Table of Contents 6 2012 OVATION Awards Winning Entries

painting, assembling furniture, cleaning, etc., by Christian. The teams worked well into the morning,
completing the work just in‐time for the formal “media” portion of the event at 9am.
Media Communication
For the media portion of the event, APEX extended the media target beyond beauty media to include
broadcast/news media and design media as well. Prior to the makeover, APEX sent in a photographer to
the YWCA to take professional “before” shots of the space. APEX used these images to communicate to
media, piquing their interest by demonstrating how the space was in need of a makeover and enforcing
that the reveal would be transformational with the help of our “celebrity” partners Lisa Canning and
Christian Pavey. Because we enlisted the support of beauty media in the early stages of the campaign,
APEX kept in regular contact and updated them along the way with pertinent information such as
enlisting Lisa Canning, design plans, and most importantly inviting them individually to witness the
“Overnight Fix” transformation itself. The beauty media list included Toronto‐based magazines as well as
short lead print and online writers and bloggers. One of the major internal goals set by the team was to
secure two broadcast outlets to cover the event, including one live‐eye. APEX pitched the live‐eye as an
exclusive opportunity and was able to confirm CP24 Breakfast to cover the event. CBC News also sent a
camera to capture the reveal. In addition to this customized outreach, APEX issued a media alert on the
CNW wire to invite all assignment desks. Beauty media in attendance included FASHION, Flare and
Chatelaine. At the event, media were escorted into the room where the “before” shots had been blown
up so they could see the transformation. A Jergens spokesperson provided attendees with an overview
of the rationale for the “Overnight Fix” which naturally segued into a description of the product itself.
To compliment this, a representative from the YWCA provided commentary on how the makeover
would affect the residents and Lisa and Christian ended the presentation with an informal walk‐through
of the space. Following the formal remarks, the door was opened for the residents to experience the
space for themselves and one‐on‐one interviews were offered to media with the YWCA and Jergens. In
addition to traditional media outreach, APEX also sent media and partners (YWCA, Lisa Canning, etc.) a
Twitter hashtag (#JergensOvernightFix), which generated a significant amount of traction on the first
day of the “Overnight Fix” and reveal day. Following the event, APEX issued a press release with before
and after photos on the CNW wire as well as individually to our beauty, news and design media lists.
The APEX team follow‐up extensively over the following weeks to secure coverage and fact‐check
stories.
5. IMPLEMENTATION AND CHALLENGES
Budget
APEX was initially given a budget of $40,000, which was increased to $50,000. After reviewing the
amount of work to be done at the YWCA, APEX, Jergens. Lisa Canning and Christian Pavey met to discuss
the amount of money needed to properly renovate the space and Jergens agreed to increase the
expense fund by $10,000.
The $50,000 budget covered the following:
Long Lead Beauty Magazine “Un Save the Date Mailing” ‐ $11,000 (fees and expenses)
Short Lead Media Relations ‐ $8,287 (fees and expenses)
“Overnight Fix” event ‐ $30,713 (fees and expenses)