2013 Bulldog Media Relations Hall of Fame by Bulldog Reporter

2013BUL L DOGMEDI AREL AT I ONSAWARDS

F ORE XCE L L E NCEI NME DI A&PUBL I CI T YCAMP AI GNS

HAL LOFF AME ANNOUNCI NGT HEGREAT ESTMEDI AREL AT I ONSAND PUBL I CI T YCAMPAI GNSOFT HEYEAR

Su mma r yo f t h ewi n n e r sf o rt h e 2 0 1 3Bu l l d o gMe d i aRe l a t i o n sA wa r d s

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We thank this year’s team of Bulldog Awards journalist judges for their hard work, discriminating taste and commitment to promoting excellence in media relations and publicity. FINAL JUDGES

Jim Pavia, Editorial Director, InvestmentNews

Chris Elliot, Travel Scribe, The New York Times

Tom Hallman, Pulitzer Prize Winning Reporter, The Oregonian

Maria Stainer, Assistant Managing Editor/Continuous News Desk, The Washington Times Meghan Collins-Sullivan, Former Deputy Editor, CNN/Washington Post, current Rosalynn Carter Mental Health Journalism Fellow

PRELIMINARY JUDGES

Richard Carufel, Senior Editor, Bulldog Reporter’s Daily ‘Dog Steve Beale, Editor, Bulldog Reporter’s Inside Health Media James Bucci, Editor, Bulldog Reporter

Kristin Bender, Reporter, Oakland Tribune

Paul Rosynsky, Reporter, Oakland Tribune

Talia Sinkinson, Editor, Media Relations, Bulldog Reporter

124 Linden Street, Oakland, CA 94607 www.bulldogreporter.com 1-800-959-1059

For more information about the Bulldog Reporter Media Relations Awards, including entry deadlines, fees and submission requirements, please go to www.bulldogreporter.com.

On the Cover: Zapwater Communications for Downsize Fitness: Downsizing the Obesity Epidemic

2013 BULLDOG MEDIA RELATIONS AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN MEDIA A N D P U B L I C I T Y C A M PA I G N S

HALL OF FAME Summary of Winning Campaigns from the 2013 Bulldog Awards for Excellence in Media and Publicity Campaigns Winners of the 2013 Bulldog Awards for Excellence in Media and Publicity Campaigns enter a pantheon of exemplary communications practitioners, and their campaigns are summarized in this edition of the 2013 Bulldog Media Relations Awards Hall of Fame magazine.

Winners of the 2013 Bulldog Awards for Excellence in Media and Publicity Campaigns were chosen exclusively by working journalists from hundreds of entries representing the very best strategic and tactical prowess that PR/corporate communications has to offer. Campaigns were judged by a team of working journalists, who assessed them on the basis of their ability to achieve extraordinary visibility and influence opinion, as well as on their creativity, command of media and technology, and tenacity.

We now present to you the 2013 Bulldog Awards for Excellence in Media and Publicity Campaigns Winners

TABLE OF CONTENTS GRAND PRIZE WINNER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Zapwater Communications for Downsize Fitness: Downsizing the Obesity Epidemic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

BEST ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT CAMPAIGN Gold - Miller PR for “Felicia Day’s Geek & Sundry Launch” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Silver - bb PR for “Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Circus Goes Hispanic” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Bronze - Zapwater Communications for “TheTieBar.com: Why Open Collars are a Thing of the Past” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

BEST GREEN CAMPAIGN Gold - Axiom Marketing Communications for “Brains for Your Backyard” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Silver - The Coca-Cola Company and Rogers & Cowan for “An End is a Cool, New Start: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 will.i.am and The Coca-Cola Company Launch EKOCYCLE™” Bronze - Bateman Group for “Share Responsibility for the Planet – Visualizing the Impact of Eco-Action” . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

BEST INTEGRATION OF PR AND IR IN A BUSINESS CAMPAIGN Bronze - Strategic Financial Relations Limited for “Successful IPO Overcomes Soft Market Sentiment - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 IPO Publicity Campaign of Merry Garden”

BEST USE OF BROADCAST VIDEO/INTERNET – BUSINESS/CONSUMER Gold - Peel District School Board for “Stand Up for Student Mental Health” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Silver - Jennifer Connelly Public Relations for “HighTower Whiteboard Animation Video: Butcher/Dietician)”. . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Bronze - HISTORY for “Hatfields & McCoys Integrated Media Campaign” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

BEST CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS Gold - Kitchen Public Relations, LLC for “First Do No Harm (or Sunshine is the Best Disinfectant)” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

BEST COMPANY POSITIONING/BRANDING Gold - 11mark for “IT in the Toilet” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Silver - Freeman Public Relations for “Entenmann’s Celebrates the 75th National Donut Day with The Salvation Army” . . . 12 Bronze - Fiserv and RF|Binder for “Fiserv Case-Shiller: A Breakthrough Year for Delivering Home Price Trends” . . . . . . . . . 12

BEST EDUCATION/PUBLIC SERVICE CAMPAIGN Gold - Kowa Pharmaceuticals America and Eli Lilly & Company with Makovsky for “USAGE Survey: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Taking on America’s Number One Killert” Gold - RF|Binder with McGraw-Hill Education for LearnSmart Direct-to-Student: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 A Marketing First for an Established Educational Publisher” Silver - Novant Health and Luquire George Andrews for Search and Rescue: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Thousands Unaware of Their Diabetes Risk”

BEST FOOD & BEVERAGES CAMPAIGN Gold - RF|Binder Partners with Dunkin' Donuts for “Dunkin’ Donuts and RF|Binder: Brewing PR Success in 2012” . . . . . 16 Silver - ICR for “Smashing the Better Burger Competition” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

Bronze - Fresh Ideas Group for “34 Degrees Sweet Crisp Launch” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

BEST GENERAL BUSINESS CAMPAIGN Gold - Luquire George Andrews and Development Counsellors International for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 “Showcasing the Charlotte Region to Drive Economic Development” Silver - ICR for “Smashing the Better Burger Competition” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Bronze - Solomon McCown and Co., Inc for “Skanska USA: Solidifying Skanska’s Superiority in the States” . . . . . . . . . . . 19

BEST GENERAL CONSUMER CAMPAIGN Gold - M. Silver Associates - A Division of Finn Partners for “Defrost Your Swimsuit” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Silver - Atomic for “The Auction of Buford, Wyoming – the Smallest Town in America” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Bronze - Luquire George Andrews and Belk for “Fashion, Not Politics, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 at the 2012 Democratic National Convention”

BEST HEALTH, MEDICINE & FITNESS CAMPAIGN Gold - Zapwater Communications for “Downsize Fitness: Downsizing the Obesity Epidemic” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Silver - Fish Consulting and Massage Envy for “Healing Hands for Arthritis” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Bronze - American Academy of Ophthalmology for “Want Scary Eyes? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 The Dangers of Decorative Contact Lenses”

BEST INVESTMENT, BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICES CAMPAIGN Gold - Jennifer Connelly Public Relations for “HighTower Whiteboard Animation Video: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Brokers vs. Fiduciaries (aka Butcher/Dietician)” Silver - Huntington Bank for “ETF Launch Publicity Campaign” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Bronze - MWW for “ConnectOne Bank From Thought Leader to Industry Influencer” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

BEST ISSUE/CAUSE ADVOCACY CAMPAIGN Gold - Resolute Consulting for “No Chicago Landfills” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Silver - Fish Consulting and Massage Envy for “Healing Hands for Arthritis” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Bronze - Havas PR North America for Fighting Breast Cancer with the Power of Storytelling” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

BEST USE OF THE INTERNET – CONSUMER Gold - RF|Binder for “Just because Facebook is going public doesn’t mean you have to; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 #GoPrivate with Abine”

BEST NOT-FOR-PROFIT/ASSOCIATION/GOVERNMENT CAMPAIGN Gold- American Academy of Ophthalmology for “Want Scary Eyes? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 The Dangers of Decorative Contact Lenses” Silver - Fish Consulting and Massage Envy for “Healing Hands for Arthritis” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Bronze - Phillips & Company for “Get Curious” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Honorable Mention - The Private Equity Growth Capital Council and The Glover Park Group for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 “Private Equity at Work”

BEST NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH – BUSINESS Gold- Groupon and Weber Shandwick for A Convenient Way for Merchants to Accept Credit Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 at the Guaranteed Lowest Overall Rates

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

Silver - Finn Partners and Logitech for “Power to the Music” Launching Logitech UE as a Consumer Brand” . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bronze - Bateman Group for “App Annie Enters ‘Game of Phones’ with Google Play Launch” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

BEST NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH – CONSUMER Gold- Zeno Group for “Pizza Hut Introduces The $10,010 Proposal Box”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Silver - Zapwater Communications for “Downsize Fitness: Downsizing the Obesity Epidemic” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Bronze - RF|Binder with McGraw-Hill Education for “LearnSmart Direct-to-Student: A Marketing First for an Established Educational Publisher” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

BEST USE OF PERSONALITY/CELEBRITY Gold- HISTORY for “Hatfields & McCoys Integrated Media Campaign”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Silver - rbb PR for “Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Circus Goes Hispanic” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Bronze - Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 “Clint Eastwood Opening the Warner Bros. Theater at the Smithsonian (Feb. 1, 2012)”

PR INNOVATION OF THE YEAR Gold- Quinn & Co for “AKA Central Park Takes Glamping to Another Level with NYC’s First Outdoor Bedroom” . . . . . . . . . . 38 Silver - Havas PR North America for “Harnessing Pittsburgh’s Energy for One Young World” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Bronze - Symantec and Connect Marketing for “Symantec Influencing the Influencers Program” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

BEST RESPONSE TO BREAKING NEWS Gold- SHIFT Communications and Rapid7 for “LeakedIn – Act Fast Or Be Left Behind”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Silver - Berman and Company for “Nanny Bloomberg” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Bronze - Jennifer Connelly Public Relations for HighTower Whiteboard Animation Video: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Brokers vs. Fiduciaries (aka Butcher/Dietician)”

BEST USE OF RESEARCH – BUSINESS/CONSUMER Gold- 11mark for “IT in the Toilet” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Gold - Berman and Company for “PETA Kills Animals” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Silver - ReviveHealth for “Which Comes First:The Survey or the CEO Ouster?”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

BEST SPECIAL EVENT/STUNT Gold- RF|Binder for “The Scharffen Berger Valentine’s Day Chocolate Bar”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Silver - Freeman Public Relations for “Entenmann’s Celebrates the 75th National Donut Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 with The Salvation Army” Bronze - Full Picture for “Walking Dead 100th Issue Party”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Bronze - Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 “Clint Eastwood Opening the Warner Bros. Theater at the Smithsonian (Feb. 1, 2012)”

BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS – BUSINESS/CONSUMER Gold- The Hershey Company with JSH&A Communications for “Hop Down the Hershey's Bunny Trail”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Silver - Finn Partners for “Making Geek Chic: Finn Partners and IEEE Executes Campaign That Makes IEEE's Social Media Assets Popular, Building an Online Community of More Than 100,000 Engineers” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Bronze - M Booth for “Partners in Preservation”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

BEST TECHNOLOGY CAMPAIGN – BUSINESS Gold- Connect Marketing and Symantec for “Symantec Mobile Honey Stick Project”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Silver - 11mark for “IT in the Toilet” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Bronze - Bateman Group for “App Annie Enters ‘Game of Phones’ with Google Play Launch” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Honorable Mention - Trainer Communications for “Accelerating The Quality and Quantity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 of Appcelerator’s Media Presence”

BEST TECHNOLOGY CAMPAIGN – CONSUMER Gold- Child's Play Communications for “It’s in the Book: Reading Rainbow Reaches #1 App Status”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Silver - Connect Marketing and Symantec for “Symantec Mobile Honey Stick Project”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Bronze - MWW for “Samsung Galaxy Note Fashion Week Takeover”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

BEST TRAVEL, HOSPITALITY & DESTINATIONS CAMPAIGN Gold- M. Silver – A Division of Finn Partners for “Defrost Your Swimsuit”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Gold- Puerto Rico Tourism Company for “Puerto Rico Does It Better” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Silver - Maxwell PR, Robeson Communications and Travel Oregon for “Oregon Bounty PR”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Bronze - Alpaytac Marketing Communications/PR for “Turkish Airlines U.S. Brand Building PR Campaign” . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

BEST CAMPAIGN UNDER $100,000 Gold- Child's Play Communications for “It’s in the Book: Reading Rainbow Reaches #1 App Status”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Silver - Fiserv and RF|Binder for “Fiserv Case-Shiller: A Breakthrough Year for Delivering Home Price” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Bronze - Trainer Communications for “Accelerating The Quality and Quantity of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Appcelerator’s Media Presence Trends”

BEST CAMPAIGN UNDER $50,000 Gold- Savoir Media for “Allied Minds’ Historic Public-Private Innovation Partnership”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Silver - Stratasys and Weber Shandwick for “Stratasys Asks the World ‘What’s Possible?’ with 3D Printing”. . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Bronze - Fish Consulting and Massage Envy for “Healing Hands for Arthritis” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

BEST CAMPAIGN UNDER $25,000 Gold- Zapwater Communications for “Downsize Fitness: Downsizing the Obesity Epidemic”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Silver - Miller PR for “Funny or Die” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Bronze - RF|Binder for “Just because Facebook is going public doesn’t mean you have to; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 #GoPrivate with Abine” Honorable Mention - Finn Partners for “Look Ma, No Hands! Expert Members of IEEE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Identify Driverless Cars As Most Viable Form of Intelligent Transportation, Dominating the Roadway by 2040 and Sparking Dramatic Changes In Vehicular Travel.” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

BEST CAMPAIGN UNDER $10,000 Gold- Miller PR for “Felicia Day’s Geek & Sundry Launch” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Silver - Quinn & Co for AKA Central Park Takes Glamping to Another Level with NYC’s First Outdoor Bedroom” . . . . . . . . . 66 Bronze - Havas PR North America for “Rallying for the Troops—and Their Caregivers”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

B E S T M E D I A C A M PA I G N O F T H E Y E A R

GRAND PRIZE “Downsize Fitness: Downsizing the Obesity Epidemic” Zapwater Communications According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 36 percent of American adults are overweight. That number is climbing quickly—and with it, the incidence of life-threatening conditions and medical costs nationwide. To curtail the epidemic, experts recommend daily physical activity. But as we all know, fitting in even thirty minutes on the Treadmill after a long day at the office is no small feat. And for the chronically overweight, stepping into a gym can be a nightmare. Overwrought by anxiety and fear of criticism, many obese individuals avoid gyms entirely. Enter Downsize Fitness. The business concept arose from owner Francis Wisniewski, who struggled with weight loss himself. Wisniewski saw a gap in the fitness marketplace after feeling selfconscious at traditional gyms and conceptualized a fitness center where the overweight could exercise in an intimate environment—a gym that was exclusively theirs. The plan: Downsize would only accept clients with 50 pounds or more to lose and would offer nutrition counseling and support, as well as typical fitness training.

either location. The PR campaign would require a personal angle to humanize the gym’s mission and convince potential customers to take a chance on it. But where to find the face of a new kind of fitness? The Strategy: Motivate the gym-wary with the owner’s inspiring track record. Instead of grasping at straws for a news hook, the Zapwater team turned to the roots of the gym itself. “A lot of the campaign was telling the owner’s story,” Zapata says. “Francis had struggled with weight and health issues, but he was able to get a personal trainer and change his life from a nutrition standpoint. When he realized not everybody has the opportunity or the resources to do what he has done, he realized—almost on a philanthropic level—that there was a social need for this brand.” Armed with Francis Wisniewski’s own account of his struggle—and

Downsize Fitness opened in Chicago and Las Vegas and retained Chicago-based Zapwater Communications to launch a publicity campaign to increase awareness and spur membership. Zapwater president David Zapata describes coming aboard: “We embraced the concept right away. Gyms obviously can be intimidating places, especially if you've struggled with weight or health issues. We needed the media to view it as an inclusive—as opposed to an exclusive—place. We thought the concept was brilliant, and a lot of our success and ability to get great press was the concept.” The Challenge: Distinguish Downsize Fitness from its ironpumping counterparts—by re-thinking the traditional fitness pitch. Because Downsize Fitness opened in cities saturated with traditional fitness centers, Zapata’s team needed to Downsize Fitness staff and gym members received meticulous messaging and differentiate the gym in a cluttered marketplace. While pitching a gym would usually involve the same basic steps— media training. Their superstar success stories were brought to the forefront of a list of target fitness influencers, photos of toned gymZapwater's media relations efforts. junkies—Zapwater was tasked with reaching a demographic the relief he found in a comfortable workout space—Zapwater set that might not be apt to scan health blogs or flip through workout off to pitch the Downsize mission. It would be nearly impossible to tip lists. raise brand awareness with typical fitness publications, so the Zapata explains, “Because of the concept and who Downsize team focused on mainstream news and general interest outlets, Fitness’s target audience was, if we were going to drive trial and such as daily papers and broadcast media. drive consumers, it was really going to be different than any other Most important, the team centered its approach on securing a gym story. The person who they were trying to attract to this gym breakout feature in a local publication. Zapwater targeted the was not going to be reading Fitness or other health magazines.” Chicago Tribune, the largest daily newspaper in Chicago—and What’s more, with only three initial members, the gym had few specifically pitched health and fitness writer, Julie Deardorff. The testimonials to illustrate its success and boost its credibility in media relations team set Deardorff off on a gym tour after sparking

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

B E S T M E D I A C A M PA I G N O F T H E Y E A R her interest with the unique narrative. They also set up interviews for her with the owner and the gym’s brave first member. Zapwater account executive Stephanie Reay explains, “[Deardorff] is a health and fitness writer, so she covers these types of topics and is definitely more into finding specific research on them. So, it was important to get her into the space to talk to Francis and hear his personal story. Since the company was so personal to him, she was able to see the context and how different it was from anything else.” Hook to a hot trend: New Year’s resolutions. Just as critical was the campaign’s timing. Zapata adds, “We knew mainstream media was going to be writing about New Year’s resolutions right at the beginning of the year, so we strategically targeted around that time. Once Deardorff had walked through the gym and understood the concept, it was about working with her to make it a New Year’s story.” Zapwater then approached local media in Chicago and Las Vegas with a gym-wide contest based on the popular TV show, “The Biggest Loser.” The member who lost the most weight in a sixmonth period would win $10,000. Growing national attention also led to a partnership with the “Steve Harvey TV Show,” which chose two men to be profiled in a similar weight loss challenge and provided them memberships to Downsize Fitness.

outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, the Baltimore Sun and The Huffington Post. As a result of the article, forty people inquired about joining the Chicago gym within twenty-four hours, and it was at full capacity five weeks after the article ran. Multiple consumers who viewed the article in other markets also inquired about new Downsize Fitness locations. Another big hit: PBS Nightly Business Report ran a segment on the founder and his emerging gym brand. Media impressions totaled more than 18.2 million for broadcast, print and online media. Following the initial splash, Downsize Fitness opened a Dallas location and added boot camp programs to three other cities due to the high demand from the public. Secrets for success: Zapata and Reay offer these takeaway tips and explain why “Downsize Fitness: Downsizing the Obesity Epidemic” won the Grand Prize at the 2013 Bulldog Awards Excellence in Media Relations & Publicity: ● Stand by the brand through thick and thin—until it takes off running. “Our controversial pitch was one of those things where the truth was most important: The only business we had was for those with 50 pounds and more to lose,” Zapata explains. “Just like some people are intimidated by normal gyms, this, too, is not a gym for everybody. Playing off that, we talked to a couple of editors and it got picked up. Like the original story, it had legs of its own.” ● When it comes to consumers’ concerns, stay on the sunny side. Instead of focusing on the obesity epidemic as a crisis, Zapwater flipped the story by describing the way Downsize Fitness was a readymade fix for millions of people. “Position the brand and the company as the solution to people’s problems,” Reay says. ● Take the road less travelled—with some pep in your step. “Think out of the box,” says Zapata. “Don’t be afraid to push the boundaries. And most important, have fun.”

Avoid the pratfalls of pitching a touchy topic by positioning the brand as a Special acknowledgments for this campaign go to friendly fix to a widespread David Zapata, Stephanie Reay and Deanne Karen. Zapwater approached local media with a gymproblem. Zapwater then crafted a controversial pitch wide contest based on the popular TV show, “The Winner’s Profile: Biggest Loser.” The member who lost the most Zapwater is a Chicago-based, award-winning boutique that highlighted the most weight in a six-month period won. public relations agency. Described by a leading important part of the gym’s journalist as Chicago’s “new go-to agency,” Zapwater is concept: Only the overweight were allowed to join. The “No Skinny People Allowed” idea sparked an aggressive, full-service communications agency with the debate among national influencers. “But instead of running away experience, connections and media savvy clients expect from a from the controversy, we embraced it,” says Zapata. “We stayed true top-tier agency. In the past two years, Zapwater has won 36 major to the core of who the brand was and explained it.” Zapwater also industry awards for public relations excellence including the message-trained Downsize staff and brought them along on Bulldog Awards Grand Prize, a Gold SABRE Award for Best Fashion briefings and interviews. Beauty Campaign and a Platinum Adrian Award from HSMAI. In The Results: Zapwater wins Downsize the Chicago Tribune’s frontaddition, Zapwater was named “A Best Agency to Work For 2013” page, and the gym reaches capacity with eager exercisers. by The Holmes Report. Deardorff’s article was syndicated in more than 120 different

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

B E S T A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T C A M PA I G N

GOLD “Felicia Day’s Geek & Sundry Launch” Miller PR Web series creator and actress Felicia Day was among the lucky group of creative types and companies chosen by Google YouTube to develop their own premium channel networks. Best known for her independent Web series, “The Guild,” Felicia Day formed a new company and premium channel called “Geek & Sundry,” dedicated to all things whimsical and geeky. Although landing the YouTube channel gig was a great victory in itself, YouTube did not promote any channel over the others, so Day called on Miller PR to make her shine. The “Geek & Sundry” channel was going head to head with some of the big names in media, so Miller PR’s main challenges was to elevate the independent artist above the more mainstream channels—and on a tight budget. To ensure that Day’s publicity really popped, the team decided to schedule key campaign milestones around WonderCon and Comic-Con—the perfect launch pads for the geek and chic spheres. However, rather than market the channel as a digital property, Miller PR focused on publicizing it to niche audiences as a TV network with a slate of individual shows. The team pinpointed key episodes that would draw the most attention from target media and drafted media advisory “tune-in” alerts that showcased talent with Q&As, previews and exclusive clips. They selected various target markets—“geek” viewers, entertainment fans, digital industry influencers, editors from Hollywood, Wall Street, Madison Avenue and Silicon Valley—and set to work. For the business media, they pitched Day’s expanding Web empire and pioneering in the digital space. For the advertising crowd, they positioned “Geek & Sundry” as a new platform for marketing to the geek market. To the tech world, the launch catered to YouTube and programming topics, and to blogs and mainstream media, they leveraged Day as the “chic geek.” At WonderCon and Comic-Con, Miller PR poured it on: Not only did they pre-brief the press, but the team also hosted a press junket to provide top-tier media with one-on-one interviews with the channel executives and show talent. To maximize dialogue with audiences during each event, Miller PR conducted fan blog outreach through Twitter and Facebook. As a result of the PR push, Miller PR scored Day a major headline article in USA Today and high-visibility articles in Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Advertising Age, Washington Post, Wired, Paste, New York Magazine and others, as well as some ten broadcast interviews, which generated millions of new visitors to Day’s channel. Day was also profiled in The Hollywood Reporter’s “The Next Gen” list.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

B E S T A R T S F&O O EN D T& E RBT AE IVNE M R AE G N ET C A M P A I G N

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“Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Circus Goes Hispanic” rbb PR

“TheTieBar.com: Why Open Collars are a Thing of the Past” Zapwater Communications

Many know the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Circus as “The Greatest Show on Earth,” but the entertainment company found that under the tents, there was one major market missing: Hispanics. In an effort to fill this gap, Feld Entertainment tapped rbb PR to create a public relations program to bring the circus to a whole new set of families—and the fastest growing market segment in the U.S.

Celebrities have access to the most luxurious apparel on the planet. So, why choose a $15 necktie as opposed to its designer counterpart? This was the challenge that Zapwater Communications faced when working with TheTieBar.com, an affordable men’s accessories company. The brand was looking to increase awareness among celebrities and change the perception that high style must come with a high price—by getting affordable ties and bow ties to take a spin on the red carpet.

Research was a critical factor as rbb set off. Studies indicated that Hispanics would better relate to a spokesperson who embodied the core tenets of the Hispanic community, so they selected Ringling’s Chilean animal trainer Taba Maluenda, in addition to other Hispanic performers to represent the circus. One of the few Hispanic animal trainers in the industry, Taba’s story hit the right notes to resonate with Hispanic audiences. Although controversial statements by animal extremists made positioning an animal trainer as a spokesperson potentially risky, rbb researched every national reporter across Hispanic networks for ties to or strong opinions about animal rights and sought to flip their perceptions. The rbb team identified Miami, Los Angeles, New York and Houston as the top four U.S. cities with the largest Hispanic populations where Ringling Bros. performs and targeted local highly rated Spanish language television channels with their story. Pitches highlighted concepts shown by research to inspire and attract Hispanics—family, language, heritage, culture and an emotional connection—and showcased elements of the circus that reflect these research-proven “motivators.” Through Taba’s story and others’, the rbb team emphasized family and emotional connections, combined with a bit of show spectacular. rbb’s efforts generated major stories in target media. People en Espanol Magazine featured Taba, who has more than 200 scars from his animal training, in an article on “rethinking the idea of beauty.” On Univision, Taba scored a segment about his reunion with his mother, whom he hadn’t seen in over ten years, and the trainer, along with many of Ringling’s Hispanic performers, was also featured Univision’s “Despierta America” and Telemundo’s “Un Nuevo Dia,” where the circus aired live and showcased a few of its acts performed by Hispanics. In addition, the show’s anchors became clowns for a day and received a behind-the-scenes look into Taba’s animal training methods. Finally, a circus-themed couture fashion shoot made it into seven-page spread in Siempre Mujer Magazine. What’s more, rbb increased ticket sales by an average of seven percent in top Hispanic markets and garnered more than 201 million media impressions with 100 percent positive tone of coverage, as it relates to Ringling Bros.’ treatment of animals.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

Zapwater decided the best way to increase the brand’s “cool factor” was through sample pulls for celebrities and targeted pitches to men’s and women’s consumer fashion media and retailers. As the gatekeepers to celebrity fashion, stylists would also play a role in getting TheTieBar.com’s neckwear on clients. To get the brand’s name out, Zapwater emailed new product images on an ongoing basis to stylists, and as a result of the effort, Emmy-nomiated actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson was introduced to TheTieBar.com by his stylist. When Ferguson decided to launch a charity to benefit marriage equality, he turned to the neckwear brand for help. In November 2012, the “Jesse Tyler Ferguson for TheTieBar.com” collection officially launched, and thousands of bow ties sold out in less than a month. Zapwater worked in tandem with Ferguson’s team to create a splash for the launch of the collection, hosting an exclusive launch party with celebrities in West Hollywood. Thanks to Zapwater Communications’ publicity campaign, TheTieBar.com also scored high-profile retail partnerships with NordstromMen.com, GILT Man and Park & Bond, and its overall revenue in 2012 more than doubled. Furthermore, thanks to the strategic campaign, TheTieBar.com appeared in GQ magaine—on the necks of NASA’s Mars Rover team—as well as on featured models in BRIDES, Esquire, Nylon Guys, Glamour, US Weekly, Playboy, Men’s Journal, Men’s Health, Bridal Guide, Martha Stewart Weddings, The Huffington Post Style, “LIVE with Kelly and Michael,” “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and others.

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GOLD “Brains for Your Backyard” Axiom Marketing Communications In 2012, The Toro Company launched a new product aimed to help homes with in-ground sprinkler systems save water throughout the year. The XTRA SMART Precision Soil Moisture Sensor is a wireless system that communicates soil moisture data to the sprinkler controller, preventing over- and under-watering. When communications firm Axiom came on the scene, they identified one hulking challenge to marketing the product: Many homeowners worried that home irrigation systems were too complex and difficult to use. Leveraging the need for an easier system and XTRA SMART’s simple installation process, the “Brains for Your Backyard” campaign had its keystone. The PR team found that the audience most concerned with their sprinkers lived in “precipitation-challenged” markets: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Dallas and Phoenix—cities often plagued by drought, excessive rain, high humidity or extreme temperature fluctuation. Apart from homeowners in these cities, residential landscape contractors and designers became a secondary target market. In order to change the flawed perception of the inherent difficulty of irrigation systems, Axiom positioned the sensor as an updated and approachable technology. In addition, the PR team focused messaging on the fact that XTRA SMART was derived from the same technology found at the Rose Bowl Stadium, Pebble Beach Golf Course and Target Field. For the tech-savy, garden guru and sports fan alike, the new sprinkler system had great appeal. The sensor debuted at Consumer Electronic Show and moved on to the National Hardware Show. Axiom also entered the sprinkler system in various tech and innovation awards programs throughout the year, sent Toro Irrigation experts to home and garden editors and developed a microsite where consumers and media could get more product information, read testimonials and even buy the XTRA SMART. To top it off, Axiom partnered with DIY expert Tracy Metro for a satellite media tour. Among Axiom’s 100+ media placements, XTRA SMART scored features in Better Homes and Gardens and Popular Mechanics, a CES clip on PC World and 4.5 million impressions from the satellite media tour, including a national spot on the Daily Buzz. The microsite saw a 300% traffic increase, and the sprinkler system also received Popular Mechanics Editor’s Choice Award and Handy Innovation Award. Best of all, XTRA SMART sold out at The Home Depot and received four rounds of re-orders to keep up with the demand in Axiom’s six target markets.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

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“An End is a Cool, New Start: will.i.am and The Coca-Cola Company Launch EKOCYCLE™ The Coca-Cola Company and Rogers & Cowan

“Share Responsibility for the Planet – Visualizing the Impact of Eco-Action” Bateman Group

After a wildly packed performance, musician and producer will.i.am stood on an empty stage and looked out at the debris produced by thousands of concert revelers. The experience inspired him to approach The Coca-Cola Company with an entrepreneurial idea: EKOCYCLE is a stand-alone initiative dedicated to encouraging recycling and sustainability among consumers through lifestyle products with an eco-conscious focus. With partners, Beats by Dr. Dre® and New Era®, EKOCYCLE lifestyle products are made in part with recycled materials for music-lovers and green consumers, alike.

For eco-focused companies, making your voice heard during a nationally recognized event like Earth Month—when all organizations with a green angle attempt a PR campaign—can be a challenge. In 2012, the Bateman Group knew it would have to help client, Recyclebank, cut through the green noise. In order to own the ecominded conversations around Earth Day, the Bateman Group developed the “Share Responsibility for the Planet” campaign, aimed at relating digital engagement to real, tangible impact.

With the EKOCYCLE television commercial scheduled to debut during the Summer Olympics, Rogers & Cowan came on board to introduce the initiative to consumers, influentials and media in a way that told a story of sustainability and social change. The PR team would announce the global launch of the EKOCYCLE brand within a tight timeframe of three weeks. Rogers & Cowan strategically pitched target media outlets leading up to the big event. In addition, a multi-spokesperson approach— which involved will.i.am, executives representing brand partners and Coca-Cola’s Bea Perez—began approaching target media outlets. Photos and b-roll were also shot and pitched within the three-week window. With the clock ticking, Rogers & Cowan secured vendors and locations, drafted media materials and prepped their stars and spokespeople for interviews. Key media from markets around the world dialed in to a teleconference the morning of the announcement to discuss EKOCYCLE with will.i.am and Bea Perez. Exposure also drove consumers to the new EKOCYCLE Facebook page, and the official press release announcing EKOCYCLE was distributed to global business, environment, music, fashion and lifestyle, trade and online influencers, as well. A multitude of positive stories ran in many pop culture outlets, including The Hollywood Reporter, TIME, The Los Angeles Times, License! Global Magazine, Perez Hilton’s “CocoPerez,” VIBE.com and others. Photos and b-roll footage taken during the shoot, along with quotes from spokespeople, also went viral, and overall, Rogers & Cowan helped generate 22.5 million media impressions nationwide.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

But how to start the conversation? Recyclebank collaborated with the Bateman Group to create a compelling and sharable infographic that allowed people to visualize the impact of small green actions. The graphic showcased everyday actions that anyone could take and communicated the potential impact of these actions in a way that every consumer could easily understand. Together with designer Lemon.ly, they combined statistics about the environment and social media that resulted in readily meaningful and relatable figures. The image was also action-oriented and gave people clear, easy-to-implement ideas for how to help the planet. The infographic was released a few days prior to Earth Day—to maximize mass media and consumer interest in a piece of “green” social content and to encourage online sharing among consumers. The PR team pitched more than 100 strategic consumer, green, business and digital titles, distributed press releases and housed the infographic on Recyclebank.com. Recyclebank also created posts to highlight individual statistics to put on Recyclebank’s Facebook page, Twitter and Pinterest. In all, the Bateman Group scored the infographic over 30 pieces of print, online and broadcast coverage in outlets, including Mashable, Yahoo! News, MSNBC and The Huffington Post. Coverage reached more than 100 million unique visitors, and Recyclebank.com visits hit an all-time high, up 151.5% over the previous month.

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BRONZE “Successful IPO Overcomes Soft Market Sentiment IPO Publicity Campaign of Merry Garden” Strategic Financial Relations Limited A wooden leisure product enterprise in the PRC, Merry Garden manufactures leisure household and introduced its “Merry Garden” products to the PRC market in 2010. However, without a presence or operation in Hong Kong, the company was unknown to local investors and the media, and promotions were restricted under Hong Kong listing rules. Moreover, investors in Hong Kong were not familiar with this niche industry and were unaware of the huge potential of the leisure and tourism market in China. In order to boost Merry Garden’s presence among institutional and retail investors, highlight its growth potential and facilitate its smooth listing, the company tapped Strategic Financial Relations Limited. The campaign began before the Hong Kong Stock Exchange hearing, as the PR team provided media skills training to management to prepare members for public speaking, Q&As and an IPO release. As the campaign continued, they worked to build relationships with stock commentators and columnists, led an investor presentation and press conference and created marketing materials, such as plant photos and corporate videos. Strategic Financial Relations Limited also delivered corporate news to newswires that influence the local media, thereby bolstering retail investors’ interest, and apart from hard-selling information about the company’s business strategies, the team emphasized the its healthy financial track record and environmental accreditations. To deftly position it as a “leisure product enterprise,” they demonstrated Merry Garden’s niches with a comprehensive product display, as well. Ultimately, Merry Garden was one of the few companies to successfully list on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in July 2012, when the Hong Kong IPO front was relatively quiet with deals amid a volatile equities market. Moreover, it became the first Hong Konglisted company engaged in leisure wooden product enterprises with extensive overseas market experience, as well as an established self-owned brand in the PRC market. The campaign also achieved coverage by leading financial media, such as Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, Hong Kong Economic Times and Hong Kong Economic Journal, as well as on online financial websites and television.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

BEST USE OF BROADCAST VIDEO/INTERNET – BUSINESS/CONSUMER

GOLD “Student Mental Health” Peel District School Board for Stand Up For a long time, education has tried to dance around the subject of mental health. However, as the Peel District School Board of Ontario, Canada determined, schools have a unique opportunity to support mental health. Although Peel teachers and administrators knew they were not the only players in the lives of their youth—and not necessarily the single major influence—they decided to take the problem upon themselves and ensure students that the problems affecting them would not continue to be ignored. Research showed the School Board’s communications team that in 70% of mental health cases, onset comes before the age of 18, and in 50%, before the age of 14. They also found that one in five students will experience a mental health problem throughout their academic career. What’s more, the school had experienced a string of suicides and attempted suicides. Armed with this information, the “Stand Up” campaign took flight. Prior to the start of each school year, Director of Education Tony Pontes addresses over 1,000 leaders in the system to share his vision and the Board’s focus in the year ahead. One of his three key areas of focus for the upcoming school year was to shine light on student mental health. With his speech as a starting point, a key tactic of the campaign was the production of a video that would encouraged students, staff and community members to talk about mental health. Communications & Community Relations Support Services worked with the Peel Board’s chief social worker and video production staff on the music, storyboard and editing for the video. With a meager budget of $1,000, it was produced in-house with real Peel students and staff. The video, which was posted on YouTube and directs viewers to a resource section of the board’s website, received close to 9,000 views on YouTube, over 3 million impressions and numerous messages of thanks and support from mental health associations across the country. Placements include Global News, Global Winnipeg, Globe & Mail, CBC News Toronto, Metro Morning and others. The board also received recognition from the Canadian Association of Suicide Prevention, which presented the Board with their 2012 Media Award.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

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“HighTower Whiteboard Animation Video: Brokers vs. Fiduciaries (aka Butcher/Dietician)” Jennifer Connelly Public Relations

“Hatfields & McCoys Integrated Media Campaign” HISTORY

Unlike Wall Street brokerages, which typically limit client access to “approved” products designed to make money through commissions and kickbacks (unbeknownst to their clients), HighTower is firmly independent and provides its investor client base with the best investment options and services that Wall Street has to offer. Spurred by the buzz surrounding the concept of “transparency” in the investing world, Jennifer Connelly Public Relations created a video-driven campaign that would help HighTower educate the public about the differences between a Wall Street-style broker and a client-focused fiduciary. JCPR and the client agreed that a video explaining HighTower’s fiduciary responsibility had to reach beyond the staid style synonymous with the highly regulated financial industry. The language of the video also had to be straightforward, so investors would grasp it quickly and easily. With a little behind-the-scenes research at the HighTower offices, the solution became clear: The whiteboard video, a communication tool used by HighTower execs at internal and external meetings, was a natural backdrop. The whiteboard medium would provide simple illustrations and a playby-play of the way financial advising works for and against the investor. Using the analogy of a butcher—who tries to “sell, sell, sell”—and a dietician—who offers a holistic approach to overall financial health—JCPR’s in-house crew produced a short and educational 2.3-minute video. Meanwhile, resigning Goldman Sachs executive Greg Smith penned a scathing op-ed in the New York Times, describing Wall Street culture as anything but client-centric. Suddenly, JCPR’s campaign had a news hook, too. Although, when the letter was released, the video was not finalized, the production team made necessary edits, enhanced the design and pitched the video two days later. JCPR landed the HighTower video on The New York Times’ “Bucks” blog, Forbes.com, REP, AdvisorOne.com and Dow Jones Newswires. JCPR alerted NAFTA, who decided to open their annual meeting with a viewing of the video. The whiteboard piece was viewed more than 36,000 times and has reached Business Insider, InvestmentNews, Forbes, FundFire and The Reformed Broker. What’s more, JCPR used Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn engagement to disseminate the video and increased traffic to its website by several thousand visits.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

Since the network’s rebrand in 2007, the HISTORY channel has transitioned from a middle-rated purveyor of historical documentaries to a network of top-rated series and special events. However, in order to continue the success, HISTORY needed to broaden its content. HISTORY’s first foray into the scripted arena, “Hatfields & McCoys”, represented the latest stage in the network’s brand evolution. But with the introduction of the miniseries, HISTORY needed to keep its male non-fiction audience, recruit female drama enthusiasts and build critical and industry buzz. In order to reach targets during the Memorial Day premier, HISTORY leveraged big name stars—Bill Paxton and Kevin Costner—and marketed the series like a cinematic event. In addition to gifting editorial targets with a dirty, bullet-riddled felt hat, HISTORY delivered highly specialized pitches. For men’s publications, they used the action angle, as well as the lure of Costner’s music. For women’s publications, the pitches focused on the show’s stars, family drama story and romance storyline. Entertainment news outlets received pitches on the film and industry-related aspects, sales and marketing, production news and reviews, while celebrity outlets and bloggers got stories on the series’ younger celebrities. The campaign also brought the feud to NYC, with Hatfields promotions taking over Port Authority Bus Terminal and McCoys at Grand Central. Wallscape outdoor posters also took the city by storm. HISTORY secured long-lead features with Esquire, Parade, EW, People, Playboy and others, booked electronic outlets for premiere week and organized a satellite press junket with talent interviews for print and online outlets and key bloggers. One week before the launch, the Hollywood Reporter co-sponsored a premiere party, and coverage included Vanity Fair, Access, ET/Insider, Extra and others. Most importantly, in the digital realm, HISTORY scored an exclusive partnership with Rolling Stone Live to feature Kevin Costner’s rock band in a streaming concert, interviews and promotion. Digital takeovers and home page roadblocks made YouTube, IMDB, Yahoo!, NYTimes homepage, and a Facebook app, “Are you a Hatfield or McCoy?” went viral. The premiere was the most-watched television event in cable history—three times. Defying multiple night TV patterns, “Hatfields & McCoys” actually picked up steam each night, gaining more viewers, and post-premiere ratings and success stories generated millions of incremental impressions.

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GOLD “First Do No Harm (or Sunshine is the Best Disinfectant)” Kitchen Public Relations, LLC When a Midwest-based pain management facility found itself at the center of a national fungal meningitis outbreak, Kitchen Public Relations (KPR) came in to provide crisis management services. The facility’s administration was utterly panicked as the story broke: Over a period of several months, its physicians had injected hundreds of patients with a tainted lot of steroid medication. What’s more, dozens of people across the country were dying, and hundreds more were ill. Thus, it was up to KPR to let the public know that while the problem was tragic, the facility’s doctors had had every reason to believe that the medication they had administered—purchased from another compounding pharmacy—was safe. KPR acted immediately to counter misperceptions about what had happened, while the clinic, meanwhile, tended to the needs of ill patients. The clinic had previously “ducked and covered”—and said nothing to address the public. KPR decided it was time for the clinic to meet the media head-on with transparency. Recognizing that full disclosure was paramount, KPR issued a public statement describing the events that had occurred and were still taking place, what patients needed to do and what the facility’s staff was doing to handle the situation. The media statement was sent to all appropriate local and regional media and was posted on the facility’s website. Subsequently, this statement was updated as the situation developed. KPR also gave face to the organization by designating a doctor as the facility’s main spokesperson, while staff received media training. The PR team also prioritized local media over national press and worked closely with the local hospital treating exposed patients to ensure that the clinic was telling a consistent message. Over a two-week period, a steady flow of articles and news reports updated the public on events and procedures. All in all, the team was successful in demonstrating that the client was committed to patient safety, empathetic as the chaos unfolded, committed to transparency and most importantly, not in any way responsible for the tragedy.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

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GOLD “IT in the Toilet” 11mark Entering the market as a new integrated marketing agency, 11mark needed to cut through the noise, raise visibility and establish brand awareness. In place of a more traditional launch, the agency decided to take a creative approach, focusing on a hot button issue for its customers: Mobile trends. In an effort to leverage research and humor, as well as highlight a key issue for potential clients and partners, 11mark gave the media relations effort an edge. Their campaign centered on a survey the PR team conducted, examining mobile habits in “the last private place”—the bathroom. 11mark surveyed Americans on their bathroom phone habits, comparing men versus women, generational phone use, and differences among Droid, iPhone and Blackberry users. The team analyzed results and created the “IT in the Toilet” report, along with a visually appealing infographic. The data exposed American’s bathroom phone habits and provided insight on larger trends, like the growing reliance on mobile technology. As 11mark analyzed the data, they conclusively found that the last private place was no longer private—and exposed just how mobile society has become. The team launched a proactive media relations campaign, approaching newspapers, magazines, blogs and broadcast. The “IT in the Toilet” report included unique cover art and the infographic and was sent to a targeted press list. The team’s key social media channels served to spread the data in innovative ways, as did the eye-catching landing page created for the release. Interviews with mainstream and technology-focused outlets served to build more buzz and to get download numbers accelerating at lightning speed. From local to regional news outlets, the team secured coverage in more than 470 articles and 200+ broadcast placements. Highlights include The New York Times, Network World, Informationweek, CBS News, HLN, ABC News, The Huffington Post and Computerworld. The story was also included on CNN’s homepage, NPR’s “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” and “Live! with Kelly.” In the realm of social media, Twitter coverage started in English and moved around the world in a dozen languages. “IT in the Toilet” also generated 3,600+ Facebook likes, 330+ LinkedIn shares and tens of thousands of Twitter tweets and re-tweets. Site traffic increased 3,700 percent during the campaign—with nearly two thousand release and infographic downloads from the website.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

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“Entenmann’s Celebrates the 75th National Donut Day with The Salvation Army” Freeman Public Relations

“Fiserv Case-Shiller: A Breakthrough Year for Delivering Home Price Trends” Fiserv and RF|Binder

As the date approached, FPR recruited another influential figure: New York City’s Mayor Bloomberg. Although Bloomberg had recently taken a stance against sweets with his proposed soda ban, he officially endorsed the day as “NYC Donut Day.” As a final push to generate consumer awareness before the event, FPR leveraged Entenmann’s’ social media presence with a national Facebook sweepstakes campaign to raise money for The Salvation Army. Capitalizing on the 75th anniversary milestone and The Salvation Army’s non-profit cause, FPR planned a National Donut Day pop-up party in Madison Square Park. Complete with Entenmann’s and Salvation Army trucks, signage and sampling tables, the event also featured a visual draw: the largest box of Entenmann’s donuts ever made. The Salvation Army’s “Donut Lassies” also handed out donuts in traditional uniforms. Prior to the event’s opening, broadcast affiliates lined Madison Square park, and throughout, the event scored coverage on NBC Nightly News, USA Today, Yahoo! News, The Huffington Post, Chicago Sun-Times, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, Grub Street and many more. FPR also secured two “Good Day New York” remote segments and a piece with Newsday’s “Kidsday” editor. Radio and social media coverage also abounded, and Entenmann’s saw a 7.4% sales increase. Equally important: Now, Entenmann’s can celebrate National Donut Day every year.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

RF|Binder’s campaign began as the team identified one huge opportunity. They found that while many readers of the business press were familiar with Fiserv’s S&P/Case-Shiller index, few knew it was actually owned and generated by Fiserv. Fewer still were aware of the breadth of Fiserv’s research. In addition to the wellknown S&P/Case-Shiller 20 Market Index, Fiserv was sitting on a treasure trove of data, which included detailed home price trend data for more than 380 U.S. metro areas. Another differentiator: Fiserv Case-Shiller provides projections for home prices in each of those metro areas. The main objective of RF|Binder’s campaign was to brand the index as the Fiserv Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes and to emphasize what makes this data different. To highlight that it is at the MSA level and provides projections that no one else can offer, the trend data was uniquely packaged in custom slideshows, and the indexes were issued quarterly. In addition, by positioning Fiserv’s chief economist, David Stiff, as the voice of Case-Shiller and an expert source of commentary on the U.S. housing market, RF|Binder created a trustworthy and vocal authority figure of the company. A sustained media relations program focused on the national business press, including bloggers, along with local media outreach. Coverage included Time, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Financial Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, CNBC, FOX Business Channel, CNN Money, Business Insider and others. Fiserv Case-Shiller also significantly increased its multimedia visibility with placements in MainStreet.com, Business Insider, among other sites, and CNNMoney.com developed an interactive database that featured Fiserv data for many U.S. metro areas. Moreover, David Stiff’s commentary garnered more than 100 million media impressions, and Fiserv Case-Shiller contributed to the 20 percent increase in the company’s top-tier business media coverage in 2011 and 2012.

B E S T E D U C AT I O N / P U B L I C S E RV I C E C A M PA I G N

GOLD “USAGE Survey: Taking on America’s Number One Killer” Kowa Pharmaceuticals America and Eli Lilly & Company with Makovsky Statins are the standard-of-care medicine prescribed to patients with high cholesterol. Yet while heart disease remains the number one killer of men and women, 75% of patients stop taking their statins within one year. Kowa Pharmaceuticals America (Kowa) and Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) set out to find out why. The companies conducted USAGE—Understanding Statin use in America and Gaps in Education—the largest cholesterol survey of more than 10,100 patients. The data showed the most common reason for halting statin treatment was the side effects. Kowa and Lilly tapped New York City PR firm Makovsky to educate patients and physicians on the USAGE results and increase awareness of Kowa within the medical community. To launch the USAGE campaign, Makovsky established partnerships between Kowa and Lilly and the National Lipid Association (NLA). The partnership with the NLA created new ties to cardiovascular thought leaders who bolstered USAGE toward a broader healthcare network. Survey results were also announced at the NLA annual meeting, and the NLA published USAGE data in the May/June issue of the Journal of Clinical Lipidology. For the patient audience, the team enlisted a well-recognized spokesperson, John O’Hurley of Seinfeld, to humanize the consumer’s struggle and inspire understanding of statins. For this step, target locations were determined using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention research, focusing on cities with the highest incidence of high cholesterol. A post-campaign survey of NLA members showed that fifty percent of physicians plan to make changes in their practice based on USAGE information and 83% recommend their patients visit www.statinUSAGE.com. More than 5,000 physicians requested USAGE materials, and 2,300 consumers accessed the site’s downloadable tools. News media coverage of USAGE reached more than 744 million patients and 4 million healthcare providers, via outlets such as CNN, Fox & Friends, MedPage Today, Prevention.com and Lifescript. Moreover, Kowa corporate visibility increased 475% in year-over-year news media coverage.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

B E S T E D U C AT I O N / P U B L I C S E RV I C E C A M PA I G N

GOLD “LearnSmart Direct-to-Student: A Marketing First for an Established Educational Publisher” RF|Binder with McGraw-Hill Education Before the fall of 2012, McGraw-Hill Education’s LearnSmart software, which adapts to students’ individual learning needs, was only available for purchase by college institutions. However, when McGraw-Hill decided to sell LearnSmart to students directly, the company needed to increase awareness among parents and students—of the brand and adaptive technology, in general. With these challenges at the forefront, RF|Binder Partners took the reins. The team worked closely with McGraw-Hill to develop key messaging points, which focused on the benefits of adaptive learning and its ability to make educational content more engaging and interactive. What’s more, it had the potential to help students graduate on time and be better prepared for today’s global economy and workforce. To announce that LearnSmart’s launch to general consumers, the team developed several press releases on McGraw-Hill’s shifting business model, the benefits of LearnSmart itself and the “Going Places with LearnSmart” Sweepstakes—a travel contest designed to give students a reason to tackle their studies with enthusiasm. The team also developed a mat release titled “Tech Tips for College-Bound Students and Their Parents,” as well as two infographics. For placement, RF|Binder pitched national publications and broadcast stations, business reporters, tech and mommy blogs, consumer technology publications, college and university papers and contest and sweeps sites. In all, the launch garnered a total of more than 17 million audience impressions and supported LearnSmart direct-to-student sales. Of particular note, the initial business announcement received significant coverage in Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, NASDAQ and others. The subsequent consumer announcement secured coverage in USA TODAY, About.com, edcetera, to name a few. Additionally, the sweepstakes announcement was featured in more than 15 outlets, and the tie-in mat release received pickup in more than 1,300 outlets.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

B E S T E D U C AT I O N / P U B L I C S E RV I C E C A M PA I G N

S I LV E R “Search and Rescue: Thousands Unaware of Their Diabetes Risk” Novant Health and Luquire George Andrews Novant Health hospitals decided to find out how many of its patients had diabetes but didn’t know it. In a “search and rescue” initiative that tested patients in its 13 hospitals across four states to identify cases of undiagnosed type 2 diabetes, the results were startling. With a mission to help educate the estimated one in three American adults who are at risk for developing the disease, Novant Health reached out to get the media’s attention on this tragic issue. The media strategy began with garnering local coverage for the significant number of cases diagnosed by the new program: More than 2,500 people were unaware they had the disease. With the input of Novant doctors and nurses, the story was humanized with compelling examples of patients’ responses to their new diagnosis, advice from diabetes educators’ and the diet and lifestyle changes that reduce risk of developing complications. Following success in local market coverage, for the national placement, pitches were targeted at a short list of leading healthcare reporters who had written about diabetes. One tailored pitch in particular, sent to Laura Landro, The Wall Street Journal’s personal health columnist, resulted in an “Informed Patient” column, which appeared on the front page of the “Personal Journal” section, as well as the online edition. The column highlighted Novant’s program and quoted the staff involved in the initiative. The column was accompanied by tips on “Who Should Get Checked” and links to a risk test, as well as previous diabetes coverage. More print and broadcast stories appeared on the WSJ’s Health blog and in the Brunswick Beacon, the Salisbury Post, the local NPR affiliate and others. Most importantly, by the end of 2012, the number of patients diagnosed surged over 4,500—due in part to the awareness raised by the media coverage.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

B E S T F O O D & B E V E R AG E S C A M PA I G N

GOLD “Dunkin’ Donuts and RF|Binder: Brewing PR Success in 2012” RF|Binder Partners with Dunkin’ Donuts When Dunkin’ Donuts completed an IPO and prepared to launch the company’s first-ever mobile app and new line of bakery sandwiches, buzz was building—but competition was also intensifying. With national restaurant chains, local coffee retailers and convenience stores fighting fiercely to win the nation’s coffee and breakfast wars, RF|Binder collaborated with Dunkin’ Brands to develop a creative campaign to keep the national spotlight on the company. The campaign hinged on numerous partnerships, live and social media events, holiday-related releases and behind-the-scenes tours. On National Coffee Day, RF|Binder worked with CareerBuilder to identify the top 10 professions that rely on coffee, and to kick off autumn, executive chef Stan Frankenthaler offered his perspective on why pumpkin flavor matters so much to people during fall months. Dunkin’ Donuts also initiated more than 25 “tweeps,” or promotions and sweepstakes on Twitter and provided bloggers with giveaway items, such as “Iced Tea Time” packages. RF|Binder leveraged product launches, contests and survey data to spark online, print and broadcast media attention. To celebrate National Donut Day, Dunkin’ Donuts arranged for NASDAQ to unofficially change its name to NASDDAQ, highlighting the brand’s “DD.” For Valentine’s Day, Dunkin’ Donuts commissioned a survey showing how coffee plays a key role in brewing romance, and to promote summer beverages, it promoted an infographic on keeping cool during summer travel. Unveiling two new coffee flavors, the brand’s biggest Twitter contest ever granted winners a free pound of coffee. In 2012, Dunkin’ Donuts was featured in top national outlets, including NBC “Today Show,” “Good Morning America” and The Wall Street Journal. Coverage emphasized the brand’s value proposition and reached more than 500 million impressions. The mobile payment app was launched via exclusives with AP and CNBC and generated hundreds of feature stories across prominent national media. The brand increased its number of Twitter followers, and Facebook fans increased to more than 8 million.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

FOOD & BEVERAGE

S I LV E R

BRONZE

“Smashing the Better Burger Competition” ICR

“34 Degrees Sweet Crisp Launch” Fresh Ideas Group

In 2012, 34 Degrees, maker of all-natural, wafer-thin crisps, needed to introduce consumers and media to its newest innovation: The Sweet Crisp. Because the Crisps are unique in shape, texture and name, the challenge was overcoming the public’s confusion about what the Crisps were—Crackers or cookies? How should they be served? To overcome these barriers, The Fresh Ideas Group developed a campaign strategy focused on getting the Sweet Crisps in the hands of key media influencers to demonstrate how the Crisps could be used and to give Crisps seasonal and trend relevance.

In order to bring great tasting burgers into people’s lives and increase brand awareness to support Smashburger’s expansion, ICR focused on top-tier national media targets, as well as relevant industry, restaurant and franchise trade pubs. The campaign centered on Smashburger’s “recession story gone right” angle. Because Smashburger grew almost entirely during the recession, restaurant and business media received information on how they had succeeded against the odds—with company updates and background information in management interviews. ICR also got attention by entering Smashburger for top national business rankings and awards and executed periodic media tours with CEO Dave Prokupek in NYC. Among other hot-button topics, Prokupek discussed with reporters how his company was adding jobs in a challenging economy. Leveraging Smashburger’s announcement that it would expand internationally, ICR scored placements with The Huffington Post food writer, Joe Satran, on growth strategy, Leslie Patton at Bloomberg News on Smashburger’s expansion into Middle East and The Wall Street Journal small business reporter, Angus Loten, on the trend of American restaurant expansion into the Middle East. Smashburger’s unique approach to franchising, social media marketing and small business strategy also attracted the attention of Sarah Scully of Bloomberg Enterprise, who did a 30-minute program devoted entirely to Smashburger, as well as Reuters, USA Today, Forbes’ America’s Most Promising Companies list and others. Another proof point of the success of the campaign: Smashburger was mentioned by Wendy’s on its earnings conference call as a competitor. In addition, Smashburger has more than 400 units in the franchise pipeline.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

The first phase revolved around key trade shows, including the Winter Fancy Food Show, where the new product line was announced to trade media and industry leaders. As product development continued, 34 Degrees used Natural Products Expo West to debut the new packaging and to continue the media buzz. The second phase focused on targeting key consumer media, and to articulate the product’s attributes, the PR team conducted a New York City desk-side media tour with health, fitness, nutrition and food pubs, sampling the products with demos on Crisp usage and pairings. To engage the “mom” audience, the campaign also executed backto-school outreach to food, parenting and health bloggers who wrote product reviews and hosted product giveaways. Digital outreach consisted of multiple “Twitter parties,” targeting moms and back-to-school snackers, as well as holiday party hosts and entertainers. The social media sharing networks and product endorsement from key blogger influencers facilitated conversationstarters like “Here’s how I used the Sweet Crisps,” “This is my favorite Sweet Crisp recipe” or “A perfect after-school snack for the kids.” The results were sweet. 34 Degrees’ media results grew from 5.3 in 2011 to 33.9 million in 2012—for a growth rate of 639%. Among bloggers, Sweet Crisps won 48 positive product reviews, and topline consumer media hits include placement in Gourmet Retailer, Sustainable Food News, The Daily Meal, RealSimple.com, Yahoo! Shine, Food & Wine and GoodHousekeeping.com.

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GOLD “Showcasing the Charlotte Region to Drive Economic Development” Luquire George Andrews and Development Counsellors International Two years after the long shadow of the financial crisis fell across Charlotte, N.C., economic development leaders felt it was time to raise the region’s profile to help attract new jobs and investment. In an unprecedented collaboration, the Charlotte Chamber, Charlotte Center City Partners and Charlotte Regional Partnership banded together and secured private funding to launch the region’s first ever national and international media relations campaign—and chose Charlotte-based Luquire George Andrews (LGA) and Development Counsellors International (DCI) to spearhead the initiative. After conducting a nationwide perception survey and finding the perception of Charlotte vague, LGA/DCI recommended eight story “themelines” to serve as the backbone for the media relations campaign: Charlotte’s resilience to the banking crisis, energy, workforce development, foreign direct investment, aerospace and defense, motorsports, uptown development and health and life sciences. LGA/DCI reached out to reporters through tailored pitches and news hooks—such as the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, Chiquita’s headquarters move to Charlotte and the President’s State of the Union address that highlighted U.S. manufacturing to generate additional coverage for the region. The PR team also organized press trips, desk-side media interviews with key government and business spokespeople and staffed a media booth at the DNC. When the campaign ended in October 2012, LGA/DCI had secured 62 media placements, totaling more than 180 million media impressions. Stories were covered by national and international media heavyweights, including Bloomberg TV, China Daily, CNBC, The Economist, Financial Times, Fortune, Fox News, The New York Times, NPR, The Times London and The Wall Street Journal. More importantly, in a follow-up survey of location advisors, LGA/DCI found broader awareness of the region’s diverse economy.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

B E S T G E N E R A L B U S I N E S S C A M PA I G N

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BRONZE

“Smashing the Better Burger Competition” ICR

“Skanska USA: Solidifying Skanska’s Superiority in the States ” Solomon McCown and Co., Inc

Americans, who consume 13 billion hamburgers per year, generally rely on the same few fast food joints to get their fix. However, in 2011, Smashburger, the “better burger” restaurant was standing out among the crowd. With an entrepreneurial spirit and a plan to go global with sites in Canada, the Middle East and Latin American, the brand sought to flip the burger industry on its head. Smashburger retained ICR (Integrated Corporate Relations) just after opening its 100th restaurant, with the specific goal of leveraging PR to support its business growth goals. In order to bring great tasting burgers into people’s lives and increase brand awareness to support Smashburger’s expansion, ICR focused on top tier national media targets, as well as relevant industry, restaurant and franchise trade pubs. The campaign centered on Smashburger’s “recession story gone right” angle. Because Smashburger grew almost entirely during the recession, restaurant and business media received information on how they had succeeded against the odds—with company updates and background information in management interviews. ICR also got attention by entering Smashburger for top national business rankings and awards and executed periodic media tours with CEO Dave Prokupek in NYC. Among other hot-button topics, Prokupek discussed with reporters how his company was adding jobs in a challenging economy. Leveraging Smashburger’s announcement that it would expand internationally, ICR scored placements with The Huffington Post food writer, Joe Satran, on growth strategy, Leslie Patton at Bloomberg News on Smashburger’s expansion into Middle East and The Wall Street Journal small business reporter, Angus Loten, on the trend of American restaurant expansion into the Middle East. Smashburger’s unique approach to franchising, social media marketing and small business strategy also attracted the attention of Sarah Scully of Bloomberg Enterprise, who did a 30 minute program devoted entirely to Smashburger, as well as Reuters, USA Today, Forbes’ America’s Most Promising Companies list and others. Another proof point of the success of the campaign: Smashburger was mentioned by Wendy’s on its earnings conference call as a competitor. In addition, Smashburger has more than 400 units in the franchise pipeline.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

As one of the first industries to feel the effects of the recession, construction was also one of the last to recover. To win clients, construction companies had to prove themselves to be the best of the best, and Skanska, an international construction management firm headquartered in Sweden, was largely overlooked by American owners. In order to raise visibility and credibility, the American arm of Skanska’s business operations, Skansa USA, turned to Solomon McCown and Co., Inc (SM&). To differentiate Skanska USA from the rest of its competition, SM& seized on the organization's Innovation Grants program, which dedicates internal resources and financial support to encourage employees who are thinking creatively about new ideas and technologies to utilize in the field. SM& also pitched the insights of Skanska USA CEO Mike McNally for his vision and leadership on big picture construction issues, such as procuring public-private partnerships (PPPs) for public transportation projects. Building on the momentum of national press, SM& pursued national publications with a heavy investor focus and also concentrated on achieving recognition for the focus Skanska’s leadership put on growth, innovation and employee development. Moreover, as Skansa is known for its commercial construction and infrastructure work, it launched its “Mission Critical Center of Excellence”—an in-house team of experts devoted to transforming the data center industry. To gain third-party credibility for their new technology solutions, Skansa required help translating technical jargon and statistics into meaningful language and fact sheets. SM& capitalized on the expertise of Skanska’s executives by pitching speaking opportunities for them and nominating them for industry awards. The team also worked with executives to write bylines on their behalf. SM& positioned Skanska as a leader in today’s construction industry with 443 print placements, including The Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Forbes, as well as nine national and local market TV placements, including “The TODAY Show.” SM& wrote more than 20 bylines, op-eds and blog posts, secured six awards and 49 placements for the launch of the Center of Excellence. Skanska USA won more than 40 major projects across the U.S., totaling approximately $3.8 billion in new contracts.

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GOLD “Defrost Your Swimsuit” M. Silver Associates – A Division of Finn Partners To entice vacationers to escape the wintry cold for sunny Greater Fort Lauderdale (GFL), travel and tourism PR agency M. Silver Associates designed a marketing campaign to showcase the destination’s tropical beach appeal and lift the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau (GFLCVB) brand with messaging of a new “transformed” destination. The PR team wasn’t going to settle for simple press releases and interviews. Instead, M. Silver decided that in order to position GFLCVB as an innovative tourism marketing organization, they needed to demonstrate out-of-the-box thinking—with a large-scale “beach chic” event in the cities that needed a suntan the most. In the middle of November, the “Defrost Your Swimsuit” campaign went to Toronto with swimsuits frozen in large blocks of ice during the annual Santa Claus Parade. Digital billboards featured 15 Defrost Your Swimsuit television spots, four hours of live streaming event videos and Twitter boards. In January, the campaign went to Times Square, New York, with a mobile “Beach on Wheels” unit joined by street teams distributing GFLbranded ice scrapers. Bikini-clad models tossed beach balls and posed for pictures in the Beach Mobile. Lastly, GFL reached Canary Wharf in London, which has over 90,000 pedestrian visitors daily. Colorfully wrapped branded taxis also drove around the city. The campaign included development of GFL’s tourism website, Sunny.org, along with a dedicated microsite for a sweepstakes. Throughout the events, 5,000 printed cards directed people to the microsite and warmed shivering crowds to a new vacation idea. M. Silver also secured promotions with tourism partners like JetBlue Airways, which gave away free trips to GFL through the sunny.org/defrost microsite, and Sunwing Airlines, which had street teams dressed as flight attendants and pilots to promote package vacations to GFL. In London, GFL partnered with Virgin Holidays for a promotional giveaway and an easy option for booking. In all, the event appeared in international, national, local and trade media in over 100 outlets including, ABC “Good Morning America,” AP and Yahoo! News, with over 925 million impressions. The contest microsite received nearly 11,500 entries, and with the Virgin Holidays partnership, Greater Fort Lauderdale saw an 18% increase in sales to year-on-year.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

B E S T G E N E R A L C O N S U M E R C A M PA I G N

S I LV E R

BRONZE

“The Auction of Buford, Wyoming – the Smallest Town in America” Atomic

“Fashion, Not Politics, at the 2012 Democratic National Convention” Luquire George Andrews and Belk

In the aftermath of the housing crisis, most people in the U.S. associated real estate auctions with foreclosures and financial distress. However, particularly for sellers with equity and a desire to sell by a certain date, auctions can provide an attractive solution. Williams & Williams, a real estate auction company, tasked PR agency Atomic with initiating a fresh PR campaign and highlighting the benefits of real estate auction.

Based in Charlotte, N.C. and known as the nation’s largest privately owned department store company, Belk Inc. began a campaign to refresh its brand. With a new corporate logo, color palette and tagline—"Modern. Southern. Style”— Belk wanted to reach customers nationwide through its stores and Belk.com website. When Charlotte took center stage for the 2012 Democratic National Convention, bringing more than 35,000 delegates, media, business and political leaders, celebrities and other visitors from across the country, Belk and its agency of record, Luquire George Andrews (LGA), jumped on the opportunity to build the revamped brand.

To bring the appeal of auctions to America, Atomic’s strategy was to highlight unique properties with an inherent mainstream interest, meanwhile including messaging that explained the unique benefits of auctions over traditional sales methods. Enter Buford, Wyo., the smallest town in the U.S., with a population of exactly one person—Don Sammons, a retiree who contacted Williams & Williams to auction his property. When the news hit, Atomic decided to put the lion’s share of media relations efforts behind this single story. The PR team was thrilled to launch the campaign with a unique marketing opportunity—the story of a oneman town—and build relationships with mainstream journalists who would stay tuned to watch the inventory move forward. Media interest in the property sparked in the weeks leading up to the auction and continued through the announcement of the closing bid. Outreach produced more than 1,700 media hits from regional and national outlets, including Associated Press, BusinessWeek, CNN, USA Today and Yahoo! News. The auction drove the highest traffic to Williams &Williams’ Auction Network in three years—nearly 15,000 unique visitors from 47 countries. 50,000 unique visitors from more than 110 countries viewed the property listing on the company website, and in the end, Buford sold for $900,000.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

The first step was to position the convention as an event that showcases fashion from all walks of life. By leveraging the fashion expertise of Arlene Goldstein, Belk’s vice president of trend merchandising and fashion direction, LGA landed her as a guest fashion blogger for The Huffington Post during the DNC. Arlene and her team combed the streets, parties and convention floor for delegates, visitors, celebrities and business and political leaders to showcase the fashions at the convention. Belk demonstrated the meaning of Southern hospitality by providing complimentary, head-to-toe makeovers to four delegates. Each makeover included three complete outfits—for casual, business and evening affairs—styled by Goldstein. Building on the Republican National Convention, which was also in the South, LGA distributed a press release titled “Fashion Travel Tips for the South: RNC and DNC,” which provided fashion-savvy advice with a political edge. Belk and LGA secured over 300 fashion-focused media placements related to the 2012 DNC in Charlotte, and media impressions reached close to one billion. LGA secured stories in Belk’s local markets through outlets such as the Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Business Journal and WCNC-TV, as well as national coverage in The Huffington Post, Reuters, Yahoo and U.S. News and World Report.

B E S T H E A LT H , M E D I C I N E & F I T N E S S C A M PA I G N

GOLD “Downsize Fitness: Downsizing the Obesity Epidemic” Zapwater Communications Plagued by self-consciousness, many obese adults avoid stepping into a gym at all cost. Yet, experts recommend daily physical activity as a simple way to help manage the obesity epidemic. That’s where Downsize Fitness comes in. By exclusively welcoming chronically overweight and obese individuals, the gym aims to create a comfortable environment where they can feel confident as they work toward their weight loss goals. Zapwater Communications launched a publicity campaign to put Downsize Fitness in the local and national spotlight, highlighting how the gym breaks the fitness industry mold. Recruitment of new members was a number-one priority, with media attention following behind. To acquire new members, Zapwater created a gym-wide contest. The member who lost the highest percentage of weight within a sixmonth period would win $10,000. To attract local media, Zapwater targeted the Chicago Tribune, the largest daily newspaper in Chicago, to write a feature story on Downsize Fitness and got interest from health and fitness writer Julie Deardorff. Kicking off national outreach, Zapwater crafted a controversial pitch that highlighted Downsize Fitness’s primary rule: Only people who had 50+ pounds to lose could join. Growing national attention led to a partnership with the “Steve Harvey TV Show.” The show profiled two men in a weight loss challenge during the course of a couple of months and provided them memberships to the gym. As a result, media impressions hit more than 18.2 million for broadcast, print and online media. The front-page Chicago Tribune article was syndicated in more than 120 different outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, the Baltimore Sun and The Huffington Post. More than forty people inquired about joining within twenty-four hours, and the gym reached full capacity. Downsize opened a Dallas location and added boot camp programs to three other cities due to the high demand from the public.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

B E S T H E A LT H , M E D I C I N E & F I T N E S S C A M PA I G N

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BRONZE

“Healing Hands for Arthritis” Fish Consulting and Massage Envy

“Want Scary Eyes? The Dangers of Decorative Contact Lenses” American Academy of Ophthalmology

Injuries from non-prescription decorative contact lenses are on the rise, but the product is still widely available to unknowing customers, prescription free. To raise awareness about the risks associated with these contacts and elevate its brand, the American Academy of Ophthalmology launched the “Want Scary Eyes? The Dangers of Decorative Contact Lenses” campaign.

With the partnership established, Fish developed “Healing Hands for Arthritis,” a one-day fundraising effort to take place in Massage Envy’s clinics. Ten dollars from every massage or facial would go directly back to the Arthritis Foundation. Working with Massage Envy executives and the Arthritis Foundation’s leadership to identify relevant consumer angles, the agency leveraged the story of Catlin Ryan, a 14-year old juvenile arthritis sufferer, to educate millions about the debilitating disease and the fact that two-thirds of people with arthritis are under the age of 65. Fish developed several social media initiatives, which encouraged dialogue about arthritis and the pain relief associated with frequent massage, meanwhile driving campaign participation and awareness. Twitter parties, giveaways, designated hashtags, blog posts and more activity led audiences to Massage Envy’s social media platforms and Touch of Wellness blog. Knowing that they needed to keep Massage Envy in the local news cycle, Fish trained clinic operators on pitching, press releases, in-clinic promotions, social media campaigns and interview strategies, as well. Due to strategic public relations, Fish drove tens of thousands of bookings during Healing Hands for Arthritis. Print coverage reached a total circulation of more than 1.5 million, and local and national digital media coverage resulted in more than 337 million unique visitors and billions of page views. Highlights include an Associated Press article on spa trends that highlighted Healing Hands for Arthritis, stories on Caitlin’s struggle in Fox News “Health Talk,” The Huffington Post Teen, Teen Vogue and a “The Today Show” plaza sabotage.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

With a limited budget and small staff, the campaign relied heavily on the optimal low-cost marketing tool to reach a national audience: The Internet. The Academy’s public education EyeSmart website featured drop-in articles with direct links back to partner newsletters and an online ophthalmology practice promotional tool kit with a press release, posts, posters and PowerPoint presentations. Social media functioned as a critical platform, as well. Decorative contact lens-focused information was featured on EyeSmart’s Facebook and Twitter pages, and educational social media posts were available for others to use on social media sites. Interactive press releases with images and links to video PSAs were distributed to media, and EyeSmart’s electronic newsletter reached doctors, partners and Academy staff. The Academy also conducted a seven-state radio media tour with 16 physician-spokespeople and promoted an audio news release. To target parents and teens, the campaign capitalized on the seasonal appeal of decorative contact lenses for Halloween costumes. Throughout October, the Academy’s social media accounts buzzed with information, and an educational poster, to be displayed in offices, junior highs and high schools, was available for download. Postcards, too, were designed for distribution in local schools and offices. The EyeSmart decorative contact lens campaign yielded over 1,500 media stories, including approximately 300 articles, 100 TV segments, 41 radio interviews that aired 175 times in seven states and 967 airings of the audio news release. Notable coverage included a feature story in the Chicago Tribune, a HealthDay article and a feature story on ABC News. EyeSmart visitors increased by 52 percent, and various strategic partnerships were secured.

B E S T I N V E S T M E N T, B A N K I N G & F I N A N C I A L S E RV I C E S C A M PA I G N

GOLD “HighTower Whiteboard Animation Video: Brokers vs. Fiduciaries (aka Butcher/Dietician)” Jennifer Connelly Public Relations Unlike Wall Street brokerages, which typically limit client access to “approved” products designed to make money through commissions and kickbacks (unbeknownst to their clients), HighTower is firmly independent and provides its investor client base with the best investment options and services that Wall Street has to offer. Spurred by the buzz surrounding the concept of “transparency” in the investing world, Jennifer Connelly Public Relations created a video-driven campaign that would help HighTower educate the public about the differences between a Wall Street-style broker and a client-focused fiduciary. JCPR and the client agreed that a video explaining HighTower’s fiduciary responsibility had to reach beyond the staid style synonymous with the highly regulated financial industry. The language of the video also had to be straightforward, so investors would grasp it quickly and easily. With a little behind-the-scenes research at the HighTower offices, the solution became clear: The whiteboard video, a communication tool used by HighTower execs at internal and external meetings, was a natural backdrop. The whiteboard medium would provide simple illustrations and a play-by-play of the way financial advising works for and against the investor. Using the analogy of a butcher—who tries to “sell, sell, sell”—and a dietician—who offers a holistic approach to overall financial health—JCPR’s in-house crew produced a short and educational 2.3-minute video. Meanwhile, resigning Goldman Sachs executive Greg Smith penned a scathing op-ed in the New York Times, describing Wall Street culture as anything but client-centric. Suddenly, JCPR’s campaign had a news hook, too. Although, when the letter was released, the video was not finalized, the production team made necessary edits, enhanced the design and pitched the video two days later. JCPR landed the HighTower video on The New York Times’ “Bucks” blog, Forbes.com, REP, AdvisorOne.com and Dow Jones Newswires. JCPR alerted NAFTA, who decided to open their annual meeting with a viewing of the video. The whiteboard piece was viewed more than 36,000 times and has reached Business Insider, InvestmentNews, Forbes, FundFire and The Reformed Broker. What’s more, JCPR used Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn engagement to disseminate the video and increased traffic to its website by several thousand visits. generated millions of new visitors to Day’s channel. Day was also profiled in The Hollywood Reporter’s “The Next Gen” list.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

B E S T I N V E S T M E N T, B A N K I N G & F I N A N C I A L S E RV I C E S C A M PA I G N

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“ETF Launch Publicity Campaigns” Huntington Bank

“From Thought Leader to Industry Influencer” MWW for ConnectOne Bank

When Huntington Bank decided to launch two Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), the company needed to get investors, shareholders and analysts, financial regulatory agencies, Huntington wealth bankers and the financial and banking industry media on board. With two of its own ETFs—one focused on ecology and the environment and one that would attempt to convert an existing mutual fund into an ETF—the campaign needed widespread support. Huntington Strategy Shares launched the EcoLogical ETF and the US Equity Rotation ETF, with a focus on emphasizing the bank’s continued investment in wealth management. Corporate Communications kept Huntington’s Leadership Team informed of the launches and ensuing media, while the CEO kept the bank’s Board of Directors in the know. Huntington’s investment department, Huntington Asset Advisors, held meetings with the SEC before, during, and after the launches. Marketing materials, a robust ETF website and a series of meetings were created to educate bankers on the structural make-up, fund holdings and fund management of the ETFs. Huntington’s PR agency also executed the media blitz for both funds, targeting outlets in the investment, business and ecologically-focused communities, as well as key regional reporters. Huntington also executed a social media component, which included Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Although the campaign got stormy when Reuters falsely claimed that Huntington said the SEC denied the initial conversion of a mutual fund into an ETF, Huntington handled the crisis with finesse. In the end, media coverage kept investors and analysts informed, set a productive dialogue within the press around the SEC process and eventually gained SEC approval. Media placements include the The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Barron’s, TheStreet.com, Fox Business and Forbes, among many others.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

Six years after the inception of ConnectOne Bank (then NJCB), MWW’s PR efforts had established the bank as a client-centric company, invested in building relationships with its customers. However, in order to give ConnectOne a prominent voice on the economic issues facing its industry and customers, MWW implemented an executive eminence-building program for Chairman and CEO Frank Sorrentino III. The “Banking on Main Street” platform would position ConnectOne as a go-to resource on the economy’s impact on small business customers and community banks. After thorough research, MWW introduced Sorrentino to targeted reporters who focused on housing, interest rates, lending and jobs. The first step in elevating him as a thought leader was to build relationships with these reporters through deskside briefings. Then, through ongoing tracking of economic indicators and headline news, MWW secured regular interviews for Sorrentino on significant news stories. The PR team also shaped content ideas for Sorrentino’s blog posts and leveraged economic data announcements in advance, to anticipate the media’s needs and develop a meaningful ConnectOne point of view. Press releases— which centered on how the bank’s steady, strong growth allowed it to continue growing with its customers and maintain its competitive edge—were distributed, as well. MWW successfully elevated Sorrentino to a respected thought leader, with regular exposure on Forbes.com. The team generated 60 total placements and assisted in placing 16 blog posts. The CEO’s speaking invitations increased in both frequency and significance—including invitations to speak at Federal Reserve conferences and discussions. ConnectOne Bank’s assets rose 42 percent as of the third quarter, and its revenues rose 20 percent.

B E S T I S S U E / C AU S E A D V O C AC Y C A M PA I G N

GOLD “No Chicago Landfills” Resolute Consulting In an effort to protect residents and preserve the community, the City of Chicago enacted a landfill moratorium. However, when one landfill owner found a legal loophole to continue to operate, waste management company Republic Services needed a helping hand to keep the moratorium intact. Public affairs and strategic communications firm Resolute Consulting determined enacting legislation that banned operating landfills in densely populated areas was the only solution. In order to secure media coverage on this issue, Resolute Consulting developed a plan that educated legislators on the issue. With only three weeks left in the legislative session, Resolute Consulting launched the “No Chicago Landfills” campaign and engaged a group of local and national stakeholders who served as expert spokespeople for the media and built alliances with legislative champions. The PR effort included the NoChicagoLandfills.com website and Facebook and Twitter accounts to keep the online audience informed and to share news. Press materials such as news releases, fact sheets, educational videos and template letters engaged the media and the public. Resolute Consulting targeted reporters locally, regionally and nationally, covering environmental issues, legislative process, urban development and economic impacts in Chicago. The team also organized influential events, including a rally at the Chicago Mayor’s office, as well as weekly press conferences, community rallies and town hall meetings. As a result of the media campaign, Resolute Consulting cultivated relationships with key reporters and producers, securing more than 55 print, online and broadcast media clips in the local and regional media. Days before the final legislative sessions, a front-page feature story ran in the Chicago Tribune on the landfill issue, and PBS WTTW-TV broadcasted interviews and branded materials. Aside from numerous other media hits, on July 22, 2012, Governor Quinn signed the bill to prevent landfills from operating in Chicago.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

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“Healing Hands for Arthritis” Fish Consulting and Massage Envy

“Fighting Breast Cancer with the Power of StorytellingS” Havas PR North America

In 2011, Massage Envy, a massage and spa services national franchise, set a goal of developing a cause-advocacy partnership aligned with its belief in the power of touch. With research prowess, its agency of record, Fish Consulting, recommended a partnership with the Arthritis Foundation. Since 1948, the nonprofit has worked to help people take control of the disease, pursued public policy and legislation and conducted programs to improve the quality of life for arthritis sufferers. With the partnership established, Fish developed “Healing Hands for Arthritis,” a one-day fundraising effort to take place in Massage Envy’s clinics. Ten dollars from every massage or facial would go directly back to the Arthritis Foundation. Working with Massage Envy executives and the Arthritis Foundation’s leadership to identify relevant consumer angles, the agency leveraged the story of Catlin Ryan, a 14-year old juvenile arthritis sufferer, to educate millions about the debilitating disease and the fact that two-thirds of people with arthritis are under the age of 65. Fish developed several social media initiatives, which encouraged dialogue about arthritis and the pain relief associated with frequent massage, meanwhile driving campaign participation and awareness. Twitter parties, giveaways, designated hashtags, blog posts and more activity led audiences to Massage Envy’s social media platforms and Touch of Wellness blog. Knowing that they needed to keep Massage Envy in the local news cycle, Fish trained clinic operators on pitching, press releases, in-clinic promotions, social media campaigns and interview strategies, as well. Due to strategic public relations, Fish drove tens of thousands of bookings during Healing Hands for Arthritis. Print coverage reached a total circulation of more than 1.5 million, and local and national digital media coverage resulted in more than 337 million unique visitors and billions of page views. Highlights include an Associated Press article on spa trends that highlighted Healing Hands for Arthritis, stories on Caitlin’s struggle in Fox News “Health Talk,” The Huffington Post Teen, Teen Vogue and a “The Today Show” plaza sabotage.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and over the past few years, every brand with a pink angle has had to fight for media space. Even when 100 percent of a company’s net proceeds go back to the cause—as is the case with Ford’s Warriors in Pink—PR can be an uphill battle. When Warriors in Pink hired Havas PR North America (@havaspr), the mission was to break through the overcrowded space of breast cancer awareness initiatives with something that would really speak to victims, their loved ones and the public. The campaign would meanwhile tightly wrap messaging with the Ford name. To differentiate from the competition, @havaspr highlighted the struggles and triumphs of those who had battled breast cancer. With storytelling as the guiding factor, the team enlisted journalistactivist Lee Woodruff to write survivor profiles and introduce the Ford story into new conversations. Survivor and TV anchor Robin Roberts’s tale was among the most poignant and attentiongrabbing. In an effort to extend breast cancer awareness—and the brand’s relevance—beyond October, @havaspr conducted media outreach around times important to women, survivors, fighters and other warriors: Mother’s Day, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Veterans Day and holiday gifting. The PR teams biggest win came when producers of “Rachael Ray” agreed to gift a new Ford Focus to a viewer who was battling breast cancer. The pitch became an exclusive full-scale, unpaid product integration—and human-interest tearjerker. Other courageous survivor stories made it into O, USA Today, Ladies’ Home Journal and many more outlets, for a total of over 67 million media impressions. More than 8.5 million TV viewer impressions and a million radio listener impressions were also achieved. Most importantly, through a partnership with Jennifer Aniston, 24,000 Warriors in Pink t-shirts sold on fordcares.com in less than a month, and Warriors in Pink raised $560,000 for Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

BEST USE OF THE INTERNET – CONSUMER

GOLD “Just because Facebook is going public doesn’t mean you have to; #GoPrivate with Abine” RF|Binder In April 2012, rumors began surfacing that Facebook was planning an initial public offering (IPO) for May. RF|Binder was tasked to help online privacy start-up Abine take advantage of Facebook’s impending IPO—to generate awareness among consumers for Abine’s online privacy solutions and establish the company as a thought leader in the field of online privacy. The campaign objective was to demonstrate that Facebook’s business model depends on its collection and use of users’ personal data. RF|Binder sought to connect with users by developing an interactive Web microsite: The “Facebook Val-You Calculator.” The tool would drive traffic to Abine’s larger website and highlight the value of Internet privacy. Based on a few simple questions about Facebook activity, the calculator used Facebook’s public filings to identify how much a user was worth in dollar figures. The “Just because Facebook’s going public doesn’t mean you have to. #GoPrivate” slogan was spread through the innovative Calculator and a Facebook privacy timeline infographic. Flash mob events in New York and San Francisco also spread fear of Facebook’s unwieldy power over information in the digital age and build Abine’s reputation as a fun and creative company. What’s more, news announcements and data analysis made it to the media, prior to the IPO, to make Abine a part of the Facebook story and ensure privacy concerns remained top of mind among media. RF|Binder’s campaign generated over 100 media placements in May alone and secured coverage with top-tier outlets, such as The Wall Street Journal and Computerworld. Several feature stories also appeared on Mashable, CNN, CNET and TechCrunch. The campaign also bolstered Abine’s spokespeople, with their expert quotes in 38 stories about how privacy concerns would ultimately impact Facebook’s valuation. The Facebook Val-You calculator was also included in more than 40 articles that directed consumers to Abine’s website and drove buzz among the industry and consumers, alike.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

B E S T N OT- F O R - P RO F I T / A S S O C I AT I O N / G OV E R N M E N T C A M PA I G N

GOLD “Want Scary Eyes? The Dangers of Decorative Contact Lenses” American Academy of Ophthalmology Injuries from non-prescription decorative contact lenses are on the rise, but the product is still widely available to unknowing customers, prescription free. To raise awareness about the risks associated with these contacts and elevate its brand, the American Academy of Ophthalmology launched the “Want Scary Eyes? The Dangers of Decorative Contact Lenses” campaign. With a limited budget and small staff, the campaign relied heavily on the optimal low-cost marketing tool to reach a national audience: The Internet. The Academy’s public education EyeSmart website featured drop-in articles with direct links back to partner newsletters and an online ophthalmology practice promotional tool kit with a press release, posts, posters and PowerPoint presentations. Social media functioned as a critical platform, as well. Decorative contact lens-focused information was featured on EyeSmart’s Facebook and Twitter pages, and educational social media posts were available for others to use on social media sites. Interactive press releases with images and links to video PSAs were distributed to media, and EyeSmart’s electronic newsletter reached doctors, partners and Academy staff. The Academy also conducted a seven-state radio media tour with 16 physician-spokespeople and promoted an audio news release. To target parents and teens, the campaign capitalized on the seasonal appeal of decorative contact lenses for Halloween costumes. Throughout October, the Academy’s social media accounts buzzed with information, and an educational poster, to be displayed in offices, junior highs and high schools, was available for download. Postcards, too, were designed for distribution in local schools and offices. The EyeSmart decorative contact lens campaign yielded over 1,500 media stories, including approximately 300 articles, 100 TV segments, 41 radio interviews that aired 175 times in seven states and 967 airings of the audio news release. Notable coverage included a feature story in the Chicago Tribune, a HealthDay article and a feature story on ABC News. EyeSmart visitors increased by 52 percent, and various strategic partnerships were secured.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

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“Fish Consulting and Massage Envy” Healing Hands for Arthritis

“Get Curious” Phillips & Company

Is there life on Mars? Global communications firm Phillips & Company was enlisted by the non-profit organization Explore Mars— which aims to promote innovation and education related to Mars exploration—to help spread awareness about the Mars rover “Curiosity.” In eight short weeks, the PR team implemented an earth-shattering national and international campaign leading up to the rover’s epic landing.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

To pique earthlings’ interest in the “Get Curious” campaign and the wonders of Mars exploration in general, Phillips & Company placed large red “Mars” boulders in eight cities across the country. The rocks were to appear in the cities overnight, with no fanfare or explanation, and were inscribed with the words “GetCurious.com” and a QR code that pointed to the GetCurious.com website. The site was outfitted with a countdown ticker synced with NASA’s online countdown clock and an animated version of the rover. Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and YouTube also provided information and updates and served as a means for people to share links from GetCurious.com. Phillips & Company spearheaded landing party outreach efforts on behalf of Explore Mars at both a national and international level, providing the public all necessary logistical information needed to host a landing viewing party. Lucky organizations, groups, landing party coordinators, students and others received bracelets printed with the words “Get Curious” and “Explore Mars.” To inform the media about the campaign and the landing itself, target reporters and outlets received press releases, as well as a red GetCurious.com/Explore Mars T-shirt and ExploreMars.org/GetCurious.com logo’d bracelet. Partner factsheets for United Launch Alliance, Explore Mars and Aerojet were also distributed. The campaign received big nods from influentials at NASA, Capitol Hill and in the media. Phillips & Company secured seven op-eds in the San Jose Mercury News, U.S. News & World Report, Space News, the Washington Examiner, and many others. Other coverage driven by the campaign included Wired’s Geekdad blog, Forbes.com and NPR’s “Morning Edition.” The Explore Mars website, GetCurious.com, averaged 3,460 visits per day, and a total of 56 parties were registered worldwide for the rover’s landing.

B E S T N OT- F O R - P RO F I T / A S S O C I AT I O N / G OV E R N M E N T C A M PA I G N

HONORABLE MENTION “Private Equity at Works” The Private Equity Growth Capital Council and The Glover Park Group When Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney touted his private sector experience, the task of defending private equity’s reputation fell to the industry’s trade association, The Private Equity Growth Capital Council (PEGCC). To defend the industry from broadside attacks that misrepresented its value and role in the economy, the association partnered with The Glover Park Group to execute “Private Equity at Work,” a branded education campaign. The campaign was first anchored by a new website and resource center, PrivateEquityAtWork.com, featuring shareable educational content, industry data and an in-depth look at specific private equity investments that are driving growth and creating jobs. The campaign featured a daily blog, real time Twitter feed, dedicated YouTube channel featuring all of the campaigns videos, a Facebook page and shareable presentations cross-posted on SlideShare.net. The campaign saw many setbacks but overcome them with ease. On April 11, former Labor Secretary, Robert Reich, starred in a “chalkboard” video released by MoveOn.org that heavily distorted the private equity business model. But the PEGCC was armed and ready to respond with its own whiteboard video that explained how the private equity business model works and its value to the economy. Moreover, when the Obama campaign released an ad about Romney’s association with Bain Capital, the PEGCC countered the negative image with state-specific content that broke down private equity investment by state and congressional district. In addition to producing and releasing a second whiteboard video that explained the industry’s many beneficiaries, the PEGCC secured unprecedented engagement from limited partner investors who typically stayed out of these types of debates—but who could provide a first-hand account of the benefits of private equity. As Election Day came and went, the effort garnered more than 400 print and blog stories, seven op-eds and nearly 120,000 page views on PrivateEquityAtWork.com.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

BEST NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH – BUSINESS

GOLD “A Convenient Way for Merchants to Accept Credit Cards at the Guaranteed Lowest Overall Rates” Groupon and Weber Shandwick Thanks to the nationwide shift from cash to electronic payment and the emergence of mobile payment technologies, the payment market is large, profitable and growing significantly. Known as the pioneer in the daily deals space, Chicago-based Groupon decided to bolster its already robust presence and jump on the rumbling e-payments wagon. With the mission of offering the cheapest and simplest option for local businesses to accept credit cards, the company announced the launch of its own payments service. To make splash in the payments category, Groupon tapped Weber Shandwick to publicize its product launch and drive new and renewed engagement with merchants. After extensive audience research, the team utilized a “Leak, Launch and Leverage” approach to drive media coverage and dialogue to help validate Groupon as a partner for merchants through the payments system. To set the tone, a select group of highly influential media was pre-briefed. Then, other high-reaching newspapers and business journals were pursued. Finally, to leverage the buzz already built, Groupon’s technical expertise was marketed to influential trade media in the financial and technology space. Furthermore, as Chicago is the third largest U.S. media market, Weber Shandwick told a positive “hometown” story with Groupon’s homebase of Chicago at its core. Initial press reports drove preliminary stock trading to increase Groupon stock by seven percent, and PR generated the fourth source of all sales lead during the launch. Total media coverage, which tallied nearly 3,000 total placements across traditional and social media, generated nearly 70 million impressions. Taking a deeper dive into influence, coverage had a 100 percent neutral-positive tone. Top outlets include Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Chicago Sun-Times and Bloomberg.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

BEST NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH – BUSINESS

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““Power to the Music” Launching Logitech UE as a Consumer Brands” Finn Partners and Logitech

“App Annie Enters “Game of Phones” with Google Play Launch” Bateman Group

When tech accessories company Logitech acquired Ultimate Ears (UE), Logitech execs knew they were in for a slew of collaborations on products that addressed the needs of professional musicians. Ultimate Ears’ custom in-ear monitors have been used in live performances by 75 percent of the world’s top touring musicians. However, to build awareness for the new “Logitech UE” consumer brand among the young, urban music market, Logitech asked Finn Partners (FP) to come on board and develop a product launch campaign that would get a wider set of music-lovers listening.

To officially announce the Logitech UE brand—and seven new consumer products along with it—FP designed a private concert featuring up-and-coming artists Milo Greene and Francis Cone at New York City’s hip music hall, the Bowery Ballroom. Before the performance, music fans and industry influencers were treated to exclusive demos and cocktails. FP also teamed up with media and featured artists for ticket giveaways, encouraging music enthusiasts to tweet and visit Facebook to enter for the chance to win. For those who couldn’t attend the Ballroom event, FP determined that the best way to showcase the brand—and its commitment to sound quality—was to implement a bi-coastal desk-side media tour. Tech, lifestyle, music and trade pubs had the chance to use the new products. The PR team also gave journalists a little teaser by referencing some of UE’s devoted customers, including Bruce Springsteen, Bon Iver and Justin Bieber. Leading up to the launch, 144 tickets were given away via popular local music blogs and lifestyle publications, including Flavorpill, Daily Candy and OhMyRockness. The concert drew 264 excited attendees and 27 journalists, and was deemed so successful that Logitech decided to host a similar West Coast concert in Hollywood. Briefings secured 50 pieces of top-tier coverage and hundreds of product reviews, by the likes of Rolling Stone, Maxim, Men’s Journal, Wired and Thrillist.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

Leveraging its vocal fan base of app developers and influential bloggers, as well as the hotly anticipated launch, Bateman Group embarked upon a targeted media campaign in June 2012. To reach tech influencers, Silicon Valley “digerati” and national business press, Bateman chose the week between Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference and Google I/O as the best window in which to introduce App Annie to the U.S. Next, Bateman developed an infographic that appealed to the media’s fascination with the iOS versus Android app wars. The infographic featured datasets generated by the new Google Play product. What’s more, to appeal to the general consumer, the data were visually tied to a theme based on HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” and the graphic was aptly titled “Game of Phones.” Bateman secured product news exclusives with TechCrunch and Mashable, which highlighted the “Game of Phones” infographic and the product that made the data made possible. Bateman then convinced App Annie to grant an exclusive to Liz Gannes at AllThingsD to tell the corporate vision story. On the day of the announcement, Bateman reached out to a wider set of mobile, technology and Silicon Valley-based reporters to offer App Annie executives as expert commenters on the mobile app ecosystem. In all, App Annie scored more than 20 unique features and hundreds more articles and blog posts. The “Game of Phones” campaign increased traffic to App Annie’s website from 23,000 to 46,000 on the day of launch and increased 57 percent overall during the week of the campaign. Conversions for App Annie for Google Play increased nearly 400 percent, and the infographic gained trending status on LinkedIn, Facebook and Reddit.

BEST NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH – CONSUMER

GOLD “Pizza Hut Introduces The $10,010 Proposal Box” Zeno Group What’s the best way to prove your love on Valentine’s Day? How about a medium pizza, five breadsticks with marinara sauce and ten cinnamon sticks with a sweet icing cup? That’s what Zeno Group suggested with the campaign it devised for the launch of the Pizza Hut $10 Dinner Box. One week before Feb. 14th, the PR team launched the new deal by offering a marriage proposal “All in One Box” for the price of $10,010. Available for purchase on PizzaHut.com, the box included a ruby engagement ring, limo service, flowers, a fireworks show, photographer, videographer and, of course, most importantly, the new $10 Dinner Box. To maximize the excitement for the $10,010 Proposal Box, the team positioned the deal on PizzaHut.com to greet hungry audiences as they placed an order. Zeno Group also found stats reporting that 4 million couples would get engaged on Valentine’s Day, and so, when pizza-lovers had finished ordering, a pop-up creative piece asked them if they would “like to add a proposal to that?” The campaign gained traction on Facebook and Twitter as fans and followers were also exposed to the deal. Leveraging the sweet timing of Valentine’s Day, the PR team activated an unexpected and unique program, which caught the attention of national media and gave pizza lovers everywhere an opportunity for an untraditional proposal. Zeno Group earned media coverage in TIME, Wall Street Journal, The Huffington Post Food, The Los Angeles Times, CNN and Anderson Cooper 360, among others, making more than 200 million impressions. The program also generated enough buzz to help keep the $10 Dinner Box on the Pizza Hut menu for months beyond its scheduled window.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

BEST NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH – CONSUMER

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“Downsize Fitness: Downsizing the Obesity Epidemic” Zapwater Communications

“LearnSmart Direct-to-Student: A Marketing First for an Established Educational PublisheS” RF|Binder with McGraw-Hill Education

Plagued by self-consciousness, many obese adults avoid stepping into a gym at all cost. Yet, experts recommend daily physical activity as a simple way to help manage the obesity epidemic. That’s where Downsize Fitness comes in. By exclusively welcoming chronically overweight and obese individuals, the gym aims to create a comfortable environment where they can feel confident as they work toward their weight loss goals. Zapwater Communications launched a publicity campaign to put Downsize Fitness in the local and national spotlight, highlighting how the gym breaks the fitness industry mold. Recruitment of new members was a number-one priority, with media attention following behind. To acquire new members, Zapwater created a gym-wide contest. The member who lost the highest percentage of weight within a sixmonth period would win $10,000. To attract local media, Zapwater targeted the Chicago Tribune, the largest daily newspaper in Chicago, to write a feature story on Downsize Fitness and got interest from health and fitness writer Julie Deardorff. Kicking off national outreach, Zapwater crafted a controversial pitch that highlighted Downsize Fitness’s primary rule: Only people who had 50+ pounds to lose could join. Growing national attention led to a partnership with the “Steve Harvey TV Show.” The show profiled two men in a weight loss challenge during the course of a couple of months and provided them memberships to the gym. As a result, media impressions hit more than 18.2 million for broadcast, print and online media. The front-page Chicago Tribune article was syndicated in more than 120 different outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, the Baltimore Sun and The Huffington Post. More than forty people inquired about joining within twenty-four hours, and the gym reached full capacity. Downsize opened a Dallas location and added boot camp programs to three other cities due to the high demand from the public.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

Before the fall of 2012, McGraw-Hill Education’s LearnSmart software, which adapts to students’ individual learning needs, was only available for purchase by college institutions. However, when McGraw-Hill decided to sell LearnSmart to students directly, the company needed to increase awareness among parents and students—of the brand and adaptive technology, in general. With these challenges at the forefront, RF|Binder Partners took the reins. The team worked closely with McGraw-Hill to develop key messaging points, which focused on the benefits of adaptive learning and its ability to make educational content more engaging and interactive. What’s more, it had the potential to help students graduate on time and be better prepared for today’s global economy and workforce. To announce that LearnSmart’s launch to general consumers, the team developed several press releases on McGraw-Hill’s shifting business model, the benefits of LearnSmart itself and the “Going Places with LearnSmart” Sweepstakes—a travel contest designed to give students a reason to tackle their studies with enthusiasm. The team also developed a mat release titled “Tech Tips for CollegeBound Students and Their Parents,” as well as two infographics. For placement, RF|Binder pitched national publications and broadcast stations, business reporters, tech and mommy blogs, consumer technology publications, college and university papers and contest and sweeps sites. In all, the launch garnered a total of more than 17 million audience impressions and supported LearnSmart direct-to-student sales. Of particular note, the initial business announcement received significant coverage in Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, NASDAQ and others. The subsequent consumer announcement secured coverage in USA TODAY, About.com, edcetera, to name a few. Additionally, the sweepstakes announcement was featured in more than 15 outlets, and the tie-in mat release received pickup in more than 1,300 outlets.

BEST USE OF PERSONALITY/CELEBRITY

GOLD “Hatfields & McCoys Integrated Media Campaign” HISTORY Since the network’s rebrand in 2007, the HISTORY channel has transitioned from a middle-rated purveyor of historical documentaries to a network of top-rated series and special events. However, in order to continue the success, HISTORY needed to broaden its content. HISTORY’s first foray into the scripted arena, “Hatfields & McCoys”, represented the latest stage in the network’s brand evolution. But with the introduction of the miniseries, HISTORY needed to keep its male non-fiction audience, recruit female drama enthusiasts and build critical and industry buzz. In order to reach targets during the Memorial Day premier, HISTORY leveraged big name stars—Bill Paxton and Kevin Costner—and marketed the series like a cinematic event. In addition to gifting editorial targets with a dirty, bullet-riddled felt hat, HISTORY delivered highly specialized pitches. For men’s publications, they used the action angle, as well as the lure of Costner’s music. For women’s publications, the pitches focused on the show’s stars, family drama story and romance storyline. Entertainment news outlets received pitches on the film and industry-related aspects, sales and marketing, production news and reviews, while celebrity outlets and bloggers got stories on the series’ younger celebrities. The campaign also brought the feud to NYC, with Hatfields promotions taking over Port Authority Bus Terminal and McCoys at Grand Central. Wallscape outdoor posters also took the city by storm. HISTORY secured long-lead features with Esquire, Parade, EW, People, Playboy and others, booked electronic outlets for premiere week and organized a satellite press junket with talent interviews for print and online outlets and key bloggers. One week before the launch, the Hollywood Reporter co-sponsored a premiere party, and coverage included Vanity Fair, Access, ET/Insider, Extra and others. Most importantly, in the digital realm, HISTORY scored an exclusive partnership with Rolling Stone Live to feature Kevin Costner’s rock band in a streaming concert, interviews and promotion. Digital takeovers and home page roadblocks made YouTube, IMDB, Yahoo!, NYTimes homepage, and a Facebook app, “Are you a Hatfield or McCoy?” went viral. The premiere was the most-watched television event in cable history—three times. Defying multiple night TV patterns, “Hatfields & McCoys” actually picked up steam each night, gaining more viewers, and post-premiere ratings and success stories generated millions of incremental impressions.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

BEST USE OF PERSONALITY/CELEBRITY

S I LV E R “Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Circus Goes Hispanic” rbb PR Many know the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Circus as “The Greatest Show on Earth,” but the entertainment company found that under the tents, there was one major market missing: Hispanics. In an effort to fill this gap, Feld Entertainment tapped rbb PR to create a public relations program to bring the circus to a whole new set of families—and the fastest growing market segment in the U.S. Research was a critical factor as rbb set off. Studies indicated that Hispanics would better relate to a spokesperson who embodied the core tenets of the Hispanic community, so they selected Ringling’s Chilean animal trainer Taba Maluenda, in addition to other Hispanic performers to represent the circus. One of the few Hispanic animal trainers in the industry, Taba’s story hit the right notes to resonate with Hispanic audiences. Although controversial statements by animal extremists made positioning an animal trainer as a spokesperson potentially risky, rbb researched every national reporter across Hispanic networks for ties to or strong opinions about animal rights and sought to flip their perceptions. The rbb team identified Miami, Los Angeles, New York and Houston as the top four U.S. cities with the largest Hispanic populations where Ringling Bros. performs and targeted local highly rated Spanish language television channels with their story. Pitches highlighted concepts shown by research to inspire and attract Hispanics—family, language, heritage, culture and an emotional connection—and showcased elements of the circus that reflect these research-proven “motivators.” Through Taba’s story and others’, the rbb team emphasized family and emotional connections, combined with a bit of show spectacular. rbb’s efforts generated major stories in target media. People en Espanol Magazine featured Taba, who has more than 200 scars from his animal training, in an article on “rethinking the idea of beauty.” On Univision, Taba scored a segment about his reunion with his mother, whom he hadn’t seen in over ten years, and the trainer, along with many of Ringling’s Hispanic performers, was also featured Univision’s “Despierta America” and Telemundo’s “Un Nuevo Dia,” where the circus aired live and showcased a few of its acts performed by Hispanics. In addition, the show’s anchors became clowns for a day and received a behind-the-scenes look into Taba’s animal training methods. Finally, a circus-themed couture fashion shoot made it into seven-page spread in Siempre Mujer Magazine. What’s more, rbb increased ticket sales by an average of seven percent in top Hispanic markets and garnered more than 201 million media impressions with 100 percent positive tone of coverage, as it relates to Ringling Bros.’ treatment of animals.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

BRONZE “Clint Eastwood Opening the Warner Bros. Theater at the Smithsonian (Feb. 1, 2012)” Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History Washington may not be known as the capital of cinema, but the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History received $5 million from Warner Bros. to flip an auditorium into a state-of-theart theater. The new building was renamed the Warner Bros. Theater and would highlight the history of film. To make its way into the limelight—and draw on the intersection of D.C. and Hollywood—the Smithsonian PR department developed a media event that would center on the contributions of film to American culture. To convey the story of the Americans and the silver screen, filmmaker and actor Clint Eastwood was chosen as a representative for the gala opening of the theater. Given his six decades of work captivating international audiences, he would act as the embodiment of the American experience through film. To bring Eastwood into the limelight, the PR team nominated him for the Smithsonian Bicentennial Medal and planned a red carpet arrival for him and Warner Bros. chairman and CEO Barry Meyer. To build anticipation, a small exhibition case was set up outside the theater and showcased costumes of Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart, a Harry Potter robe, photographs and Jack Warner’s silver telephone. The PR team also announced the year-long schedule for four free public film festivals, beginning with a Bogart retrospective the weekend following the gala theater opening. Although the auditorium’s remodeling ran behind schedule, the ribbon-cutting took place at the entrance of the theater just on time. During the gala, Eastwood’s Smithsonian Award was presented by Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough and Sen. Patrick Leahy, who is a Smithsonian Regent. PR efforts resulted in 37 million impressions. Twenty-nine members of the media attended, and placements include the Associated Press, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and The Huffington Post.

P R I N N OVAT I O N O F T H E Y E A R

GOLD “AKA Central Park Takes Glamping to Another Level with NYC’s First Outdoor Bedroom” Quinn & Co Many hotels boast a room with a view. So when AKA Central Park, the flagship property of AKA, a brand of luxury extended-stay hotels, wanted to showcase the penthouse suites’ outdoor wraparound terrace, a simple photograph of the landscape wouldn’t cut it. In an effort to give the PR campaign a twist, AKA sought the guidance of New York City-based Quinn & Co. Spreading the excitement about the hotel’s outdoor space—a rarity in NYC—and tapping into a broader market of consumers in need of luxury furnished residences, Quinn & Co. developed a concept based around the most welcoming way to spend time outdoors: Glamping. The PR team created New York’s first hotel outdoor bedroom—with a bed out on the penthouse terrace in front of the fireplace. Visitors would have the opportunity to sleep under the stars with an E-reader loaded with fireside stories, Maison du Chocolate s’mores and a telescope. The five-star camping and urban glamping experience also included a 42-inch TV and DVD player with classic, scary campside movies for families’ and couples’ viewing pleasure. With a limited budget, Quinn & Co. accomplished over 1 billion media impressions, including a Wall Street Journal feature based on the journalist’s entertaining and whimsical stay, as well as USA Today, New York Times, Travel + Leisure, CondeNastTravel.com and others. International coverage reached Ireland, UK, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Australia and Brazil.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

P R I N N OVAT I O N O F T H E Y E A R

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“Harnessing Pittsburgh’s Energy for One Young World” Havas PR North America

“Symantec Influencing the Influencers Program” Symantec and Connect Marketing

One Young World is a global youth-leadership summit, founded by executives of Havas Worldwide and modeled after the annual World Economic Forum. Each year, a different city hosts the conference, and for the 2012 summit, the Havas PR North America (@havaspr) Pittsburgh office believed its city deserved a shot. The team knew it would not be successful without a collaborative effort from the city’s business, government and nonprofit leaders. Based on the positive reaction to a presentation by OYW co-founder Kate Robertson, a collaborative business-nonprofit group—called the One Young World Pittsburgh Partnership—assembled to create a hosting bid. The Partnership tackled increasing community awareness by engaging leaders to drive fundraising, secure strong delegate sponsorship from Pittsburgh corporations, line up 500 volunteers and orchestrate special events. @havaspr recruited four interns to make presentations and attend local events to get city residents to sign welcome ribbons to hang in the convention center. In addition, The PR team secured artist and Pittsburgh native Burton Morris to create an original work of art for street banners and posters and got Partnership members to donate signs and billboards. @havaspr collaborated with the city’s symphony, partnership members and the community at large to create off-site experiences, breakout sessions citywide and even dinners in 150 homes for all the delegates. Carefully crafted news points were pitched at every milestone. A WQED documentary production team also agreed to film events and interview delegates for PBS. And the Havas PR media team got prepared to host more than 20 international and 60 U.S. reporters on site, including writing and distributing pre-summit releases and arranging a multimedia newsroom. The PR teams great efforts paid off. In addition to getting OYW to Pittsburgh in 2012, the agency helped raise more than $700,000 for the summit and generated over 428 million impressions. The highest-profile stories were those in AP, BBC, Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, Hispanic Business, The Huffington Post, Vogue UK and The Wall Street Journal. What’s more, about 61,000 people watched the live stream in 176 countries.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

Security software corporation Symantec had numerous initiatives addressing traditional media outlets, but they realized they were missing from some key online conversations in niche blogs, forums, user communities and other B2B focused social platforms. To address this gap, the PR pros at Connect Marketing developed the “Influencing the Influencers” program, whereby Symantec would be positioned as a thought leader on IT megatrends and other strategic topics, and thus, increase Symantec’s share of voice. The first steps involved identifying trends that Symantec had expertise in: Security/threat landscape, information explosion, virtualization, cloud computing and mobility. To find prime influencers who would be eager to pick up Symantec’s pitch, Connect used an algorithm-based tool to rate blogs based on influence and determined bloggers’ expertise and following. Connect engaged multiple individuals from various sides of the business, scheduling training sessions across different product groups to educate internal stakeholders on the program. Once the trainings were completed and messaging on various topics was finalized, multiple processes were implemented to help search each day for the most relevant and timely topics from online influencers. Once they were identified, the team created draft responses and sent them to the internal stakeholders to review and post in influencer communities. The “Influencing the Influencers” resulted in a combined 13 percent jump in share of voice. Specifically, within the mobile-focused communities, Symantec has gone from 3 percent to 41 percent share of voice during the first year of the program. In addition, there have been more than 600 interactions among 300+ influencers in the past 12 months. While the numbers are impressive, Symantec has also seen many anecdotal examples of the program’s success. Nearly all influencers have thanked the company for participating in a larger discussion and for building relationships with them.

BEST RESPONSE TO BREAKING NEWS

GOLD “LeakedIn – Act Fast Or Be Left Behind” SHIFT Communications and Rapid7 On June 6, 2012, LinkedIn announced its data had been breached, and 6.4 million passwords were available to anyone who had Internet access and knew where to look. Rapid7, a vulnerability management company, knew it had the much-needed insight to calm fears, help consumers stay protected and reach a market of potential customers. Just 20 minutes after the news broke, SHIFT Communications, Rapid7’s PR team, worked with the company on strategy, messaging and tactics for issuing public commentary on the breach. To get in front of Rapid7’s current and potential customers with media coverage, SHIFT ensured Rapid7 was first on scene for reporters covering LinkedIn’s catastrophic news. The PR team offered a Rapid7 spokesperson, Marcus Carey, who had Department of Defense experience to build credibility with the press. In addition, SHIFT counseled Carey to analyze the leaked data, providing Rapid7 with a fresh perspective to offer to the press and a leg-up on the competition. SHIFT prioritized media targets, starting with business press and moving to security/IT outlets. Armed with Carey’s analysis of the data breach, SHIFT recommended Rapid7 create an infographic tailored to consumers. The graphic explained the extreme problem associated with password reuse, the lack of password complexity and listed the most common password phrases to consumers and security practitioners in a simple way. SHIFT also worked with Rapid7 to create a blog post on the news and a webinar discussing these types of high-level breaches to help drive sales leads and website traffic. In just two days, coverage included 200 total pieces, in outlets such as Associated Press, Computerworld, The Huffington Post, Los Angeles Times, Mashable, MSNBC, Reuters and The Wall Street Journal. Inbound sales requests increased, with 500+ registrations for its upcoming webinar, and traffic to Rapid7 website boosted with more than 3,500 hits on its breaking news blog post.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

BEST RESPONSE TO BREAKING NEWS

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BRONZE

“Nanny Bloomberg” Berman and Company

“HighTower Whiteboard Animation Video: Brokers vs. Fiduciaries (aka Butcher/Dietician)” Jennifer Connelly Public Relations y

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has a history of backing regulations on what New Yorkers put in their bodies. In May 2012, when he proposed to ban the sale of sugar-sweetened beverages larger than 16 ounces in the city’s restaurants, stadiums, movie theaters and arenas, many were aghast. The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF), a nonprofit coalition working to protect consumer choices, was among them. Finding the ban to be an infringement on principles of personal responsibility and consumer freedom, the communications firm that manages the CCF, Berman and Company, sought to ridicule Bloomberg in a big way. To position CCF as the leading voice against the policy and convince consumers that the ban would only be the beginning of Bloomberg’s “nanny-state” policies, Berman and Company worked quickly to develop eye-catching ad creative. Drawing on humor but also educating its audience on the “government takeover” of New Yorkers’ diets, Berman and Company produced a full-page ad in The New York Times. It depicted Bloomberg in a dowdy pale blue dress under the headline “Nanny Bloomberg: You only thought you lived in the land of the free.” The ad was created, placed and printed within one day of Bloomberg’s announcement. It was accompanied by a national press release, several op-eds to be pitched to local and national outlets and follow-up press releases and notes to specific reporters on the proposal as it was voted on by New York City’s Health Department. CCF was the first major voice against the proposal and garnered top news coverage. The New York Post ran several articles featuring both the ad and CCF’s opposition to the ban, and the story was picked up by the likes of Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, Politico, Slate and Reuters. Broadcast outlets such as Fox and CNN used the ad in stories on the ban and interviewed a CCF spokesman on the issue. Moreover, for the week following the ad, CCF saw a 200% increase in web traffic to its website www.ConsumerFreedom.com.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

BEST USE OF RESEARCH – BUSINESS/CONSUMER

GOLD “IT in the Toilet” 11mark Entering the market as a new integrated marketing agency, 11mark needed to cut through the noise, raise visibility and establish brand awareness. In place of a more traditional launch, the agency decided to take a creative approach, focusing on a hot button issue for its customers: mobile trends. In an effort to leverage research and humor, as well as highlight a key issue for potential clients and partners, 11mark gave the media relations effort an edge. Their campaign centered on a survey the PR team conducted, examining mobile habits in “the last private place”—the bathroom. 11mark surveyed Americans on their bathroom phone habits, comparing men versus women, generational phone use, and differences among Droid, iPhone and Blackberry users. The team analyzed results and created the “IT in the Toilet” report, along with a visually appealing infographic. The data exposed American’s bathroom phone habits and provided insight on larger trends, like the growing reliance on mobile technology. As 11mark analyzed the data, they conclusively found that the last private place was no longer private—and exposed just how mobile society has become. The team launched a proactive media relations campaign, approaching newspapers, magazines, blogs and broadcast. The “IT in the Toilet” report included unique cover art and the infographic and was sent to a targeted press list. The team’s key social media channels served to spread the data in innovative ways, as did the eye-catching landing page created for the release. Interviews with mainstream and technology-focused outlets served to build more buzz and to get download numbers accelerating at lightning speed. From local to regional news outlets, the team secured coverage in more than 470 articles and 200+ broadcast placements. Highlights include The New York Times, Network World, Informationweek, CBS News, HLN, ABC News, The Huffington Post and Computerworld. The story was also included on CNN’s homepage, NPR’s “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” and “Live! with Kelly.” In the realm of social media, Twitter coverage started in English and moved around the world in a dozen languages. “IT in the Toilet” also generated 3,600+ Facebook likes, 330+ LinkedIn shares and tens of thousands of Twitter tweets and re-tweets. Site traffic increased 3,700 percent during the campaign—with nearly two thousand release and infographic downloads from the website.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

BEST USE OF RESEARCH – BUSINESS/CONSUMER

GOLD “PETA Kills Animals” Berman and Company The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) is a nonprofit coalition that strives to protect consumer choices. Managed by Berman and Company, CCF has a long record of investigating the inner-workings of animal rights groups. When the organization obtained records from the Commonwealth of Virginia revealing that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) kills over 90 percent of the dogs and cats in its care every year, Berman and Company knew an attention-grabbing PR campaign was in order. More research revealed staggering figures. According to Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) records since 1998, a total of 27,751 pets have died at the hands of PETA workers. CCF discovered after the most recent Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that PETA had an even more gruesome history. The FOIA request also uncovered a 2010 inspection of 290 PETA animal custody records performed by VDACS, which showed PETA’s animal shelter didn't meet PETA’s own published guidelines, among other dark truths about its shelters. To generate public awareness of PETA’s “not-so-ethical” animal treatment, CCF’s researches delved deeper into public records and redesigned its PETAKillsAnimals.com website to include the newly obtained information. The site included a timeline of events, a page on PETA’s past run-ins with the law and translations of the text for non-English speakers. Press releases were distributed nationally and internationally. The online new source The Daily Caller broke the story first, with an article on DrudgeReport.com. USA Today also reported on the new numbers, and the research report received major publicity from several television networks and national and international newspapers. It appeared on popular blogs such as Jezebel.com and The Huffington Post. As a result of the extensive media coverage, PETAKillsAnimals.com received a whopping 31,297 visits.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

BEST USE OF RESEARCH – BUSINESS/CONSUMER

S I LV E R “Which Comes First:The Survey or the CEO Ouster?” ReviveHealth In the wake of national health care reform, the trust factor between hospitals and health insurance companies is perilously low. Each year, ReviveHealth conducts a survey of the best and worst health plans, and in 2012, the company surveyed 400 hospital execs on their opinions of large health plans. The data offered both members and media crucial information about insurance company trends and tactics affecting health care costs, quality and access. But where was the news hook? Survey results in 2012 put insurer WellPoint—a publicly traded BlueCross BlueShield plan—at the top of the “worst” list at a time when WellPoint and its CEO were under heavy public fire from Wall Street, providers and members. Seizing on the opportunity, ReviveHealth decided to hinge the campaign on this finding. Because health plans ranked well by providers have demonstrated membership growth, the survey’s reflections on reputation—and its relationship to business practices and corporate behavior—would also position ReviveHealth as the leading voice for health plan evaluations and the health care industry. To squarely leverage the WellPoint news of the day, the marketing team first pitched the story to the Bloomberg reporter focused on WellPoint and WellPoint CEO Angela Braly’s growing list of troubles. Pitches to local business journals, health care business reporters and key health care industry publications followed. The team developed a press release, fact sheet, survey results and a series of blog posts to highlight the various components of the findings, as well as a direct email marketing campaign to announce the results. The thought leadership effort resulted in a heavy-hitting placement in Bloomberg News, as well as impressions in nearly 50 publications, including NPR, BusinessWeek, Kaiser Health News, HealthLeaders, The Advisory Board and Medical Economics. The payor that ranked best in the survey, Cigna, included the results in a company-issued press release, and the publicity drove more than 17,000 visitors to ReviveHealth’s website in one month.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

BEST SPECIAL EVENT/STUNT

GOLD “The Scharffen Berger Valentine’s Day Chocolate Bar” RF|Binder Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker, the first bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturer established in the United States, was sold to The Hershey Company in 2005. One important objective for the company was to shift the brand’s focus from the baking category toward the confection market. To achieve this goal, RF|Binder established a presence for the brand during one of the most chocolate-centric days: Valentine’s Day. In the vibrant setting of the Meatpacking District, NYC, the first-ever Scharffen Berger Valentine’s Day Chocolate Bar took place on February 14. Branded tents, umbrellas, hats and red scarves spiced up the space, and “flights” of Scharffen Berger Tasting Squares drove product trial. The “bar” served as the focal point of the event, offering custom designed and branded Valentine’s Day cards containing one Scharffen Berger tasting square each for visitors to mail to friends and loved ones across the U.S., not only creating a memorable, branded experience, but also expanding trial to a national level. RF|Binder also produced branded discount cards to drive chocolate sales online. RF|Binder devised a parallel social media campaign that supported and reinforced the consumer-facing event. As an online extension of the event, Facebook fans could send a private Chocolate eCard message to friends, and photos and videos captured at the event were posted on the brand’s page. On Twitter, the @ScharffenBerger Twitter Party pre-promoted the event, while the PR team live-tweeted during the event, using the dedicated #ScharffenBerger hashtag and advertising the Chocolate eCard. The campaign also created a FourSquare event, as well as an Instagram feed. The event and promotional efforts garnered over 55 million editorial impressions from top tier publications, including The New York Times, New York Daily News, AM New York, CBS Local and Zagat. Over 25 event calendar listings appeared in local publications, and approximately 5,000 consumers visited the Chocolate Bar throughout the daylong event.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

BEST SPECIAL EVENT/STUNT

S I LV E R

BRONZE

“Entenmann’s Celebrates the 75th National Donut Day with The Salvation Army” Freeman Public Relations

“Walking Dead 100th Issue Party” Full Picture

Every year on National Donut Day, packaged goods brand Entenmann’s sadly watched from the sidelines as stand-alone companies like Dunkin Donuts and Krispy Kreme had all the marketing fun. However, Freeman Public Relations (FPR) knew the National Donut Day 2012—its 75th anniversary—was an opportune moment to build buzz for Entenmann’s own boxed treats. The holiday, established by The Salvation Army in 1938 to honor the organization’s “Donut Lassies” who served donuts to soldiers during World War I, should become synonymous with the brand. Thus, as FPR’s campaign wheels began turning, a partnership idea took shape. Together with The Salvation Army itself, Entenmann’s would host a celebration embodying a true American tradition of food and social impact. As the date approached, FPR recruited another influential figure: New York City’s Mayor Bloomberg. Although Bloomberg had recently taken a stance against sweets with his proposed soda ban, he officially endorsed the day as “NYC Donut Day.” As a final push to generate consumer awareness before the event, FPR leveraged Entenmann’s’ social media presence with a national Facebook sweepstakes campaign to raise money for The Salvation Army. Capitalizing on the 75th anniversary milestone and The Salvation Army’s non-profit cause, FPR planned a National Donut Day pop-up party in Madison Square Park. Complete with Entenmann’s and Salvation Army trucks, signage and sampling tables, the event also featured a visual draw: the largest box of Entenmann’s donuts ever made. The Salvation Army’s “Donut Lassies” also handed out donuts in traditional uniforms. Prior to the event’s opening, broadcast affiliates lined Madison Square park, and throughout, the event scored coverage on NBC Nightly News, USA Today, Yahoo! News, The Huffington Post, Chicago Sun-Times, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, Grub Street and many more. FPR also secured two “Good Day New York” remote segments and a piece with Newsday’s “Kidsday” editor. Radio and social media coverage also abounded, and Entenmann’s saw a 7.4% sales increase. Equally important: Now, Entenmann’s can celebrate National Donut Day every year.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

To celebrate the 100th Issue of The Walking Dead comic series and graphic novels, Hyundai toasted creator and writer Robert Kirkman with a private Comic-Con VIP Party. Full Picture coordinated press outreach to secure all coverage for the event, which took place in San Diego and brought forth celebrities from all walks of life. The Full Picture team played an integral role in developing the strategy for press and celebrity outreach for the event. With team members from New York and Los Angeles, Full Picture brought a variety of resources and knowledge to such a large-scale press event. With a highly targeted list of entertainment industry and celebrity outlets, the team created a national press release and event invitations. The Walking Dead 100th Issue Party was haunted by undead talent from the AMC television show, based on the Skybound/Image Comics Eisner Award-winning comic series, as well as their celebrity fans. Upon arriving, celebs walked the “Black Carpet” into the fully immersive re-creation of a post- apocalyptic world infested with zombies. In addition, Full Picture facilitated interviews with the attending media. From triage nurses to real-life "survivors" and members of the infected, The Walking Dead 100th Issue event was alive with zombie-inspired elements. Guests noshed on appetizers passed around the event—for example, “fried squirrel," a delectable meal from the graphic novel—while the strobe-lit dance was full of monster-mashing guests. Hyundai also had a 2013 Elantra GT wrapped in the cover of the 100th issue by longtime The Walking Dead artist Charlie Adlard, on the black carpet. The prize was given away to a lucky survivor of the fete. Full Picture’s campaign secured top tier coverage with national and local print and online media, best of which included Variety, Access Hollywood, The Hollywood Reporter, Entertainment Weekly, New York Post, People Magazine, US Weekly and WallStreetJournal.com.

BEST SPECIAL EVENT/STUNT

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS – BUSINESS/CONSUMER

GOLD “The Hershey Company with JSH&A Communications” Hop Down the Hershey's Bunny Trail Easter is only one day, but in PR, bunnies, egg-hunts and pastel colors are spotted for weeks leading up to the holiday. However, in 2012, the Easter season was 15 days shorter than the previous year, and JSH&A Public Relations was asked to develop an aggressive campaign to raise awareness of the Hershey’s portfolio of brands—including both new and classic Easter products. JSH&A knew that consumers view Easter as an opportunity to celebrate and spend time with family. For moms, Easter means creating personalized Easter baskets for loved ones—oftentimes with candy included. Based off these insights, JSH&A developed a program to spark online conversation among a group of proven influencers—mom bloggers. Because this demographic would be looking forward to participating in the holiday, JSH&A created the Hershey’s Bunny Trail—an online trail that featured women’s favorite Easter memories on Celebrate with Hersheys.com With new weekly content, the Bunny Trail provided a steady stream of stories. Kicking off at Blissdom 2012—a premiere conference for 800+ mommy bloggers—the Hershey’s booth invited visitors to join the Trail and create their own custom Easter baskets. A custom #hsyeaster hashtag was created so attendees could share their experience at the booth and engage in product giveaways on Twitter. In addition, a photographer and videographer captured booth activity, which was leveraged on Hershey’s social media pages and the website. Online influencers and attendees were encouraged to post about their family Easter traditions upon receipt of their custom baskets, and selected posts were featured on the Bunny Trail. The Hershey’s booth at Blissdom yielded more than 400 custom Easter baskets, and the #hsyeater was used more than 160 times in two days, generating more than half a million online impressions. As a result of the Bunny Trail, more than 230 blog posts incorporated Hershey’s Easter products, and 21% featured direct links to Celebrate with Hersheys.com. Sales figures also increased by double-digit millions of dollars.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS – BUSINESS/CONSUMER

S I LV E R

BRONZE

“Making Geek Chic: Finn Partners and IEEE Executes Campaign That Makess” Finn Partners

“Partners in Preservation” M Booth

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is the largest technical professional society in the world. When IEEE approached Finn Partners (FP), the institute sought help building its brand into a fresh voice on technological advancements and reaching the younger generation. But, due to the widespread nature of the organization, it was for difficult for FP to tease out what the collective IEEE voice should be to inspire the industry and the general public. The agency set to work on a social media campaign that would build an online hub—a central place for members, industry and the general public to go for all things IEEE. To create a link between IEEE and wireless technology to a broader audience, the team created an interactive timeline of top wireless moments in human history and then asked the IEEE Facebook and Twitter communities to add their personal stories to the mix, with the most empowering story writer walking away with a new iPad. To showcase IEEE’s commitment to sustainability, FP also built out a “Green Your World” initiative around World Environment Day. This month-long push got the online community to make pledges to a number of steps that would reduce their carbon footprint. Finally, FP worked with IEEE’s Women in Engineering society and four of the top female engineers in the world to create an educational initiative promoting discussions of women in STEM. The PR team utilized the expertise of the female engineers to create a series of live-streaming chats between experts and the community on education and empowerment issues relevant to them. An infographic that demonstrated the most important women engineers in history was also drawn up. Over a nine-month period, Finn Partners helped the IEEE.org Facebook page grow 310%. The group received 60,259 social interactions and reached more than 3.1 million total impressions on Facebook posts. The IEEE.org Twitter account also gained nearly 10,000 new followers and received 5,661 total re-tweets.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

The Partners in Preservation program—of the American Express Foundation and the National Trust for Historic Preservation—awards preservation grants to historic places across the country. Every participating site receives a grant, but those places that get the most votes from local consumers win 100% funding for a project. When the program came to New York City, M Booth worked with the sponsors to change the game—by reaching a younger demographic and leveraging social media for the cause of historic preservation across the city. To spur voting, the agency conducted deep-dive research to find online “Preservation Champions”—twenty bloggers in different boroughs and with passions for food, local culture, sports, the arts and religion. With these core believers on board, the PR team planned how to synchronize blogger activity with the social channels of the 40 historic sites. The campaign rolled out with a voting kick-off: A “preservationist community” rally at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, bringing together the sites, bloggers and media. The event headlined singer/actress Katharine McPhee performing the Sinatra classic “New York, New York” with an interactive 3D hologram of the competing sites—which became sharable online video content. The kick-off activated the bloggers and lit up the social universe, creating the #PreserveNYC conversation. A “Preservation Station” traveled New York promoting guerilla voting. New Yorkers had the opportunity to get their photos taken against the backdrop of their favorite sites with those pictures projected onto buildings. One weekend, all 40 sites hosted an open house with special programming or free admission for the public to visit and cast votes. When all was said and done, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers voted for preservation sites. Bloggers generated hundreds of posts, tweets and Facebook posts, while the Partners In Preservation Facebook page got 31,513 "likes." Traditional media amplified the campaign, with 741 placements in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, AP, Forbes, New York Magazine, New York Daily News, New York Post and The Huffington Post, as well as broadcast segments and WNYC public radio coverage. In all, 40 historic sites received grants, and three historic preservation projects were completely funded.

B E S T T E C H N O L O G Y C A M PA I G N – B U S I N E S S

GOLD “Connect Marketing and Symantec ” Symantec Mobile Honey Stick Project The theft or loss of a smartphone can expose businesses and individuals to loss of all data stored on the device, as well as data residing in corporate systems or cloud applications to which the device might have direct connections. To enhance Symantec’s reputation as the leading expert on cyber security issues that impact both consumers and businesses in the digital age, Connect Marketing worked with the company to develop a research-based PR campaign. The “Symantec Smartphone Honey Stick Project” was an experiment involving 50 "lost" smartphones. Before Symantec PR intentionally lost these devices, they placed a collection of simulated corporate and personal data on them, along with the capability to remotely monitor what happened to them once they were found. Dropped in five different cities, the phones were left in high traffic public places such as elevators, malls, food courts, and public transit stops. Among other staggering results, eight out of ten finders tried to access corporate information. PR worked with a third-party researcher to complete the study and develop the final report and supporting materials prior to launch. Multiple visuals—including an infographic, Google maps and photo images of the original phone placements—were created to showcase the movement of the “lost” smartphones and what was accessed on them. A press kit was made available with a blog post, research report and infographic. The team also secured multiple satellite interviews. In addition to exclusives with “The Today Show” and BusinessWeek, 160 additional broadcast/radio segments including Bloomberg TV, Fox, NPR, ABC, NBC and CBS affiliates around North America covered the project. Consumer outlets like Gizmodo, Boing Boing, Mashable and PC Magazine also reported on the experiment. What’s more, top-rated enterprise books got in on the action, such as eWEEK, SecurityWeek, InfoWorld and InformationWeek.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

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“IT in the Toilet” 11mark

“App Annie Enters “Game of Phones” with Google Play Launch” Bateman Group

Entering the market as a new integrated marketing agency, 11mark needed to cut through the noise, raise visibility and establish brand awareness. In place of a more traditional launch, the agency decided to take a creative approach, focusing on a hot button issue for its customers: Mobile trends. In an effort to leverage research and humor, as well as highlight a key issue for potential clients and partners, 11mark gave the media relations effort an edge. Their campaign centered on a survey the PR team conducted, examining mobile habits in “the last private place”—the bathroom. 11mark surveyed Americans on their bathroom phone habits, comparing men versus women, generational phone use, and differences among Droid, iPhone and Blackberry users. The team analyzed results and created the “IT in the Toilet” report, along with a visually appealing infographic. The data exposed American’s bathroom phone habits and provided insight on larger trends, like the growing reliance on mobile technology. As 11mark analyzed the data, they conclusively found that the last private place was no longer private—and exposed just how mobile society has become. The team launched a proactive media relations campaign, approaching newspapers, magazines, blogs and broadcast. The “IT in the Toilet” report included unique cover art and the infographic and was sent to a targeted press list. The team’s key social media channels served to spread the data in innovative ways, as did the eye-catching landing page created for the release. Interviews with mainstream and technology-focused outlets served to build more buzz and to get download numbers accelerating at lightning speed. From local to regional news outlets, the team secured coverage in more than 470 articles and 200+ broadcast placements. Highlights include The New York Times, Network World, Informationweek, CBS News, HLN, ABC News, The Huffington Post and Computerworld. The story was also included on CNN’s homepage, NPR’s “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” and “Live! with Kelly.” In the realm of social media, Twitter coverage started in English and moved around the world in a dozen languages. “IT in the Toilet” also generated 3,600+ Facebook likes, 330+ LinkedIn shares and tens of thousands of Twitter tweets and re-tweets. Site traffic increased 3,700 percent during the campaign—with nearly two thousand release and infographic downloads from the website.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

Headquartered in Beijing, international startup App Annie provides app store analytics and market intelligence for mobile app publishers and developers. While App Annie already tracked iPhone, iPad and Mac trends, the company was preparing to roll out its newest feature—support for Google Play (and the Android market)— and digital communications agency, Bateman Group, was called in to establish the App Annie presence in the U.S. market. Leveraging its vocal fan base of app developers and influential bloggers, as well as the hotly anticipated launch, Bateman Group embarked upon a targeted media campaign in June 2012. To reach tech influencers, Silicon Valley “digerati” and national business press, Bateman chose the week between Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference and Google I/O as the best window in which to introduce App Annie to the U.S. Next, Bateman developed an infographic that appealed to the media’s fascination with the iOS versus Android app wars. The infographic featured datasets generated by the new Google Play product. What’s more, to appeal to the general consumer, the data were visually tied to a theme based on HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” and the graphic was aptly titled “Game of Phones.” Bateman secured product news exclusives with TechCrunch and Mashable, which highlighted the “Game of Phones” infographic and the product that made the data made possible. Bateman then convinced App Annie to grant an exclusive to Liz Gannes at AllThingsD to tell the corporate vision story. On the day of the announcement, Bateman reached out to a wider set of mobile, technology and Silicon Valley-based reporters to offer App Annie executives as expert commenters on the mobile app ecosystem. In all, App Annie scored more than 20 unique features and hundreds more articles and blog posts. The “Game of Phones” campaign increased traffic to App Annie’s website from 23,000 to 46,000 on the day of launch and increased 57 percent overall during the week of the campaign. Conversions for App Annie for Google Play increased nearly 400 percent, and the infographic gained trending status on LinkedIn, Facebook and Reddit.

B E S T T E C H N O L O G Y C A M PA I G N – B U S I N E S S

HONORABLE MENTION “Accelerating The Quality and Quantity of Appcelerator’s Media Presence” Trainer Communications Appcelerator is a Silicon Valley-based company whose mobile application development platform is in use worldwide and whose quarterly mobile developer survey had gained traction among technology press and developer-focused media. However, the company was determined to be known as the de facto expert on enterprise mobility and called on Trainer Communications to help establish a footprint with Silicon Valley media and national business press. Leading up to the survey release, Trainer analyzed articles by specific reporters to better understand what data would most intrigue them. Based on this research, Appcelerator and partner IDC shaped the survey questions to get data on the successes and failures of certain mobile devices and operating systems. Culling through the survey results, Trainer found the news hook for business and local press: Nearly two-thirds of developers believed a mobile-first social startup would disrupt Facebook’s market share. To appeal to tech press, Trainer highlighted data showing that developers preferred Apple over Android, were dissatisfied with HTML5 and remained skeptical of Windows 8. One week before the survey results were released, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had publicly stated that the company bet wrong on HTML5, so Trainer also leveraged Zuckerberg’s statement to prime the press for Appcelerator’s survey results. From a quantitative perspective, in just four months, Trainer delivered 1,188 articles and significantly increased the quality of coverage. For example, Trainer secured a bylined business press article for Forbes and nine articles in business and broadcast media, including coverage in San Jose Mercury News, Seattle Times and The Wall Street Journal. Appcelerator saw nearly 3,000 downloads of its survey report and won The Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Award in the Software category and was included in The Wall Street Journal’s “Next Big Thing” list.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

B E S T T E C H N O L O G Y C A M PA I G N – C O N S U M E R

GOLD “It’s in the Book: Reading Rainbow Reaches #1 App Status” Child's Play Communications “Reading Rainbow” was a popular children’s TV show for many years before leaving the air in 2009. Its producers decided that while TV was once the appropriate forum for inspiring a love of reading among children, an iPad app was better suited to do the same for the current, digital generation. Child’s Play Communications was tasked to launch the first Reading Rainbow digital app, which offered parents the opportunity to access an extensive library of carefully curated books. Although app development did not move along as quickly as planned, Child’s Play set to work on a campaign that would accommodate the shifting launch date. To get the ball rolling, the PR team introduced a social media teaser campaign, which included trivia, vintage TV clips and opportunities for parents to share favorite Reading Rainbow memories. Planning ahead for the gift-buying season, Child’s Play did extensive Holiday Gift Guide media outreach on the emerging category of “app-gifting.” To hit the campaign's target audience—mothers of children ages three to nine—the team also created a special package of Reading Rainbow themed merchandise for mom bloggers. The major focus within the campaign period was a New York City media event, to feature the star of “Reading Rainbow” and key partner behind the app, LeVar Burton. Prior to the launch event, the agency set up media briefings with a range of outlets, including parenting, business, tech and entertainment pubs. One week before the official launch, Child’s Play leveraged its relationship with the Wildlife Conservation Society/Bronx Zoo and staged a live reading and app demonstration by Burton. Later, he distributed autographed copies of a “Reading Rainbow” compilation DVD. At the launch event, Mr. Burton presented in a room filled with multi-colored chairs arranged in the shape of a rainbow. After his speech and a musical performance, room dividers opened to reveal children playing with the app against a Reading Rainbow themed background. Trial iPad stations and interviews were available for media. Excitement about the “Reading Rainbow” app spread, and within less than a week, more than 100 positive media placements resulted, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Time, Forbes, Mashable, Parents, Techcrunch and others. Top bloggers soon followed, generating a total reach of 2 billion impressions, including new social media fans and followers. More importantly, “Reading Rainbow” became the #1 Educational App in the iTunes App Store within 48 hours of launch and the #1 Best Grossing App in the entire iTunes App Store by the end of the week.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

B E S T T E C H N O L O G Y C A M PA I G N – C O N S U M E R

S I LV E R

BRONZE

“Symantec Mobile Honey Stick Project” Connect Marketing and Symantec

“Samsung Galaxy Note Fashion Week Takeover” MWW

The theft or loss of a smartphone can expose businesses and individuals to loss of all data stored on the device, as well as data residing in corporate systems or cloud applications to which the device might have direct connections. To enhance Symantec’s reputation as the leading expert on cyber security issues that impact both consumers and businesses in the digital age, Connect Marketing worked with the company to develop a research-based PR campaign.

After the official launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note, the smart device had received much attention from the tech community. Yet, among the general public, the product was not making nearly as many waves. For this campaign, MWW Group sought to showcase the device as a stylish and hip accessory—handy, helpful and cool— and particularly to draw eyes the Galaxy Note’s large screen and innovative S-pen.

The “Symantec Smartphone Honey Stick Project” was an experiment involving 50 "lost" smartphones. Before Symantec PR intentionally lost these devices, they placed a collection of simulated corporate and personal data on them, along with the capability to remotely monitor what happened to them once they were found. Dropped in five different cities, the phones were left in high traffic public places such as elevators, malls, food courts, and public transit stops. Among other staggering results, eight out of ten finders tried to access corporate information. PR worked with a third-party researcher to complete the study and develop the final report and supporting materials prior to launch. Multiple visuals—including an infographic, Google maps and photo images of the original phone placements—were created to showcase the movement of the “lost” smartphones and what was accessed on them. A press kit was made available with a blog post, research report and infographic. The team also secured multiple satellite interviews. In addition to exclusives with “The Today Show” and BusinessWeek, 160 additional broadcast/radio segments including Bloomberg TV, Fox, NPR, ABC, NBC and CBS affiliates around North America covered the project. Consumer outlets like Gizmodo, Boing Boing, Mashable and PC Magazine also reported on the experiment. What’s more, top-rated enterprise books got in on the action, such as eWEEK, SecurityWeek, InfoWorld and InformationWeek.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

Given the timing of the U.S. launch and the need for international reach, MWW explored the potential of Fashion Week—an event that runs during consecutive weeks in New York, London, Milan and Paris. Deciding more organic participation was necessary, the team went straight to the influencers who are most watched, photographed and social-media-active during the Fashion Week season: The models. And while this was not a group frequently thought of as tech-savvy, the participants were carefully selected and trained on generating content. In partnership with Next Model Management, MWW seeded Galaxy Note devices to ten top runway models. Whether backstage at the shows, at parties or waiting for fittings, the models shared content with friends and followers via social media, and in some cases, exclusives were granted for a single outlet to publish all of the content generated by one model. In addition to the model participants, MWW delivered devices to fashion bloggers, who used the devices for their fashion week reporting. To further outreach, MWW selected favorites for posting to Samsung Mobile’s Facebook page and Twitter account. Leveraging the models’ fan bases and relationships with high-profile publications, as well as Samsung’s esteem with tech outlets and online influencers, MWW gained traction with the innovative campaign. Program content received over 30 million possible Twitter impressions, and MWW granted exclusives on content generated by models to the websites of Harper’s Bazaar, Teen Vogue and Marie Claire, among other great media feats.

B E S T T R AV E L , H O S P I TA L I T Y & D E S T I N AT I O N S C A M PA I G N

GOLD “Defrost Your Swimsuit” M. Silver – A Division of Finn Partners To entice vacationers to escape the wintry cold for sunny Greater Fort Lauderdale (GFL), travel and tourism PR agency M. Silver Associates designed a marketing campaign to showcase the destination’s tropical beach appeal and lift the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau (GFLCVB) brand with messaging of a new “transformed” destination. The PR team wasn’t going to settle for simple press releases and interviews. Instead, M. Silver decided that in order to position GFLCVB as an innovative tourism marketing organization, they needed to demonstrate out-of-the-box thinking—with a large-scale “beach chic” event in the cities that needed a suntan the most. In the middle of November, the “Defrost Your Swimsuit” campaign went to Toronto with swimsuits frozen in large blocks of ice during the annual Santa Claus Parade. Digital billboards featured 15 Defrost Your Swimsuit television spots, four hours of live streaming event videos and Twitter boards. In January, the campaign went to Times Square, New York, with a mobile “Beach on Wheels” unit joined by street teams distributing GFLbranded ice scrapers. Bikini-clad models tossed beach balls and posed for pictures in the Beach Mobile. Lastly, GFL reached Canary Wharf in London, which has over 90,000 pedestrian visitors daily. Colorfully wrapped branded taxis also drove around the city. The campaign included development of GFL’s tourism website, Sunny.org, along with a dedicated microsite for a sweepstakes. Throughout the events, 5,000 printed cards directed people to the microsite and warmed shivering crowds to a new vacation idea. M. Silver also secured promotions with tourism partners like JetBlue Airways, which gave away free trips to GFL through the sunny.org/defrost microsite, and Sunwing Airlines, which had street teams dressed as flight attendants and pilots to promote package vacations to GFL. In London, GFL partnered with Virgin Holidays for a promotional giveaway and an easy option for booking. In all, the event appeared in international, national, local and trade media in over 100 outlets including, ABC “Good Morning America,” AP and Yahoo! News, with over 925 million impressions. The contest microsite received nearly 11,500 entries, and with the Virgin Holidays partnership, Greater Fort Lauderdale saw an 18% increase in sales to year-on-year.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

B E S T T R AV E L , H O S P I TA L I T Y & D E S T I N AT I O N S C A M PA I G N

GOLD “Puerto Rico Does It Better” Puerto Rico Tourism Company Following a significant drop in tourism brought on by the global recession, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC) could no longer rely on travelers’ vacation memories to boost its tourism economy—and its hotels, in particular. Instead, with Ogivly PR spearheading the push, PRTC needed to strengthen large-scale favorable perceptions of the island, create a climate that would increase hotel occupancy and build Puerto Rico’s reputation as a destination with diverse activity offerings. Targeting the culturally conscious and lifestyle-forward traveler, Ogilvy PR’s campaign sought to move beyond a simplistic understanding of Puerto Rico. Research showed that many travelers’ impressions of the island came from an outdated visit to San Juan as a cruise ship stop. To counteract misconceptions, the public relations strategy centered on Puerto Rico’s range of offerings—from beaches to adventure to golf to culinary. The PR team took action by arming these travelers with travel tools and itineraries to fully explore the island. What’s more, to supplement limited government resources, Ogilvy PR developed a network of on-island hotels, restaurants and third-party partners who could help maximize exposure and the Puerto Rico experience. In the realm of media, recognizing that the line between advertising and editorial has blurred in the magazine business, Ogilvy PR worked with its advertising counterparts to leverage the power of the ad buy to secure editorial meetings. Once in the door, the team held minibrainstorm meetings with top editors to come up with story ideas for publication. They also leveraged relationships between print editors and broadcast shows. For example, when PRTC promoted Travel + Leisure’s “Best City for Winter Travel” and San Juan came in first place, the poll was picked up by other outlets. The campaign also brought the island to journalists, in the form of trade shows, care packages and regular deskside briefings. Fact sheets and media placements were also presented to travel agents. Following the campaign, hotel occupancy reach nearly 70%, and revenue per available hotel room rose 7%. JetBlue increased Puerto Rico airlift by 25% and named San Juan as its first new North American hub since 2008. In media, the majority of stories focused on the island’s unique offerings, rather than simply the beach. Coverage included five magazine cover stories, two appearances on The Today Show (in conjunction with T+L) and more than two billion media impressions—with a 2,000% increase over the previous year.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

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“Oregon Bounty PR” Maxwell PR, Robeson Communications and Travel Oregon

“Turkish Airlines U.S. Brand Building PR Campaign” Alpaytac Marketing Communications/PR y

The Oregon Tourism Commission (Travel Oregon) provides information, resources and trip planning tools that inspire visits to the state. When neighboring Washington State shut down its tourism marketing program, Travel Oregon saw an opportunity to invest in PR as a way to increase visibility among consumers considering a Pacific Northwest vacation. Travel Oregon asked its longtime agency partners Maxwell PR and Robeson Communications to develop a promotional plan to generate coverage of one of Oregon’s most recognized assets: Its culinary clout.

Prior to working with Alpaytac Marketing Communications/Public Relations,a majority of the media coverage for Turkish Airlines was in aviation and trade media—with limited visibility in consumer media. But, when an Alpaytac PR campaign took flight, a much greater mission developed: Raise consumer awareness in the U.S., highlighting the airline’s award-winning cuisine, unparalleled service and its continued expansion into additional countries around the globe.

Already the apple of the media’s eye, Oregon’s artisan food and beverages, as well as Portland’s hot restaurant scene, were the key to bringing hungry visitors to the state. Thus, the campaign’s overall goal was to enable top food writers to have truly unique Oregon travel—and eating—experiences that would inspire compelling firstperson narratives. The “Full On Oregon” program brought top food bloggers to Oregon to have memorable food and wine experiences they could write passionately about. The pitch offered Oregon-centric excursions with master chefs, heritage hogs and charcuterie, small-farm dairies and artisan ice creameries. The “Oregon Bounty Food Assault Event” brought Oregon to New York for a restaurant event to announce the upcoming Feast Portland festival. Photos of the state’s scenery were provided, and the menu included Oregon's seafood, mushrooms, beef, wine, cheese, beer, spirits and coffee. The PR team also invited journalists to Feast Portland, recommended places around the state to visit beforehand and assisted with itinerary development. Maxwell and Robeson’s collaboration earned 92 unique articles, with 65 blog posts by influential food bloggers and 18 articles about Oregon’s food and wine scene from outlets, such as Men’s Health, Food & Wine, Thrillist, Serious Eats and The Daily Meal. The campaign also achieved over a thousand social media posts, and many comments were made by people who are now planning a trip or want to visit.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

In order to maximize opportunities for Turkish Airlines, the PR team conducted travel, food and aviation media outreach. Giving a face to the company, the team also coordinated press interviews with Turkish Airlines’ CEO Temel Kotil. Under the team’s guidance, Turkish Airlines executed a variety of alluring travel deals to some of its 226 destinations. To capitalize on the popular U.S. holiday, the team also conceptualized a special in-flight Valentine’s Day Menu to tie-in with a fare special and pitched a story angle about the “Top 10 most romantic things to do in Istanbul.” Alpaytac also worked alongside the airline to coordinate a media event with Global Brand Ambassador, Kobe Bryant, at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), celebrating the one-year anniversary of the launch of daily flights from Los Angeles to Istanbul. The centerpiece of the campaign was an up-close-and-personal press trip to Turkey for lifestyle reporters and editors. The trip included air transportation, accommodations, tours of sites and other cultural attractions—all presented with the personal touch of the CEO’s Turkish heritage. Alpaytac’s press initiatives secured 193 total placements, with over 150 million impressions. Top-tier placements included Yahoo! News, “The Today Show,” HuffingtonPost.com, CNN.com, USAToday.com, LATimes.com and TravelandLeisure.com. 92% of the journalists who attended the trip have published an article about the trip, and 62% gave an extensive or good overview of Turkish Airlines. These numbers are 15-20% higher than coverage resulting from prior media trips that our agency had planned.

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GOLD “It’s in the Book: Reading Rainbow Reaches #1 App Status” Child's Play Communications Reading Rainbow was a popular children’s TV show for many years before leaving the air in 2009. Its producers decided that while TV was once the appropriate forum for inspiring a love of reading among children, an iPad app was better suited to do the same for the current, digital generation. Child’s Play Communications was tasked to launch the first Reading Rainbow digital app, which offered parents the opportunity to access an extensive library of carefully curated books. Although app development did not move along as quickly as planned, Child’s Play set to work on a campaign that would accommodate the shifting launch date. To get the ball rolling, the PR team introduced a social media teaser campaign, which included trivia, vintage TV clips and opportunities for parents to share favorite Reading Rainbow memories. Planning ahead for the gift-buying season, Child’s Play did extensive Holiday Gift Guide media outreach on the emerging category of “app-gifting.” To hit the campaign's target audience—mothers of children ages three to nine—the team also created a special package of Reading Rainbow themed merchandise for mom bloggers. The major focus within the campaign period was a New York City media event, to feature the star of Reading Rainbow and key partner behind the app, LeVar Burton. Prior to the launch event, the agency set up media briefings with a range of outlets, including parenting, business, tech and entertainment pubs. One week before the official launch, Child’s Play leveraged its relationship with the Wildlife Conservation Society/Bronx Zoo and staged a live reading and app demonstration by Burton. Later, he distributed autographed copies of a Reading Rainbow compilation DVD. At the launch event, Mr. Burton presented in a room filled with multi-colored chairs arranged in the shape of a rainbow. After his speech and a musical performance, room dividers opened to reveal children playing with the app against a Reading Rainbow themed background. Trial iPad stations and interviews were available for media. Excitement about the Reading Rainbow app spread, and within less than a week, more than 100 positive media placements resulted, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Time, Forbes, Mashable, Parents, Techcrunch and others. Top bloggers soon followed, generating a total reach of 2 billion impressions, including new social media fans and followers. More importantly, Reading Rainbow became the #1 Educational App in the iTunes App Store within 48 hours of launch and the #1 Best Grossing App in the entire iTunes App Store by the end of the week.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

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“Fiserv Case-Shiller: A Breakthrough Year for Delivering Home Price ” Fiserv and RF|Binder

“Accelerating The Quality and Quantity of Appcelerator’s Media Presence Trends” Trainer Communications

Economists, policymakers, investors, business leaders, the public and the media closely watch home price trends, and the release of fresh data has the power to move markets and shape perceptions of consumer confidence. In this important space, occupied already by established and respected players, Fiserv— a provider of technology solutions to the financial world—decided to make its name known. RF|Binder Partners was called on to help. RF|Binder’s campaign began as the team identified one huge opportunity. They found that while many readers of the business press were familiar with Fiserv’s S&P/Case-Shiller index, few knew it was actually owned and generated by Fiserv. Fewer still were aware of the breadth of Fiserv’s research. In addition to the wellknown S&P/Case-Shiller 20 Market Index, Fiserv was sitting on a treasure trove of data, which included detailed home price trend data for more than 380 U.S. metro areas. Another differentiator: Fiserv Case-Shiller provides projections for home prices in each of those metro areas. The main objective of RF|Binder’s campaign was to brand the index as the Fiserv Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes and to emphasize what makes this data different. To highlight that it is at the MSA level and provides projections that no one else can offer, the trend data was uniquely packaged in custom slideshows, and the indexes were issued quarterly. In addition, by positioning Fiserv’s chief economist, David Stiff, as the voice of Case-Shiller and an expert source of commentary on the U.S. housing market, RF|Binder created a trustworthy and vocal authority figure of the company. A sustained media relations program focused on the national business press, including bloggers, along with local media outreach. Coverage included Time, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Financial Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, CNBC, FOX Business Channel, CNN Money, Business Insider and others. Fiserv Case-Shiller also significantly increased its multimedia visibility with placements in MainStreet.com, Business Insider, among other sites, and CNNMoney.com developed an interactive database that featured Fiserv data for many U.S. metro areas. Moreover, David Stiff’s commentary garnered more than 100 million media impressions, and Fiserv Case-Shiller contributed to the 20 percent increase in the company’s top-tier business media coverage in 2011 and 2012.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

Appcelerator is a Silicon Valley-based company whose mobile application development platform is in use worldwide and whose quarterly mobile developer survey had gained traction among technology press and developer-focused media. However, the company was determined to be known as the de facto expert on enterprise mobility and called on Trainer Communications to help establish a footprint with Silicon Valley media and national business press. Leading up to the survey release, Trainer analyzed articles by specific reporters to better understand what data would most intrigue them. Based on this research, Appcelerator and partner IDC shaped the survey questions to get data on the successes and failures of certain mobile devices and operating systems. Culling through the survey results, Trainer found the news hook for business and local press: Nearly two-thirds of developers believed a mobile-first social startup would disrupt Facebook’s market share. To appeal to tech press, Trainer highlighted data showing that developers preferred Apple over Android, were dissatisfied with HTML5 and remained skeptical of Windows 8. One week before the survey results were released, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had publicly stated that the company bet wrong on HTML5, so Trainer also leveraged Zuckerberg’s statement to prime the press for Appcelerator’s survey results. From a quantitative perspective, in just four months, Trainer delivered 1,188 articles and significantly increased the quality of coverage. For example, Trainer secured a bylined business press article for Forbes and nine articles in business and broadcast media, including coverage in San Jose Mercury News, Seattle Times and The Wall Street Journal. Appcelerator saw nearly 3,000 downloads of its survey report and won The Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Award in the Software category and was included in The Wall Street Journal’s “Next Big Thing” list.

B E S T C A M PA I G N U N D E R $ 5 0 , 0 0 0

GOLD “Allied Minds’ Historic Public-Private Innovation Partnership” Savoir Media Allied Minds Inc. is a Boston-based private investment firm that previously helped university researchers commercialize their inventions. When federal laboratories and research centers working for the US Department of Defense (DoD) were exploring new ways of transferring technologies and commercializing their inventions, Allied Minds stepped up to the plate. To publicize its historic public-private partnerships with The Aerospace Corp., US RDECOM and NSWC Crane—three of the largest research centers and laboratories funded by the DoD— Savoir Media LLC embarked on a PR campaign. After interviewing each member of the partnership, Savoir developed a series of story angles focusing on various aspects of the partnerships: Business, investing, the US economy, politics, tech innovation and job creation. With a list of targeted media outlets, the team offered each reporter a different pitch on the news event, taking into account the outlet’s audience and the perspective the outlet would give the story. For example, Savoir pitched the Bloomberg News Washington bureau, which looks at politics and the economy through the lens of investors, to make the information digestible for a wide variety of business-oriented readers. Meanwhile, Time would expose a public policy-oriented audience to the content, The Boston Globe would reach local readers and CNBC’s Tyler Mathisen would discuss the intersection of Washington and Wall Street as it relates to the pitch. Later, when the embargo on the story lifted in early September, each member of the PR team was given ownership of a particular coverage area, as well as social media, while president, Christine Dunn, dealt with the bigger media outlets. On the launch date, Savoir had front-page coverage on Boston.com, the front page of The Boston Globe’s business section, homepage coverage on Time.com and stories on Forbes.com and Bloomberg. CNBC’s “Power Lunch” did an in-depth interview the next day. In the weeks that followed, nearly 70 traditional, online and broadcast media outlets covered the story. Posts reached over 20,000 Twitter followers and 1,751,405 LinkedIn members.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

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“Stratasys Asks the World ‘What’s Possible?’ with 3D Printing” Stratasys and Weber Shandwick

“Healing Hands for Arthritis” Fish Consulting and Massage Envy

Stratasys sells its 3D printers to a targeted segment of product designers, who use the technology to “print” high quality plastic models to test form, fit and function before manufacturing. The growth of the market, expected to reach $5.2 billion by 2020, demonstrated a need to support product PR with a stronger corporate brand, and Stratasys engaged its communications partner Weber Shandwick to establish its corporate brand as a leader in 3D printing among engineers and the broader community. Weber Shandwick used Stratasys’s Facebook page as a centralized content hub to tell stories of “what’s possible with 3D printing” and engage fans in a dialogue to share their ideas through surveys, polls and posts. The team developed the “Engineering a Difference” corporate storytelling campaign that took advantage of Stratasys’s virtual treasure trove of compelling stories, video and images, showcasing how 3D printing was changing the world. The signature campaign story centered on Emma Lavelle, a fouryear-old girl born with a disability that prevented her from using her arms. Doctors at a hospital in Delaware had used Stratasys technology to 3D-print a customized prosthetic for Emma—what the little girl called her “magic arms”—enabling her to play and hug for the very first time. A multimedia news release focused on the Emma story, while a video was posted on the Facebook page and syndicated across social channels including YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+ and the company blog. In addition, the team posted a variety of other inspirational stories of 3D printing throughout the month on Facebook, including how the technology was used to develop the next NASA Mars rover and how 3D printing was helping rural villages in Africa generate their own electricity. Polls and surveys were interspersed among the story posts to further engage users, asking questions including “How would you use 3D printing to change your world?” All in all, videos garnered 635,000 YouTube views in August, and Facebook fans increased by 78,669%, compared to previous month. The multimedia news release was accessed 6,000 times with more than 120 unique editorial features with over 2,000 syndications, resulting in 215 million impressions worldwide. Within two days of the campaign launch, the New York Observer and The Huffington Post published the Emma video and stories, setting off a flurry of social media sharing.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

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2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

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“Funny or Die” Miller PR

“Just because Facebook is going public doesn’t mean you have to; #GoPrivate with AbineS” RF|Binder

Created as a pet project of comedian, Will Ferrell, Funny or Die evolved into a profitable, mid-sized company. To gain recognition beyond its reputation as a light-humor website, Miller PR developed a strategic PR proposal that would tell the “real story” behind the entertainment studio’s successful business model. Messaging took shape through four tailored news stories for Hollywood, Silicon Valley, Wall Street and Madison Avenue press and broadcast media. The Hollywood story was dedicated to promoting Funny or Die as a 21st century production studio, while the advertising pitch discussed the company’s branded entertainment arm, which has major partnerships with Fortune 500 companies. For Silicon Valley, the team described how mainstream audiences flocked to digital comedy, and to Wall Street outlets, the successful business story behind Funny or Die came out. Miller PR worked with The Hollywood Reporter’s business editor, Paul Bond on an entertainment and tech themed story for its digital media issue—timed with CES. To correct the misconception that Ferrell ran the site, the team set up interviews with Funny or Die’s CEO, head of production, creative director and other founders of the company. They also invited the Reporter’s entertainment reporter to come on-set for a shoot. In tandem with this feature, Miller PR took a similar approach with advertising, business, broadcast and tech media, developing tailored stories and steering each reporter’s interest toward the executive team and their division’s growth. Topics included branded entertainment partnerships and creative production, and Funny or Die representatives got media training to speak to these issues. In all, the campaign secured a lead feature in The Hollywood Reporter’s digital issues, as well as features in The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Los Angeles Times, Variety, Media Post, Wired, Mashable, Paid Content and New York Magazine. The team also booked feature broadcast segments and CEO interviews on CNN, Bloomberg West and CNBC and secured CEO Dick Glover in Advertising Age’s “Entertainment A-List” annual feature.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

In April 2012, rumors began surfacing that Facebook was planning an initial public offering (IPO) for May. RF|Binder was tasked to help online privacy start-up Abine take advantage of Facebook’s impending IPO—to generate awareness among consumers for Abine’s online privacy solutions and establish the company as a thought leader in the field of online privacy. The campaign objective was to demonstrate that Facebook’s business model depends on its collection and use of users’ personal data. RF|Binder sought to connect with users by developing an interactive Web microsite: The “Facebook Val-You Calculator.” The tool would drive traffic to Abine’s larger website and highlight the value of Internet privacy. Based on a few simple questions about Facebook activity, the calculator used Facebook’s public filings to identify how much a user was worth in dollar figures. The “Just because Facebook’s going public doesn’t mean you have to. #GoPrivate” slogan was spread through the innovative Calculator and a Facebook privacy timeline infographic. Flash mob events in New York and San Francisco also spread fear of Facebook’s unwieldy power over information in the digital age and build Abine’s reputation as a fun and creative company. What’s more, news announcements and data analysis made it to the media, prior to the IPO, to make Abine a part of the Facebook story and ensure privacy concerns remained top of mind among media. RF|Binder’s campaign generated over 100 media placements in May alone and secured coverage with top-tier outlets, such as The Wall Street Journal and Computerworld. Several feature stories also appeared on Mashable, CNN, CNET and TechCrunch. The campaign also bolstered Abine’s spokespeople, with their expert quotes in 38 stories about how privacy concerns would ultimately impact Facebook’s valuation. The Facebook Val-You calculator was also included in more than 40 articles that directed consumers to Abine’s website and drove buzz among the industry and consumers, alike.

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HONORABLE MENTION “Look Ma, No Hands! Expert Members of IEEE Identify Driverless Cars As Most Viable Form of Intelligent Transportation, Dominating the Roadway by 2040 and Sparking Dramatic Changes In Vehicular Travel.” Finn Partners Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is the largest technical professional society in the world, and its members drive technological advancements that improve humanity through innovation in sustainability, computing/IT, robotics, consumer electronics and intelligent transport. The organization partnered with Finn Partners (FP) to showcase its thought leadership and elevate the IEEE’s visibility in these areas. Finn Partners established a strategy where each area of expertise became a “hot topic” and was the focus area of a two-month campaign. During this period, the PR team executed smaller pitch campaigns stemming from each major hot topic. One such minicampaign centered on intelligent transportation and infrastructure and focused on a prediction by IEEE members that by the year 2040, more than 75 percent of the vehicles on the road will be driverless cars. Armed with these expert perspectives, PR distributed a press release highlighting the fact that autonomous vehicles can enable improved, safer and faster traffic flow. The release took flight the day after Labor Day to coincide with the increased number of drivers on the road who were heading back to work after the official end of summer. An eye-catching infographic was included. FP also created a Facebook survey, which asked fans to speak on transportation of the future, commuting horror stories, common commuting practices and extreme commuting. The survey was promoted on the IEEE’s Twitter account. Both social media platforms, as well as Google+, were used to post content about intelligent transportation and infrastructure. Within a two-month period, Finn Partners secured more than thirtyfive placements in top tech trade publications, including MSN.com, Wired.com, CNN.com, SCPR.org/NPR and outlets in global target markets. IEEE also saw a 300 percent increase of inbound requests to the organization on this topic. In fact, the campaign even got automakers to take notice. Within one week of the campaign launch, IEEE and Finn Partners were both contacted by a General Motors representative about the prediction.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME

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GOLD “Felicia Day’s Geek & Sundry Launch” Miller PR Web series creator and actress Felicia Day was among the lucky group of creative types and companies chosen by Google YouTube to develop their own premium channel networks. Best known for her independent Web series, “The Guild,” Felicia Day formed a new company and premium channel called “Geek & Sundry,” dedicated to all things whimsical and geeky. Although landing the YouTube channel gig was a great victory in itself, YouTube did not promote any channel over the others, so Day called on Miller PR to make her shine. The “Geek & Sundry” channel was going head to head with some of the big names in media, so Miller PR’s main challenges was to elevate the independent artist above the more mainstream channels—and on a tight budget. To ensure that Day’s publicity really popped, the team decided to schedule key campaign milestones around WonderCon and Comic-Con—the perfect launch pads for the geek and chic spheres. However, rather than market the channel as a digital property, Miller PR focused on publicizing it to niche audiences as a TV network with a slate of individual shows. The team pinpointed key episodes that would draw the most attention from target media and drafted media advisory “tune-in” alerts that showcased talent with Q&As, previews and exclusive clips. They selected various target markets—“geek” viewers, entertainment fans, digital industry influencers, editors from Hollywood, Wall Street, Madison Avenue and Silicon Valley—and set to work. For the business media, they pitched Day’s expanding Web empire and pioneering in the digital space. For the advertising crowd, they positioned “Geek & Sundry” as a new platform for marketing to the geek market. To the tech world, the launch catered to YouTube and programming topics, and to blogs and mainstream media, they leveraged Day as the “chic geek.” At WonderCon and Comic-Con, Miller PR poured it on: Not only did they pre-brief the press, but the team also hosted a press-junket to provide top-tier media with one-on-one interviews with the channel executives and show talent. To maximize dialogue with audiences during each event, Miller PR conducted fan blog outreach through Twitter and Facebook. As a result of the PR push, Miller PR scored Day a major headline article in USA Today and high-visibility articles in Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Advertising Age, Washington Post, Wired, Paste, New York Magazine and others, as well as some ten broadcast interviews, which generated millions of new visitors to Day’s channel. Day was also profiled in The Hollywood Reporter’s “The Next Gen” list.

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“AKA Central Park Takes Glamping to Another Level with NYC’s First Outdoor Bedrooms” Quinn & Co

“Rallying for the Troops—and Their Caregivers” Havas PR North America

Many hotels boast a room with a view. So when AKA Central Park, the flagship property of AKA, a brand of luxury extended-stay hotels, wanted to showcase the penthouse suites’ outdoor wraparound terrace, a simple photograph of the landscape wouldn’t cut it. In an effort to give the PR campaign a twist, AKA sought the guidance of New York City-based Quinn & Co. Spreading the excitement about the hotel’s outdoor space—a rarity in NYC—and tapping into a broader market of consumers in need of luxury furnished residences, Quinn & Co. developed a concept based around the most welcoming way to spend time outdoors: Glamping. The PR team created New York’s first hotel outdoor bedroom—with a bed out on the penthouse terrace in front of the fireplace. Visitors would have the opportunity to sleep under the stars with an E-reader loaded with fireside stories, Maison du Chocolate s’mores and a telescope. The five-star camping and urban glamping experience also included a 42-inch TV and DVD player with classic, scary campside movies for families’ and couples’ viewing pleasure. With a limited budget, Quinn & Co. accomplished over 1 billion media impressions, including a Wall Street Journal feature based on the journalist’s entertaining and whimsical stay, as well as USA Today, New York Times, Travel + Leisure, CondeNastTravel.com and others. International coverage reached Ireland, UK, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Australia and Brazil.

Stand Up for Heroes, an annual star-studded fundraiser produced by the Bob Woodruff Foundation, honors wounded service members and their families. In November 2011, the foundation realized that just as important as honoring the soldiers was recognizing their caregivers. In an effort to acknowledge them for their hard work and sacrifices, Havas PR North America (@havaspr) helped lead the media charge to call attention to not only the country’s warriors but also those who stand behind them. For the Stand Up for Heroes program, @havaspr planned to increase coverage by reaching new sectors like military media, business outlets and even the fashion crowd. The team also wanted to illustrate the emotional stories of the veterans that the foundation helps while spotlighting foundation supporters. For the event itself, the campaign emphasized that the foundation brings together celebrities, wounded warriors and their caregivers. For the caregivers, @havaspr arranged what would be the crowning achievement: Partnering the Bob Woodruff Foundation with its supporters Sears, L’Oréal and Dior to give fashion and beauty makeovers to 50 female caregivers and wounded military service members. First, to get the campaign all off the ground, @havaspr drafted a release for international philanthropy editors and promoted the heroes honored that evening by sending targeted letters to localmarket media in the hometowns of the service members in attendance. Bob Woodruff and his wife, Lee, participated in interviews, and invitations for the pre-party were distributed. Throughout, the team used the foundation’s Facebook and Twitter accounts and website to display backup supporting material for the press. At the elegant event, a celebrity stylist dressed the 50 women to grace the red carpet. To record the events and to underscore the foundation’s message, @havaspr created a video of the makeovers for all parties to use on their websites. Between the makeovers and the hero stories, the November 2011 Stand Up for Heroes made more than 700 million media impressions. Top placements overall included “Access Hollywood,” Comedy Central, “Good Morning America,” The Huffington Post, The Nation, New York Observer, “Nightline,” NJ.com, Politico, Rolling Stone, The Village Voice, The Wall Street Journal and WCBS, plus numerous other broadcast segments and blog posts. The event and media expertise helped the Bob Woodruff Foundation raise about $2.2 million from one night for wounded warriors.

2013 BULLDOG AWARDS HALL OF FAME