This is a campaign overview of Daniel McCoy and Erica Swallow's entry into the 2009 Caples Student Campaign of the Year, hosted by Alloy Media + Marketing.
We won first place. Read more here: http://ericaswallow.wordpress.com/2009/03/22/john-caples-international-awards/
1. Pentel Recycology Presents
Spin the Pen
January 16, 2009
Caples Student Campaign of the Year
Entrants:
Daniel McCoy dfm255@nyu.edu
Erica Swallow eds263@nyu.edu
2. CAMPAIGN STRATEGY
Objectives
Our objectives were to build awareness of Pentel’s Recycology line of products and increase purchase
rates among college-aged students nationwide. We wanted to engage our audience through online
channels such as social networking sites and viral advertisements.
Target Audience
The target market was comprised of high school and college students between the ages of 15-24 years
old. To be most receptive to our promotion’s message, they must be sensitive to environmental issues
and have an active and outgoing lifestyle.
In order to best approach this audience, we focused on online social networks such as Facebook and
YouTube, which are driven by young and well-connected communities that are likely to support our
viral advertisements. Social networkers can become brand advocates and promote Pentel Recycology
beyond our initial media plan.
Secondly, as we are conveniently located on the NYU campus, we were lucky to have insider access to
the dormitory mail system and personal connections with listserv and club administrators. As a result,
we were able to implement a well-rounded, on-campus direct marketing campaign.
Positioning
Our mission was to create a new position for Pentel Recycology as a high-involvement line of products
that would represent a fun, youthful and energetic lifestyle along with an emphasis on the
environmental image. In order to bring an energetic approach to the campaign that would also have
word-of-mouth potential, we produced promotional videos of Recycology products being used in pen
spinning exhibitions. These videos not only link Recycology products with a fun and high-energy
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3. activity but are also demonstrations pen spinning, which increased the likelihood that viewers would
send video links to their friends and that the videos would go viral. This increased the campaign value.
Ideal Consumer Response
At our launch, we hoped that students who enjoyed the pen spinning videos would spread the videos
to friends through online social networks and create a viral sensation. Likewise, we hoped that viewers
who previously bought office supplies without deeply thinking about brand attributes would consider
Pentel Recycology as an extension of an active and eco-conscious lifestyle and would be more likely to
buy Recycology products.
Message
“Spin the Pen, Save the Planet” is our message, combining the pen spinning and environmental
messages within the promotional videos. It serves as a call to action for viewers to take part in the
Recycology program and directs attention to the core ideas of our promotion.
Campaign Tactics and Media Mix
The campaign tactics that were implemented highlight the environmentally-friendly nature of Pentel
Recycology products, while introducing a new concept – pen spinning. Our campaign reiterates that
consumers can enjoy the Recycology products for more than one reason – not only can they save the
planet by buying eco-friendly products, but they can also learn to “spin the pen” while doing so.
Our media mix included postcards, emails, a microsite, online social network sites, and word of mouth.
Taking a closer look, we implemented these four tactics:
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4. 1.) Direct Marketing – We printed postcards (See Appendix One) that were distributed to NYU
dorms and via email. The emails were sent to on-campus groups that had an interest in
environmental issues, marketing, and general college news.
2.) Microsite – Our microsite, www.spinthepen.info, acted as the main portal for all Spin the Pen
information. We housed our Pentel Recycology commercials and pen spinning tutorials, as well
as links to our Facebook and YouTube pages and the Pentel Recycology website.
3.) Viral/WOM – Our largest campaign focus was on social networking and viral marketing. We
created a Facebook page (See Appendix Two) and a YouTube channel (See Appendix Three),
both entitled Pentel Recycology. These online communities created a place for dialogue. They
housed our commercials and information about each Pentel Recycology product.
4.) Campus and Community Outreach – We made connections with multiple on-campus clubs.
Likewise, we recruited two expert pen spinners, Xero and JC (See Appendix Five), from the New
York City community to star in our commercials. As a result, we were able to captivate the
community in a meaningful way. Along with the local community, we made an impact
internationally with the pen spinning community. As the pen spinning community is mostly
online, we were able to transcend international borders by featuring pen spinning. Our videos
were viewed in Australia, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, and the United States.
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Objectives
Our public relations objective was to increase awareness of Pentel Recycology on the NYU campus and
among pen spinners and environmentalists. We also aimed to spread awareness in other related
communities, including marketing bloggers, pen and office supply enthusiasts, and general college
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5. news sources. We reached out to each of these groups with a standard press release (see Appendix Six)
and followed up with all further inquiries. Our story was picked up by multiple blogs and news sources,
including The Marketing Blog, College News website, and Women in Communications’ Lit Up! blog.
(See Appendices Seven, Eight, and Nine).
Strategy
Our key public relations strategy was to contact groups that would be interested in our project. These
group segments included: pen spinners, environmentalists, marketing bloggers, pen and office supply
enthusiasts, and college news sources. We sent our press release to over forty contacts.
Budget
We sought to maintain accurate records of all campaign expenditures, and to report accurate cost
figures at the culmination of the campaign. Our campaign costs are listed below.
Expense Cost ($)
Flyer printing 5.50
Food on set 25.43
Pens 50.38
Transportation for pen spinners 96.00
Website design 45.00
Web Space 24.99
Lighting on set 13.46
YouTube Search Ad 21.24
Total Campaign Cost $282.00
Results
Throughout the campaign, our goal was to maximize our impressions by saturating our target
audience’s media and to reach out to the press for further coverage. These tactics were successful. The
numbers speak for themselves: 194 Facebook fans, 1,452 YouTube channel and video views, and
115,866 impressions. Some impressions, such as press, were uncountable (See Appendix Ten).
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6. Above: The final results for the YouTube Sponsored Videos campaign. The average cost per click was $0.17.
Above from left: Video views by day; Our videos were an
international hit, viewed in 10 countries on YouTube alone.
Above: YouTube Insights Demographic information showed that our channel was most popular among teenage males.
Total Impressions as of Thursday, December 15, 2009
Media Impressions
Direct Mail (Postcards and Email) 800
Facebook 1,154
MySpace blog 64
Universal Pen Spinning Board 1,112
YouTube (impressions + channel/video views) 112,736
Total Impressions 115,866
*Note: Some impressions were uncountable (See Appendix Ten).
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7. APPENDIX
Appendix One: Direct Marketing Postcard and Email Flyer
Below is the direct marketing postcard that was distributed in dorms and via email. Because our
audience was NYU students, we used a neighborly tone to address our campaign. We felt that students
would identify more with the campaign if they knew that NYU students had created it.
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10. Appendix Four: Search Results for Pentel Recycology on YouTube
We created a Google AdSense account in order to participate in YouTube Sponsored Videos. We set a
daily budget of $10.00 and a maximum cost of $0.50 per click. Our channel appeared in the Sponsored
Videos area (the first video) if the following phrases were search: Pentel, Recycology, Pentel
Recycology, pen spinning, pen spinner, recycle, recycled, Handy-Line S, Cool Lines, Hyper G,
environmentally-friendly, pen, pencil, and marker. All of our videos also rank at the top of the video
search for “Pentel Recycology”, “Pentel”, and many other related key words.
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11. Appendix Five: Promotion by Pen Spinners
For the commercials, we recruited two pen spinners, Xero and JC. Their YouTube channels are:
http://www.YouTube.com/user/CalhounXero & http://www.YouTube.com/user/JCspinner35
Both pen spinners promoted our YouTube channel on their channels, driving traffic to the
commercials, Facebook page, spinthepen.info, and the Pentel Recycology webpage. Xero
independently made two videos in promotion of the project. The first was entitled “Pentel Project
Info” and was featured on his homepage for multiple days (pictured below). This video explains the
project and discusses the Pentel Recycology product line. The second video was entitled “Pentel
Project – Behind the Scenes”. It is a documentary of the commercial shoot. For further reference, both
videos can be found on his YouTube channel and within the “Favorites” section of our channel.
Above: Xero’s “Pentel Project Info” video
Above: Within the “Pentel Project Info” video, Xero featured multiple sites for more information on the project, including the
Pentel Recycology webpage, our Facebook group, and our YouTube channel.
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13. Appendix Seven: The Marketing Blog
http://marketing-expert.blogspot.com/2009/01/learn-your-marketing-from-bunch-of.html
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14. Appendix Eight: College News
http://www.collegenews.com/index.php?/article/spin_the_pen_save_the_planet_74628/
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15. Appendix Nine: Women in Communications – Lit Up! Blog
http://wiclitup.wordpress.com/2009/01/13/nyu-students-reach-out-to-international-pen-spinning-
community/
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16. Appendix Ten: Examples of Uncountable Impressions
Above: Among other websites, our commercials were picked up by AOL Video.
Above: Our commercials were even picked up by a Japanese website called Taggy.
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