The winners and honorable mentions in this year's PR news Platinum PR awards issue exemplify the most innovative approaches to redefining traditional PR with anything-but- traditional strategies. From a marketing communications effort that united a country over the search for the stars of a 1950s TV commercial to an event that landed a flock of pink flamingos around the windy city, the following winner confirms that the PR profession has indeed stepped out from the shadows to take a front-and-center role in delivering business results to their own organizations, and to their clients. Below is the winner of the 2008 PR News Platinum PR award for green PR.
Weber Shandwick & Unilever
Go Green and Small With All
To bring its laundry detergent brand into the green conversation, unilever partnered with Weber Shandwick to launch "Go Green and Small With All," a campaign that would communicate the brand's environmental leadership as a pioneer of concentrated laundry detergent, which uses less water than other products.
School Days
The team determined that the best way to get their message across was to reach its target audience--moms--through elementary school students via a national search for "The Greenest SchoolKids in America."
To kick off the search, the team launched http://www.gogreenwithall.com in partnership with aol to host the contest and collect nominations, as well as to serve as a resource for families looking for small but effective ways to help the environment. It also partnered with The Ellen DeGeneres Show to promote the contest and raise awareness of the environmental benefits of "All small & mighty." Spokespersons, such as Grammy Award-winning LeAnn Rimes and eco-expert Kim Carlson, were also enlisted to take up the cause and do the media rounds.
Once 10 schools were chosen as finalists, The Ellen DeGeneresShow, as well as local and regional media, served as platforms to make the announcement and generate buzz. The winning school was subsequently announced and promoted on The Ellen DeGeneres Show as well as on local and regional media outlets.
Above and Beyond
The campaign generated more than 312 million media impressions, which surpassed the original goal by 225%. The team secured 8,216 placements, more than eight times its goal, in such outlets as Fox and Friends, In Touch, Star Magazine and The Wall Street Journal. The contest attracted more than 20,000 participants in just four months.