Table of Contents 6 2012 OVATION Awards Winning Entries

secured notable interior design expert, Arren Williams, free of charge. Due to a scheduling conflict,
Arren was replaced with designer and home décor maven, Lisa Canning. For a contractor, APEX secured
Christian Pavey, guest star of HGTV’s Pure Design.
Major Program Tactics
Un‐Save the Date & Product Mailing
In order to deliver on Jergen’s goal of delivering “beauty press coverage”, APEX needed to communicate
news about the new product, its benefits and the rationale behind the un‐traditional launch to key
beauty media. In order to allocate the majority of funds for the “Overnight Fix”, this communication
had to be as cost efficient as possible, adding credibility to the cause, but still maintain the high standard
of quality that beauty press have come to expect from a big brand like Jergens.
APEX decided to communicate to the core group of beauty media through a tailored and “cheeky”
mailing where media were essentially “un‐invited” to an event because of the charitable donation to the
YWCA. For most media events, APEX will typically send a “Save the Date” alerting the journalist about
the event weeks in advance. In this instance, APEX packaged a hard copy “Un‐Save the Date Invitation”
letting media know that in lieu of a typical, luxurious launch event or media gifts, Jergens has decided to
channel the funds towards a charitable initiative – the Overnight Fix. Within the package, APEX also sent
the product sample, a fact sheet containing all of the product benefits as well as instructions on how
media could get involved in the cause themselves. To ensure that media were engaged, APEX included a
label for the YWCA and encouraged media to re‐use the box by filling it with personal care products
from their publication’s “beauty closets”. If the journalist was interested in participating, APEX would
simply arrange the courier directly from the outlet to the YWCA.
Through follow‐up with our media contacts, APEX received positive feedback from almost all of the
recipients including: “Dear @apexpr, your @JergensCanada mailout is GENIUS: no beauty event &
instead donate items to @YMCAGTA's woman's shelter. #PRWIN” by Lesa Hannah from Fashion
Magazine – one of the most influential journalists covering the beauty beat. We were happily surprised
by the resulting participation with four of the major outlets on our target list ultimately donating
personal care items to the shelter.
Shelter Makeover
Several meetings were organized by APEX at the YWCA with YWCA representatives, Jergens, APEX,
designer Lisa Canning and contractor Christian Pavey. The agenda at each meeting varied, however the
key items of discussion included: ascertaining the needs of the residents (what is the space used for and
how could it be used in the future), outlining the product specifications for the design (fire retardant
materials, collapsible/stackable furniture for mobility, low VOC paint, storage requirements) and general
logistics about the “overnight fix” event itself. Through collaboration with Lisa Canning and Christian
Pavey, APEX was able to obtain approval from the YWCA and Jergens for a design plan that was within
budget and met all of the criteria outlined above. Following this approval a work‐back plan was agreed
to by the group that included purchasing of items by Lisa, delivery of items by APEX and Christian and
on‐site assembly/renovation the day of with a group of volunteers. A volunteer chart was created by
APEX which asked employees of Jergens and APEX to sign‐up for one of three shifts that would ensure
there was enough manpower to truly complete the renovation in one night. The day of the “Overnight
Fix”, Christian Pavey arrived in the morning to begin laying the floor with a group of volunteers. From
3pm onwards, the groups of volunteers arrived for their shifts and were delegated tasks such as