Winner: Dan Hewitt, Vice President of Media Relations and Event Management, The Entertainment Software Association
Dan Hewitt led the comprehensive, seamless approach to planning and promoting all aspects of the 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), and thanks to an integrated marketing plan that included unique partnerships, social media engagement and outreach to media and stakeholders, he drove E3 2014 to be the most engaging event in the show’s nearly 20-year history.
In fact, E3 broke its previous social media numbers across all social channels, recording more than 2 million posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram combined. Hewitt led a creative social media strategy for increasing engagement of the show’s growing audience. Cross-promotion and content-sharing before, during, and after E3 drew a considerably larger audience to each of ESA’s social media accounts. ESA produced original content to share on social media, including graphics promoting press events, show photos, and links to trailers and news stories on E3 Insider. ESA also routinely took user requests, conducted polls, and initiated discussion threads. ESA member companies and industry partners helped broadcast E3’s social messaging through retweets and tagging.
Hewitt also implemented a media outreach strategy that targeted global industry and consumer press through curtain-raiser interviews, press releases and emails, and social media outreach. Select media outlets were also invited to a pre-show dinner with ESA president and CEO Mike Gallagher, and local media covered a public ribbon-cutting with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti that marked the show’s official opening. Major media outlets that covered E3 2014 included ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, MSNBC, CNBC, BBC, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Bloomberg and Reuters.
Honorable Mention:
- Andrenna Alkhas, The Stanislaus County Fair