The document provides an overview of Proof's approach to integrated marketing communications and evidence-based processes. Some key points include:
- Proof believes in an evidence-based approach where research is gathered throughout a campaign to better inform programs and continuously optimize performance.
- They provide strategic planning, branding, advertising, public relations, digital and social media services.
- Case studies are presented showing how Proof has helped clients like Transitions Optical, LG Electronics, Destination DC, and Hormel Foods strengthen their brands and achieve business objectives through integrated campaigns.
2. At Proof, We Believe That...
We should be judged not just by the answers we supply,
but by the questions we ask...
Research, planning and process beget progress...
Brands should be own-able, defensible and consistent...
Creativity is intelligence having fun...
The best digital experiences drive an emotional response...
Media plans should be creative solutions, too...
Even the most elegant innovations require adaptability...
Sound strategies, well optimized, will place you
in front of your competition...
Building our business happens by building yours.
At Proof, we believe that...
The Evidence Is Inspiring.
3. Intelligently Integrated
BRAND ADVERTISING
Strategic Planning Print
Verbal & Visual Identity Broadcast (TV & Radio)
Positioning & Themes Online
Brochures & Collateral Search Engine Marketing
Events & Video Production Direct Response
Crisis/Issues Out-of-Home
Communications RESEARCH Advertorial
Public Relations Audience Insight
Brand Identity
Competitive Positioning
Corporate Reputation
Messaging
MEDIA DIGITAL
Planning Online Reputation Management
Buying Interactive Experience Design
Placement Social Media & Community
Measurement Digital Advocacy
Analysis Mobile Marketing
Optimization
5. Our Work
W e believe that evidence-based communications, driven by research intelligence
that is gathered throughout a marketing effort’s cycle, truly distinguishes our
clients and helps us improve their reputation in a crowded marketplace.
We infuse this thinking into every aspect of our work, building better-informed
programs that stem from research. We also measure, analyze and continuously
fine-tune the performance of our communications campaigns.
Here are a handful of “believers” in Proof’s evidence-based approach to marketing:
Applica Consumer Products
BP
The Coca-Cola Company
Con Edison
Destination D.C.
Dominion Resources
Entergy
The Ford Motor Company
Hormel Foods
Intel
Kraft Foods
LG Electronics
Megabrands
Microsoft
Shell
Transitions Optical
Thomson Reuters
U.S. Treasury (BEP)
6. Transitions Optical F or Transitions Optical, the leading provider of photochromic lenses
worldwide, we served as the lead consumer communications agency in
the areas of brand marketing, consumer PR, digital and social media strategy,
providing overall strategic planning, research and programming execution
relating to their core message platform and position within the industry
and among consumers.
Our work for Transitions is diverse – spanning multiple disciplines and
channels – in North America and around the world. Whether we’re creating
an ad campaign or developing an online experience, our approach ensures a
cohesive and consistent brand, as well as an appropriate call-to-action.
Highlighted Work Includes
• Consumer media outreach – U.S., U.S. Hispanic market and Canada
• Eye Didn’t Know That! – content/creative development and execution of
consumer eye health awareness program
• Digital and social media strategy and programming, including the
development of Transitions’ global Web site, multiple micro sites, search
Transitions.com engine optimization, online advertising, online loyalty programming,
blog development and monitoring, social media content development
and placement
• Celebrity spokesperson activation and management
• Issues management and crisis communications
• Advocacy and legislative affairs strategy
• Grass-roots programming (i.e. community outreach, school programming)
• Retail partnership programming
We have helped Transitions achieve year-over-year, double-digit sales growth
and are proud to contribute to Transitions’ significant market share and
position as the #1 doctor-recommended photochromic lenses worldwide.
Results
• More than 1.5 billion impressions have been garnered to date as part of
our consumer media outreach efforts
• Developed and executed Eye Didn’t Know That! – considered to be the
largest consumer education initiative in the optical industry; included a
12-city tour and distribution of tens of thousands of program materials
• Industry and consumer anecdotal feedback suggests the Transitions
brand is better positioned online with a much stronger influence on
purchase intent
• More than 72,000 searches to date were conducted by consumers
using the online Eyecare Professional Locator tool
• More than 17,000 unique visitors traffic the site per month
• Approximately 142,000 consumers participated
in the online sweepstakes program
7. T ransitions Optical is committed to
educating consumers about the
importance of maintaining lifelong healthy
Results
• Tournament attendance was highest in
sight. Its latest consumer outreach initiative nine years
involves a partnership with the PGA TOUR, • Developed branded content as part of Golf
which allows Transitions to connect with Channel and NBC programming broadcast to
consumers through a highly relevant, global millions of viewers
platform reinforcing the connection between
healthy, quality sight and overall health and • “Live Your Vision” family walk benefiting
wellness. “Live Your Vision” was developed as Prevent Blindness Florida attracted
the rallying point that served as the theme to 400+ participants
drive action among all audiences.
• “Live Your Vision” experience pavilion drew
Transitions challenged us to develop an 5,000+ visitors throughout the week
integrated program to educate consumers • 83% increase in traffic to Transitions.com
and engage trade partners with the goal during the month of the tournament
of driving awareness, inspiring action and
elevating the Transitions brand. As part of the • Nearly 300 attendees entered an onsite
launch strategy, we conducted polling among raffle by sharing stories with us about how
consumers to examine attitudes and behaviors they live their vision
about the PGA TOUR and the relevance
• More than 600 attendees were issued
and potential impact of a sponsorship for
“Sight-Ations” from CHiPs’ “Officer Frank
Transitions Optical.
Poncherello” (Erik Estrada), who was brought
The Poll Showed That on board to help attendees learn how to
protect their eyesight in a fun, unexpected way
• Nearly 80 percent of consumers agreed
that healthy sight was relevant both to • Secured favorable product reviews through
themselves and golf blogger and online media outreach –
resulting in 6 million+ impressions
• Nearly 70 percent of consumers agreed
it would be appropriate to hear about the As a result of the tremendous impact made for
importance of lenses and UV protection if the Transitions brand and accolades from the
the PGA TOUR had an official lens sponsor PGA TOUR providing top marks for Transitions’
first year effort as title sponsor, we were
• The “Live Your Vision” messaging was
retained as the lead agency partner to provide
executed throughout all communications,
brand strategy and event execution for the
from media messaging and player
2010 Transitions Championship. In addition,
sponsorships, to the on-site branding at the
the “Live Your Vision” theme was a driving force
Transitions Championship, to the print and
behind this effort – one that was embraced so
television advertising generated around the
much by Transitions that they adopted it as
event, and throughout the year.
their brand mantra – integrating it into much of
their trade and consumer communications.
Transitionschampionship.com/transchamp
8. LG Commercial O ur integrated marketing team was brought
in by LG Electronics’ Commercial division to
develop creative for its business-to-business
(print and interactive) advertising campaign.
The initial challenges were to introduce an
entirely new product concept to the lodging
industry and expand LG’s reach in to a new
vertical within the healthcare category.
Results
The first advertisement that we launched
targets hotel management/procurement
personnel. It bears the headline “Digital
Concierge,” and shows the various ways that
hotel guests would interact with LG’s new
Pro:Centric™ platform which enables viewers
to increase the quality and value of their stay
through the selection of a variety of on-screen
amenity booking options. The ad signs off
with the compelling call-to-action “Be Guest-
Centric. Go Pro:Centric.”
Also, with significant competition from Philips
Electronics in the area of energy efficiency,
LG asked us to produce advertising that
addresses hoteliers interest in cost-efficient,
energy saving televisions. The ads emply the
headline “Green Room” and clearly conveys
LG’s Dynamic Power Savings, Static Power
Savings and its Intelligent Sensor.
The lodging-focused ads are running in several
National trade magazines that are dedicated
to the hotel management community.
LG also asked our team to target long-term
care and skilled-nursing facilities, promoting
LG’s leadership (as the #1 television
manufacturer) in the healthcare industry.
The ad bears the headline “Quality Care
in High Definition.”
9. Destination DC In mid-2007, the city of Washington, DC, was
poised to enter the crowded and competitive
domestic tourism market with a new campaign.
The most successful and beloved brands are
single-minded in their claim on the public’s
mind. Volvo means safety, Wal-Mart low
prices and FedEx overnight. For visitors to
Washington, DC, it was all about the power.
Washington, DC was their Ultimate Power
Trip. Innovative “power” word pairings were
used in creative headlines in combination with
evocative visuals that really captured and
brought the idea to life.
Creative testing proved the effectiveness of
this message, and the team’s campaign was
some of the highest-testing creative the
researchers had ever recorded. It was found
that the message succeeded in broadening
the city’s appeal beyond families on vacation
to urban explorers, who are keyed into the
city’s restaurants and nightlife, and knowledge
seekers, who are interested in architecture,
history and culture.
Results
Washington, DC’s travel and tourism industry
reported gains in 2008:
• DC welcomed 16.6 million visitors, a 3%
increase from 2007
• International visitation rose 22%, driving
visitor spending past $5.6 billion and
generating $618 million in tax revenue for
the District
• Domestic travel rose 2% to 15.2 million,
while international visitation showed
double-digit growth for the second straight
year, rising 22% to 1.4 million in 2008
• Cost-conscious travelers boosted
attendance at Smithsonian museums (+4%)
and National Park Service sites (+6%)
10. Applica/Clear2Go A pplica, a marketer and distributor of a
wide range of small appliances for use
in and outside the home, challenged us to
roll out an integrated launch program for
Clear2Go, a personal water bottle with a
replaceable filter, in March and April 2009.
With Earth Day 2009 as the backdrop, the
program was designed to promote the
efficacy of the filter, the impact on the earth
and the overall cost savings associated with
using a personal water bottle. With a broad
consumer opportunity at hand, we delivered
our message at multiple touch-points,
including major city attractions, media
and the web.
Our objectives were to associate Clear2Go
with Earth Day and the green lifestyle, build
buzz among influencers, engage bloggers
to test out the product and post reviews,
take advantage of Lance Armstrong’s
association with the product where
possible, build a digital platform to engage
consumers to use less disposable bottled
water and buy Clear2Go, and leverage buzz
to secure incremental retail distribution.
Results
• More than 8,000 pledges were signed
• 2.3 million bottles were pledged out of
landfills annually
• More than 2.2 million online banner ad
impressions were generated
11. The Phoenix P hoenix started 2007 with a new brand and
new momentum. It was our challenge to
Companies launch this new brand through a compelling
integrated communications program targeted
to a very specific audience, the Financial
Advisor and Life Insurance Agent who
specializes in the High-Net-Worth market.
Our message? That Phoenix has a more
comprehensive understanding of the
mind-set of the HNW client than other wealth
management firms and is the ideal partner for
the financial advisor who wants to know more
and do more for their most demanding clients.
Our creative solution was simple and powerful.
In the highly competitive field of wealth
management, advisors can look to Phoenix to
help them go “The Extra Mile” for their most
successful and demanding clients.
Focus group research in key markets validated
the proposed message approach and provided
additional insights around media habits and
preferred means of recognition that allowed us
to fine-tune the integrated marketing plan. In
addition to national and trade print advertising,
the team developed sales-recognition and
other promotional programs, as well as a highly
concentrated online advertising effort.
Results
• Generated over 600 high-quality leads
• Served ads with relevant messages 17
million times
• Achieved above-industry-standard
click-through rates
• Achieved conversion rates as high as
10% across all sites – double the average
reported for B2B online campaigns
12. Hormel Foods W hile Hormel Foods has constantly
evolved with innovative products and
food production technologies, the company’s
corporate reputation has not. As a result,
Hormel Foods was in a constant struggle
to become more than just “The maker of
SPAM” and asked our team to help create a
new digital experience that would serve as a
platform to shift customers’ perceptions of the
Hormel brand from traditional and down-home
with limited product offerings, to innovative,
modern, and diverse.
Based on research we built a corporate web
platform that serves as the gateway to the
entire company online. We then developed
brand specific sites that celebrate what
makes each brand unique. For the Hormel
brand we created an interactive kitchen. Users
gain a sense of brand depth and variety by
interacting with various product ‘carousels’
containing product information, recipe ideas,
and appealing photography. The modern
look of the kitchen – combined with the open
Hormel.com design and streamlined functionality of the
site – obliterated previous perceptions of the
brand as old-fashioned.
Results
The team’s efforts have successfully shaped
perceptions among all audiences, as evidenced
by the media, employees, consumers and
analysts. Key highlights include:
• 250% increase in media coverage since
HormelFoodsRecipes.com Q1 FY2005
• Awareness of Hormel Foods Chairman,
President and CEO Jeffrey Ettinger
increased by 27%
• Won more than 42 awards in FY2008
• Hormel was very successful, garnering
9,452 visits during the week after
launch and 46,947 visits total during
Spam.com the first month
• Consumer testing of the Interactive Kitchen
revealed an 80% success rate in broadening
the consumer’s perception of brand variety,
and a 65% success rate in conveying
innovation and modernity as Hormel
brand attributes
Hormelfoods.com
13. U.S. Treasury T o stay ahead of counterfeiting, the United
States government is required to redesign
Bureau of Engraving & Printing each denomination of currency every seven
to ten years. Educating the public must be at
the forefront of this effort so that those who
handle American currency are aware of the
newest features of the bills and can easily
spot a counterfeit. Three government agencies
are responsible for this public education
awareness program: The Bureau of Engraving
and Printing, The Federal Reserve Board and
The United States Secret Service.
In 2003, the United States government
began introducing newly redesigned bills with
a host of distinct colors and security features
aimed to thwart the continually evolving
threat of counterfeiting. The $20 bill was the
first in the series, followed by the $50 and
the $10, respectively.
14. I n 2007, the U.S. government tasked us with
developing a new, innovative way to unveil
the redesigned $5 bill to the public. Because
On September 17, 2008, a special “splash
page” featuring a digital countdown clock
replaced the home page of the currency
so many redesigned denominations had been education Web site, www.moneyfactory.gov/
released in recent years, the potential for yet newmoney. At 9:00 a.m. on September 20,
another new currency design to be perceived the clock hit 0:00 and a video filled the screen,
as “old news” was real. The unveiling event introducing the new $5 bill. The unveiling
needed to gain significant media coverage in was followed by a live, online Q&A with
order to kick-start a global public education officials from the U.S. Treasury, The Bureau of
campaign to encourage target audiences to Engraving and Printing, The Federal Reserve
authenticate currency and prepare for the new Board and The United States Secret Service.
$5 bill’s entry into circulation early next year. The Wi-5 event was supported by online
elements that both enhanced the event’s
In cooperation with the Bureau of Engraving news value and ensured a rich, interactive
and Printing, we determined that the unveiling learning experience for target audiences.
of the $5 bill would need to use a format
that could be easily disseminated to as many Results
stakeholders and members of the general
public as possible. It was essential to the public Between September 20th and 22nd, the
education effort of the campaign to drive key Web site www.moneyfactory.gov/newmoney
audiences to the Web site to download and experienced a 976% increase in a 24-hour
order training and education materials. period. The digital unveiling also drove more
than 38,187 stakeholders to order more than
The “Wi-5” Theme 133,446 educational materials to prepare
their employees, constituents and customers
A wordplay on “WiFi” technology, the “Wi-5” for the new $5 bill. The $5 unveiling was the
theme of the $5 unveiling event evoked the first time an event of its kind was listed in the
high-tech nature of the unveiling itself, as Associated Press Daybook, setting a precedent
well as the government’s use of developing for online events in the future. As a result,
technologies to enhance security features more than 250 journalists participated in
in the currency to protect the public against the unveiling.
counterfeiting and to teach people how to
authenticate their currency.
15. The Evidence Is Inspiring...
...Insights
...Strategies
...Creative
...Campaigns
…Digital
...Visibility
...Optimization
...Connections
...Leads
...Customers
...Clients
...Effectiveness
...Results
…Success
16. New York | Washington, D.C. | Chicago | Pittsburgh
www.ProofIC.com
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