We feel a little guilty every year after judging our Entertainment Marketing Awards.
There are always at least a few entries we really like that don’t win awards. That makes us lament the fact that the EMMAs don’t have any second-place prizes or finalist round.
So I’ll devote this space once again to providing highlights from some other entries — small details, mainly, but the kind of things that get a campaign noticed by consumers (and awards judges).
A Cause with Paws: USA Network’s campaign for the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show included a celebrity-studded silent auction. The affair raised $275,000 for the National Association of Search and Rescue, which supports emergency canine units. All marketing attempts to address Sept. 11 should have been this understated and appropriate.
Different Kind of Green: At a time when most other automakers were hell-bent on “zero money down” initiatives, Kia (with help from agency EastWest Creative) dangled Shrek videos to produce its most successful test-drive promotion ever. Rosie O’Donnell plugged the offer on her show two straight days.
Spreading the Word: USA Network’s efforts for the U.S. Open included the delivery of bagels and branded tennis balls to 150 summer houses in Long Island’s toney Hamptons.
Silky Sounds: Procter & Gamble’s Pantene shampoo (with the help of marketing shop Alliance) asked teen girls to submit recordings of their original songs. From the 3,000-plus entries, the brand selected five potential starlets to perform in a New York City concert and on a promotional CD.
Not-so-strange Bedfellows: Sci-fi geeks played nicely with hard-rock freaks when Impact Marketing aligned syndicated series Stargate SG-1 with emerging hardcore band P.O.D. Who knew?
Serving Two Masters: Discovery Communications’ Animal Planet Rescue tour kept getting interrupted when its centerpiece vehicle had to be dispatched to actual emergencies (in its partnership with the American Humane Association). Agency CMI created a full-scale exposition featuring a mini-theater, veterinary clinic, and kid zone that kept the show hopping whenever the truck was called away.
Shooting Blanks: A partnership with game site Uproar.com helped the Game Show Network gain a whopping 1.3 million entries into a sweeps promoting Match Game.
Hey, any promo that prominently features Gene Rayburn is OK in our book.
Acceptance Speeches
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A special thanks to Anne Globe and the folks at Dream-Works for designing this month’s cover. Last May, Universal’s Beth Goss supplied the glove worn by Jim Carrey in Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas for our cover shot, and we worried we might not be able to rival that coup. Now, the pressure is double for 2003.
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Speaking of pressure: The Promotion Marketing Association has been gracious enough since 2000 to let us present the EMMAs at its annual Star Power show in Los Angeles. Last year, I complained from the podium about again being scheduled right after the conference’s celebrity keynote — trust me, you don’t want to follow either Peter Farrelly or Garry Marshall to the microphone.
Someone apparently was listening — namely Rick Murray, the Country Music Association’s senior director of strategic marketing. So this year, Megan Berry (PROMO’s national sales director) and myself will be presenting alongside MCA Nashville artist Lee Ann Womack. I think that makes the pressure worse. But it should be fun.
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Switching topics somewhat: The best part about BMW of North America winning PMA’s Super Reggie was listening to consumer communications manager Patrick McKenna’s speech as he accepted the award. You don’t often hear the personal side of the campaign story. We were so impressed we asked him to write a column for us. You can find it on page 35.
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