Winner: Hanna Lee Communications – Campari's 'Year of the Negroni'
To position Campari as a cocktail category leader and stir things up, Hanna Lee set three objectives: make Campari drinks the choice of the foodie and bartender community; position Campari events as “must-attend” happenings among bartenders; and amplify sales programs, contributing to a 6%-10% volume growth for the brand.
An three-pronged events program around the Manhattan Cocktail Classic, Tales of the Cocktail and the New York City Wine & Food Festival drove the effort. Intensive media relations put Campari front and center at these events, exposing thousands of influencers to its unique drink, the Negroni. The agency enlisted Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi to help showcase Campari at the Manhattan Cocktail Classic, as six star mixologists created cocktails inspired by the food hottie’s book. At Tales of the Cocktail, Hanna Lee executed the setting of a Guinness World Record for the “World’s Largest Negroni.” And, at the New York City Wine & Food Festival, the Food Network’s Giada De Laurentiis served classic Negronis made by star bartenders.
Thanks to the classic event campaign mix and word-of-mouth buzz, all of the Campari-sponsored events were sold out. Better yet, Campari achieved 15% sales volume growth in 2011, up from mid-single digits the year before. —Scott Van Camp
Honorable Mentions:
Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens – I’m for Brooklyn and Queens: CCBQ used digital (e-mail and texting campaigns), events, traditional media, and printed materials for outreach, resulting in a 960% increase in fundraising from Feb. to Sept. 2011.
Edelman – Pantone Color of the Year: Making a Brand Synonymous with Color: Edelman secured The Wall Street Journal to cover Color of the Year for the second year in a row, and garnered an AP article that was syndicated by 25 top-tier media outlets. Fresenius Kabi/APP Pharmaceuticals – Stand Tall: To remind employees at APP to “do the right thing,”the StandTall effort featured a call-in action line, an ethics survey, games and more, resulting in an increase in action line activity of 27% in 2011 over 2010.
General Motors Corp. with Weber Shandwick – Closing the Perception Gap: Compelling Content Helps Drive More Consumers to GM’s Revamped Vehicles: In 2011 the GM News Bureau focused on reaching consumer and lifestyle media, going beyond the automotive, business and financial media. As a result, GM’s reputation improved by an average of 56% across multiple targeted audiences.
Ketchum – DoubleTree by Hilton Cookie CAREavan Across America: Ketchum enlisted a food truck to offer the hotel’s signature cookie amenity via a nationwide tour, more than doubling unaided brand awareness of DoubleTree between April and August 2011. McDonald’s USA and GolinHarris – National Hiring Day: I Love My McJob: In creating a special day to attract at least 50,000 new employees, stories and voices of workers via social media channels were used, resulting in 62,000 new workers and 832 media impressions—with 95% of the coverage carrying a positive/neutral tone.
Redbox – The Entertainment Destination: With 2011 a tough year for the DVD rental industry, promotions via social media, an online brand loyalty campaign and proprietary data from its rental kiosks helped drive Redbox’s rentals to nearly 2 billion discs.
RF|Binder - Dunkin’ Donuts: American Runs on Dunkin’, Dunkin’ Donuts Runs on PR: In 2011, RF|Binder developed unique PR programs—like a partnership with CareerBuilder to create and field a survey of American workers to determine which professions rely on coffee the most—to differentiate Dunkin’from its competitors.