Winner: Chandler Chicco Agency
Campaign: Cool Mint Listerine PocketPaks Clearn Up Your Mouth
Budget: The budget was a "cool" $1 million for both time and out of pocket expenses.
Americans evidently have a breath obsession, sucking down 23,500 tons of mints per year. But the mints, the folks at Pfizer Consumer Healthcare are quick to emphasize, only
mask bad breath. They don't kill the germs that cause bad breath like Listerine does. The problem is, accomplishing a quick swish with Listerine as you wait for the check after a
business lunch usually isn't the best option.
Enter Pfizer's Cool Mint Listerine PocketPaks, the first portable oral care product that dissolves on your tongue and kills bacteria.
Pfizer had done all the research, determining that it had to be positioned as a product that literally cleaned your mouth and killed germs. It was up to Chandler Chicco Agency
to determine how to get that message out.
Chandler Chicco immediately began conducting research it termed a "buzz matrix," examining how products that hit it big are able to build buzz among consumers. The key was
getting product in the hands of "buzz drivers," trendsetters with the target audience, which was largely comprised of working moms and young, upscale socialites.
The team began creating noise with trendsetters whom the audiences watch for cues about what is cool: VIPs, hair salons, modeling agencies, stylists, fashion designers,
athletes and media got the product so it would be seen in "all the right places." "It was a completely new category," says Jenneen Ameres, of Chandler Chicco. "No one had seen
anything like this before," so it was important that people actually see it being accepted.
Next, the agency began actively pitching shorter lead media, including morning shows, consumer reporters and online pubs. Free samples were in all the press kits so the media
could have a first stab at trying the product.
The refreshing results: The product achieved 383 million media impressions, with 157 million in the 12 weeks immediately following the October launch. The results are
particularly astounding when you consider reporters were covering terrorism and anthrax in October. Hits include The New York Times, Playboy, Men's Health, Good Housekeeping,
"Good Morning America," "Live with Regis & Kelly" and other major outlets. Plus, PocketPaks have been America's number-one selling weapon in the war against bad breath since
the launch, beating all other gum/mint products. (Jenneen Ameres, 212/229-8400)