Company: Accenture, Chicago, IL
Company Description: Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world's most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments.
Nomination Category: Marketing Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Marketing Campaign of the Year - For a Service

Nomination Title: Accenture Economic Adversity Advertising and Integrated Marketing Campaign

Tell the story about this nominated campaign since January 1 2008 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

The recent volatility in world markets has created tremendous uncertainty and
anxiety in the global economy. Accenture quickly responded to this new reality,
creating a forward-thinking advertising and integrated marketing campaign that
positions Accenture as “the” partner of choice to help companies succeed and,
ultimately, achieve high performance in extraordinary times.

Despite the tremendous success of the current campaign – the strategy needed to
evolve. The campaign successfully communicated Accenture’s High Performance
Delivered positioning but was disconnected from the ominous economic conditions
of the day. Accenture differentiated itself by repositioning the campaign to
address the uncertain global economy, while also signaling its empathy and
understanding of the tough issues its clients and prospects faced. The message
had a twist – not only did Accenture understand the challenges of the economic
climate, but knew there was an opportunity for clients to be successful despite
the hostile conditions.

The campaign launched in November 2008 in the United States, quickly followed
by Europe and Asia, appearing in The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, Forbes,
Fortune, The Financial Times, The Times, Enjeux les Echos, Harvard Business
Manager, Cataluna Economica and Mondo among other publications. The campaign
was also featured in airports around the world and online. Using provocative
headlines and bold imagery to underscore the challenging economic environment,
three new print ads featured Tiger Woods in challenging environments symbolic
of the economic climate - golfing during an impending storm, analyzing a shot
in waist-high grass, and struggling to see in less-than-clear conditions. The
tone of the campaign reflected Accenture as leader-like and sympathetic to the
issues of the day, without a sense of capitalizing on client misfortunes as
evident by the following print and airport poster headlines:

•             Why high performers shine even when the sun doesn’t.
•             It's not a setback. It's a test.
•             How can you plan ahead when you can hardly see ahead?

Three new television spots complement the print campaign featuring Tiger Woods
successfully navigating difficult circumstances and overcoming obstacles which
metaphorically represent the grim economic reality. All media highlight
variations on the same closing message, “When it’s tougher than ever to be a
Tiger, it’s even more important to know what it takes.”

Accenture’s integrated marketing campaign further addressed the economic crisis
in tandem with the advertising through such avenues as its letter to
shareholders from CEO Bill Green, accenture.com, the Accenture High Performance
Business Podcast Series, the Accenture Outlook thought leadership magazine,
along with strategic communications and global marketing collateral.

The opportunity has never been greater for Accenture to be the partner of
choice, to help companies become high-performance businesses. The knowledge and
experience Accenture brings to every client need is more relevant and necessary
than ever, and solidifies its position as the authority on high performance for
clients facing serious issues.

List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:

http://www.accenture.com/Global/About_Accenture/Company_Overview/Advertising/Economic_Adversity_Advertising/default.htm

http://www.accenture.com/home/default.htm

http://www.accenture.com/Global/High_Performance_Business/Research_and_Insights/KnowWhatItTakes.htm

http://www.accenture.com/NR/rdonlyres/27470DDD-15FB-4DA3-97C9-A4D93287E362/0/Accenture_AR2008_letter_0.pdf

http://www.accenture.com/Global/Research_and_Insights/Outlook/By_Issue/Y2009/METNewchoicesnewchallenges.htm

Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of the team that carried out this campaign:

As Accenture's Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Roxanne Taylor heads
the company's Marketing & Communications corporate function, comprising more
than 500 professionals worldwide. Ms. Taylor has more than 25 years of
experience in all facets of marketing and corporate communications.

Teresa Poggenpohl is Executive Director - Global Image for Accenture and is
responsible for shaping the company’s brand and position in the market in
support of the company’s strategic agenda. She has responsibility for
advertising, brand management, internet marketing, marketing research,
marketing strategy and database marketing.