• by Staff Writers , September 5, 2008

Finalist - Communications Channel Plan

Kevin Pietsch, senior vice president, group media director; Benjamin Flecha, media supervisor

At a time when jet-age couriers like FedEx and DHL are grabbing share of the rapid-delivery marketplace, Campbell-Ewald came up with a decidedly quaint and grassroots strategy to promote the speed, dependability and community-based connections of the U.S. Postal Service's Express Mail to customers in New Britain, Conn. The campaign tapped into the Rock Cats, a local minor league baseball team, to develop the "Express Mail Run." During a sixth-inning stretch, two kids wearing USPS shirts raced down the sidelines to see who could "deliver" branded packages first.
The on-field event was augmented by an integrated communications effort, including in-stadium signs and live and replay broadcasts on the Rock Cats' JumboTron, as well as conventional media buys: local radio, billboards, print and online media.