2008 Ex Award Winners: Best Activation Of A Cause Sponsorship

Best Activation Of A Cause Sponsorship

Ex Award
Campaign: Warriors in Pink
Client: Ford Motor Co.
Agency: Team Detroit

The color pink has never looked so hot thanks to Ford a national series sponsor of Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure for 14 years and its Warriors in Pink campaign. The campaign which launched its second season last October with breast cancer awareness month is the broadest breast cancer awareness initiative for Ford which throughout the years has donated more than $90 million in cash and in-kind donations to the cause.

Ford maintains a presence at each of the 117 races in the series with branded tents flags banners and of course Ford vehicles. Many races feature Warriors in Pink-branded pace cars. A Ford scarf distributed at events is a coveted collector’s item. But according to Crystal Greene manager of sponsorships and alliances for Ford “Nothing really compares to the race effect the solidarity the fight in everybody—men women and children. We wanted to take that community and spread it to the national stage.”

Despite a challenging business environment Warriors in Pink last year fired on all cylinders. “The Warriors in Pink team has grown ” Greene says. “We’re really proud of the program and hope that consumers understand in addition to our quality and smart products the heart of Ford as well.”

An all-new men’s and women’s apparel and accessories collection designed with symbols of hope strength and unity in the commitment to the fight were sold on fordcares.com with 100 percent of net proceeds upwards of $500 000 going to Komen. Ford also launched the first vehicle designed to support the cause a 2008 Warriors in Pink Mustang. Produced in a limited edition of 2 500 units the vehicle was available for order through local Ford dealers across the country with $250 from the sale of each car going directly to the Komen organization.

But it didn’t stop there. Two-time Grammy and  “American Idol” winner Kelly Clarkson was the face of the campaign. She and celebrities Toby Keith David Arquette and the casts of “Grey’s Anatomy ” “House ” “The Young and the Restless” and “General Hospital” signed and decorated limited-edition 1/18th scale models of the Warriors in Pink Mustang which were auctioned during October on eBay with all proceeds benefiting the organization. Ford also partnered with NBC’s “Deal or No Deal” in a special episode that aired on Oct. 19 that also had the models wearing Warriors in Pink apparel and scarves in print ads. Warriors in Pink also created a MySpace profile page launching an online community of Warriors. Ford worked with Essence magazine to create a Warriors in Pink microsite on essence.com and through local Susan G. Komen affiliates launched a Hispanic outreach campaign.

By any measure Ford is looking pretty in pink. The campaign drove 810 000 visits to fordcares.com more than half of the 2008 allocation of Mustangs were ordered by December and 52 percent of race attendees indicated a more favorable opinion of the Ford brand. Total media impressions topped 500 million.

Gold Award
Campaign: Neighborhood MVP
Client: The Home Depot
Agency: Octagon 

The Home Depot and the NFL partnered to recognize local athletic leadership while simultaneously building excitement among store associates and consumers.

The brand selected 17 players from NFL markets to be judged by a blue ribbon panel made up of retired NFL players and staff and Home Depot execs which narrowed it down to eight finalists. Consumers then voted online and narrowed it down to one winner who was announced at a press conference during Super Bowl XLII week. Each of the 17 contestants received a field refurbishment or playground build valued at $50 000; the eight finalists received an additional $2 500 donation to their charity of choice and the winner received $25 000 for their charity and recognition at the Super Bowl. The Home Depot also honored one of its store associates as the Associate Neighborhood MVP.

The winners of the Consumer and Associate Neighborhood MVPs received an all-expense paid trip to the Super Bowl.

The program had positive results all around. The 17 communities received 13 field refurbishments three playground builds and one community center. A total of 2 100 Home Depot associates participated and donated 12 750 community service hours to 139 000 children and families. Consumers cast 105 000 votes online for their favorite MVP finalist and the program received 213 million media impressions.

Silver Award
Campaign: Road to a Cleaner America
Client: Honda
Agency: Maritz Interactions

Honda teamed up with nonprofit group Keep America Beautiful and its own dealerships across the country in an effort to keep the nation’s streets roads and highways clean. Road to a Cleaner America brought Honda corporate management district management dealers and staff as well as KAB staff and volunteers together to clean litter and debris from highways and to plant trees to improve the environment around major roads. Dealers in conjunction with local KAB affiliates competed to see who could achieve the greatest number of road and highway miles cleaned or beautified the greatest number of volunteers recruited and the most pounds of litter and debris collected. A $40 000 grant and trophy was awarded to the winning KAB affiliate at the KAB National Conference in December.

The Cleaner America initiative included a website that laid out Honda’s environmental policies and provided entry into an online sweepstakes. The 2007 Grand Prize was a Honda Civic Hybrid.
Live events across the country kicked off the program. At the Los Angeles national kickoff event Accord and Civic Hybrids were on display and Hillary Clinton Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and celebrity-activists Ed Begley Jr. and Daryl Hannah attended along with 2 500 people. In New Orleans Honda donated and displayed a Ridgeline truck for the 1 200 volunteers dedicated to Katrina restoration activities. And in New York City a kickoff event was held at the Military Triangle in Times Square for thousands of attendees.

In 2007 164 dealerships participated an increase of 28 percent from the previous year. Brand exposure was felt through a variety of media venues including kab.org hondacleanup.com and  participating dealership websites Associated Press broadcasts nationwide advertisements placed by KAB and coverage in local newspapers and on local broadcasts. The 2007 sweepstakes collected 20 473 names.