Belgium-based Karamba took home the Best of Europe prize during the first round of judging for the ninth annual World Pro Awards of Excellence, which honor the best promotional campaigns from around the world.
Directed by promo Magazine and produced in conjunction with the Association of Promotion Marketing Agencies Worldwide (APMA), the awards were presented at an April ceremony held in Brussels. Judges were the guests of the Sales Promotion Consultancy Association of Belgium, in association with the Belgian trade magazines PUB and Media Marketing.
The European portion of this year’s awards program attracted a record 144 entries, as agencies from Belgium, Holland, Spain, Scotland, England, Germany, Israel, Italy, and Norway submitted work. Norway was a newcomer to the competition.
European Gold winners automatically become finalists for the global World PRO Awards, which will be presented in September at PROMO Expo in Chicago.
Karamba earned three Gold PRO awards and one Silver for a campaign it developed for beer maker Interbrew that introduced the Rolling Rock brand in Belgium.
The program offered bar owners self-supporting promotions to run in their establishments between April and December. By focusing on specific dates and events in American history, Karamba had patrons sending Happy Birthday postcards to President Clinton and vying to win an acre on the moon and their weight in turkey. The program attracted more than 400 participating bars, all of which agreed to continue selling Rolling Rock in 1999. Volume goals also greatly exceeded targets.
TRIAL GENERATION: Clarke Hooper plc (U.K.) for Wella
LOYALTY/CONTINUITY: CP Comunicacion (Spain) for Cepsa Lubricantes
IMAGE/AWARENESS: Karmba (Belgium) for Interbrew
DISPLAY ACTIVITY: The Yellow Submarine (U.K.) for Joshua Wedgewood & Sons
TRAFFIC BUILDING: Direct Company (Holland) for ETOS BV
USAGE/LOADING: Clarke Hooper plc (U.K.) for Volvo; Biggart Donald (U.K.) for Bacardi/Martini Ltd.
ACCOUNT-SPECIFIC: J. Walter Thompson Total Cmcn (Spain) for Grupo Navidul
DIRECT DATABASE: CP Comunicacion (Spain) for ASISA
DEALERS/SALES FORCE: Clarke Hooper plc (U.K.) for Cellnet
INTERACTIVE: Grupo K Comunicacion (Spain) for Elida Faberge
USE OF MEDIA: Clarke Hooper plc (U.K.) for IT Computers
CONCEPT: Biggart Donald Scotland Ltd. (U.K.) for Reebok
ART DIRECTION: Think 4 Sale (Spain) for R.J. Reynolds Iberia
COPYWRITING: Clarke Hooper plc (U.K.) for IT Computers
INTEGRATED MARKETING: Product Marketing International Gmbh (Germany) for Kraft Jacobs Suchard; Clarke Hooper plc (U.K.) for Wella.