Profiles: Civic Entertainment Group
Politicians and lobbyists successfully mix public and private interests. Apparently, so can good marketers.
Stuart Ruderfer and David Cohn cut their teeth in promotion by establishing a Marketing & Special Events division for New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani in 1994.
The plan was to generate new revenue streams for the city by striking marketing deals with corporate America. It took only two years for the pair to get the unit humming through such activities as a free Garth Brooks concert in Central Park for HBO and a city-wide chess tournament sponsored by publisher Simon & Schuster.
That experience — which included the daunting task of getting Gotham’s numerous departments to cooperate with outside entities — primed the two to open a “public-spirited” promotions and events shop in 1999, says co-ceo Cohn.
Manhattan-based Civic specializes in giving marketers “promotional access to public programs, venues, and initiatives that they wouldn’t otherwise know about it, think about, or have access to,” says co-ceo Ruderfer.
Witness A&E’s Fundraiser in a Box: The cable network hosted wine-and-cheese fundraising parties in 64 art museums to sneak preview a Biography special called The Impressionists. Art lovers paid to attend, and the museums kept the proceeds in exchange for showing a 20-minute clip from the show, hanging posters, and direct-mailing patrons.
“There are a million agencies who can do an event,” says Michael Mohamad, senior vp-marketing with A&E, New York City. “But there are only a few who can do it right.”
Civic’s billings more than doubled last year to $1.3 million, and net revenues climbed about 21 percent to $539,000. Billings should jump again this year on the strength of already booked business, including a 16-market anniversary tour for Biography that wraps this month. The agency designed a 1,375-square-foot exhibit to visit busy metro locales and tourist hotspots. Visitors could tape their own short bios in a mock studio; an exhibit honoring community heroes was altered for each market.
The seven-person shop has worked with DreamWorks, Hasbro, Evian, Southwest Airlines, Unilever, and AOL Time Warner. Past campaigns have included a Slim Fast Shake Shack Tour and a Hunt for the Golden Egg sweeps for Kraft. Most recently, Civic staged a tune-in campaign for HBO’s Winston Churchill biopic, The Gathering Storm, that got U.S. Airways to run promotional spots on planes and in airports — and to serve Pol Roger champagne (Churchill’s favorite) in first class.
“They are creative, polished, and professional,” says Roberta Mell, senior vp-marketing with New York City-based HBO. “They dig deep and offer high value.”
“No idea is too big,” says Cohn. “We’re extremely passionate about what we do. From conceptualizing the idea to executing the project, we find a way to make it happen.”
Clients not only praise the shop’s resourcefulness but its compassion. Last year, Ruderfer and Cohn went back to their political roots to work on Brotherhood, a photo book honoring the Fire Department of New York published in conjunction with ad agency Ogilvy & Mather. Sales of the book raised $2.5 million for the families of firefighters killed on Sept. 11; marketing partners included Barnes & Noble, Kodak, 24 magazines, and 250 radio stations.
Who knew politics could be so rewarding?
