Winner
GolinHarris and Nintendo of America: Wii Launch: How Wii Helped Nintendo Get Its Game Back
The decision by GolinHarris and Nintendo of America to create a new psychographic for its gaming system - a game for non-gamers - coupled with the multitude of mediums pursued to reach critical mass, makes this a textbook case for any launch campaign. That the PR element was integral to massive sales and the sowing of a new audience for Nintendo makes this an obvious selection for PRWeek's Campaign of the Year.
By 2006, Nintendo had dropped to third in the video-game industry behind Sony and Microsoft after dominating the landscape about 20 years earlier. To get back on top, its new offering, the Wii, would have to compete with the high-end graphics and the other tech advances its rivals were offering in their gaming consoles. The Wii was also set to launch just two days prior to the Sony Playstation 3.
Golin, Nintendo's agency partner, decided to make the Wii motion-sensitive controller a differentiator. The controller makes it possible for anyone to play, so the Wii could target the core gaming audience, as well as "dabblers," "lapsed gamers," and "non-gamers." The team also decided to make a push to get girls, women, and seniors to buy the Wii, which would help it surpass the competition.
The marketing team convinced reporters and the public that this was a video game for people who didn't normally play video games - creating a market that didn't previously exist.
Pre-launch, Nintendo executives spoke with industry analysts at the Game Developers Conference, telling them that the industry needed new players to grow.
Consumers were targeted on MySpace, where the "How Wii Play" profile made more than 60,000 friends, and through an ambassador program that got the system into the hands of gamers, moms, and large inter-generational families, who spread information about the system through blogs and word of mouth. On the day of the launch, midnight events in New York and LA were held. Thousands of consumers showed up and media coverage was provided by the AP, MTV, Good Morning America, and others.
In the end, the Wii met or exceeded sales goals despite early surveys that showed only 11% of consumers intended to purchase it. Stores had difficulty keeping enough in stock, with the console outselling the Xbox 360 two to one and the Playstation 3 by three to one. The Wii earned 10 billion audience impressions over three months, including 14 Today appearances and a stint on South Park.
Honorable Mention
Ketchum and Delta Air Lines: Saying "No!" to US Airways Hostile Takeover Bid: The Campaign to "Keep Delta My Delta"
Ketchum and Delta had to reach a lot of constituents to block an unsolicited bid from US Airways in November 2006. Launched on December 19, 2006, this campaign used a range of tactics, including an interactive Web site, located at http://www.keepdeltamydelta.org/, that served as the virtual home for the campaign; an "e-petition" that helped convey opposition to the merger to the media and Capitol Hill; and pro-Delta rallies held by Delta employees and retirees, and community and business leaders in nine airports around the country. Over the course of less than two months, the effort to garner opposition from policy-makers to the proposed union and to sow doubt among Delta creditors attracted more than 100,000 online supporters; generated more than 150,000 letters to US lawmakers; and earned more than 220 million media impressions. Delta creditors on January 31, 2007, announced support for Delta's bankruptcy plan. US Airways dropped its merger bid just hours later.
Finalists 2008
Edelman and Microsoft: The Launch of Halo 3
GolinHarris and Nintendo of America: Wii Launch: How Wii Helped Nintendo Get Its Game Back
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.: Goodyear's 2006 Labor and Strike Communications Plan
Ketchum and Delta Air Lines: Saying "No!" to US Airways Hostile Takeover Bid: The Campaign to "Keep Delta My Delta"
Weber Shandwick and National Marrow Donor Program: 2007 Thanks Mom National Marrow Donor Drive