Holding out for a Hero

Tough but tender won the evening at this year’s Reggie Awards, presented in March in Orlando at the annual convention of the Promotion Marketing Association. The Do You Know a Brawny Man? campaign, developed for Georgia-Pacific by DVC Worldwide, took the top prize in the category of national consumer promotion (budget between $1 million and $5 million), and the overall best title of Super Reggie.

The Brawny paper towel brand had lost some of its punch over the 30-year lifespan of its lumberjack icon. Despite over 90% awareness, Georgia-Pacific recognized that the brand and icon no longer seemed relevant to consumers, and it needed to work out a new regimen to increase sales, brand differentiation and exposure. Morristown, NJ-based DVC Worldwide was brought in as the personal trainer to set Brawny back on track.

It devised the Do You Know a Brawny Man? contest to search for a man with the characteristics of the brand and its icon: Strength (physical or character), toughness and dependability. Wives, girlfriends, co-workers and mothers submitted photos and short essays on how their man embodied those characteristics. Judges culled entries to 12 finalists, then America voted for the winner by mail and online.

In the contest’s first two weeks, more than 40,000 entries were downloaded from the contest Web site — a great start, especially considering that entry volume wasn’t a primary objective. Other ballots were cast via mail-in. Floor graphics were placed in 9,000 stores promoting the contest and encouraging consumers to visit brawnyman.com for entry, and these were backed by television spots. Finally, the Brawny Brigade traveled across America to help find a real-life Brawny Man, stopping in eight major cities to participate in local clean-up projects and make donations to non-profit causes.

During the overall promotion period (May-October), brand volume grew more than 12.3%, five times more than the entire category, which was up 2.4%; brand share increased during these months 10% to an 11.5% share from 10.5%. At the campaign’s peak in June 2002, brand volume was up 31% vs. the year before; also in June, Brawny had its highest monthly dollar (13.2%) and unit (12.8%) share for the year. And profits for Brawny increased $5 million vs. plan as a direct result of the promotion.

Grand-prize winner Mario Cantacessi, a career firefighter from California who was nominated by his wife, was announced live on The Caroline Rhea Show on Nov. 6, 2002. He received a “tough” and “dependable” Dodge Durango, and his picture appeared on Brawny packages for a limited time. He and the other finalists were featured in a 2003 Brawny Man Calendar that could be purchased as an SLO. Ah, a tough man is good to find.

WINNERS BY CATEGORY

A list of other Reggie winners follows; for a description of each, see April PROMO or visit promomagazine.com.

National Consumer Promotion, Budget over $5 million

Gold: NFL Kickoff Live From Times Square, developed in-house by the National Football League
Silver: M&M’s Brand First Ever Global Color Vote, developed by Thomas J. Paul, Inc. for Masterfoods USA
Bronze: Spider-Man Cingular Nation, developed in-house by Sony Pictures Entertainment

National Consumer Promotion, Budget $1 million to $5 million

Gold: Do You Know a Brawny Man? developed by DVC Worldwide for Georgia-Pacific
Silver: dnL Flipit developed by Brand Buzz (Y&R, Inc.) for Dr. Pepper/Seven Up
Bronze: Rimmel London Bus Tour, developed by US Concepts for Coty, Inc.

National Consumer Promotion, Budget under $1 million

Gold: Coldwell Banker Concierge, developed in-house by Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corp.
Silver: LEGO BIONICLE Power Lies Beneath Tour, developed by Marketing Werks for LEGO Systems, Inc.
Bronze: Internet Train, developed in-house by Yahoo!

Local, Regional or Target Market Promotion, Budget over $1 million

Gold: Best Legs in Chicago, developed by Momentum North America for American Airlines
Silver: Hawaiian Airlines Celebrates Disney’s Lilo & Stitch, developed by Starr Seigle McCombs, Inc. for Walt Disney Co.
Bronze: The Taken Experience, developed by LIME Public Relations & Promotions for the SCI FI Channel

Local, Regional or Target Market Promotion, Budget under $1 million

Gold: Reel Moms, developed by Marinelli Communications for Loews Cineplex Entertainment
Silver: Little People Club, developed by Eric Mower & Associates for Fisher-Price
Bronze: Mobile Investigation Unit, developed by Michael Alan Group for The Courtroom Television Network

Multi-Partner Promotion, Involving three or more partners

Gold: Wild About Writing, developed by Momentum North America for Paper Mate/Sanford
Silver: NFL Kickoff Live From Times Square, developed in-house by the National Football League
Bronze: Internet Train, developed in-house for Yahoo!

Business to Business (no budgetary parameters — includes trade promotion)

Gold: The Court TV Upfront Tour, developed by The Michael Alan Group for The Courtroom Television Network
Silver: Avon Sales Representatives Online Order Conversion Campaign, developed by Don Jagoda Associates for Avon Products, Inc.
Bronze: Strottman Kid Engineering Calls, developed in-house by Strottman International

Multi-Cultural/Ethnic Promotion

No winners selected.

International/ Global Promotion

Gold: M&M’s Brand First Ever Global Color Vote, developed by Thomas J. Paul, Inc. for Masterfoods USA
Silver: Men In Black II and Mercedes-Benz=The New Hotness, developed in-house by Sony Pictures Entertainment
Bronze: MGM Die Another Day Revlon, developed by Kobin Enterprises Ltd. for Revlon

New Media Promotion

GOLD: Bid, Play & Getaway Instant Win Game, developed by Marden-Kane, Inc. for eBay
SILVER: Jimmy Neutron Gotta Blast Rocket Race Game Series, developed in-house by Nickelodeon
BRONZE: My Ocean by Club Med Fragrance Launch, Do You Kiss Like a Fish? developed by Entertainment Marketing, Inc. for Coty, Inc.

Cause/Outreach Promotion

Gold: Forensics in the Classroom, developed in-house by The Courtroom Television Network
Silver: Great Safety Adventure, developed by US Concepts by Lowe’s Home Improvement
Bronze: Eat Like A Champion, by CoActive Marketing Group for Safeway

Event Marketing

Gold: NFL Kickoff Live From Times Square, developed in-house by the National Football League
Silver: Nike Italy SKO Tour, developed by Relay Sports & Event Marketing for Nike Italy
Bronze: The Biography 15 Years Celebration Tour, developed by Civic Entertainment Group LLC for A&E Network