Winner: Smithsonian National Zoo
Campaign: Giant Panda Cub
How do you know when a female giant panda is pregnant? You don't, until she gives birth. Therefore, the Smithsonian National Zoo's Office of Public Affairs had a plan for
several scenarios following the artificial insemination of its female panda, and when a thriving panda cub emerged, the office had all the pieces in place.
The media campaign was intended to emphasize the Zoo's role as a leader in giant panda conservation, medicine and husbandry, as well as achieving maximum exposure for the cub.
Increased visitation, donations and revenue to fund the Zoo's programs and conservation research were the goals.
At the start of the panda breeding season in March, the Zoo's media relations team created an online press kit with photos, backgrounders and fact sheets about the Zoo's role
in panda conservation and the history of giant pandas at the Zoo. The site was updated regularly with press releases once the cub was born.
Calls to journalists began at 4:30 a.m. on July 9, 2005, when Tai Shan was successfully delivered. A naming ceremony and press preview both preceded his debut with the public.
The cub's photo was on the cover of The Washington Post eight times from July to December, and Washingtonian Magazine featured the baby panda on the cover of its "Best Bets"
issue. News releases tracked the baby's first vaccination, teeth, steps, and naming. Media events were planned, as were pitches informing the press about the Zoo's conservation
efforts. An online press kit featured photos, background information and fact sheets, which it updated regularly. The Zoo sent out 23 news and photo/video press releases between
July and December of 2005 marking cub milestones.
National news broadcasts mentioned the cub on 47 days, and local news covered him on 76 days. Zoo visitation during the four-month period following the cub's public debut rose
from 334,814 to 530,357 visitors, compared with the same period a year earlier. Gift shop revenues skyrocketed by 100 percent, and 9,000 new members joined the Friends of the
National Zoo in 2005. About a third of those members came on board in the last quarter of the year, after Tai Shan's birth.
Honorable Mentions
The Oreo "Milk's Favorite Jingle" Contest: Weber Shandwick Cookie dunkers from across the country auditioned for a chance to get on an Oreo commercial by putting their own
twist on the old "Oreo & Milk" Jingle. Among the initiative's achievements: Oreo sales increased by 3.4 percent, and Oprah sang her own version of the jingle to kick off a
segment of her show.
Fresh Pomegranate Public Relations Campaign: POM Wonderful Pomegranates weren't exactly an en vogue fruit when POM Wonderful, the leading grower of pomegranates in the U.S.,
set out to generate media awareness and make the fruit more "aspirational." The effort included a pomegranate occasion - that is, National Pomegranate Month - a collection of
chef-developed recipes focused on the fruit, pre-release deliveries in boxes that read "POMs have arrived," and the inclusion of pomegranates at influencer events, such as the
Playboy Mansion New Year's Eve Bash. The fruit saw sweet results, including TV appearances on celebrity chef shows and a $2.6 million ad equivalency in top-tier media outlets.
"Positioning PowderMed to Avert a Flu Pandemic": PowderMed and Schwartz Communications PowderMed, a development-stage company that proposed a DNA-based vaccine to combat an
avian flu pandemic last year, needed to make its voice heard. The company focused on educating the public about the efficacy of DNA-based vaccines, compared with traditional "egg-
based" vaccines, by conducting a top-tier media tour and directing the media to independent, credible sources. The eight-month campaign garnered 233 media placements, with total
campaign media impressions exceeding 43 million.