Company: McCann PR, Bucharest, Romania
Company Description: McCann PR, member of McCann Erickson Romania Group, based in Bucharest, is a top public relations consultancy firm. In March 2006, McCann PR becomes a Weber Shandwick affiliated company.McCann PR, best known for its creative work, has received several industry awards over the years, including a 2007 European Excellence Award and a 2007 Sabre Award.
Nomination Category: Creative Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Creative Team

Nomination Title: The launch of Coke zero on the Romanian market

   1. Tell the story about what this nominated team achieved (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:

          On a market with increased consumer demand for healthier beverage options, Coca-
          Cola extended its light products portfolio and launched Coca-Cola zero on the
          Romanian market in April 2007. Coca-Cola zero has a similar full bodied taste
          to Coca-Cola but with zero sugar. The challenge was to avoid Coca-Cola zero
          being cannibalized by Coca-Cola light, a product that targets mainly females
          30+.

          We crafted a consumer-involving campaign speaking in the universal language
          that is humor and approaching some consumers’ untold truth.
          Research. A study of the SNA FOCUS (Nov. 2005- 2006) provided us with
          information about the consumer insights. TNS-AGB was the source for Coke zero
          target analysis while Pulse Agency, the Universal McCann Research Agency,
          analyzed the competition.

          Objectives. The informational objective was to create awareness among 80% of
          consumers and 100% of journalists within 2 months. The behavioral was to
          generate trial among 45% of audiences.

          Approach: Our benchmark: press coverage is always a good thing but is not
          necessarily the best thing. In order to manage to communicate with those
          elusive consumers, we also implemented guerilla and viral tools.

          Campaign concept: live life with zero downsides. Coke zero gives you real taste
          with zero negative consequences. To transform this concept into one with real
          word-of-mouth potential, we approached the idea ironically and introduced the
          stand-up comedy show as the ideal voice.

          Audiences: consumers / mass-media / employees / sales force / key accounts.
          Consumer profile: male/urban/ 20-29 y.o, the consumer who love the taste of
          Coca-Cola but is trying to balance his energy intake, the modern rebel, who
          enjoys life without compromises, open to new experiences, sociable. Employees,
          sales force, KAs were targeted separately. (more information on the FTP link)
          Messages to core audiences: Emotional message: Coca-Cola inspires me to live
          life with zero downsides. Functional message: Real Coca-Cola taste, zer0 sugar.
          The same Coca-Cola taste, with zero sugar.

          Communication channels: online (blog making use of search engine optimization,
          banners) and offline marketing channels as traditional print, television,
          radio, OOH, guerilla and Key Accounts. There were produced 12.000 displays and
          30 different types of POSMs. 600.000 persons were reached through the national
          sampling program (May-August).

          The program was split in 3 periods: teaser, reveal and after-launch.

          Teaser (10 days). Why not a girlfriend with zer0 thoughts of marriage? Why not
          one-night stands with zer0 implications? Enter all your questions on
          www.decezero.ro Teaser began with the www.decezero.ro launch – the blog
          referred to as a therapy group for all those who had enough guts to joke about
          life with zero downsides. No brand was mentioned.  Stencils with
          www.decezero.ro took over the city.

          During the teaser, we sent journalists from all fields a black zero T-shirt:
          one ironic message layered on the Romanian journalist profile downsides
          (e.g.: “Why not a press release with zer0 corporate blah” for dailies / “Why
          not newsworthy information with zer0 flourishes” for business publications).  

          Reveal. One day before the official launch, when the product wasn’t yet
          available on the market, all garbage bins in Bucharest downtown and campuses
          were overfilled with empty Coca-Cola zero bottles. “Where did the Coca-Cola
          zero bottles come from? Is there Coca-Cola zero in Romania?”

          The same day, we placed Coke zero vending machines in media outlets buildings.
          The can was for free while the machine had the “Why not Coke zero with zer0
          lei?” sticker posted on. The event launch the same night was to enliven the
          Coke zero concept with the help of a stand-up comedy show performed by Deko
          band.

          After launch. “Coca-Cola zer0 presents the Deko Tour with zer0 downsides” – The
          stand up comedy show toured the whole country (11 cities). At the end of the
          tour, we sent all-field journalists a DVD with tour excerpts. The footage was
          also posted on www.youtube.ro stirring commentaries on other blogs.
          Difficulties faced by PR agency. The date on which we organized the event
          coincided with one major unexpected event: President Basescu suspension.
          Results: 90% brand awareness among consumers. 49% of those who heard of the new
          product tried it while 64% of them repeated the purchase. As to media coverage,
          we provided a 3 % return on the investment, reflected in over 170 articles in
          local and national print and online press. The number of the blog unique
          visitors amounted to 25490 in two weeks. 71.5 % from all these visitors added
          www.decezero.ro to their Favorites.

          Business results: In the first 6 weeks, sales volume was two times higher than
          the estimated volume. At the end of the year, sales volume amounted to 3 MM
          U.C. which was 38% higher than the total volume estimated for 2007.

   2. 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]:

   3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of this nominated team:

          Andreea Leonte has been a member of the McCann PR team since 2004.
          She has more than 4 years of PR practice, having previously worked in mass-
          media as foreign affairs editor at the national TV station B1TV and editor at
          several national newspapers and lifestyle magazines, writing news reports,
          interviews, investigative pieces, as well as social and lifestyle features.
          She has a master’s degree in marketing communication at the Faculty of
          Journalism and Communication Sciences of Complutense University in Madrid,
          Spain.

          She developed successful and internationally acclaimed campaigns for accounts
          such as Coca-Cola, Affichage Romania, and Heineken.