Winner: Haberman & Associates
Campaign: Irv Gordon/Volvo's 75th Anniversary Event
Budget: $200,000
When 61-year-old Long Island native Irv Gordon hit 2 million miles in his 1966 Volvo - yes, 2 million miles - Volvo seized on the occasion as an opportunity to celebrate both
Gordon's unprecedented milestone and its own 75th birthday. The automaker brought in the Minneapolis-based PR firm Haberman & Associates to make the occasion a success.
The PR team - nine Haberman employees and six Volvo communicators - was relatively small, but it set big goals. First, generate the maximum number of media impressions for the
company's brand messages, "Enjoy Life," "Long Life" and "Protect Life." Second, draw a standing-room-only crowd for an anniversary celebration.
It all came together when the team decided Gordon would drive his two-millionth mile up Broadway and into Times Square on the evening before the New York Auto Show opened in
March.
"Times Square has proven to be a great draw for talent," says Soren Johansson, manager of PR for Volvo. "They see its promotional value, and so the negotiations over appearance
fees are a lot easier. Times Square is a great [value] as well. You cannot believe how inexpensive it is, considering it is the navel of the earth." With a PR budget of just
$200,000 these were serious considerations. Volvo got some extra deals on the Times Square "rental" since it has used the space for pre-Auto Show events for many years.
Despite the slim budget, the PR team managed to book some big names for the anniversary party. Jon Stewart of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" agreed to host, and Volvo
spokesman Donald Sutherland appeared as a special guest. Sugar Ray and Suzanne Vega were musical guests.
In the end, the event drew 400 media and entertainment execs to a Times Square Studios set, where "Good Morning America" is usually taped. The set can only hold about 350 to
400 people. The celebration was chronicled on the "Today" show, "The Tonight Show," CNN, "Inside Edition," in The New York Post and on the Fox News Network. The event generated
800 million media impressions for Volvo.
"The overall lesson is that even with a small team you can have an impact far beyond your organizational size," says Johansson.
(Contacts: Eric Davis, [email protected]; Soren Johansson, [email protected])