Bronze Winners - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

Brandweek, March 12, 2001

NATIONAL CONSUMER PROMOTION [OVER $6,000,000]

BE THE ULTIMATE POKEMON MASTER

MARKETER: Kellogg

AGENCY: Draft Worldwide, Chicago.

With Pokemon fever still raging in fall 2000, Kellogg successfully connected with kids by leveraging an interactive collectible promotion with 24 different characters to drive multiple purchases across its portfolio. Spinners found their way into licensed Pokemon cereal; glow-in-the-dark key chains mixed into Rice Krispies Treats; PopTarts with character-shaped sprinkles saw metallic figurines; offers for shaped syrup pourers hit packages of Eggo Waffles and CD-ROMs on NutriGrain Bars, while Snack 'Ums dangled Pokemon character tattoos. Media support covered tiered pr efforts, three TV spots, two print ads, FSIs, package splashes and in-store materials.

A watch-and-win contest on KidsWB encouraged youths to tune in to Pokemon on Sept. 8-9 and then cite specific show content in sweeps entries. Grand prize: A Volkswagen Beetle tricked out as a Pikachu car. Game Boy Color sets and cartridges went to lesser winners. Viral marketing efforts extended the contest's reach via e-cards that kids could send to their friends, plus trivia and online games.

A school program with Pokemonthemed activities hyped nutrition, while account-specific efforts allowed retailers to offer back-to-school kits or Nintendo 64 Game Paks, with purchases of Kellogg products, leading to double-digit increases in display activity Overall volume was four times larger than projected.

NATIONAL CONSUMER PROMOTION ($3,000,000 TO-$6,000,000]

DRED STACKING 2000

MARKETER: Nabisco

AGENCY: The Promotion Network, Dallas

Oreo has been encouraging kids to play with their food for years, but the leading cookie took to the big time by teaming its cookie-stacking events with Major League Baseball last May. Contests at more than 14,000 stores saw challengers 6 to 12 years old vying to stack as many cookies as they could in 30 seconds.

By midseason, Nabisco turned up anticipation by stamping baseball diamonds, gloves, bats and helmet shapes onto the cookies, right about the time Ken Griffey Jr. and Derek deter appeared on pack and in POP. Print ads in Sports Illustrated for Kids, Boy's Life, Girl's Life, Nickelodeon and Little League Magazine built awareness, while in-store displays with the two All-Stars dangled a grand prize trip to the World Series. Direct mail to previous players offered Oreo tattoos.

Store winners got an Oreo baseball and the top 80 finalists faced off in regionals at ballparks in Atlanta, Chicago (Cubs), Philadelphia and Los Angeles. The top 16 were flown to New York for the finals at the ESPN Zone where they met Griffey and attended game three of the World Series.

Press coverage, appearances by the top champs on Fox Family Channel, the CBS Morning Show and a spike in total sales were among the residuals Oreo reaped from one of its biggest promos.

NATIONAL CONSUMER PROMOTION (UNDER $3,000,000]

MGD BLIND DATE

MARKETER: Miller Brewing

AGENCY: Zipatoni Co., St. Louis

MGD Blind Date had been the hot concert ticket for three years running, but the clutter of music promos was broaching on Blind Date territory--in other categories, not just via rival beers.

To pack more punch, Miller Brewing and Zipatoni focused on bars, nightclubs and festivals, to tie the "Genuine Opportunity" tagline to MGD Blind Date Nights, where patrons could turn an average night out into a chance to see an exclusive concert. Band Name Match Cards distributed on-premise gave consumers a one in four chance of winning Blind Date merchandise. Some events featured Internet kiosks with digital cameras that enabled patrons to register online and e-mail postcards of themselves to friends.

Attached to these messages were details about how recipients could register for Blind Date, which quadrupled entries last year over 1999. Live radio remotes, POP, radio and print ads built a 75% brand recognition among 21-27 year-old consumers in core markets and enabled Miller to give 90% of MGD Blind Date tickets away via on-premise.

LOCAL, REGIONAL OR TARGET/ETHNIC MARKET PROMOTION [OVER $500.000]

SEIZE THE NIGHT

MARKETER: Milky Way, M&M/Mars

AGENCIES: KBA and Draft Worldwide, Chicago (promos, sampling, nightlife events); InterCollegiate Communications, Leonia, N.J. (spring break sampling)

Dark chocolate's appeal may be growing, but M&M/Mars knew that teens and young adults associated it with bitter-tasting baking chocolate, a perception that has depressed sales of Milky Way Dark. A rebranding effort resulted in dubbing the product "Milky Way Midnight" and styling it as an underground, alternative candy bar. The candy giant tied into nightlife with "Carpe Noctem" (Seize the Night) print and billboard ads. Midnight Riders--black leather-clad ambassadors on Harleys--hit nightspots frequented by its 18-21 year-old target to distribute samples, T-shirts, glow watches and hats.

Midnight Concessionaires roamed bars, clubs and lounges selling the candy with the cool association rubbing off on the brand. Menus and table tents made the brand part of the environment, while Mars sponsored DJs, concerts and holiday parties. On the Web, seizethenight.com offered updates on the club scene. Spring break sampling culminated with a Webcast of Midnight Mayhem concerts broadcast from venues in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. Tickets to the private concerts were available from radio stations and the Midnight Riders. Sales jumped 25% after the repositioning and Milky Way Midnight's awareness reached 60% of its target market.