Campaign:
Winner: The Personal Care Products Council
In recent years, anti-chemical activist groups have turned up the volume on their attacks on certain ingredients used in cosmetics and personal care products.
However, given that their allegations were based more on conjecture than on scientific facts, in turn distorting key issues, the Personal Care Products Council needed to
communicate its ongoing commitment to consumer safety while debunking inaccuracies espoused by these flamethrowers.
Leveraging the Reach of the Web
Naturally, the best platform for reaching a large audience proved to be a Web
site, so the Council launched http://www.cosmeticinfo.org
at the end of 2007.
The communications team conducted research to identify consumers needs; built a multidisciplinary team of scientists and other experts to provide credible safety information;
linked to trusted authoritative organizations, including the Food & Drug Administration and the National Toxicology Program; and used multimedia content to enrich the user
experience and keep them coming back for more.
Activists Be Damned
Thanks to the robust effort, further bolstered by search engine optimization and marketing strategies to position the site as a leading consumer resource, cosmeticinfo.org has
had nearly 6 million hits, with month-over-month traffic consistently increasing by an average of 27%, thus establishing it as the go-to source for personal care product
information.
Honorable Mentions
Open Books for Open-Books.org--As the first nonprofit bookstore/literacy community serving Chicago (in which 37% of the adult population can't read well enough to fill out a
job application, read a food label or read a children's story), Open Books spread its pro-reading programs and community offerings through a massive overhaul of its Web site.
Making all info available in three clicks or fewer and integrating links to blogs and social network pages, the new site broke all its previous Web traffic records.
The Centers for Disease Control for "CDC Launches Online Newsroom"--As of Sept. 4, 2008, journalists could find everything they needed to know about current health content on
the Center for Disease Control's one-stop media relations shop. The site was an immediate success, with site section views increasing by an average of 1,100 per day.
Silicon Valley Community Foundation for http://www.siliconvalleycf.org--When
the newly merged SVCF opened in January 2007, the team behind it debuted a comprehensive
Web site that was user-friendly and branded the foundation as a catalyst for
innovative solutions to the region's most challenging problems.
The Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association/Car Care Council for "Presidential Candidates Promote Vehicle Maintenance on Campaign Trail"--This campaign educated consumers
about the benefits of regular vehicle care, maintenance and repair in response to a call-to-action for automotive leaders to stimulate growth in the marketplace.