Launch of the US EPA SmartWay brand
of environmentally certified vehicles

SmartWay Vehicle Certification Campaign for US EPA
Office of Transportation & Air Quality

The SmartWay vehicle marketing program was created to launch the SmartWay brand. Like EPA's Energy Star program, the SmartWay brand symbolizes environmentally friendly, money-saving choices. A SmartWay designation means that those cars and trucks are more fuel-efficient and emit fewer pollutants. The branding campaign's call to action directed customers to look for the SmartWay designation on cars and trucks when selecting a vehicle, and directed interested parties to the EPA's Green Vehicle website.

Results

• Twenty-one auto manufactures now utilize the SmartWay certification on their window stickers and marketing materials.
• Manufacturers such as Subaru incorporate SmartWay certification on a majority of their marketing materials.
• Thousands of SmartWay certified vehicles are now on the road.
• Donated PSA media exposure, included:
  • $28,232,269 Total Value of Donated Media
  • 37,111 TV PSA airings
  • 100,497 Radio PSA airings
  • 27,123,795,000 Total Print Circulation
  • 136 DMAs

Increase awareness of the dangers of Radon gas, as well as the number of consumers who have their homes tested for the presence of Radon.

How do you convince the American public that they should be concerned about something they cannot see, smell, hear, touch or taste? That's exactly the problem PlowShare had to overcome when it began collaborating with the EPA to promote the dangers of Radon through an awareness campaign. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in America behind smoking, claiming about 20,000 lives annually – but the only way to know if you have unsafe levels of the gas in your home is to test for it.

Results

• Average hits on the EPA's Radon site increased 13% from an average of 33,000 to 40,000 a day.
• Average calls to the hotline increased 35% from about 28 to 38 a day.
• Awareness of Radon has grown to 89% of the total public
• Donated PSA media exposure included:
• $45,536,441 Total Value of Donated Media
• 87,218 TV PSA airings
• 132,887 Radio PSA airings
• 50,309,000 Total Print Circulation
• 154 DMAs

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Increase media exposure connecting children with nature and public knowledge about the health benefits, and provide information.

US Fish & Wildlife Service National
Wildlife Refuge System (USFWS)

Americans, especially American children, are becoming increasingly disconnected from direct experience with nature, which has serious negative implications for the USFWS conservation mission. The service is refocusing its programs to increase opportunities for Americans to directly connect with nature. The advertising sought to build understanding of the distinctions found within the Refuge System and to encourage use of the system by a public that is increasingly disconnected from it. Spending time outdoors is easy, fun and healthy for the whole family.

Results

• Donated PSA media exposure, included:
  • $27,8263,920 Total Value of Donated Media
  • 51,079 TV PSA airings
  • 17,453,000 Total Print Circulation
  • 173 DMAs

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The goal of the advertising was to generate awareness and increase traffic to the healthywomen.org website.

healthywomen.org Awareness Campaign Development & PSA Media Outreach for National Women's Health Resource Center

From the most intimate to the ordinary, women want honest, unbiased information about the health and well-being of their bodies. The National Women's Health Resource Center is the nation's leading independent health information source for women. Through its wide array of online and print publications, the center provides health information that is original, objective, reviewed by medical experts and reflective of the advances in evidence-based health research. The center's website, healthywomen.org, is a nonprofit site that has been providing information regarding women's most pressing and personal health care questions for more than 20 years.

The advertising highlights the unbiased and trustworthy nature of the content and advice provided on healthywomen.org. While seeking to be visually dramatic and reflect the woman-to-woman nature of the site, the creative features highly stylized portraits of women with provocative headlines.

Results

• The healthywomen.org site has received in excess of 1.9 million unique visitors per year.
• The site was recognized as the top women's health website by Good Housekeeping magazine.
• Donated PSA media exposure, included:
  • $2,090,500 Total Value of Donated Media
  • 18,835,902 Total Magazine Circulation
  • 47 Major Market Airport Placements
    

Raise awareness and enlist the public's aid to meet the needs of severely injured service members, help men and women assist each other, and provide information about programs and services.

Wounded Warrior Project

Over 34,000 members of our nation's armed forces have been wounded in the Iraq and Afghani wars. Many of the physical wounds have healed, but for some the journey does not end there. Typically, with catastrophic injuries, a parent or spouse is forced to leave the workforce to care for his or her loved one. In some instances, the veteran requires help with such basic needs as washing and showering, feeding, dressing, administering medications and getting to physician and therapy appointments. Some who have suffered traumatic brain injury, often complicated by post-traumatic stress disorder, need near-constant supervision to ensure their safety.
The creative assignment was to create a robust, multifaceted creative platform and media plan that support the WWP brand.

The advertising sought to leverage two key benefits:

• Rational – WWP responds to the needs of returning veterans in a manner that's in tune with these veterans – emotionally, physically, financially and spiritually. WWP is not your father's veterans' association.
• Emotional – Advertising uses the highly emotional situation of returning veterans and the trauma they face to create a context of empathy and support.
  

Results

• Donated PSA media exposure, included:
  • $35,042,000 Total Value of Donated Media
  • 87,723 Total TV PSA Airings
  • 193 DMAs
    

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The primary goal of the PSA media outreach was to generate significant amounts of donated media time and space. A secondary goal was to execute this objective efficiently and return a significant media spend-to-earn ratio.

Make-A-Wish Foundation®

Since 1980, the Make-A-Wish Foundation has enriched the lives of children with life-threatening medical conditions through its wish-granting work. The Foundation's mission reflects the life-changing impact that a Make-A-Wish experience has on children, families, referral sources, donors, sponsors and entire communities. PlowShare has been asked to help the Make-A-Wish Foundation create visibility for their PSA campaign.

The PSA distribution utilized a refined media distribution list in combination with extensive in-person media outreach. PlowShare Group's affinity indexing capability enabled us to isolate those media companies that had utilized PSAs within the health and safety affinity category. In addition, we leveraged our network of media contacts to identify those prospects most likely to run the PSAs and conducted extensive follow-up via telemarketing and email solicitation.

Results

• Donated PSA media exposure, included:
  • $27,829,299 Total Value of Donated Media
    
  • 53,417 Total TV PSA Airings
    
  • 615 Unique Stations
    
  • 198 DMAs
    
  • 31,451 Radio Airings
    
  • 612 Unique Movie Theaters
    
  • 100 Unique Malls

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Achieve increases in shared ride mode transit options, specifically bus, subway, commuter train and ferries, as well as all forms of alternative transportation activities.

511NY – Traffic, Travel & Transit Hotline/Website for New York State Department of Transportation

In 2009, the New York State Department of Transportation deployed its 511 New York Travel Information Service (511NY) – a platform and information source that provides comprehensive, fast and reliable traffic, transit and travel information. The information is provided in a user-friendly and seamless system through the coordination of telephone, website and e-notification offerings. Through a common and unified brand, travelers and commuters in the NY Metropolitan Transportation Council region would now have a single portal for all traffic, transit and travel information.

Results
The levels of unaided and aided awareness rose by 18% to 23% from the 5% level registered at the pre-advertising stage. Further, when respondents were asked if they knew of a single-source website or phone number where they could get "real-time" area traffic, travel and transit information, 53% of those aware correctly named 511NY as the source.

Both 511NY unique web visits and hotline caller volumes increased dramatically once the communications campaign was launched. A total of 1,042,254 points of contact (online + hotline) were made by the traveling public; 64% of that activity occurred during the active period of the campaign. Web activity was even higher, with 75% of the total year-to-date unique visits occurring during the active portions of the campaign.

Clearly, the campaign had a positive effect on awareness of 511NY. Further, this awareness fostered understanding about the purpose of 511NY and what it provides.