Agency’s Earth Day Campaign for Nalgene Highlights Nation’s Least Wasteful Cities; Urges Environmental Responsibility Across U.S.
Boston, Mass. (May 7, 2010) - Advertising and PR agency Cercone Brown & Co. (CBC) was recently bestowed one of the PR industry’s top honors: a 2010 Bulldog Award for “Best Green Campaign.”
Recognized from a total pool of 800 submissions, the Boston PR agency earned a Silver award for its “America’s Least Wasteful Cities” program, developed for reusable bottle icon Nalgene. The program combined social media, online marketing and traditional media relations to reach millions across America. The Twitter campaign alone reached more than one million prospects.
“Many ‘experts’ will have you believe that social media alone is the silver bullet for PR campaigns today. But it’s really the combination of traditional media relations and social media marketing that makes the online universe come alive,” said Cercone Brown & Co. partner Len Cercone. “Creating content that people want to share is the key, whether that be from journalist to reader or person to person.”
Launched in April, the news was featured on the home page of USA Today, AOL, numerous green and news blogs and scores of TV stations, newspapers and magazines nationwide. Each piece of coverage fueled sharing on Facebook, Twitter, Digg and other social sites, as well as through the campaign site itself. As a result, the news reached more than 4 million people within one month.
“Thanks to our partnership with CBC, Nalgene continues to think beyond the bottle,” said Tiffany Teaford, product manager/product development lead ,Nalgene-Outdoor. “The award-winning Least Wasteful Cities campaign reflects Nalgene’s broader mission of empowering people to create change, once choice at a time.”
The Campaign: America’s Least Wasteful Cities
During a time when many Americans sought to make environmentally friendly decisions in their lives, the “America’s Least Wasteful Cities” campaign identified wasteful behaviors in everyday actions.
As the focal point of the campaign, Cercone Brown & Co. designed an online research survey, polling 3,750 participants in the largest 25 cities (based on DMA) on waste-focused habits - from recycling, to using public transportation, to shutting off lights. When the results were tallied, San Francisco earned the title of America’s Least Wasteful City, while Atlanta ranked last.
With the news launched just prior to Earth Day, Boston PR agency Cercone Brown & Co. leveraged traditional public relations tactics along with social media tools, including Twitter and Facebook, to spread the word directly to consumers and online press alike.
In addition, the PR agency deployed a content-filled online microsite, which educated millions of Americans on their own wasteful behaviors, while providing an intimate setting for consumers to interact with the Nalgene brand.
Visitors were invited to purchase a special Nalgene bottle designed by Cercone Brown & Co., with a portion of the proceeds going to the Surfrider Foundation, an environmental organization dedicated to protecting the world’s waves and beaches.
The prestigious 2010 Bulldog Award for the “America’s Least Wasteful Cities” campaign underscores Cercone Brown & Co.’s commitment to developing campaigns yielding socially responsible outcomes.
“As an action-oriented advertising and PR agency, we feel a tremendous amount of accountability toward our clients, the general public and the environment around us,” said Caroline Budney, director of corporate social responsibility at Boston PR agency Cercone Brown & Co. “With the ‘America’s Least Wasteful Cities’ campaign, we encourage the general public to make environmentally-responsible decisions by highlighting the impact simple, everyday actions can make.”
In addition to developing campaigns for individual clients, PR agency Cercone Brown & Co. is renowned for its annual Green House event, where the nation’s top “green” editors are immersed in the latest practical and planet-friendly products, services and technologies. This year’s experiential marketing event will take place in Boulder, Colo. in August. For more information on getting involved, visit the Green House website at http://www.cbcgreenhouse.com/.
About Cercone Brown & Co.
Located in Boston, Massachusetts, Cercone Brown & Co. (CBC) provides branding, advertising, public relations and promotions services to companies in a range of industries. Founded in 2001, the company has worked with leading brands that include adidas, GMAC Insurance, Hasbro, Nantucket Nectars, Orvis, Cognos, Sperry Top-Sider, K2, The Timberland Company, Vibram and ZOOTS. For more information, visit www.cerconebrown.com, join the Cercone Brown Facebook page and follow Cercone Brown on Twitter.
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