart’s pre-paid phonecard account from Worldcom, so the telecommunications company wanted something that would immediately impress its new retail partner. DVC got the ball rolling with an operations guide for managers outlining steps toward an easy product transition. It then developed a campaign that ran in 2,400 stores and featured promotions for the graduation, back-to-school, and holiday periods. Special cards, packaging, and displays were created for the different executions. Sales during all three efforts exceeded objectives by better than 150 percent. In the third quarter, AT&T cards became the chain’s impulse-purchase category leader by outselling even batteries.

Best Dealer/Sales Force Activity Campaign: Cleared for Take-Off Agency/Client: McCracken Brooks Maier/ Washington Mutual To generate incremental sales of specified mortgage banking/financial services products and build team spirit, Washington Mutual embarked on an incentive campaign featuring collateral kits with a decidedly hipper feel than standard banking materials. Salespersons and managers earned a choice of home-related merchandise for reaching goals, while support staffers received gamecards for chances at instant prizes. Non-winning pieces were entered into monthly grand-prize drawings for higher value home-related merchandise. Washington Mutual’s adjustable rate mortgage funding increased by 30 percent during the three-month period. More than 1,000 first-tier rewards were distributed, and more than 10,000 rewards were presented to support staffers.

Campaign: Global Quest for Success Agency/Client: Impiric/Citibank A sales recognition program that ran in three world regions and 37 countries, Quest for Success used motivational messages from high-level executives and promotional devices to drive the global sales force. An “Olympian Award” gave managers the opportunity to nominate achievers for country-specific recognition. Other programs included a worldwide e-mail exchange and a sales brainstorming session that encouraged managers to initiate idea forums. The program involved nearly 1,500 participants. As the program entered the last quarter, global sales were on track to meet ambitious revenue goals, and some countries were positioned to exceed their specific goals.