Company: MSLGROUP, Chicago, IL
Company Description: MSLGROUP is Publicis Groupe's strategic communications and engagement group, advisors in all aspects of communication strategy: from consumer PR to financial communications, from public affairs to reputation management and from crisis communications to event management. With more than 3,700 people, its offices span 22 countries.
Nomination Category: Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, & Public Relations Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Social Media Focused

Nomination Title: Recharging the Chevrolet Volt’s Reputation through Influencer Engagement

Tell the story about this nominated campaign since January 1 2012 (up to 525 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

Program Overview

Launched to much fanfare and acclaim, the new Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle soon found its reputation battered due to false product claims in the media and public misunderstanding. While the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration determined the Volt was 100 percent safe following an investigation, the car's reputation continued to face an uphill battle and sales were slow to climb. This program leveraged the power of social media and the influence of key online influencers to help restore the Volt's reputation. The effort increased high level of awareness by 1,200 percent, positive opinion of the car by 512 percent, increased purchase consideration by 370 percent and spurred 90 percent of participants to say they would recommend the Volt.

Objectives

1. Drive a powerful stream of positive online conversation around the Chevrolet Volt to shift the focus from a negative, non-product fueled discussion to a positive, product focused conversation

• Engage at least 1,000 relevant social media influencers with a Klout score above 40
• Drive more than 40,000 pieces of positive social media content (tweets, retweets, Facebook shares, comments and likes) to create more than 350 million total impressions

2. Increase consumer sentiment (determined by pre- and post-loan survey results, content of social media shares, survey comments and email feedback) regarding the Chevrolet Volt

• Increase Volt awareness (high level of knowledge) by 50 percent
• Increase positive opinion by 50 percent

3. Increase Chevrolet Volt purchase consideration by 30 percent to help increase sales

Results

1. Increased Positive Online Conversations:

• Engaged Relevant Digital Influencers: Engaged 1,800 consumers through loans and six Klout Ups o Klout scores averaged 54, exceeding goal of 40
• Generated More than 52,000 Pieces of High-Quality Content, Exceeding Goals: 52,418 pieces of online content (tweets, retweets, Facebook shares, comments and likes) generated by 2,205 influencers
• Exceeded Impressions Goals by 59 percent: Generated nearly 557 million social impressions, exceeding our goal by 59 percent
• Drove Additional Media and Blog Content: 165 media and blog placements, including unique coverage in Reuters, Bloomberg Businessweek, USA TODAY, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune and NBC Bay Area, generating 174.9 million media and blog impressions for a program total of 688.1 million impressions (i.e. total social, media and blog impressions)
• Chevrolet’s Klout score jumped from 43 pre-campaign to 93 post-campaign, giving Chevrolet the highest Klout score of any automotive brand

2. Increased Consumer Sentiment (based on pre and post-loan survey results)

• Increased high level of Volt awareness/knowledge by 1,200 percent
• Increased very positive opinion by 512 percent

3. Increased Chevrolet Volt purchase consideration by 370 percent (participants that said “I’d strongly consider the Volt”).

• Social media content demonstrated participants were talking about considering a Volt purchase or lease
• 90 percent of participants said they would recommend the Volt and many shared this on social media
• The team confirmed six sales from program participants or their immediate friends as a result of the program

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Provide a brief (up to 125 words) biography about the leader(s) of the team that carried out this campaign:

Dawn McKenzie, Vice President, Consumer Marketing, MSLGROUP

Dawn McKenzie is an award-winning PR veteran with deep expertise in grassroots communications, influencer marketing, digital/social media and reputation management. Dawn currently is the account lead for Alcon, General Motors and Wasa Flatbread.

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