Cause marketing rarely gets better than this: The History Channel’s “Save Our History” campaign raised the bar on the ideal intersection of a brand with a compelling need that appealed to both consumers and a consortium of partners.
The two-year-old initiative, sponsored by the cable network, supports the preservation of historic buildings and artifacts throughout the U.S. This national campaign, executed for under $1 million, had heavy-hitting star power in 2004 — including First Lady Laura Bush and “America’s Mayor” Rudolph Giuliani as its advocates.
“Save Our History” earned five Emmy Awards for The History Channel last year, as well as the Governor’s Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. In November, it received a Gold PRO Award for Best Idea from PROMO.
Last month, The History Channel and its agency Civic Entertainment Group took home their latest prize: the Super Reggie Award from the Promotional Marketing Association. At an awards dinner held during its annual meeting, PMA’s judges honored the program’s creativity and results.
Civic created an integrated brand promotion that would “ignite passion among its core audiences, generate incremental national ad revenue and provide cable affiliates with meaningful opportunities to connect with influencers in their hometowns and publicize their commitment to the local communities,” according to David Cohn, a Civic partner.
The agency secured Bush for three TV promo spots filmed at the White House. Giuliani, as well as actors George Lopez and Mekhi Phifer, also appeared in spots that could be tagged by local sponsors. Online and e-mail campaigns leveraged this star power to build interest among teachers, students and preservationists. The e-mail component of the campaign reached more than 100,000 history teachers, and was followed by a Save Our History educator’s manual, as well as special curriculum available online or via mail. (To date, the manual has been used by 17,000 teachers and 350,000 students in 50 states and the District of Columbia.)
At the core of Save Our History is a $250,000 grant program to fund community preservation projects. History Channel partnered with the Rockefeller Philanthropic Associates and the Association of State and Local History to ensure quality and participation. It also brought in Bank of America and home-improvement chain Lowe’s as multi-million dollar sponsors, ringing up $7 million in incremental ad revenue.
Other partners included USA Today Weekend, which published a Save Our History series that reached 200 million readers, and Fairmount Hotels, which invested $250,000 to promote heritage tourism based from its properties.
It’s been a good year for Civic Entertainment Group. The New York City-based agency rode high during the Republican National Convention last summer with its work for another television client. The CNN Diner, housed on the premises of a real landmark eatery directly across the street from the convention center, became the on-air and real-life crossroads of media and politics during the week (October PROMO).
For a complete list of the PMA’s 2005 Reggie Award winners in all categories, visit pmalink.org or promomagazine.com/news.
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