PPB February 2021

Distributor/Supplier Collaboration Program Silver Winner Distributor: Gap Advertising Type Of Client: Family Target Audience : About 250 friends and family members of Dan Best including colleagues, neighbors and University of Dayton alumni Primary Objective: To raise funds to benefit Best’s widow, Lisa, and their sons. Total Cost: $3,600 Budget: The hats, shipping and printing costs were $3,600. Sales were $7,100 resulting in a check to Lisa Best for $3,500. Strategy & Execution: Only a custom hat could provide so many meaningful messages. Best was a proud University of Dayton alumni (UD). Since his nickname was DB, a version of the UD logo was modified, with his name, for the front of the hat. On the back of the hat woven labels were made for the UD logo and a reference to the alumni, called Flyer Faithful. Inside the hat was a quote from the eulogy given by Best’s triplet brother, Timmy, “Don’t cry because he is gone, smile because you knew him.” The cost to manufacture the hats needed to be low so that the promotion could generate substantial profits for the family, and the sell price of $25 per hat proved to be affordable for donors. A decision was made not to use social media for promotion so that Lisa would not be constantly reminded of the tragedy. After receiving her permission to create the hat, an email and text campaign to 250 people provided enough support to deliver 200 hats to donors, 50 to family members and 250 hats for Best’s upcoming 30-year college reunion. A commemorative check with the names of the donors on the backside was delivered to Lisa during the move-in weekend of their youngest son at the University of Dayton. Results: Five-hundred hats were produced and delivered, costs were covered and a check for $3,500 was given to Lisa Best, so the results were 100-percent achieved. Gold Winner Distributor: Innovative Promotional Concepts (an iPROMOTEu affiliate) Type Of Client: Asset disposition and liquidation consultants Target Audience : 22 upper management professionals Primary Objective: The client requested a “tombstone” to acknowledge the successful liquidation of a major national retail brand, Charlotte Russe. Tombstones are typically presented in this industry to recognize the brands involved this kind of project. This liquidation exceeded the goals and expectations so this tombstone needed to be unique and representative of the success. The strict branding guidelines, overseen by the managing director of marketing and branding, needed to be considered. Total Cost: $2,912 Strategy & Execution: Based on previous projects with this client, the distributor knew the VPs would rarely be available for discussions/feedback, and they would have a short timeframe. While the distributor could have presented, and they would have accepted, the typical five-by-seven-inch rectangular tombstone done in the past, considering that this liquidation reportedly exceeded goals and expectations, and that a budget was not etched in stone, the distributor decided to think outside the box. The goal was to do something creative that accurately represented the project while carefully maintaining the integrity of the two brands: Charlotte Russe and the client. Results: The final decision was based on creativity, integrity and the timeframe. A tombstone was designed using three acrylic pieces representing a pink dress on a hanger and placed inside a Charlotte Russe shopping bag. The pink dress reflected Charlotte Russe brand’s Pantone color and the design represented the shopping experience that resulted in a $16 million liquidation success. The creativity of this piece led to a spend of $116.65 for each piece versus the usual $45-$50 per piece budget. FEATURE | Pyramid Awards: Client Programs 24 | FEBRUARY 2021 |