Campaign: Start! America
Winner: Cone & American Heart Association
Physical inactivity is the leading risk factor for heart disease and stroke, which are the number one and three causes of death for all Americans. This is exactly what the AHA
and Cone set out to combat with a year-round marketing communications campaign that would inspire inactive adults to take control of their health.
Break Free from the Cubicle
Start! America's goal was to garner media attention and engage national corporate sponsors to promote walking among Baby Boomers, but the PR team decided that doing so
throughout the year would require a killer kick-off event. It hinged on:
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Timing: January 8, 2007 - the first Monday following New Year's Day - was selected to piggyback off of the wave of New Year's resolutions to exercise and lose weight.
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Location: Start! America's launch event took place in Manhattan's World Financial Center.
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Integrated Activities: The Start! team engaged as large an audience as possibe via numerous hooks: ringing the NYSE bell; Healthy Choice stations where chefs went head-to-
head in a healthy cooking challenge; and a sneaker detailing station.
Couch Potatoes No More
The Cone/AHA team managed to create the ultimate juggernaut around Start! America, ensuring ongoing support throughout the year. Since the event, nearly 45,000 people have
walked more than 5.6 million minutes and more than 350,000 miles.
Campaign: Building Safety Week 2007
Winner: International Code Council
To celebrate Building Safety Week, the International Code Council sought to build awareness of the important role code officials play in saving lives. Also foremost was
educating federal agencies about building safety.
Building Buzz
The PR team got cracking by preparing news releases, editorials and proclamations for building departments to customize and send to local media. They also asked governors to
proclaim May 6-12, 2007.
During Building Safety Week, the team held various events to promote it, including
a Fireside Chat with the Code Council Board President; a Capitol Hill Day where
ICC members and staff met with representatives to promote a proposed Community
Building Code Administration Grant Program; and a Green Building, where the
Code Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Green Building
Council. Also, board members presented sets of International Code to universities
as part of a code donation program. Lastly, the PR team set up a Web site (http://www.iccsafe.org/safety/BuildingSafetyWeek)
to cover the week's events.
Mission Accomplished
The ROI was extensive: overall participation increased, proclamation counts grew and the number of Capitol Hill visits was the highest ever. Thirty states submitted
proclamations of Building Safety Week 2007 to the Code Council, while a Google search for "Building Safety Week" and "2007" revealed 12,700 hits.
Honorable Mentions
Marmillion + Company, Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism: World Cultural Economic Forum--To show off Louisiana's cultural heritage, Marmillion + Company
helped the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism garner interest for its World Cultural Economic forum. They did so by showing off what the state possessed in a
wide variety of venues, reaching the biggest audience possible.
JHG-Townsend, National Hospice Foundation and Foundation for Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa: Diana Legacy Fund--To gain support for the Diana Legacy Fund, which offers aid to
sub-Saharan Africa, the companies targeted reporters who have covered AIDs in the past, making sure that they could get the maximum exposure in a short period of time.
JS2 Communications, Outfest: The Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival--With only 40 press passes available for 300 interested journalists, JS2 had to figure out a way to
get the best coverage for their film festival. They were able to do it by creating a by-the-movie RSVP system with passes for single movies, allowing journalists to see and
describe the part of the event that appealed to them most.
Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: HHS Take the Lead Pandemic Flu Campaign--To prepare the public for a flu pandemic, Ogilvy
sought to increase awareness through research to discover the biggest and most important voices they could reach for their work; that way, they were able to get their message
across before the flu season went full-throttle.
Cable Positive: Positively Outstanding Programming Awards--To promote HIV/AIDs awareness, Cable Positive holds the annual POP Awards. The communications team used trade shows
to garner attention to their show and cause, avoiding other more heavily saturated media outlets so that their message could cut through the clutter.
The ONE Campaign: One Vote '08 Launch--To champion the fight against poverty and health, ONE Vote '08 seeks to educate the public on presidential candidates' views of these
issues, in turn using their votes to make an impact. To make sure the campaign reaches the target audience, supporters have spread the word at political events, concentrating
their efforts on politically active people who they know will listen to their message and act.