Draft, DDB Win Top Tempo Awards

Draft and DDB took top honors last month at the Chicago Association of Direct Marketing’s Tempo Awards.

Seventy-five awards in 15 categories were presented during a ceremony at Navy Pier during the 50th annual Chicago DM Days & Expo.

For the second year in a row, Draft won the “best in show” Past President’s Award, this time for a direct response campaign category entry for DeVry Inc.’s DeVry University.

“Your Best Career Move” was created to enhance the image of DeVry as a full-fledged university, not just a technical school. Goals included increasing the cost-efficiency of lead generation and decreasing cost-per-lead by 10% vs. the average lead costs for the control. The ongoing campaign, launched last June, consists of seven humorous spots using a narrator who introduces a different “hero” — representative of the target audience — in each, and features a call-to-action number. The new campaign beat the goal by cutting DeVry’s cost-per-lead by 12%.

The fourth annual Jay Gondelman Award went to DDB’s campaign for Home Depot which was entered in the e-mail advertising category. “The Home Depot Do-it-Herself Workshop” took first place for marketing results in that category.

The e-mailing was sent to more than 900,000 consumers, primarily female home improvement enthusiasts. The messages offered a free CD-ROM for registering online and attending the do-it-herself workshop. Because this was a first-time event, there were no benchmarks. However, results were better than anticipated, generating an ROI of 2,942 percent and making this one of Home Depot’s most successful marketing campaigns ever.

The awards drew over 190 entries. “The Tempo committee based our goals on the assumption that a reinvigorated Chicago direct marketing economy could translate into increased entries,” said Maggie Pelletier, vice president and account director for Euro RSCG 4D, and chair of the 2004 awards program. “We specifically looked to attract organizations beyond those that regularly enter. We’re thrilled that many organizations entering for the first time added to the list of loyal entrants.”

Other highlights:

• The Marketing Store won first-place awards for both creative achievement and marketing results in three categories: consumer direct mail ($400-per-thousand or more), for Nissan Canada; dimensional mailings, for a self-promotion; and loyalty/frequency marketing, also for Nissan Canada.

• State Farm Insurance took both first-place awards in the business direct mail ($500-per-thousand or more) category, for “Hallmark Loyalty for State Farm Insurance.”

• Anderson Lithograph won both firsts in consumer space advertising for DDB Chicago/State Farm Insurance.

• Draft won 16 awards overall, Euro RSCG 4D 12, The Marketing Store 12, Foote, Cone & Belding 8 and iLeo 7.