Back in March 2011, executives at Minneapolis-based PR agency Carmichael Lynch Spong (CLS) sat down with an assembled team of advertising, consumer engagement and brand activation experts on behalf of client Schlage, the venerable security systems and lock maker. Schlage had a new product to tout—a keyless door lock—and a 360 degree campaign with an in-market launch for October was in the works.
More meetings ensued, and the subject of TV ads were broached. “They give you the broadest awareness the quickest,” says Maria Reitan, senior principal of Carmichael Lynch Spong, who has worked on Ingersoll Rand —Schlage’s parent company—brand accounts for several years. But what of the PR in concert with the TV spots? “If the ad is the bullhorn, then PR is the big whistle,” says Reitan, who adds that the melding of the two platforms is like a 1-2 punch. To learn about the power of PR’s punch within an ad campaign—and some secrets to scoring a knockout— PR News chronicles two ongoing efforts: CLS and Schlage; and Marina Maher Communications and Head & Shoulders.
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| The Carmichael Lynch-produced ads for Schlage’s new keyless door lock detail the difficulties that follow losing one’s house key. PR agency Carmichael Lynch Spong backed up that claim with a revealing consumer survey. Source: Carmichael Lynch |
SURVEY IS A -- LOCK
In the case of the Schlage campaign, the whistle sounded in the form of a survey about lost keys fielded to 500 home owners. “We wanted it to be fun, but educational and of interest to the media,” says Reitan. The idea of lost keys, and the answers from consumers to questions like “Where do you hide your keys? and “How often do you lose them?” has created good buzz. A release, launched in concert with the ads the week of Oct. 10, featured factoids like “a quarter of the respondents were locked out of their houses at least once in the past year ,” and gained considerable media attention, including targeted bloggers.
In concert with CLS’ effort, the Schlage communications team, led by brand director Ann Matheis, is using Facebook, Twitter, a blog and Web site (keyless.schlage.com) to highlight the survey results and link to the TV commercials posted online. “The blog is where we can really highlight the data and make them into stories,” says Matheis.
With the TV spots scheduled to run another five weeks, Reitan says her team will be monitoring lift in the marketplace and sales. Each week on the Web site there will be a special promotion of the keyless product, another metric to watch. Matheis says the key (get it?) to PR/ad campaign success is “making sure the message is consistent with all mediums.” No matter when consumers see a PR or ad campaign element, they must be able to make a connection between the two, says Matheis.
The Schlage/Carmichael Lynch Spong connection is helped by the fact that Carmichael Lynch, CLS’ ad agency, does the advertising for Schlage.
For Reitan, it’s not so much that PR is supporting the advertising. “PR extends beyond the ad campaign,” she says. “In this case, we’re providing information that is viable, educational and suggests a solution.”
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| The latest PR punch for the Head & Shoulders campaign with Pittsburgh Steeler Troy Polamalu featured the unveiling of the safety’s wax figure Madame Tussauds in NYC. Source: Marina Maher Communications |
HAIR APPARENT
PR takes a different tack with Procter & Gamble’s Head & Shoulders campaign feature the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Troy Polamalu, known for his flowing, wild mane.
On Tuesday, Oct. 11, PR agency Marina Maher Communications helped unveil the latest PR component around the two-year-old campaign, “Lengendaryous Troy,” a wax figure of the Steelers safety made by the famed Madame Tussauds in New York City.
In 2009, the campaign was all about making the connection between the shampoo brand, Polamalu and the NFL, says Jackie Widrow, senior VP at Marina Maher. Humorous print and TV advertising followed, with PR providing a Web site (troytackclesmore.com) that gave fans tips on male grooming.
In 2010 and into 2011, the PR has been all about Polamalu’s hair. Marina Maher engineered a $1 million insurance policy on Polamalu’s locks, which earned a Guinness World Record. Leading up to the unveiling of the wax figure, Marina Maher worked with agency partners to develop fun viral videos to tease the wax figure news. On Oct. 6, a video was launched online featuring Polamalu at the Tussauds LA outpost, pretending to be a wax figure—and scaring patrons in the process. It earned 1 million views in three days.
Polamalu’s double, now on display at Tussauds, will later will find its way to Super Bowl 46 in Indianapolis in Feb. 2012, with more national print and TV ads to come.
MATCHED MESSAGES
Widrow says that PR provides key content that keeps the advertising momentum going, such as the funny videos featuring Polamalu. “It’s critical to closely match advertising and PR messages,” says Widrow.
And just how is that accomplished? Nobody works in silos anymore, continues Widrow. “In the old days, ad agencies would come up with the idea and PR had to react,” she says. “Now PR plays a big part in the creative process.” Collaboration with various agencies involved in campaigns, continues Widrow, is tight. There’s a weekly check-in of all partners on the Head & Shoulders campaign, and ideas can come from anywhere.
It all comes down to a word that’s probably been overused: integration. “Having agencies together at the planning stages is critical,” says Janel Steinberg, VP at Ogilvy PR.
While public relations has been late to join these meetings, Steinberg says today’s brands recognize the importance of agency collaboration. “PR has had to fight for a seat at that table, but that is rapidly changing,” says Steinberg. PRN
CONTACT:
Maria Reitan, [email protected]: Ann Matheis, [email protected]; Jackie Widrow, [email protected]; Janel Steinberg, [email protected].