Work

The Starkey Hearing Foundation: Super Bowl XLVII

2013-02-04T22:17:00Z

Challenge: Starkey Hearing Foundation turned to Exponent PR to raise awareness of its commitment to provide 100,000 hearing aids to people in need annually, and one million by 2020, as a member of the Clinton Global Initiative. With many foundations doing great work, it’s difficult for consumers to realize the true impact Starkey Hearing Foundation has and continues to have, both domestically and internationally. Hearing loss is pervasive, affecting 34 million Americans – or one in 10. Exponent leveraged compelling patient stories and the power of celebrities to resonate with media and the public —ultimately elevating awareness of Starkey Hearing Foundation and its missions.

Solution: For Starkey Hearing Foundation’s first domestic mission of 2013, Exponent launched a hard-hitting media relations program announcing two missions taking place taking place in New Orleans during Super Bowl weekend. With the help of country music superstar Garth Brooks, American Idol winner Jordin Sparks, and NFL players including Greg Jennings, NFL Pro Bowl MVP Kyle Rudolph, Brian de la Puente, and Will Witherspoon, more than 100 people, including 50 children, were fitted with customized, digital hearing aids—some hearing for the first time.

Between the human interest angle, timing and location, Exponent was able garner extensive coverage during one of the busiest media times of the year. Exponent secured an Associated Press placement that was picked up immediately by The Huffington Post, CBS Sports, and ABC News, as well as in-depth broadcast and feature print coverage in the New Orleans market. And, the story continues to spread.

Fun Facts:

American Idol winner Jordin Sparks sang “Happy Birthday” to a young boy who was being fitted for a hearing aid on his 14th birthday.
New Orleans Saints player, Brian de la Puente, has a personal connection to the cause – his sister is hearing impaired.
One of the missions in New Orleans took place in the Musicians Quarter at the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music. Several musicians, including Smokey Roberts, drummer for Fats Domino, were fitted with hearing aids.

Land O’ Lakes: Pioneer Woman Partnership

2012-12-11T20:38:00Z

To inspire a younger generation to cook with butter, Land O’Lakes introduced Butter with Olive Oil & Sea Salt. As part of a fully integrated campaign, Exponent PR partnered with one of the most influential and well-known voices in the food blogging community, Ree Drummond, also known by her fans as The Pioneer Woman. Exclusive content from Drummond was the centerpiece of the partnership, including four signature recipes, tips, and online cooking videos. Harnessing the influence of Drummond within the network of other food/mom bloggers was another key component of the campaign. The blogger program included a webinar and a special appearance at the world’s largest blogging conference for women, BlogHer12. The campaign resulted in engaging a new, younger audience with Land O’Lakes website and social media properties, and generating robust traditional and social media coverage.

Medtronic Foundation: The Save-A-Life-Simulator

2012-12-11T20:30:00Z

Sudden cardiac arrest has become the leading cause of death in the United States. To educate people on how to respond if they witness someone collapse, we created the award winning Save-a-Life Simulator, an immersive online experience that lets users make virtual life-or-death choices and teaches the proper steps to follow. In just a few short months, the Save-a-Life Simulator received more than 3.5 million unique visits, educating people all over the world so real lives can be saved. In fact, the real life resuscitation of individuals suffering from SCA has already been linked back to the skills taught by the Save-A-Life-Simulator. Further yet, the compelling "All Alone" public service announcement (PSA) directs visitors to the online experience and has been viewed by nearly 200 million people across the country.

Cenex: Tanks of Thanks

2012-12-11T18:49:00Z

With a long history of serving rural America, Cenex, the CHS energy brand, understands that it’s the small acts of kindness that make a community a great place to live. Building on this notion, the Tanks of Thanks™ program was created to encourage people to nominate family, friends and neighbors for free fuel as a way to thank them for doing good deeds. Since the launch of the campaign in January 2012, more than 70,000 people have visited the Tanks of Thanks™ website, sharing more than 5,000 stories of people doing their part to make their communities a little bit better.

International Olive Council – Add Some Life

2012-06-01T14:22:01Z

Food mixed with fashion during the launch of the Add Some Life campaign for the International Olive Council at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Positioned as the “little black dress” of the culinary world, olive oil, along with a wide array of olives, were on display. Chef Michael Schwartz served up delicious and fashionable recipes that reinforced the versatility, taste and health benefits of olive products. The event jump-started the 18-month campaign to inspire greater use of olive products when cooking and entertaining, and it has garnered more than 245 million impressions.

Project: Pet Slim Down and Jenny Craig Join Forces

2012-03-20T17:57:00Z

Nestlé Program Helps People and Pets Get Healthier…at Both Ends of the Leash.

Just in time for New Year’s, Nestlé Purina and Jenny Craig collaborated to tell the weight-loss resolution story in a whole new way. The “Get a New Leash on Life” campaign targeted both two- and four-legged customers and incented them to sign up for Purina’s Project: Pet Slim Down program. As a result, January registrations nearly tripled the previous total, while the campaign generated a wave of high-profile media coverage and social media conversations.

Land O’Lakes - Cinnamon Sugar Butter Spread

2012-02-02T16:24:00Z

Land O’Lakes recognizes the influence tech-savvy and convenience-minded moms have. Land O’Lakes developed a new flavored butter, Cinnamon Sugar Butter Spread, as one new solution in the kitchen for this convenience-driven mom. To appeal to her, Exponent PR developed a targeted digital and PR campaign, “Make Something Good, Better” to drive awareness and trial of the Cinnamon Sugar Butter Spread. The launch generated consumer awareness, and product trial and sales during the critical back-to-school season.

Fiber One - 90 Calorie Brownie Launch

2012-02-02T16:04:00Z

Exponent PR with General Mills launched new Fiber One 90 Calorie Brownies in an already cluttered and competitive diet food category. A compelling story angle – beat the 3 p.m. slump with Fiber One! – and partnership with Shape magazine netted impressive coverage on national morning shows, including the Today show and Good Morning America Health; plus positive reviews in magazines such as Redbook and Glamour; and coverage in popular online outlets, including Hungry Girl. The integrated PR campaign helped drive product sales well above expectations for the launch.

Novartis Animal Health - The Dirty Truth about Fleas

2012-02-02T15:29:00Z

When it comes to fleas, most dog owners don’t realize the majority of the flea problem is in the home. Adult fleas represent just 5% of a flea infestation — the other 95% are the eggs, maggot-like larvae and pupae hiding in the carpet, floorboards, beds and couches. To shed light on this dirty truth, Novartis Animal Health tasked Exponent PR to educate pet owners on the hidden dangers of fleas and increase awareness for Sentinel Flavor Tabs. Via the power of high-profile media relations, cause marketing, and digital content, Exponent PR was able to help Novartis Animal Health redefine the flea problem and protect market share.

Purina Veterinary Diets - Pet Slim Down

2011-07-21T19:31:00Z

Just as obesity has become a health crisis for people, it has also become one for our four-legged family members. More than half of the nation's dogs and cats — an estimated 43 million dogs and 50 million cats — are overweight or obese. In response to this crisis, Purina Veterinary Diets® launched a comprehensive initiative called Project: Pet Slim Down™ to help both veterinarians and pet owners move beyond knowledge of the problem to implementing a solution. Media outreach has been a vital component of this program. It has been used to showcase the success of campaign pets featured in the program's online reality series as well as the importance of pet owners partnering with their veterinarians to devise a personalized program of diet and exercise. Project: Pet Slim Down™ has been featured in an Associated Press article, in numerous broadcast and newspaper stories, in pet blogs and in a pet weight loss article in Prevention magazine. Reversing a trend like pet obesity requires a long-term commitment to pet owner education as well as the use of effective diets and exercise. The Purina Veterinary Diets Project: Pet Slim Down™ will continue to be an important resource for veterinarians and caring pet owners.

Boy Scouts of America – Base Camp

2011-07-20T14:33:00Z

The Northern Star Council of Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and Exponent PR obtained high-level awareness for the opening of a first-of-its-kind indoor scouting facility, called Base Camp. By strategically avoiding coverage devoted to past mistakes and criticism of BSA policies, the program promoted recognition of the Northern Star Council to inspire a new generation of Scouts to carry the Northern Star Council and BSA into the future. Coverage was universally positive, including in-depth feature articles on the front metro sections of the two local newspapers and on local network TV affiliates.

CHS - Annual Report

2011-03-28T15:08:00Z

Building on a relationship spanning more than a decade, Exponent PR once again constructed the annual report for CHS Inc. Through photos and words, the report demonstrated how the CHS system continues to deliver on stakeholder expectations by building a strategic, broad global network. The theme “Forces” was used to help add context and depth of understanding regarding company performance, as well as drawing readers into the five stories provided in the annual report and showcased via video segments during the annual meeting. Throughout the editorial pages of the report, statistics and customer relationships were highlighted. It showcased the value CHS created in its business units, leading to solid results in fiscal 2010 and positioning the company for solid performance in the future.

Pillsbury - Love The Pie!

2011-03-28T15:03:00Z

Three years ago, Pillsbury and Exponent PR set out to oust the cupcake from its reign as the king of desserts in favor of pie. The Love the Pie! campaign was born, leveraging celebrity spokespeople, apple harvest events and blogger engagement to create buzz-worthy stories that triggered media coverage and fueled the pie trend at a grassroots and national level. In the fall of 2010, pie officially ousted cupcakes as the new “it” dessert. Food prognosticators identified pie as the hot trend for 2011 and The New York Times said it best in a November 2010 article, “Pie to Cupcake: Time’s Up.”

Caribou Coffee - Amy’s Blend

2010-10-01T15:34:00Z

The nation’s second-largest coffeehouse, Caribou Coffee, takes breast cancer research as seriously as it does its premium coffee and tea. Every year, the company uses October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, to sell Amy’s Blend in stores, online and on grocery shelves to benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure. With help from Exponent PR, Caribou Coffee has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for research, promoting the blend through social media community management, extensive consumer and trade media relations, interactive Web features, in-store promotions and special events. In Fall 2010, Exponent and Caribou invited customers to honor someone in their lives touched by breast cancer by dedicating a tulip in stores or online. In the spring, more than 60,000 of those tribute tulips were blooming during “Amy’s Gardens” events, one at the Mall of America in Minneapolis and one at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Photo: Craig Lassig/AP Images for Caribou Coffee

Novartis Animal Health – Million Dog Search

2010-06-01T19:50:00Z

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One in five dogs suffer from debilitating arthritis, but the pain is often missed or misunderstood by owners. Using a first-of-its-kind campaign for pharmaceutical leader Novartis, Exponent PR and advertising partner Colle+McVoy set out to find 1 million dogs at risk for developing arthritis. The integrated program combined consumer social media, cause advocacy, professional education and sales components to help find and treat dogs suffering silently in the United States.