Finally

MILLION-DOLLAR IDEAS THRIVED LAST YEAR, THOUGH BUDGETS DIDN’T. Judges for PROMO’s own PRO Awards were impressed with strategy they saw in the 45 finalists in 15 categories. The annual competition drew 239 entries this year, more than ever before — a testament to marketers’ enthusiasm and hard work in a grueling environment. Winners will be announced Oct. 8 at PROMO Expo in Chicago. Here’s a look at the field of contestants. (Detailed case studies will follow in our November issue.)

BEST MULTI-DISCIPLINE CAMPAIGN

Discover Card Gets You On GameDay
Marketing Werks/Discover Card

Discover Card hit the big leagues with a mobile Tailgate tour hosting ESPN’s College GameDay program and a contest to appear on the show. Fans filmed a mock GameDay audition to win a Sega video game system; sports nuts who accurately guessed the outcome of college football games auditioned to be co-anchors on College GameDay. The 14-stop tour drew 1.1 million people; Discover repeats the contest this fall.

Live Like a King
In-house/The History Channel

The History Channel’s four-hour miniseries Egypt: Beyond the Pyramids needed marketing support just as grand. A watch-and-win sweeps distributed more than 22 million decoders that viewers used on their TVs to reveal prizes. Grand prize was a trip to the pyramid-shaped Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas and private concert with The Bangles (of “Walk Like An Egyptian” fame). The series received the network’s first Emmy nomination and a 2.24 rating — 119 percent over The History Channel’s norm.

The Islands of the Bahamas
Bahamas Ministry of Tourism/Nickelodeon

The Islands of the Bahamas teamed with Nickelodeon to woo families in the first-ever alliance between a U.S. kids’ television network and a government tourism agency. The Island sponsored TEENick Aaron Carter’s concert tour, complete with a pavilion showcasing Bahamian culture and vacation information; Five Slimetime Live shows were produced in the Bahamas and aired on Nick, backed by an on-air sweeps. The Bahamas welcomed a record four million visitors in 2001, including 500,000 kids.

BEST USE OF ADVERTISING

Wants and Needs
Noble & Associates/Gerber Products

Gerber wanted to keep its lead for Gerber Graduates as other brands vied for toddlers’ tummies. Graduates pioneered the toddler food segment, To extend its nutritional positioning Gerber created the “Wants & Needs” campaign that shows Graduates are easy for toddlers to pick up, spoon, or sip. Direct-mail with coupons reached moms of toddlers at 12 and 14 months; an FSI, TV, and print supported. Sales rose seven percent and Gerber increased its dollar share 3.7 percentage points.

The Orbit Institute
GMR Marketing/Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co.

Wrigley brought its successful European brand Orbit to the U.S. with a tongue-in-cheek ad and sampling campaign. The Orbit Institute TV spots showed gum-testers at the fictitious institute getting filthy while their mouths stayed clean. Sampling crews, dubbed “Orbit Institute Field Research Teams” — dressed like ad characters — gave out 7.15 million samples of the tab-shaped sugarless gum in 30 cities. Sales jumped more than 50 percent, and Orbit’s share of total gum sales rose to 1.7 percent for Peppermint, 1.8 percent for Wintermint (from 1.1% and 1.2%, respectively).

Simplify Your Life
In-house/WE: Women’s Entertainment

WE: Women’s Entertainment and Real Simple magazine created an on-air, online, and in-book sweepstakes with a grand-prize package of services from a personal assistant, chef, housekeeper, driver, and personal trainer. Partnerships with Real Simple and WE’s sponsor Aveeno appealed to women 18 to 49. More than 22,000 entered: nearly 77,000 cross-channel spots were aired via 226 cable affiliates.

BEST USE OF EVENT MARKETING

Do More, Carry Less
GMR Marketing/Intel Corp.

Intel hit Manhattan streets with a one-day demo blitz, sweeps, and free concert for its Mobile Pentium 4 processor. Fifteen Intel Mobile Zone kiosks in Bryant Park showcased music, gaming, and photography; 75 “mobile messengers” with PCs braced against their chests give passersby a demo. Folks who went to retailers to try Intel in-store scored a ticket to the VIP section of the Barenaked Ladies concert that night. Kiosks at Penn Station and Columbia University extended the reach. Intel drove 8,000 people to retail and boosted sales (14 to 17 percent of all PCs sold in participating stores had the mobile processor, compared to four percent in the total U.S.).

Iron Chef vs. Bobby Flay Rematch Weekend
Innova Marketing/The Food Network

The Food Network capitalized on Iron Chef’s cult-like following with a guerrilla campaign that sent “chef-mobile” SUVs in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, New York City, Boston, Chicago, Indianapolis, and Memphis to give out cookbooks, posters, and T-shirts and hold tong-battling games, cook-offs at local restaurants, and Sumo wrestling matches. Iron Chef Weekend in June brought the network’s highest viewership, 8.4 million people.

Biography Fifteen Years Celebration Tour
Civic Entertainment Group/A&E Television

A&E used the program’s 15th anniversary to link Biography magazine, Bio.com, Bio Channel, and Biography Consumer Products in one mobile tour that hit 10 markets to let 260,000 visitors tape a short Biography episode in a mock studio, pose for a faux cover of the magazine, or explore family roots at genealogy kiosks. Biography ratings rose an average of 36 percent in each tour market.

BEST USE OF DIRECT MARKETING

Oldsmobile Ryder Cup Promotion
In-house/Oldsmobile

General Motors was about to shut down Oldsmobile’s product cycle when the brand leveraged its sponsorship of the 34th Annual Ryder Cup golf tourney. Consumers who test-drove an Olds got a set of Ryder-logoed golf balls; car buyers or leasers got an official PGA golf bag. When the Ryder Cup was postponed until 2002 by Sept. 11, Oldsmobile’s self-mailer, titled “We’re Playing Through,” assured customers the promotion was still valid. GM got a 4.4-percent response rate, 83,000 test drives, and 8,000-plus Oldsmobile sales in the first five months.

Camp Jeep
BBDO Detroit/Jeep

The eighth annual Camp Jeep drew more than 8,000 attendees even after its move to the Ozark Mountains (from West Virginia) and management changes at DaimlerChrysler. Activities included Jeep 101 courses, soccer clinics, woodcarving, golf academies, and a Thrills & Spills Village of extreme sports. Jeep targeted past attendees with direct and e-mail. Afterwards, 84 percent of attendees said the event made them feel better about the Jeep.

Chicago Bears Permanent Seat
Beyond DDB Promotions/Chicago Bears

Getting fans to fork out $4,000 to $5,000 to buy the right to purchase season tickets was tricky. The Chicago Bears sold fans on its new personal seat license (PSL) program with a glossy, 32-page brochure filled with fan-friendly info, mailed to new prospects and 14,000 season-ticket holders (who got 15 percent off PSL prices and premiums: a permanent display at the new stadium, a Bears’ hard hat, and a party with former and current players and coaches). In four weeks, the Bears sold 30,000 PSLs, exceeding their goal of 27,500. Other NFL teams use it as a blueprint.

MOST INNOVATIVE COMMUNICATION STRATEGY

Copa Tecate
DVC Worldwide/Labatt USA

Labatt needed a platform all its own to hype Tecate beer to young Mexican-American men. Its budget is smaller than competitors’, so Labatt sponsored amateur soccer leagues. The Copa Tecate (“Tecate Cup”) tournament let 1,000 teams in 14 markets compete up to the championship game in the L.A. Coliseum. Labatt field reps got local tie-ins off- and on-premise. Sales rose 11 percent; Labatt recruited three times more teams than the 300 it hoped to get.

Vaio — Engaging the Mobile Professional
Y&R Brand Buzz/Sony

Sony’s sleek Vaio laptop suits business travelers, so Sony met them at the airport (and train station) in 15 cities with ads all around the terminal and demos at kiosks inside and via Vaio-wrapped Jeeps outside. A deal with Delta put Vaios in all Delta Crown Rooms, brand messages on flight meal bags, and mentions in Delta’s frequent-flier e-mails. The blitz prompted nearly 100-percent recall and helped bump Vaio sales 11 percent. Some commuters proffered credit cards on the spot — even for the Jeep.

POX Launch
Target Marketing Promotions/Hasbro, Inc.

Hasbro was about to introduce its hand-held electronic game POX against Sega, Nintendo, and Sony. To generate buzz among boys, Hasbro launched in Chicago (the third-largest concentration of boys eight to 13). “Operation Alpha Boy” recruited 1,600 “peer leaders” as POX Secret Agents giving away gaming devices to friends. Buyer outreach targeted major retailers nationwide and in Chicago. Radio stations gave away POX units and touted the Web site. Chicago bought initial inventory of POX, and the POX Web site has Hasbro’s most activity ever.

BEST USE OF NEW MEDIA

Celebrity You’ve Got Mail
Seismicom/America Online

America Online added some glam with this retread of 1997’s You’ve Got Mail e-mail campaign. Mystery voices were celebs; participants logged on to guess a different voice each day for a month. Prizes included DaimlerChysler vehicles such as Jeeps and PT Cruisers. End-cap displays in Blockbuster, standees in United Artist Theatres, and posters in Burger King helped support. AOL got 1.9 million online entries and a jump in registration from Blockbuster displays (up 33 percent from a similar effort that ran in May 2001).

Extreme Performance Project
Momentum North America/AMD

AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) struggles to gain brand awareness against Intel. So AMD launched its XP computer processor with cryptic messages on tech sites favored by enthusiasts. Messages led them to a “hidden” XPP site, with tips about live event giveaways, held at 6 a.m. Within hours of the first message board leaks, the XPP site received 12,000 visits, nearly 550,000 unique visits by promotion’s end; 21,000 people attended the live events.

Ad Council Fall Conference
Idea Connections/Ad Council of Rochester

The Advertising Council needed a catchy invitation to draw attendees to its fall conference (a major fundraiser for the foundation) in the wake of Sept. 11. It sent prospective attendees a multimedia CD that greeted them by name and played music, images, and videos tied to the keynote speaker, a VH1 exec discussing its Save the Music program. The “Brand Behind the Music” invitations linked to the conference Web site for registration. Attendance rose 16 percent.

MOST EFFECTIVE LONG-TERM CAMPAIGN

Natural Confidence
Noble & Associates/Gerber Products

Gerber Products caters to consumers’ changing attitudes. Gerber has changed recipes and tweaked marketing to address worries over additives (in the mid-90s) to recent demands for organics. A 1997 in-store cassette tape offer, direct mail, and media ads introduced the theme “Natural Confidence.” In 1999 it introduced the NatureLock cooking process with in-store promos and direct mail, then added “Growers’ Story” ads and collateral touting its ability to track foods back to specific growers’ fields. Gerber’s market share rose to 75 percent in 2002 (from a low of 67% in ’97) and got a 95-percent score when it asked consumers if Gerber is high quality (up from 83% in ’96).

Arby’s Discovery Kids Adventure Meal
Strottman International/AFA Food Service

Arby’s didn’t want the same old kids’ meal recipe that puts the latest entertainment property center-of-the-plate. (It also needed to target moms as well as kids to stay within its “grownup taste” positioning.) Arby’s two-year deal with The Discovery Channel puts a toy and one of four trading cards (which fit together as a puzzle) in meals; themes like Creepy Creatures, Sci-Tech, and Yucky Stuff change every six to eight weeks. Arby’s donates to Big Brothers/Big Sisters for each meal sold. Kids’ meal sales rose 12 percent in the first four months (goal was five percent).

FedEx Ultimate Air & Ground Campaign
Velocity Sports & Entertainment/FedEx

FedEx packed the playbook to boost revenue and local use of its Express and Ground services. A First & Goal promo targeted 90,000 customers who could earn points (such as touchdowns and field goals) by meeting shipping requirements. Prizes were based on total points earned. Two stars of FedEx commercials opened the broadcast of the FedEx Orange Bowl with a FedEx Air & Ground vignette. Local and national ads supported; NFL stars Peyton Manning and Dan Marino appeared at FedEx Express and Ground headquarters. FedEx Ground revenues rose 20 percent, and a new version is in development.

BEST ACTIVITY GENERATING BRAND AWARENESS AND TRIAL RECRUITMENT

Spider-Man Cingular Nation
In-house/Columbia Pictures

To help Cingular launch its Cingular Nation calling plan (no roaming charges in the U.S.), Columbia sent Spider-Man roaming across phone face plates, calling cards, Cingular’s NASCAR drive, and two Dodge Vipers awarded via call-in sweeps. (The Vipers also toured theaters where Spider-Man was playing.) TV, radio, P-O-P in 7,000 Cingular stores, and direct mail to 22 million Cingular users supported. Cingular nabbed a 17-percent increase in new-user activations for the quarter, a 4-percent rise in brand awareness, and a five-fold jump in direct-mail response over past mailings.

Chicken Whopper Launch
Weber Shandwick Worldwide/Burger King

Burger King launched Chicken Whopper — the first Whopper extension in 45 years — on April 1 with TV spots of clucking cartoon chickens and a USA Today ad announcing a name change to Chicken King. Customers who clucked BK’s theme song in-store got 50-cents off the sandwich; a printable coupon at AOL supported. In-store traffic rose 8.4 percent; Chicken Whopper sales more than doubled those of the BK Broiled Chicken sandwich it replaced.

Red Zone
360 Youth/Procter & Gamble

P&G headed to high school football fields to court males 12 to 18 for its Old Spice Red Zone deodorant. Kits with Red Zone samples and branded premiums went to coaches at 4,000 schools to give to players. Players were recognized weekly for offensive and defensive efforts in the “red zone”; at the end of the season, 50 coach-nominated players were named Red Zone Players of the Year in a full-page ad in USA Today. Trial of the sample was 81 percent (compared to the average P&G 53% for teen programs).

BEST ACTIVITY GENERATING BRAND VOLUME

Got a Healthy Smile?
Marketing Drive Worldwide/Oral-B

Toothbrushes are mundane, but smiles aren’t. Oral-B borrowed the visibility of the California Milk Processor Board’s “got milk?” ad campaign for a sweeps awarding a trip to Hollywood. A regional overlay offered free milk with the purchase of two toothbrushes. Oral-B got 10,000 incremental displays when 18 key retail chains bought in. Volume sales rose as much as 155 percent in some stores. Oral-B repeats the campaign this year.

Destination Dunkaccino
Walters Molitor/Dunkin’ Donuts

Dunkin’ Donuts wooed Gen Xers with coupons for a free Dunkaccino (a hot coffee/chocolate drink) distributed on campuses, at movie theaters, and malls in 20 major markets. Folks who redeemed the coupon were automatically entered in a sweeps to win a 2002 Jeep Wrangler Sport and $1,000 for a road trip (rock climbing in Colorado, snowboarding in New England, or surfing in California). Dunkin’ saw double-to-triple digit sales increases in three or four markets, a 16 percent increase in unique visits to its Web site, and a 15-percent sustained lift.

Kraft Macaroni & Cheese/Monsters, Inc.
141 Worldwide/Kraft Foods, Inc.

Kraft leveraged the equity of Disney/Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. with an instant-gratification deal: A “5 + 1” pack of Macaroni & Cheese bundled five boxes of food with a separate package containing a plush Monsters character key chain. (Consumers could mail-in two proofs for a key chain.) Macaroni was shaped like the four main characters in one package size; boxes’ back panels had cut-out Monsters door hangers. Incremental volume rose 2.1 percent and merchandising was up 27.7 percent.

BEST ACTIVITY GENERATING BRAND LOYALTY

ING Direct Choice
U.S. Marketing & Promotions/ING Direct

ING Direct capitalized on the impersonal perception of Boston-area banks with a guerrilla marketing effort that put Orange Freedom Riders in colonial attire and an ING-branded sailboat on Boston waterways. An ING Direct Boston “T” Party offered free rides on Boston’s T subway. The first 75,000 passengers also got free copies of The Boston Globe (with a front-page ING ad). Calls jumped 147 percent in Boston and 28 percent in neighboring Rhode Island and New Hampshire. Today Boston accounts for more than 18 percent of ING’s total monthly acquisitions.

Route 2002: An American Road Trip
BBDO Worldwide/DaimlerChrysler

Borrowing from Jeep 101 and Chrysler Proving Ground events, DaimlerChrysler brought Jeep, Chrysler, and Dodge for the ultimate test drive. Direct mail (300,000 personalized invitations and 75,000 reminder postcards) pitched four combined events: the DaimlerChrysler Corporate Welcome Center, Jeep 101, Chrysler Proving Grounds, and Dodge City. A Competitive Comparison Course let drivers test DaimlerChrysler against Ford and Chevy. Lifestyle activities included mountain climbing, rock climbing walls, and golf. Route 2002 generated 36,000 test drives; 90 percent of attendees improved their opinion of DaimlerChrysler.

Camp Jeep
BBDO Detroit/Jeep
(See “Best Use Of Direct Marketing.”)

BEST BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS

The International Language of Work
Momentum North America/Boise
Office Solutions

Boise demonstrated it can provide business solutions the world over. A sales flyer targeted 300,000 customers; Boise reps got the International Language of Work Promotion-In-A-Box kit with flags, Boise-logoed passports and luggage tags, and a three-part poster series. Partner ExecutivePlanet.com created an online hub of international business info (tips on dining, entertaining, and doing business in other countries) and links to airlines, hotels, and rental cars. E-mail postcards mimicked the promotional flyer. The campaign helped generate $41.1 million in sales; sales of promoted products jumped 7.6 percent.

Red Baron Solo Pizza
Noble & Associates/Red Baron

School cafeterias serve delivery pizza, but it isn’t always hot. Foodservice directors who bought Red Baron bake-and-serve pizzas earned trips to an annual industry meeting and other premiums. Students got mini biplanes (just like the Red Baron’s); pizzas were served in delivery-style boxes. The projected sales boost hit right away (25 percent of gains came in the first 60 days), and 90 school districts bought in.

Kraft eSolutions Integrator
eMarketing Inc./Kraft Foods International

The Kraft Interactive Kitchen Web site has more than 3,000 recipes, so Kraft offered grocers online content in exchange for incremental merchandising in-store. Kraft’s technology platform was easy for retailers to implement, with recipes, games, and product info tied to major holidays (when consumers scour the Web for recipes). It complimented retailers’ e-commerce capabilities. Partners included AHOLD/Peapod, Albertson’s, Shoprite, and Safeway.

BEST ACCOUNT-SPECIFIC CAMPAIGN

Hop Your Way into the Record Books
ThompsonMurray/Energizer

When Wal-Mart said jump, Energizer asked how high. Energizer invited shoppers to set a new Guinness Book record for the world’s biggest Bunny Hop. Shoppers pledged to come to their local store on March 23 to dance; the six stores with the most pledges (one store per division) held hops, with local fanfare. Heavy p.r. supported, so when 1,501 shoppers in Detroit Lakes, MN, broke the record, it got some buzz in 72 markets. The stunt won Energizer kudos (and display space) from Wal-Mart’s marketing staff and reinforced the Energizer Bunny’s image.

Baby Care at BJ’s Wholesale Club
Upshot/Procter & Gamble

BJ’s wanted to get closer to its customers, and P&G wanted to get closer to BJ’s. Together, they courted pregnant women and new moms by revamping BJ’s baby aisle, mailing offers to 1.2 million BJ’s members with or expecting a baby, and distributing one million kits through hospitals and Lamaze programs. BJ’s sponsored BabyFaire expo and ran its first-ever outdoor ads: “You carry the baby, we’ll carry the rest.” The new aisle design promotes browsing. P&G increased sales of baby products and diapers through BJ’s, and will give away another one million kits through next year.

Eat Like a Champion
CoActive Marketing Group/Safeway, Inc.

Grocer Safeway wanted to increase fresh-produce sales, so it built an innovative team to bring a healthy-eating message to kids. Safeway tapped its long-time alliance with the 5 A Day campaign (from the Produce for Better Health Foundation), then added U.S. Soccer stars and several produce marketers (including Fresh Express and Sunkist). Each Safeway store adopted a local school; kids toured the produce department, then tracked their fruit and veg servings on a classroom chart to earn treats from the teacher. Sales jumped 61 percent the first flight (March 2001), 35 percent the second run (September 2001), and 45 percent the third time (February 2002).

BEST DEALER OR SALES FORCE ACTIVITY

Connection Cards
PowerPact LLC/Aventis Oncology

Aventis markets Taxotere to oncologists to treat advanced breast cancer. Aventis marked October (Breast Cancer Awareness Month) by giving docs Connection Cards (a packet of 10 greeting cards, a 30-minute phone card, and a wallet-sized card with support-group information) to distribute to patients. Nearly all sales reps (94%) said doctors liked the packet. Aventis does Connection Cards for the third time this year.

Forever Red
Wunderman/Anheuser-Busch

Budweiser tapped its 24-year sponsorship of the National Hot Rod Association (drag racing) for an in-store salute to retiring driver Kenny Bernstein. A-B wanted full retailer support, so it coordinated extensive P-O-P (including a custom-designed inflatable dragster and life-size standees) with local radio tie-ins, p.r., and appearances by Bernstein and his Bud car. All retailers in NHRA’s 21 markets participated (up 10 percent) and wholesalers spent three times more on P-O-P and other elements.

Wega Picture Perfect Putt
Y&R Brand Buzz/Sony

Sony relied on consumers’ hankering for golf to launch its new 40-inch WEGA TV in October 2001, when shoppers were skittish. Sony touted the Sony Open PGA tournament via in-store putting events using WEGA-branded golf sets. A sweeps offered a trip for two to the golf event in Hawaii and the chance to sink a 40-foot putt for $1 million. More than 25,000 people participated and 52,000-plus golf premiums were distributed in stores.

BEST IDEA OR CONCEPT

Eat Like a Champion
CoActive Marketing Group/Safeway, Inc.

(See “Best Account-Specific Campaign.”)

The Discover Card Experience
Upshot/Discover Financial Services

Discover Card broke new ground sponsoring Atlanta shopping center Discover Mills. Discover Card built its mall-center display with motion billboards and interactive video. A “Circus Soiree” event gave guests a branded tote bag and apparel. The mall boosted Discover’s name recognition among Atlanta shoppers to 61 percent (from 13%).

Harrah’s Total Rewards Treasure Hunt
In-house/Harrah’s Entertainment Inc.

Harrah’s hosted a $1 million dollar treasure hunt in the middle of the desert. Players entered at Harrah’s 20 casinos; one finalist each traveled to Las Vegas to hunt for a treasure chest. Themed drawings awarded cash and cars at casinos; $12 million in advertising and 1.2 million direct-mail pieces supported. Over 378,000 customers entered the contest, and casino play on Treasure Hunt drawing days generated $43.8 million.

BEST CREATIVE

Funny Faces
Noble & Associates/Gerber Products

Gerber’s organic baby food, Tender Harvest, challenged Earth’s Best with direct-mail featuring photos of fruit-and-veg “faces” — designs using slices of food — to illustrate Tender Harvest combinations. Gen X moms got mailings (with coupons and buy-one-get-one offers) when babies were five months and seven months old. Volume sales rose 22.5 percent.

Camp Jeep
BBDO Detroit/Jeep

(See “Best Use Of Direct Marketing.”)

Scream for Ice Cream Frankel/Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream

Dreyer’s tie-in to the Disney/Pixar holiday film Monsters, Inc. had variety and fun — if Dreyer’s could catch shoppers’ attention at the freezer. (Brand-loyalty is low, and frozen-food managers don’t like clutter.) Dreyer’s ran two promotional flavors (Cookies & Screams and Monsters DeLight) with freezer-door decals shaped like closet doors that opened to reveal Monsters characters. Other P-O-P and an account-specific sweeps supported. Display activity increased 165 percent (with feature-and-display up five-fold), and sales rose 2.2 percent.