MMI Agency - Best Sponsorship Campaign

Company: MMI Agency, Houston, TX
Company Description: MMI Agency is a communications firm that uses deep consumer insights to create and activate integrated campaigns delivering best-in-class, high impact results to our clients. We partner with brands across industries, including CPG, healthcare, real estate, technology and finance. We are full-service, with capabilities in search landscape and strategy, digital public relations, media and creative.
Nomination Category: Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, & Public Relations Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Communications or PR Campaign of the Year – Sponsorship

Nomination Title: MD Anderson/PGA TOUR sponsorship

Specify the date on which this campaign or program was launched: August 22, 2019

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has one goal: to eliminate cancer through patient care, research, prevention and education. To achieve it, the institution understands messaging must reach previously untapped audiences at risk for certain cancers.

Through years of clinical and preventative research, MD Anderson identified several lifestyle choices people can make to reduce their risk of cancer, especially skin cancer, the most preventable malignancy. After careful evaluation, MD Anderson sought assistance from MMI Agency to establish an innovative platform through the PGA TOUR to educate audiences about sun safety and inspire the healthy public to take preventative action. Today, MMI leads the national sponsorship program, ensuring its success through research and evaluation of tournament activation and media coverage.

The development of the campaign followed closely from MD Anderson’s stated goals for the sponsorship: creating awareness of MD Anderson in key U.S. markets, educating consumers with cancer prevention tips, fundraising and driving patient acquisition. Over the past two years, MMI has been able to leverage MD Anderson’s PGA sponsorship to execute memorable and engaging activations at a number of PGA tournaments, and beyond. In coordination with MD Anderson, MMI developed a large activation booth to take to select tournaments, providing an engaging space to tie together themes of golf with education about cancer and tributes to survivors with interactive opportunities for consumers to engage with the brand.

In service to the goals, the MMI team planned for a fundraising section of the booth allowing fans to donate for a chance to win themed premium items, as well as a private section where fans could receive free cancer screenings. Elsewhere, MMI planned for educational signage throughout the course, and the creative team developed iconographic imagery to make the content easier for consumers to digest.

In a departure, the MMI team also sought to leverage the full color palette from the MD Anderson branding guidelines. While black, white and red are normally featured in most creative, the team wanted to use all of the secondary and tertiary colors on their palette, as they were more appropriate to the very colorful sport and would serve to make the signage and messaging fun and engaging for both kids and adults.

In August 2019, MMI took the booth to the TOUR Championship in Atlanta, Georgia where it was activated over the course of four days. Following that, the booth was taken to Houston Open in October, and Farmers Insurance Open in January 2020. At each of these events, MMI also positioned sunscreen stations and incorporated educational components across the course to subtly inform visitors about basic prevention methods.

After the pandemic severely curtailed the TOUR, MMI shifted gears to publicize the sponsorship with an inspiring virtual event. Travis Arnold, a former patient at the MD Anderson Children's Cancer Hospital, is now six-years cancer-free, a college student, and a huge golf fan. During the 2020 TOUR Championship, MMI and MD Anderson surprised him with a virtual visit from several players and then, later, an in-person visit from Lanto Griffin (the 2019 Houston Open Champion). The visits received significant media coverage, further supporting the campaign by lending credibility and creating an emotional connection between the public and MD Anderson’s mission.

Through its work with the PGA TOUR, MD Anderson has amplified its mission to end cancer and elevated prevention messaging and the importance of early detection that will help people make lifestyle choices that reduce cancer risk. Over the timeframe described above, MMI Agency garnered more than 78 million impressions for MD Anderson through earned, paid and owned media, as well as the live activations, and also contributed $124,042.00 to MD Anderson’s fundraising efforts.

(Pictured) At each of the tournaments, MMI incorporated educational components across the course, such as customizing already-present “no smoking” signs with clever, branded messages that spoke to the detriments of the habit. MD Anderson also sponsored a shaded gallery, providing further opportunity to subtly educate spectators with tips such as seeking shade, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, sunscreen, etc.

(Pictured) The team also positioned sunscreen stations throughout the course, providing free sunscreen as well as more opportunity to directly engage with and educate participants.

URLS: During the TOUR Championship in August 2020, MMI and MD Anderson surprised former patient Travis Arnold with a virtual visit from Mark Rolfing, NBC golf analyst and partner with MD Anderson, who in turn introduced him to three other surprise participants, TOUR players Lanto Griffin, Marc Leishman and Mackenzie Hughes. During the meeting, Griffin revealed that he had actually lost his father to cancer, prompting a meaningful, and heart-rending conversation. The interaction garnered significant engagement, as well as broadcast and social media impressions. In November 2020, Griffin (the 2019 Houston Open Champion) returned to Houston, and the sponsorship team arranged for him to personally (and safely) surprise Travis at home, this time accompanying the Houston Open Championship trophy. They sat down together (again with Mark Rolfing) for a distanced interview. The visit was covered by the Golf Channel, The National Post and numerous Houston outlets, resulting in another wave of highly positive coverage.