Winner
Rex Healthcare: Rex On Call

At a time when most Americans are cynical about healthcare companies, Rex Healthcare needed to gain the public's trust in a market already crowded with heavyweights. Science and research hotbed Raleigh, NC, is home to Duke University Medical Center, University of North Carolina Hospitals, and one of the US' most educated consumer markets.

Even faced with daunting marketing challenges, Rex Healthcare allocated a relatively small budget to achieve its PR goals of creating a live, monthly medical call-in TV show titled Rex on Call (ROC). The ambitious program would be produced and written entirely by Rex Healthcare, and would mark the first program of its kind in the Raleigh-Durham market.

And not only would ROC give consumers needed health guidance, it would help establish the company's doctors as trusted experts in their various specialties.

In a market with more than a dozen colleges and universities and the highest number of PhD's per capita in the nation, Raleigh was not lacking sources for expert medical opinions. But members of such a wealthy, educated demographic also tend to be information-seekers. With that in mind, the program gave viewers a chance to learn about medical issues they might not have considered on their own. Even better, interest in medical advice spans across a wide age bracket, and the program targeted viewers in their early 20s to the elderly.

Rex Marketing then partnered with NBC17 to design the set and broadcast the show. The partnership covered the breadth of marketing functions, including 30 minutes of airtime, 40 on-air promos, archived Web episodes, a Web banner on its homepage, a splash page, and various production elements. The company gave the task of producing and writing the series to its in-house media relations manager, saving more than $30,000 a year.

The show's strategy was an "old-fashioned house call with a new-age twist," which went live during the May ratings book. The company allotted 24 minutes for patient success stories and medical Q&As, three minutes of ads, and three minutes of charity PSAs. It then transformed 30 minutes each month into immediate exposure with about 20,000 viewers per month, more than 800,000 Web image impressions in three months, and consumer engagement with about 15 e-mails and 75 phone calls per episode.

The show's most popular segments ranged from ophthalmology and orthopedic surgery to vascular issues and breast cancer - confirming the show's appeal across a wide demographic. Launching the show in the medically saturated market proves you can never have too much of a good thing.

"With a limited budget, Rex on Call was a creative use of a broadcast medium that enabled it to break through the clutter in a highly competitive local market," one judge said. "It also gets bonus points as it bridged the gap between a PSA and paid placement."

Honorable Mention
Marina Maher Communications (MMC) and Secret Deodorant: Secret Because You're Hot: "Show Us Your Moves Casting Call"



Getting the public excited about a product like deodorant is no easy endeavor. MMC and Procter & Gamble developed a marketing strategy that played on the word "hot," and the way it connects to anti-perspirant. It also enlisted Jennifer Lopez to make that happen. The brand reconnected with young women with the tagline, "Because You're Hot" - crafted to evoke feelings of confidence, femininity, and strength. Secret enlisted Lopez to launch "Secret's Show Us Your Moves" - a nationwide casting call to find a female dancer to appear in her upcoming video. The campaign kicked off in New York City, the first of six cross-country casting-call stops. It nabbed more than 50 million media impressions with top placements on popular entertainment shows. Clearly, a star and a creative promotion campaign can make even deodorant "hot." "This campaign combined all that is TV today," one judge noted. "American Idol, MTV, plus a contest that makes you sweat."

Finalists 2008
Carmichael Lynch Spong and Hasbro Games From Geek to Chic: Creating Rubik's Cube Mania
Carmichael Lynch Spong and the Maytag Brand The Next Maytag Repairman: Could It Be You?
Coyne PR and Disney Parks Living the American Dream at Disney Parks
Marina Maher Communications and Secret Secret Because You're Hot: Show Us Your Moves Casting Call
Rex Healthcare Rex On Call