Winner: Marina Maher Communications - Head & Shoulders’ Mane Man Delivers Legendary Results by Scaring ‘Guy’s Guys’ All Over the World
The team at Marina Maher and P&G’s Head & Shoulders joined forces to develop a partnership with the NFL to create a series of online videos featuring all-pro safety Troy Polamalu known for his infamous long locks. Steeler teammates Hines Ward and Brett Keisel got into the action during the video shoot by dancing behind the scenes during the video shoot; capitalizing on Ward’s recent Dancing With the Stars win.
Leveraging social media and creatively releasing the videos before and during football season drove brand awareness among the key demographic. The three videos generated a combined 3.2 million YouTube views. Better yet, Head & Shoulders grew by 7% in dollar shares compared to the same time period in the previous year. —JG
Honorable Mentions:
Buffalo Wild Wings Fleishman-Hillard – Save our Season: During the NFL lockout in 2011, Buffalo Wild Wings launched a campaign to become the voice of the fans. The company’s “Save Our Season” campaign offered six free wings to fans who “liked” their Facebook petition. The petition received more than 45,000 signatures.
Dentsu Communications – Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology: While students in the prestigious Siemens competition were well-versed in math and science, Dentsu Communications helped the high-school finalists give media interviews to better explain their entries. Dentsu also distributed 21 press releases customized to finalists’ home states and an Internet News Release announcing the winners with integrated multimedia assets.
Downy with DeVries Public Relations – Downy Puts Mike in the Window for Clean Sheet Week: During Downy’s “Mike in the Window” campaign, comedian Mike Birbiglia spent a week living and sleeping on Downy-treated sheets in Macy’s Herald Square location. Birbiglia entertained visitors including celebrity chefs who taught him how to cook, and interacted with fans via live streaming, and on Twitter. The campaign generated 550 million media impressions including coverage on ABC, NBC, and the Huffington Post.
Indianapolis Airport Authority – Carmina Burana Flash Mob: To create a unique experience for visitors of the Indianapolis International Airport, the IAA’s communications team planned a Flash Mob performance in the airport’s central terminal. The comms team filmed the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir performance of “O Fortuna” and the surprised reactions of travelers.
Missouri Department of Conservation – Invasive Species Alert: “ZOMBIES!” To capitalize on the zombie popularity, the team created the “Invasive Species Alert” blog post as a Halloween ‘trick and treat.” The post promoted conservation topics driving viewers to the MDC Web site featuring information on conservation, hunting and fishing regulations generating 107,000 unique views.
Wisconsin Department of Tourism – Travel Wisconsin and Pure Michigan Pair Up for Mittengate: To combat negative sentiment online following a Wisconsin/Michigan Big Ten game in which Wisconsin, Travel Wisconsin created Mittengate—a charity mitten drive. The campaign generated more than 396 million impressions and Wisconsin residents collected more than 3100 pairs of mittens, hats and scarves.