Winner: Edelman and General Electric: GE's Ecomagination – Green is Green
Believing that now is the time for the commercial sector to assume its place as a major catalyst for environmental change, GE conceived "Ecomagination," an initiative to aggressively bring to market new technologies that will help customers meet critical environmental challenges, in addition to improving the company's own environmental performance.
GE retained Edelman to develop and execute the global launch of Ecomagination, being tasked not only with helping bring a branded product line to market, but also with addressing one of the most pressing global issues of the day: the environment. Edelman had to position the line as being both a highly significant business initiative and a sincere commitment to the environment. The business community needed to be convinced that the motives behind Ecomagination were customer-focused, while at the same time overcoming the deficit with environmental influencers whose trust of GE had been damaged in the past. Edelman was also charged with maximizing the quality of the earned media coverage, minimizing references to its negative environmental history, and designing a launch that would resonate with the Washington audience.
For the launch, GE chairman and CEO Jeffrey R. Immelt delivered an address at George Washington University about global environmental challenges, and the private sector's role in meeting these challenges. Jonathan Lash, president of the World Resources Institute, provided remarks validating the sincerity and merits of Ecomagination. Later on, Immelt took questions from students and faculty, which was followed by prearranged interviews with the media.
Edelman conducted outreach to editorial writers at elite business outlets, as well as environmental bloggers, to help guide the tone of the coverage. Although GE's status generally lends itself to hard news coverage, the team stayed equally as committed to generating positive Op-Ed treatment of the program. An exclusive embargo opportunity was provided to Financial Times columnist Amity Shlaes, whose favorable column ran on the day of the launch.
According to one judge, "This was a bold program which successfully engaged the environmental community, which is typically cynical about corporate America's green initiatives." Media placements included The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and C-SPAN. In the following quarter, GE experienced a 24% gain in profits over the previous year.
Honorable Mention: Edelman and Starbucks Entertainment: Starbucks Music: It's the Experience
Starbucks' music expansion took the next step in 2004-2005 with the introduction of several initiatives, including co-producing CDs such as Ray Charles' Genius Loves Company. Starbucks Entertainment engaged Edelman to help with a strategic PR plan. Edelman secured attendance and speaking opportunities for Starbucks executives at high-profile music-industry events, such as The Billboard Music Awards. Top "champion" media and analysts were enlisted to serve as advocates, and were tapped for every announcement. Thirteen out of the 14 predetermined media "champions" wrote significant pieces, and the campaign has delivered over 2 billion impressions so far. Even as numbers sagged throughout the music industry at large, the fact that Billboard named president Ken Lombard as one of its top 10 "Power Players" signifies that Starbucks' goal was well met.
Finalists:
Edelman and Innovene
The Global Brand Launch of Innovene
Edelman and GE
GE's Ecomagination – Green is Green
Edelman and Starbucks Entertainment
Starbucks Music – It's The Experience
Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide and DHL
Paint It Yellow: Building DHL's Visibility Across America
Ruder Finn and Novartis
Novartis Shines During Pharma's Dark Days
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