For Canon’s Project Imagin8ion, we created a fully-integrated program leveraging talent partnerships (including Ron Howard & Bryce Dallas Howard), a digital contest, events (TED, Sunday, SXSW, Tribeca, Museum of Natural History and local marketing screenings) and PR to promote a feature film inspired by user-generated content.

We took home the following awards for Canon’s Project Imagin8ion:

• Best Use of Public Relations
• Best Promotion Generating Brand Awareness
• Best Creative
• Best Promotion of 2012

With the success of Project Imagin8ion last year (over 96,000 photo submissions and 3.4 billion PR and media impressions), Grey Alliance is currently working with Canon on the next installment, Project Imaginat10n, where 5 influencer directors (Jamie Foxx, Eva Longoria, Biz Stone, James Murphy and Georgina Chapman) will take part in this creative endeavor under the tutelage of Ron Howard. For more information, please visit www.imagination.usa.canon.com

New York, NY (October 31, 2011) – Grey New York and the DOC NYC Film Festival announced today the creation of “Launch PAD,” a first-of-its-kind initiative that will match brands with new documentary films sourced by the festival.  ”Launch PAD” will provide filmmakers with much-needed expertise and financial support in the areas of prints, advertising, and distribution (the “PAD.” of the program’s title) by developing strategic brand partnerships for individual documentaries.

Thom Powers, Artistic Director for DOC NYC created the Launch PAD program with filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, who recently utilized the marketing support of 22 different companies to promote his 2011 film, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.

“We see tremendous potential for doc makers to leverage both the marketing resources and advertising expertise of these brands to gain more exposure. Too many times we’ve seen great films create really strong festival buzz, but not have the means or the know-how to translate that into a meaningful release. Matching up filmmakers with people who are experts at getting their stories out into the marketplace will give a big boost to these documentaries’ profiles,” said Powers. “The potential return for brands is just as great.  Docs foster a different kind of audience connection than other entertainment — they inspire extra devotion.  Audiences who’ve seen these films become advocates for them and typically want to stay engaged through social media and live events, sharing the film with friends.  We think this is something brands can take real advantage of.”

Launch PAD will focus on identifying brand partners for a shortlist of films to be selected by Powers, Spurlock and Grey.  Grey will work with its portfolio of companies and outside brands as appropriate to create meaningful marketing programs to support both the brand and the film.  Launch PAD aims to create collaborative partnerships with at least three films in its first year, with more planned for subsequent years.

Grey’s Alliance unit and its CEO, Claudia Strauss will spearhead the initiative.  Said Strauss:  “At Grey we play at the intersection of culture and commerce, developing programs that excite our clients and provide them with authentic and long-lasting ways to engage audiences.  The opportunity to help documentary filmmakers build brand partnerships was something we jumped at, since it aligns perfectly with our own agency and client goals.”

Morgan Spurlock introduced DOC NYC to Grey to develop the Launch PAD program.  “DOC NYC is a festival that’s dedicated to bringing documentaries to new audiences and fostering the kind of connections that can happen ‘only in New York’,” said Spurlock.  “This is a unique opportunity for both brands and filmmakers to benefit from the other’s expertise.”

The documentary film market has grown dramatically in recent years, due to the success of such films as Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Buck, Bill Cunningham New York and other fan-favorites.  In addition, the documentary genre has shown major expansion into distribution sectors such as theatrical, video on demand, digital downloads and in-flight entertainment.  In 2011, over 100 documentaries got limited theatrical releases.

Initial details about Launch PAD will be announced as part of DOC NYC’s “Branded Content” panel on Wednesday, November 2 at 4:15pm at IFC Center. The panel, which will explore ways for brands and filmmakers to work more closely together, includes Strauss and Grey’s Deb Freeman, Jet Blue’s Fiona Morrison, Supply and Demand’s Dana Locatell, and Jeremy Chilnick (producer of The Greatest Movie Ever Sold).

DOC NYC is an annual nine-day festival celebrating documentary filmmaking and nonfiction storytelling. Launched in 2010, The festival was conceived and is hosted by the IFC Center, itself one of the country’s most important presenters of documentaries, both for theatrical premieres and through the weekly “Stranger Than Fiction” series, launched in 2005 and now New York’s leading documentary showcase. Festival screenings and events also take place at various venues at New York University.  For more information on DOC NYC go to http://www.DOCNYC.net

Strauss joins from Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal and Partners where she created and served as the founding President of LIME, its leading-edge promotions and public relations group. Claudia also served as a Managing Partner of the agency since 1999.

“This is an incredibly exciting time to be joining the team at Grey,” said Strauss. “Building on all their momentum, my goal is to expand the agency’s offerings by growing capabilities in areas like social, experiential, promotional marketing and branded content that we know are increasingly vital to client needs.”

This marks one of the first major hires Myhren has made since becoming President of Grey New York last December.

“Claudia has become known for big, never-been-done-before ideas that permeate pop culture and resonate across all channels,” Myhren said. “She has the imagination and vision to expand our offering and help Grey continue to create famously effective brand stories.”

Claudia Strauss: A Track Record of “Firsts”
As President of LIME and a key executive at KBS&P, Claudia Strauss built a practice to provide one–of-a-kind multiplatform campaigns, extending beyond traditional advertising. Her arsenal of capabilities has grown to include experiential marketing, partnership development, content creation, social media as well as buzz-generating promotions and public relations.

Under her leadership, LIME introduced many industry innovations and “firsts” including the first US pop up store for Delta Airlines; the first affinity card for HBO; the first consumer-generated coupon for Lucky Brand Jeans; a branded boat for Target and a Meow Mix television show for cat lovers on the Oxygen network.

In addition, Strauss has overseen fully-integrated campaigns for such leading brands as Bic, Bravo, Cablevision, Citibank, Coca Cola, Diageo, Discovery, Home Goods, History Channel, Lexus, Old Navy, Panasonic, Philips, Puma, Timex, Time Warner, TJX Corp, Sharp, Revlon and Wendy’s.

Strauss has been recognized with industry honors including multiple Reggie’s, Bulldogs, Buzz Awards, Pro Awards, X Awards and MAAs.

Earlier in her career, Strauss headed up global marketing for several arts organizations based in Geneva before becoming a principal at CLS Associates, specializing in integrated launch programs for clients in the publishing, arts and technologies fields. She created the New York Post’s “The Savvy Shopper” column and served as the Executive Director and co-founder of the Flatiron District Business Association in Manhattan.

Email info@alliance-agency.com for more information.

Email info@alliance-agency.com for more information.