Donna's Promo Talk - Promotional Marketing that Creates Excitement and Gets Results

Live from Day 1 of PMA's 33rd Annual Marketing Law Conference

I'm back in Chicago again to attend PMA's 33rd Annual Marketing and Law Conference which is being held this year at the Marriott Hotel on Michigan Ave. Tuesday was day one of this two-day conference which held up to it's promise to provide the attendees with the things we need to know to comply with the fast changing world of promotion and advertising laws, regulations and government enforcement policies.

It was an extremely warm day for mid-November in Chicago which I unfortunately got to experience very little time outside to enjoy it. However, it was well worth it.

The morning kicked off with Bonnie Carlson, President of PMA, reviewing 100 years of Marketing Law. Yes, PMA is celebrating it's 100 anniversary and Bonnie has been a big part of helping to make PMA what it is today. There aren't many marketing related organizations that can say that they've been around for 100 years. Bonnie reviewed some of the organization's history. It first started out as the association for marketers offering premium offers such as Coca-Cola items and Hess trucks, that have become big collectible items. The association has come a long way since then.

Ron Urbach, Partner, Davis & Gilbert, LLP, was our first general session speaker which he has held this spot for many years. Ron always gives a very entertaining and informative presentation and this again lived up to our expectations. His session was titled "Brave New World: Exploring the Rapidly Changing Commercial and Legal Landscape" in which he reviewed with us the basic truths in surviving in today's changing world.

Truth #1 is "Data - the fuel that powers business". Basically data is today's currency for business and the more that businesses learn to use the data effectively, the more successful they will be. Companies need to be more transparent about their data practices and consumers need to be given more simplified choices on how they want their data used.

The other truths Ron disclosed included discussions on how: The 1st amendment is the first defense; We are becoming the wallet-less economy; Regulators need to understand the speed of change; Both consumers and technology shape today's marketplace. To summarize, we need to prepare for more than one future because it's coming all too quickly.

After a morning "refreshment break" we were treated to hearing from both this year's conference co-chair and sweepstakes diva, Linda Goldstein, Partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. Linda's fast-paced, extremely informative session titled "What's New in the Game Today - New Twists on Traditional Sweeps, Contests and Promotions" was again the highlight of the conference, especially for my business.

Linda reviewed with us the basics on sweepstakes and contest promotions with an emphasis this year on the social media and mobile platforms that are popular today. She first reviewed Facebook which included a simple explanation of Facebook's promotional guidelines. The three conditions that you can include is requiring Liking a brand page to participant, asking participants to check into a "Place", and using a 3rd party application to feature the promotion. You can't automatically enter someone into a sweepstakes by liking the page or having them vote by clicking the Like button and you can't notify winners on Facebook.

For Twitter their guidelines state that you should discourage creating multiple accounts and asking participants to post the same tweet repetitively. Also brands should avoid creating sweepstakes that award a participant who re-tweets a post the most times. Linda's advice is to include in your official rules that the tweets must include the sponsor's hashtag and to state that you prohibit use of the hashtag for any other purpose. There were cases sited in which a hashtag was highjacked and used to promote negative comments regarding the brand.

Linda's presentation then went into the mobile space and reviewed both Foursquare location based sweepstakes as well as QR codes as a form of entry. She stated that the debate regarding whether these sweepstakes need an alternate means of entry (AMOE) is now raging. Most say that data and text rates are lower than the cost of postage since most people have unlimited text and data plans. However, best practice is still to offer an AMOE since these charges are still deemed as consideration. Many brands though are doing these without the AMOE since this is considered a low risk without any challenges to date.

I could go on and on to include more details that Linda shared with us, but I also want to highlight a few things discussed in the afternoon social media session that included a panel of speakers representing the advertiser's, agency's and platform's point of view. Susan Cooper from Facebook reviewed why they require a 3rd party application to run sweepstakes and contest promotions. Susan stated that the Facebook platform is a window into the brand's platform and that it's the brand's promotion that Facebook adds sharing features to. Facebook does update it's guidelines based on comments and questions it receives and helps people and developers keep abreast of their updates via their Facebook Site Governance page and directly though advertising account reps.

It's been a full day which included more detail that I can mention here along with some great networking with the opportunity to meet people in the real world (not via social networks). Tomorrow is another day with a session that is based specifically on mobile that I'm really looking forward to.

The question asked to the social media panel today was what's the future of social media? Susan Cooper from Facebook said "The future is tomorrow and we'll find the answer tomorrow". So what do you think tomorrow will bring?

PMA's 33rd Annual Marketing Law Conference will be the Social Event

Here we are just about three weeks away from PMA's 33rd Annual Marketing and Law Conference which is back again at the Marriott Hotel on the infamous Michigan Ave. in Chicago. This two-day conference, Nov. 15 and 16, promises to provide the attendees with the things we need to know to comply with the fast changing world of promotion and advertising laws, regulations and government enforcement policies. Special attention this year will be devoted to new rules and developments in social media, both policies and user generated content, as well as mobile including developing and using location-based apps.

This event is something that I really look forward to every year. Not only does it allow me the opportunity to be one of the few marketers in a ballroom filled with lawyers, but it also helps me get a head start on my holiday shopping. As I look over the agenda and see all the topics that are going to be covered I wonder what will really be this year's big take-a way.

It was back in November of '99 when Suzie White, Corporate Counsel for Facebook, presented to us after the lunch break "hot off the press" news. She reviewed with us Facebook's new Promotion Guidelines for running promotions on their platform which they had just posted online the day before. I had just launched my first sweepstakes promotion on Facebook and was very eager to hear what she had to say.

Facebook has come quite a ways over the past two years and has updated these guidelines a few times since then. At the same time we have launched many promotions on Facebook for a variety of clients. So what will be this year's "hot" news? Here are some topics of special interest to me:

What's New in the Game Today: New Promotional Techniques and Twists on Traditional Sweeps, Contests, Promotions from Linda A. Goldstein, Partner, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP and Sweepstakes Diva.

Think Before You Speak: Optimizing Corporate Social Media Policies which includes insights from McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and General Mills.

I Tweet therefore I Am: Legal, Regulatory and IP Social Media Challenges which includes counsel members from Visa, YouTube, Unilver and Facebook.

We Know Where You Are: Developing and Using Location Based Applications including input from MasterCard, Sprint/Nextel and Vibes.

The Ever Shrinking World and Ever-Growing Rules of Mobile Marketing that includes Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility and Energizer.

And the topic I seem to be asked about a lot lately:

One World: How Globalization affects Promotions originating here and across the pond with insights from Microsoft.

There are more topics, of course, but I find these the most relevant to me and our business. Last year was a sold-out, record-breaking event and this year looks to be the same. So book your registration and travel now and visit the PMA site regularly for agenda and speaker updates. Oh and I almost forgot to mention, the cocktail parties are great for both networking and the food and drinks.

BTW, for the sake of disclosure, I've been a guest of the PMA at this conference for the past five years since I do cover the event of my blog. So I invite you to check back here for my posts on the conference highlights.

Walgreens "Arm Yourself for the Ones you Love" campaign takes home the Super REGGIE Award

Last week PMA wrapped up their Annual Marketing Conference which they held back in Chicago with the REGGIE Awards Gala Celebration. There were a total of 20 categories this year that included over 50 different campaigns. I'd like to congratulate all the finalists and especially this year's Super REGGIE winner - Leo Burnett and Walgreens for their "Arm Yourself for the Ones you Love" campaign.

The main objective of the campaign was to inspire 5 million people to get their flu shots at Walgreens which was quite a challenge given that the previous year they set an all-time record with 1 million administered flu shots. It was also to position Walgreens as the #1 retailer people think of for flu shots.

Walgreens’ mission is to help people live a “well life” every day and they want to be considered a convenient healthcare-service provider, not just a drugstore. Last year, 45% of consumers believed this about Walgreens. They wanted to raise this 5% this year to at least 50% of consumers to hold this perception.

Research uncovered a subset of untapped consumers most receptive to getting a flu shot at Walgreens: a group of women they called “Intender Moms.” These women had every intention to get a shot last year but didn’t. They were so busy doing things for others (including making sure their family got flu shots) that getting a flu shot for themselves became less of a priority. Therefore this campaign aimed to show these moms that getting the flu shot for themselves was so important to the health and well being of their families that it should be at the top of their to-do lists.

The agency used a shopper-centric approach, following moms from the broadcast media seen at home to the web, circular, outdoor and into the store to reach them with their flu shot message. Here's some of the tactics used:

• Thousands of photos of employees “showing their hearts” were used to kick off the campaign on in Times Square.
• Pharmacists gave out “I got my flu shot for _____” bandage/stickers to flu shot patients transforming them into Walgreens flu shot ambassadors when they walked out the door.
• Zoned messaging in-store let shoppers know how and where they could “arm themselves.”
• Walgreens pharmacists appeared on national TV outlets (MSNBC, CNN, etc.) administering flu shots to anchors and discussing the benefits.
• Regional print ads showcased local heroes “arming themselves.”
• Digital and social media allowed people to show their love with their network of family and friends.
• Street-level outdoor media was placed where people were most likely to be thinking about getting exposed to the flu (bus stops, airports, hospitals).
• Arm Yourself commercials brought the message to TV.

The “Arm Yourself for the Ones you Love” campaign exceeded it's goal and inspired 5.4 million people to get their flu shot in just 5 weeks. Congrats for a job well done to all involved and to PMA for hosting the REGGIES and the organization's 100 year anniversary.

Do you have a Zmont Strategy? Day 1 of PMA's Annual Marketing Conference; Game Changers

PMA's Annual Marketing Conference kicked off yesterday here in Chicago back at the Fairmont Hotel. The theme of this two-day event this year is Game Changer, the marketing conference of Big Wins and Bold Thinkers. It's also PMA's 100 anniversary. Bonnie Carlson, PMA's President, welcomed some 200 attendees in the morning with a historical trip down marketing's memory lane, from the first coupon for a new fountain drink called Coca-Cola, to today's viral video sensation, Old Spice Man.

The rest of the morning consisted of some interesting presentations from big brands. Lisa Klauser from Unilever recapped one of my favorite campaigns, Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty, along with the product launch of PF Chang's restaurant quality food at home and the a peak at Unilever's Sustainable Living Plan. Dean Barrett from McDonald's took us around the world with some of their heart-warming ads and shared info on some of their newer, better quality food products.

After a quick coffee break, Elizabeth Charles from PetCo got my attention with a photo of her and her dog, a golden retriever. I immediately started missing my golden, Shadow, along with Izzy, my little King Charles spaniel. I learned a new demographic acronym from Elizabeth that I hadn't heard before....LOHAS, Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability. These are consumers who follow a lifestyle of wellness. They have strong values and community involvement. They have high brand loyalty, but are pragmatic and proactive shoppers. They also skew higher in eduction and are influencers and early adopters. These are exactly the group of shoppers PetCo targeted to promote the fact that they have the largest selection of natural pet products and increased this part of their business by 20%.

For our luncheon keynote we were treated to a very insightful talk from Jim Lecinski, Managing Director of U.S. Sales for Google. He spoke to us about the concept of mental models and how they define our world. It's not just a marketing term, but something that relates to everyday life, such as our standard three meals a day eating habit.

In the traditional brand mental model it starts with some sort of stimuli (an ad, review, recommendation) to the "1st Moment" (shelf/purchase), to finally the "2nd Moment (usage/experience). The 2nd moment is the most important because it's the moment of truth...does the product/service live up to the brand's promise?

However, over the past several years there has been a big shift in this traditional marketing model. In between the stimuli and the purchase, consumers now go online and do a search. 83% of moms search online for a product after seeing a TV ad. This past Black Friday, 29% of the searches came from mobile.

Therefore, we now have "4 Moments". The Zmont, "Zero Moment of Truth", is when those search queries are done. It's not just for consumer products either, but also relates back to your personal brand. If your an employer looking to hire, you will type that person's name in the "Google Machine", as Jim calls it, and see what comes up. If your making a sales call for a B2B company, you search for that company and/or the person you're meeting with.

Jim closed with saying that most of us marketers have a full "Stimuli" strategy as well as one for the first and 2nd moments. But, do we have a ZMont strategy? Something to reflect upon. Google will be launching an ebook on the subject in a couple weeks. Look for it at www.WinningTheZeroMomentofTruth.com.

The rest of the afternoon we had a choice of break-out sessions. I attended the SouthWest Airlines session by Dana Williams. Who yes, was at the conference and wasn't one of the speakers that left as soon as she was done. In fact Dana stayed throughout the day's end to the cocktail hour. Besides the issue last year when one of SouthWest's employees went mad and stormed off the plane and quit, SouthWest has been the model for how to engage customers and employees through social media. I'll be flying home later today on one of their flights, which Dana assured me they are done with cancellations for the week.

The last session of the day that I attended was with Linda Goldstein, legal counsel with Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, or better known as the Sweepstakes and Contest Diva. She quickly went through the basic legal requirements of a sweeps vs. a contest and then dove into the legalities of the newer media platforms, including mobile, Facebook and Twitter. Linda also reviewed the best practices for executing a user-generated contest and reminded us of the new FCC regulations regarding bloggers. It was a great overview for all of us and a perfect transition to the cocktail hour.

Thanks again PMA for inviting me to attend the conference. I'm heading down to breakfast now for Day 2 which will end with tonight's Reggie Gala Awards Dinner. We'll soon know who takes home the golden cash register for this year.

Heading to Chicago for PMA's Annual Marketing Conference (via SouthWest Airlines)

Monday afternoon I'm heading to Chicago to attend PMA's Annual Marketing Conference which runs Tuesday - Wednesday of this week back at the Fairmont Hotel. This year's theme is Game Changer, the marketing conference of Big Wins and Bold Thinkers. I've been a guest at this event since I started this blog some four years ago, so it's one of those conferences that I just wouldn't miss.

Here's an earlier post I wrote about the conference that sums up who some of the speakers and topics are this year. I'm sure as with most conferences, some sessions will be much better than others. But if you can take away a couple new ideas and make a few new connections, it's all worth it.

By the way, I happen to be flying to Chicago via SouthWest Airlines out of Buffalo. Last I checked my flight is not one of the many that have been canceled due to Friday's SouthWest flight 812 whose fuselage ruptured causing a huge hole in it's cabin's ceiling at 34,500 feet in the air. Thankfully due to the pilot's quick response, no passengers were injured. Dana Williams, Director of Marketing and Brand Integration for SouthWest Airlines is scheduled to speak at the Conference on Tuesday afternoon regarding the airline's Bags Fly Free program. So it will be interesting to see if she is till on the agenda, and if she does speak, will she address this issue.

What I'm really looking forward to though is helping to celebrate PMA's 100th Anniversary. They will be wrapping up the conference with the Annual Reggie Awards and will also feature a photo montage of the best promotions over the last 100 years. I'd like to congratulate this year's Reggie Awards finalists. There are a total of 20 categories this year that include over 50 different campaigns. One new category is for Social Media which the finalists are:

• Jamba Juice's Cheeseburger Chill by the Neighbor Agency
• Food Should Taste Good Follow The Flavors campaign by Modernista!
• McDonald's Voice of McDonald campaign (also a finalist in the International/Global category)

I'm also looking forward to meeting with the folks from Signal that I've been working with this year on some new promotions. They are my partners on the Memphis Car Audio Fast Five Movie Premiere Sweepstakes and Instant Win Game which I wrote about earlier here. We're working on some new programs now, so it will be a treat to visit their office and get to meet them in person.

If you happen to be in Chicago this week and would like to attend the conference, you can still register here, as well as on-site. Please look for me if you will be there and say hello. I'll be tweeting from the conference, so you can follow along on Twitter at #PMA2011 or with me at @ddeclemente.

Don't miss PMA's Annual Marketing Conference: Game Changer

I'm finalizing my travel plans to get back to Chicago to attend PMA's Annual Marketing Conference. I've been a guest at this event since I started this blog some four years ago, so I wouldn't miss it. This year's theme is Game Changer, the marketing conference of Big Wins and Bold Thinkers. It's back at the Fairmont Hotel on April 5 & 6. 

The conference has something for everyone this year...great speakers, great content, great networking, the 100th Anniversary celebration of our industry, and a great evening to celebrate this year’s REGGIE winners. Attendees will get to experience 9 keynote speakers and a choice of 15 breakout sessions and 4 white paper presentations. Here's some of them:

Google presents a new mental model for connecting with consumers.
Sara Lee shares insights on using digital to influence busy moms.
Groupon tells about harnessing the power of social media and collective buying.
D.L. Ryan etailing solutions presents eCommerce, the new frontier for CPG.
Manatt provides guidelines for social media policy, case studies and risk mitigation strategies.
Arc Worldwide presents a white paper on social shopping.
The Marketing Arm presents a white paper on the mobile web.
MaxPoint Interactive offers the latest on geographic targeting technology.

Plus. these four brands had the courage to buck the industry norm, and won new loyalists as a result:

- Southwest Airlines chose to ignore the norm of charging for baggage and increased consumer loyalty.
- Bolthouse Farms turned baby carrots into a Halloween "trick or treat” item.
- MillerCoors chose to differentiate from traditional beer advertising and use new packaging innovations.
- Skechers changed the sole of a shoe and ended up changing the soul of their company.

Tuesday night the conference will host the 2011 Reggie Awards Gala which will award the campaigns that really made the cash register ring. There are 20 categories, each with three finalists that have recently been announced. One of them will receive the Super Reggie award. Some of the newer categories this year include both social media and digital marketing. Last year the Super Reggie went to Mars Petcare's Pedigree Crazy Pet Owners Campaign. So who will take home the golden Reggie this year?

There's still time to register online here. If you're planning on being at the conference please look for me. I'll be tweeting (#PMA2011) and writing a review here on Donna's Promo Talk. Hopefully on this trip I'll have some extra time to get to Nordstrom's. I missed it on the last couple of visits.

Mobile marketing and location-based services topic of discussions at this year's PMA Marketing Law Conference

On Friday I attended the PMA's Annual Marketing Law Conference which took place back at the Chicago Marriott. This year's theme was "I'll be Watching You. Marketing in a Transparent World". This is one of those must attend conferences for me since it keeps me up-to-date on the latest laws, regulations and guidelines to market utilizing today's emerging technologies. PMA said that they broke a record for attendance this year with close to 600 people registered.

One session that I found very informative was a panel discussion on Mobile Marketing. Gabe Karp, EVP, General Counsel from ePrize started off the discussion reviewing some of the recent stats on the industry. He stated that mobile marketing is where all other media converges since it funnels these channels into what we call the third screen. Companies and brands are now starting to incorporate some form of mobile marketing into their mix, but what many don't realize is that the industry is very heavily regulated and the technology is way ahead of the laws.

The U.S. is now approaching 90% mobile phone penetration and 25% of these subscribers have smart phones. It is projected that in six months from now smart phones will eclipse regular mobile phones. Location-Based Services (LBS) were a huge topic of discussion throughout the conference this year. Many attendees were still not familiar with the term which was defined as a service that makes use of GPS functionality available on smart phones to determine a person's location so that marketers can then motivate them to visit their store.

Fawn Horvath, Senior Counsel with Macy's reviewed with us a few recent LBS marketing campaigns. The McDonald's Foursquare Day promotion gave consumers an entry into a sweepstakes for a chance to win McDonald's gift cards if they checked into a restaurant on that day. McDonald's claimed that they saw over 50 blog mentions about the promotion and received a 33% increase in foot traffic. But Fawn said that many questioned these numbers asking, "Did they really check in to a McDonald's?". There is no way to really tell if people actually went into a McDonald's or if they were outside on the sidewalk, drove by or just in the general area.

Macy's is partnering with Shopkick, a mobile app that gives participants rewards and offers simply for walking into participating retail stores. It's a new version of a typical loyalty program which allows people to collect kickbucks and bonuses at millions of stores and restaurants throughout the U.S. Macy's gave people 40 kickbucks for checking into one of their stores. What's different here then with the McDonald's Foursquare program is that Shopkick partners have hardware installed in their locations that confirms when a person in really in the store.

Shopkick just launched their '12 Days of Kickmas' Holiday Promotion which offeres participants a chance to win one of twelve daily prizes. Retail partners include Macy's, Best Buy and Target among others. With this program participants get 50 entries into a sweepstakes when they check-in at one of the stores. Overall, more than 31 million kickbucks will be awarded, allowing thousands of people to redeem their winnings for prizes ranging from song downloads to a flat-screen TV.

Many LBS campaigns are being launched for this holiday season and the question was raised at the conference of who is actually storing this data and are people really comfortable with what is being called the "Creep Factor"? It's that fine line between getting them what they want, when they want it and having big brother overlooking their every move. It will be interesting to see how this all progresses. Next year we may be looking at some class action lawsuits regarding one or two of these campaigns. It's always a risk being one of the first to utilize new technologies.

Thanks again PMA for a great conference and including me as your guest. Looking forward to next year.

PMA's 32nd Annual Marketing Law Conference is next week

One week from today PMA's 32nd Annual Marketing and Law Conference will get under way in Chicago at the Marriott Hotel on Michican Ave. This two-day conference, Nov. 18 and 19, will feature six keynote speeches, 100+ speakers, 1,200+ pages of presentation and leave behind material in printed and electronic form, the newest Law Forms and Guides and the best networking in the industry.

I've been covering this conference for several years now as a guest of the PMA, the Association for Integrated Marketing, and each year I have walked away with a ton of knowledge and some great content to write about. Just search for PMA on this blog and you will find the many posts I've written about the conference and this organization.

Just yesterday the NY Times featured this front page business article on the impending FTC report on online privacy and behavioral advertising. Keynote speakers Julie Brill, FTC Commissioner, and David Vladeck FTC Director, Bureau of Consumer Protection, were both featured within the article.

One of my favorite sessions every year comes from Linda Goldstein, Partner, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. This year Linda's topic is titled: Sweeps, Contests and Games: to Tweet or Not to Tweet. Next a hot issue will be discussed by a panel of experts in a session on Behavioral Advertising and Other Key Privacy Issues. Following that will be a session on social media that promises to keep us all abreast of the legal pitfalls and how to leverage FaceBook, Twitter, My Space, YouTube, FourSquare and the "next big thing".

Now that's only part of Day 1. There are many other sessions that will provide attendees with what they need to know to comply with the fast changing world of promotion and advertising laws, regulations and government enforcement policies. Some other topics include Mobile Marketing, Green Marketing, Data Security, Children's Advertising, Sports Marketing/Branded Entertainment, Sponsorships, Killer Apps, Location-Based Services, Viral and Guerilla Marketing, the Gaming/Gambling Interface International, Cause Marketing, Ethics and Class Actions.

The PMA is still accepting online registrations if you haven't made plans yet. But you need to act right away sine they are almost sold out. The PMA Marketing Law Conference traditionally draws over 500 marketing and law professionals. CLE credits are offered and a highly valuable conference binder of more than 800 pages is given to all the attendees as well as an updated Law and Forms Guide. If you can't make it stay posted to my blog to read my reports. You can also follow me and the PMA on Twitter and search for the hashtag #PMALaw.

Also I wanted to mention that the PMA has a call for papers and presenters right now for their Centennial Resource Book on integrated promotion marketing that will be published in conjunction with their 2011 Annual Conference taking place in April. Some selected authors will be invited to present their papers in a breakout session at the conference and others will be offered a PMA Webinar in which to present their findings. First deadline is Monday, November 22 asking for a 150-word summary of your topic. You can download the information here.

Hope to see you in Chicago!

Don't miss PMA's Digital Marketing Summit, Fast Forward 2012: Social Media Demystified

The PMA (Association for Integrated Marketing) has put together another full day-long conference that will dive deep into social media from an established group of thought leaders and rising stars. Their third annual Digital Marketing Summit, Fast Forward 2012: Social Media Demystified, will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 19, in the heart of New York City at the Union Square Ballroom.

This year's summit promises to help us all leverage social media to build our brands and our businesses. Here's a run down of the topics they'll explore:

• Overview of the social media channels most effective against various segments
• How social media can negatively or positively impact the path to purchase
• Metrics: What’s measurable, what’s not and how to tell the difference
• The intersection of social and mobile
• Being fully integrated: Do you think differently about marketing due to the your ability to have an ongoing, real-time conversation

The day will kick off with Forrester's SVP of Idea Development, Josh Bernoff, who will share his take on what awaits marketers in the not-too-distant social media future. Josh is the coauthor of the BusinessWeek best-selling book Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies, a comprehensive analysis of corporate strategy for dealing with social technologies.

Other scheduled speakers include:

• Scott Roen, VP of Marketing, American Express OPEN
• Alma Klein, Creative Director, Arc Worldwide and mom blogger, Marketing Mommy
• Paul Michaud, SVP Social Media, Citigroup
• Dan Hunter, Partner, IMI International
• Linda Goldstein, Esq., Partner & Chair, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
• Philip Grieco, Senior Marketing Manager and Lauren Nodzak, PR Manager, MARS Chocolate
• Scott Jensen, Director of Product Marketing, Nokia's The Ovi Store
• Brian Simpson, Director of Social Hospitality, The Roger Smith Hotel

At last year's summit I got to speak on a panel regarding the new FTC disclosure guidelines and what they now mean for advertising and marketing. I had the privileged to be joined by Linda Goldstein, Esq., Partner, Manatt, Phelps, & Phillips LLP, and Randall Rothenberg, President, Interactive Advertising Bureau. Here's my post that gives an overview of last year's event. It was a great event which was held at Google's NY headquarters.

Unfortunately this year I will miss this event. My husband and I are getting ready to leave for Italy to visit our daughter who is doing her study abroad semester at NYU in Florence. This was the only week we could fit it in between all our schedules. So I won't see you all till the next PMA event which will be the 32nd Annual Marketing Law Conference taking place again in Chicago, this year on November 18 - 19.

There's still plenty of time to register online for next week's digital marketing summit though. If you're a PMA member the cost is $495 and for non-members $645. I am very disappointed that I will miss this event, but extremely excited to be visiting Italy for the first time. Ciao!

2010 Super Reggie Winner: The Pedigree Crazy Pet Owners Campaign

Last week I attended PMA's Integrated Marketing Conference in Chicago and I'm still thinking about it. I wrote this post last week about some of the of great sessions and conversations going on for day one of Blur.  The conference ended with the Annual Reggie Awards gala and dinner which awarded the top promotional marketing campaigns of the past year that really made "the cash register ring". Here's the case history that was submitted of the winning campaign entered by Mars Petcare and their agency Catapult Action-Biased Marketing.

The PEDIGREE® Super Bowl: Crazy Pet Owners campaign was designed to bring renewed attention to PEDIGREE® and its Adoption Drive to find homes for the over 4 million dogs who enter shelters every year.

Leveraging a funny, irreverent Super Bowl advertisement featuring exotic and unmanageable “crazy” pets, PEDIGREE wanted to engage this vast audience in an online interactive experience that drove awareness of the brand, cemented its positioning as a caring organization, and helped participants contribute to the feeding of dogs without a home.

PEDIGREE surged to its highest dollar sales ever with $22.2MM booked in audited channels!  Dollar share reflected the same momentum with the highest dollar share gain in a single period.

Integration with PR efforts provided significant lift in pre-event site traffic and engagement with 115.5% lift in total page views and an incredible 225.2% lift in visitors with a 223.4% lift in unique visitors.

The positive momentum continued post-game with 146.2% lift in total page views, 238.7% lift in visitors; 242.3% lift in unique visitors and 19.4% lift in time spent per visit.

Total video views were 2,243,847 — which equated to the same number of bowls of food donated to dog shelters across the country.

PEDIGREE needed messaging to speak to the benefits of dog adoption without bringing down the lighthearted mood of the Super Bowl audience. It also needed a hub where consumers could take action, share in the adoption cause and engage with the brand after the commercial aired.

SITE CREATIVE
What better way to communicate a great message than with humor! A hilarious microsite was created that supported Super Bowl messaging and included tongue-in-cheek behind-the-scenes “Crazy Pet” stories, communicated via documentary-style videos of people who own a ”crazy pet” — like Rusty the Rhino, Bruno the Ostrich, and Max the Bison.

To both grab, and keep, consumer attention, Rusty the Rhino was featured on a startling 3D animated homepage takeover for the PEDIGREE Website that literally caused the screen to shatter as Rusty stampeded through. The tagline “Maybe You Should Get a Dog” resonated through the entire campaign.

OFFER
An engagement program was created for those who wanted to help, but could not adopt.  For every ad and “behind the scenes” video viewed, one bowl of food was donated to a shelter dog. Additional online content supported the Adoption Drive and PEDIGREE’s mantra of “Help Us Help Dogs.”

SOCIAL NETWORKING
The program was promoted via PR and distributed virally across the Web through Facebook videos, Twitter, an iPhone application, and paid search. Content was also available across post-game online channels, including Yahoo! and YouTube.

PEDIGREE surged to its highest dollar sales and highest volume gains ever as a result of the campaign. The site, iPhone app, “behind the scenes” content, disruptive takeover and additional online and offline elements provided a powerful combination of creativity and technology and drove awareness of the adoption drive, donation of food to shelters and sales for the product.

Congratulations to the team for a great campaign. Check out Pedigree's current pet adoption Facebook page that is raising food for pet shelters.