Ecomagination Anniversary: The Next Wave
Ecomagination—GE’s business initiative aimed at helping meet customers’ demands for more energy-efficient products—was planning its three-year anniversary event in Beijing when, on May 12, 2008, a major earthquake devastated the Sichuan province of China. The company’s execs decided to turn their attention to celebrating ecomagination’s third birthday against the larger backdrop of helping to solve China’s earthquake-related water challenges.
To create a proactive dialogue around China’s water crisis and ecomagination’s newly established commitment to reduce its internal water usage by 20% by 2012, the GE team tweaked the anniversary event’s theme to include earthquake relief efforts and the broader goal of meeting China’s needs for sustainable growth. Specifically, the team:
• Joined forces with local industrial partner Bao Steel, which announced its own strategies for reducing water usage at the anniversary event;
• Deliver 60 GE Homespring portable water treatment units to the region;
• Donated two advanced water treatment systems to the Ministry of Water Resources to provide clean drinking water for 60,000+ Chinese residents; and,
• Held a world press briefing, bilateral meetings with government officials and industrial partners and a cocktail reception and dinner at the celebration.
More than 300 attendees participated in the event, and of the GE customers present, more than two-thirds were key decision makers. The event successfully expanded GE’s customer and government relations efforts, increased recognition of the GE brand and generated top-tier media coverage. â–
Honorable Mentions:
Del Monte Food Corporation & Coyne PR: Milk-Bone Celebrates 700 Dog Years—To leverage Milk-Bone’s 100th anniversary, the “Make A Milk-Bone Moment” contest was created for pet parents to present their favorite moments with their dog, for a chance to win $100,000.
Ketchum & Mattel: Barbie Celebrates 50 Years—Promotion for Barbie’s 50th anniversary garnered media attention thanks to a birthday bash at a life-size Barbie Malibu Dream House, attended by the likes of Heidi Klum, Ginnifer Goodwin and Lauren Conrad.
Flashpoint PR & LEGO Systems: “Go Miniman Go: Tapping Nostalgia to Bolster Adult Affinity for LEGO Brand”—To honor the 50th anniversary of the LEGO brick and 30th anniversary of the LEGO Miniman, the team used high tech tactics such as GOOGLE doodle, a video on YouTube and a new Web site—GOMiniManGo.com—to appeal to LEGO “nostalgics.”