Business-to-Business Campaign of the Year 2007

ClearBlue Communications and Reed Exhibitions, The National Hardware Show: The 2006 National Hardware Show Media Preview Party

When an industry has four major trade shows each year and yours is preceded by the other three, getting press attention can be challenging. Reporters often feel as if they've seen it all already.

This was merely one obstacle The National Hardware Show (NHS) faced for its annual gathering this past May. (The trio of rival shows comprised January's International Builders Show; March's Housewares Show; and April's Kitchen and Bath Show.) In addition, the NHS sought to illustrate the connection between the tools to be previewed and the home lifestyle trends that drive industry coverage.

ClearBlue and NHS decided to throw a pre-show preview party, one to woo consumer reporters while positioning the NHS as a cool, hip trendsetter.

Grasping the importance of timing and location, the NHS held its preview party in December at the penthouse apartment of New York City's Hudson Hotel. This would preempt competing shows and encourage media to register in advance for the NHS. Moreover, the real-world setting of the prestigious, impeccably furnished apartment would allow attendees to see the products up close and use them in rooms, as opposed to retail settings.

Of course, you can't preview products without...well...the products, so before this party started, the NHS had to convince high-level manufacturers to be part of an event that took place much earlier than usual. ClearBlue and the NHS set out to attract a dozen manufacturers. Eighteen agreed to exhibit, with others having to be turned away.

As for the media, more than 50 top-tier consumer reporters – double the original goal of 25 – attended from outlets like Better Homes & Gardens, Popular Mechanics, and Newsweek. Many from the media contingent, which also included reporters and camera crews from CNBC and New Jersey's News 12, commented on the event's creativity and fun. They came to view the show as not "boring tools and hardware," but rather as a harbinger of trends to come.

Judges were equally impressed with the widespread manufacturer accolades and more than 5 million media impressions. "This little engine that could took a $30,000 budget and met every objective," noted one judge. "Creative and simple," said another. "It did a lot for the money."

Finalists

• ClearBlue Communications and Reed Exhibitions, The National Hardware Show
  The 2006 National Hardware Show Media Preview Party
• Kwittken & Company and Towers Perrin: Towers Perrin
  Pulled From the "Sea of Sameness"
• Publicis Dialog and The United Soybean Board
  Taking the Trans Out: US Soybean Growers Deliver Healthy Options to the Food Industry
• Text 100 Public Relations and Xerox Xerox Hones Listening Skills to Engender Trust
• Weber Shandwick and Lawson Software Making HR a Visible Issue Text 100 Public Relations and Xerox: Xerox Hones Listening Skills to Engender Trust