Winner: JetBlue Airways and Company 20 Inc. – Soar With Reading: Let Your Imagination Take Flight
At first glance, JetBlue and PBS KIDS don’t have much in common. But in 2011 the two teamed up to create the “Soar with Reading: Let Your Imagination Take Flight” campaign, designed to keep kids reading during the summer months and inspire them to develop a love for reading. The multi-tiered effort included the distribution of activity booklets featuring travel-themed literacy activities with PBS KIDS characters. An interactive Web site—SoarWithReading.com—housed downloadable activities, summer reading lists and literacy tips, a library locator and more. Live events featuring author readings were hosted at participating libraries and included meet-and-greets with PBS KIDS characters and JetBlue crew members. To support libraries facing budget cuts, the communications team created a sweepstakes in which libraries were nominated to receive $10,000 worth of books courtesy of Random House Children’s Books and JetBlue.
The results: 250,000 literacy activity books were distributed in 65 cities through libraries, PBS stations and other outlets. JetBlue crew members participated in 22 events, reading to children and hosting book drives at their local libraries. The SoarWithReading.com site averaged 57,000 visits per month from June-September. —RD
Honorable Mentions:
First Choice Power and Moroch PR – First Choice Power Food First Program Reaches Goal of Providing 1 Million Meals: First Choice Power, a retail electric power provider, set out to raise 1 million meals for those in need throughout Texas. Facebook promotions raised awareness for the cause and provided $1,000 grants to food banks while employees were encouraged to volunteer with local organizations each month.
National Football League and the American Cancer Society – NFL’s “A Crucial Catch” Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign: The NFL teamed up with the American Cancer Society to raise awareness of the importance of early detection and screening for breast cancer. A special Web site helped the call to action by providing information about mammograms and where to schedule them. Players got in the game by wearing special armbands, cleats and decals to promote the cause.
Tyson Foods and Mitchell Communications Group Inc. – Tyson Foods KNOW Hunger Campaign: Continuing its commitment to hunger relief,Tyson released the results of a survey on Americans’ experiences with hunger. The study revealed that one in four Americans worry about not having enough money to put food on the table. To help those in need, Tyson donated 1million pounds of protein—enough to serve 4 million meals.
Viacom Inc. – Viacom’s “I Will” Campaign: As the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks approached, Viacom set out to encourage people to remember the day by committing to doing good deeds. They partnered with MyGoodDeed.org—the official Sept. 11 national service organization—and nearly 300 employees participated in the I Will tribute.