Recognition for scholarships
Recognition for scholarships
Client: McDonald’s New York Tri-State Owners and Operators (Little
Falls, NJ)
Campaign:The MWW Group (East Rutherford, NJ)
Time Frame: Arching Into Education Scholarship Program
Budget: About dollars 60,000
After several years of donating cash for scholarships, the 200 owners
and operators of McDonald’s restaurants in the New York tri-state area
had little to show for it. The owners provide more than dollars 300,000
annually to students but consumers, educators and the media generally
believed the money was coming from the McDonald’s Corp., not the
franchisees.
’The tri-state McDonald’s owners and operators received very little
recognition for their effort,’ said Michael Kempner, president and CEO
of The MWW Group, the firm brought in to promote the scholarship
program.
Strategy
By speaking to local educators and conducting Internet research, MWW
learned that most local businesses, including McDonald’s competitors,
were not offering scholarships to area students. MWW set out to make it
clear that the McDonald’s owners were taking the lead in promoting
education.
Ultimately, Kempner said, their intention is to ’own’ education in the
tri-state area, which includes New York, northern New Jersey and
southern Connecticut.
Since the McDonald’s owners were offering the scholarship money through
several programs with different target populations and deadlines, MWW
persuaded them to bring together all the scholarships under one umbrella
- the Arching Into Education Scholarship Program.
Tactics
A six-week application drive was scheduled to launch on February 15 this
year. MWW started planning the program the previous December. The agency
developed a logo and made in-store materials available to the 600
tri-state area McDonald’s restaurants. It distributed posters and
applications to the 532 tri-state area high schools. It provided further
information through a web site (www.archingintoeducation.com) and an 800
number. ’There was an objective to make sure students in the area knew
about the program,’ Kempner explains.
To generate recognition for the restaurant owners’ support of education,
MWW targeted all tri-state television, radio and print media. The agency
produced a VNR that included an endorsement of the program from New York
University’s director of admissions. Restaurant owners and operators
appeared in the video.
MWW designed the program to reach each of the McDonald’s customer
segments, including those along ethnic lines. The agency contacted
African-American and Hispanic media outlets and distributed
Spanish-language program materials.
MWW also sought recognition on the political front, using its contacts
in local legislatures and Congress.
Results
At the end of the application drive, 50% more students applied for
scholarship funds than in the previous year - 18,000 in 1999 compared to
12,000 in 1998.
MWW estimates its media campaign reached nearly 12 million consumers in
the New York tri-state area. Segments ran on several television and
radio stations, including WNBC-TV 4, WNYW-TV FOX 5 and WFAN-AM. The
Arching Into Education program was highlighted in Hispanic and
African-American print publications, including the Amsterdam News and
the New York Beacon. Additionally, four McDonald’s owners were profiled
in New Jersey and New York newspapers.
’The amount of press coverage was more than (the owners) ever had,’
Kempner says.
News about the program reached an estimated 6.5 million people on the
Internet, including nearly 9,000 who clicked onto the web site.
Information about the program was also available through various
search-engines and financial and high-school newspaper sites.
The New Jersey state legislature passed a resolution honoring the
efforts of the McDonald’s restaurant owners. In Washington, DC, Rep.
Steven R.
Rothman (D-NJ) recognized the owners in remarks placed in the
Congressional Record.
Future
’This is the first year of what is meant to be a long-standing program,’
Kempner notes. In addition to expanding the program’s Internet presence,
the agency plans to increase its contacts with area guidance
counselors.
In the coming year, other educational programs sponsored by the
tri-state McDonald’s owners and operators, including summer reading
programs and health and safety campaigns, will be brought under the
Arching Into Education banner. - John Scorza
PRODUCT LAUNCH
New sunglasses get noticed
Client: Apollo Eye Gear (Needham, MA)
PR Team: Schneider & Associates (Boston)
Campaign: See Better, Play Better Day
Time Frame: August 1999
Budget: dollars 20,000 to dollars 25,000 (including props)
Who promotes sunglasses on a cloudy day? That was the question the folks
at Schneider & Associates braced themselves for when the day selected to
launch new client Apollo Eye Gear threatened to rain. But with careful
planning and the correct messaging, Schneider was able to turn an
overcast day into the ideal forum.
With Oakley, Revo, Ray Ban and Bolle already established within the
athletic sunglasses industry, Apollo was searching for a way to
distinguish itself.
The company, which was created in January 1999, developed a chemical
coating to filter out blue light on any color, shape and style of lens,
resulting in improved clarity and reduced eyestrain.
Strategy
Apollo and Schneider came up with the idea of an entire day - a ’See
Better, Play Better’ day - dedicated to the importance of wearing eye
protection, the dangers of the sun and how sunglasses help athletes
perform better.
Through preliminary research with reporters at eyewear and sporting
goods publications, Schneider learned that Apollo’s competitors were
claiming that their products help athletes perform better ’but no one
was proving it - there was no scientific data,’ says Josh Gitelson,
Schneider & Associates account supervisor. Apollo hired an independent
laboratory, whose test showed that Apollo’s clarity was 141% higher than
average.
Tactics
The PR team decided to hold the event outside, in a heavily traveled
retail area in Boston - near Apollo’s corporate headquarters. The
company had the world’s largest pair of working sunglasses built for the
event.
The glasses were eight feet high, 15 feet wide and 18 feet deep, and
doubled as a tradeshow booth and provided eye protection for people
standing behind them.
Schneider planned the day around the availability of Ken Griffey, Jr. of
the Seattle Mariners, an endorser and designer of the sunglasses. Local
and national ophthalmology organizations were invited to bring eye
doctors to answer questions.
But with the forecast calling for rain, Schneider had to formulate an
alternative plan. ’We had to make sure that our message reflected that
sunglasses are important in any condition,’ says Gitelson.
The day of the event, Schneider staff handed out flyers, T-shirts and
cups to people as they got off the subway near the event. A deejay drove
traffic by playing tunes such as ’Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You’ and
’Sunny Afternoon.’
Results
It poured the morning of the event, then cleared off as the event was
scheduled to start. ’The less than ideal weather was a blessing,’ says
Gitelson. ’People couldn’t go to the beach, so they did back-to-school
shopping instead.’
The event drew between 1,500 and 2,000 attendees. Five out of six major
TV stations covered See Better, Play Better Day, including ABC, CBS, WB,
UPN, and FOX. The Boston Herald also ran a full-sized photo the next day
of the event. Schneider is still waiting to see the coverage that
appeared in monthlies.
’Our team of sales reps have heard about this event from customers who
suddenly know about Apollo,’ says Michael Burkette, VP of sales and
marketing for Apollo.
Future
Schneider is continuing to pitch the larger Apollo story to trade and
vertical publications, and with the holidays approaching, is also
pursuing coverage in holiday gift guides. In 2000, it plans on holding
See Better, Play Better Days in other cities, where it will bring in
tennis and golf athletes.
As for the giant sunglasses, Schneider & Associates submitted them to
the Guinness Book of World Records, but it discovered there were no
entries for that category; the PR team awaits a final decision on
inclusion of sunglasses. - Rebecca Flass
CORPORATE BRANDING
Kinko’s launches ’ideas’ awards
Client: Kinko’s (Ventura, CA)
PR Team: Duffey Communications (Atlanta)
Campaign:’Express Yourself’ branding campaign
Time Frame: January to July 1999
Budget: dollars 75,000 (agency fees and collateral materials for
stores)
Seven months of customer research revealed that Kinko’s, customers
actually think of the retailer as a resource to express their ideas and
information rather than just a place to do some photocopying. Based on
this study, the company decided to reposition itself from one based on
offices and machines to one focused on its relationship with its
customers, emphasizing the benefits of its various services. The change
shaped up as the company’s ’most ambitious and comprehensive brand
strategy ever,’ a spokesperson says.
Strategy
In planning the branding campaign, Kinko’s developed a dollars 40
million integrated marketing effort, including a new ad campaign, a new
web site, in-store merchandising and promotion and public relations
initiatives - all under the theme of ’Express Yourself.’ Fast-growing
businesses rely on clear communication, and ’Kinko’s is primed to become
a key player,’ says Ellen Turner, Kinko’s senior vice president of
marketing and sales. ’We have the people and tools to help our customers
visually communicate their ideas.’ The overall campaign, she says,
highlights how people communicate in ’difficult, challenging or
surprising situations.’
Tactics
Following the January campaign launch, which included a series of
humorous TV spots, Kinko’s implemented the PR phase in March to generate
further awareness. At the focal point was a Kinko’s ’Express Yourself’
Awards program. Its objective was to recognize people who have dedicated
themselves through self-expression to ’enriching and inspiring’ others
to excel in four categories: sports, arts, media and education.
Posters and point-of-sale materials, with design elements consistent
with Kinko’s new brand position, were developed for all of the company’s
stores. Its web page also featured promotional announcements and enabled
contestants to file their entries online or at any of the company’s more
than 900 stores. Nominators, including third parties, were asked to tell
in 300 words how their nominee had enriched the lives of others through
self-expression in the selected category. Judging was based half on the
inspirational qualities of the message and half on the scope and quality
of the work in helping others.
Celebrity judges included Entertainment Tonight’s Mary Hart, Chicago
White Sox designated hitter Frank Thomas and University of South
Carolina basketball coach Lou Holtz. The winners were announced in
August. Kinko’s awarded dollars 10,000 in grants among the four winners
- including seven-year-old Bradford Smith of Santa Maria, CA (see left)
- to continue their work and honored them with an awards ceremony in
their hometowns.
Results
Hundreds of entries were received, generating substantial publicity and
coverage by newspapers and TV in the winners’ hometowns of Little Rock,
AR; Melbourne, FL; Santa Maria, CA; and Cedar Rapids, MI.
Future A similar awards program has been incorporated in Kinko’s
’Partnership in Education’ program, which was reintroduced in September.
- Alvin M. Hattal.
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