Best Activation of a Cause Sponsorship/Tie-in

Program Name: Aquarius Spring! Road Trip
Client: Coca-Cola Co.
Agency: ignition

One look at the colorful Aquarius Spring! bus during its 20-week road trip may have had you thinking that the Age of Aquarius had surely dawned. But actually, the vegetable-oil powered, retrofit school bus, complete with roof-top solar panels and a generator for powering its TV monitor, wireless microphone and other high-tech doodads, was the centerpiece of an effort by Coca-Cola and its Aquarius Spring! water brand to educate consumers on the importance of water conservation and help communities at local watershed cleanup events. And to offer a taste of Aquarius Spring! to the thirsty volunteers along the way, naturally.

The tour, which launched last June, targeted consumers, retail customers and community organizations; provided funding and mobilized volunteers for local watershed efforts; and introduced the Aquarius Spring! brand as a unique proposition with a meaningful cause. The tour traveled to Atlanta, Boise, ID, Charlotte, NC, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, NC, and Tampa.

The bus appeared at local cleanup events in various tour markets and at grocery retail outlets, but these weren’t just “sampling” events. While bottles of the water were on hand for trial, the focus of the events remained on education and engagement. Consumers were encouraged to learn about water conservation and recycling, engage with local nonprofit partners in attendance and to volunteer for their watershed cleanups. Retail events were hosted a week in advance of cleanups so the non-profits could best leverage the additional exposure they gained there.

The Aquarius bus served as the backdrop for media events, cleanups and retail activations, attracting the attention of passersby. It was also used as environmentally friendly market-to-market transportation for tour staff. A brightly colored tent, table with branded tablecloth, banners, a branded tanker with ice cold product, a DVD player and speaker also helped set the scene as a video looped on TV monitors throughout the footprint educating consumers on the global water crisis and Aquarius Spring’s message of Donate, Hydrate, Participate. An interactive website recapped tour highlights and provided further consumer education on water conservation and preservation.

The cleanup events removed three tons of sea trash from Peconic Bay and 2,600 pounds of trash from the Los Angeles River. But that was just for starters. The tour enlisted 13 local non-profit partner organizations and engaged 34,000 consumers. More than 12,000 people got hands-on and participated in the cleanups. In all, 37 tons of trash was removed from rivers, creeks, lakes and marshes. Maybe it really is the age of Aquarius!
 

Program Name: Ask.com Safe Search Schools
Client: Ask.com
Agency: Taylor

To generate awareness among families and schools about its Safe Search Schools Internet safety program, which rewarded students and schools that embraced the program, ask.com leveraged its NASCAR sponsorship to reach a wider audience in Atlanta, Dallas, Richmond, VA, and Charlotte, NC. It also partnered with Web Wise Kids, a national non-profit organization dedicated to youth Internet safety.

Lesson plans were developed to foster dialogue about Internet safety among teachers, students and parents. To enter the recognition program, students created an internet-safety lesson to educate their peers. A blue ribbon panel judged the entries and rewarded one school in each market with $10,000 for technology improvements. Ask.com-sponsored NASCAR driver and former champ Bobby Labonte drove the student with the winning lesson plan to school.

The NASCAR tie-in propelled the brand and its message into the media, resulting in more than 75 million media impressions, including CNN “Headline News,” “Fox & Friends” and “Raceday” on the SPEED channel. The message was also spread on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Ask.com received an 11 percent bump in weekly website traffic during and after the program.

Program Name: Cheesecake Factory: Drive Out Hunger Tour
Client: The Cheesecake Factory
Agency: Stage Active Brand Marketing

To get food to families during these tough economic times, the Cheesecake Factory and Feeding America, a national domestic hunger-relief charity, took to the road on the Drive Out Hunger tour. The 30-city tour kicked off in September during Hunger Action Month with an event at the Cheesecake Factory headquarters with a special appearance by actor David Arquette, Feeding America’s Entertainment Council chairman.

A microsite, thecheesecakefactory.com/share, where consumers could upload their photos, extended the reach beyond tour stops. The pictures became part of a large mosaic as a reminder that everyone is part of the “big picture” in the fight against hunger. The microsite also included videos and donation tallies. A Twitter feed and Facebook page with daily updates and photo/video uploads from tour managers, event visitors and Cheesecake Factory diners also helped spread the word.

The tour visited 30 cities in 30 days. As it came to a close, all Cheesecake Factory restaurants nationwide invited guests to support their local food bank with its You Dine, We Donate event. The program generated more than 641 million media impressions.