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| Public Sector Campaign of the Year |
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WinnerUS Military Academy Public Affairs Office: West Point: A story worth telling The US Military Academy at West Point holds a special place in the hearts of America's armed forces. Every year, more than 1,000 young people begin training there to become military leaders, both in action and character. But enrollment began a steady decline in 1996, a trend the heads of the academy wanted to stop before it reached crisis proportions. On March 6, 2002, West Point celebrated the bicentennial of its founding - the perfect opportunity to once again tell Americans the story of the famous academy, and spark the interest of a new generation of students. The public affairs office at West Point ran the entire campaign on its own, using only a modest budget of $300,000. The officers determined that the mass media would be the best vehicle for spreading its message, and they took every opportunity to enlist the media to tell the academy's story. The public affairs office produced a 22-minute bicentennial video, a PSA, a 70-page bicentennial pictorial history, a VNR, b-roll tapes, press-kit folders, posters, and even reproductions of archival black-and-white photos from the academy's past. They then used West Point's extensive reservoir of alumni and cadet parents to help spread the word. The History Channel, the Discovery Channel, and PBS all ran programs about the West Point bicentennial, and the National Geographic Channel even produced and ran a series of 14 30-minute shows based on West Point. The New York Yankees funded a supplement in the October 2002 issue of Forbes, AP ran three wire stories in March, and the Smithsonian Museum of American History held a special exhibit based on the academy's history. The game show Jeopardy included a USMA category in March, and Turner Classic Movies ran a "West Point-themed movie" every Monday night in May. When all was said and done, enrollment for the class of 2006 went up 7%, and enrollment for the class of 2007 is currently 13% higher than that - figures that belie current overall military statistics in America. PRWeek Awards judges agreed that the West Point public affairs officers "took their issue and really made people care about it," and "got a lot done for not a lot of money." "It just goes to show what can happen when you make the most of a milestone," commented one judge. "They took that anniversary, and got every inch of mileage there was to be had. This campaign is a perfect example of recognizing and capitalizing on an opportunity." |