Firm’s Licorice Campaign Yields a Sweet Payoff

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Dentsu America Los Angeles has concluded a social media experiment for client Red Vines that turned into a support-our-troops effort. Remarkably, it ended with the death of Osama bin Laden. Here’s how that happened:

About a year ago, the agency got approval from Union City-based American Licorice Co., owner of the Red Vines candy brand, to create a Web page to engage licorice lovers on the company’s website. On the page, people shared positive messages. For every message, a Red Vine was added to a string destined to symbolically stretch 24,000 miles around the globe, as portrayed in an image on the site. To encourage participation, Red Vines gave away candy and other prizes.

Real-world events took over the experiment. When a soldier in Afghanistan posted a message, the site suddenly turned into a place for military members and their families to exchange praise. As the virtual vine crossed Japan, a tsunami hit, sparking another outpouring of sentiments.

As the vine neared the end of its trip around the world, activity surged as users jockeyed to post the final message. The project ended May 1 with the final message: “Osama bin Laden is Dead. Enough Said.”

“When I saw that message Monday morning, it was jaw-dropping,” said Mike Parise, general manager of Dentsu America Los Angeles. “Starting out, I worried people would run out of things to say. As it happened, the real world moved the project along.”

During the experiment, the number of friends on Red Vines’ Facebook page increased from 8,000 to more than 128,000.

Parise said he doesn’t call the Red Vines project a campaign because no paid media was involved.

“I would call it a social media promotion,” he said.

Virtual Stardom

Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. in Torrance has a new spokeswoman for the U.S. Asian market. Her name is Hatsune Miku, and she’s a holographic anime character.

Known for her long blue pigtails, Miku is a singing star in Japan. She is scheduled to give her first U.S. concert July 2 at the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles during the Anime Expo convention.

Although Miku was created by Crypton Future Media in Sapporo, Japan, her U.S. presence will be managed by Long Beach’s interTrend Communications, Toyota’s ad agency for the Asian-American market. She will appear on TV, print and digital ads.

“Toyota maintains a constant pulse on global trends and influences,” Bob Zeinstra, national manager of advertising, said in a statement. “We are excited to have this partnership with Hatsune Miku because even if she is unfamiliar to some, the story of the character, her music and her dedicated fans are intriguing and in parallel with the storied history of Toyota.”

Herbal Publicity

PR firm Mayo Communications in West Hills has won the assignment of introducing Herbal Chi Balm to U.S. consumers. The agency will launch a national campaign about how the balm, which has been used by pro athletes for years, can relieve muscle stiffness and the soreness of minor injuries.

A major strategy of the campaign will be endorsements from fitness instructors, doctors and professional athletes such as sprinter Patrick Johnson and martial-arts champ Jody Perry.

The balm was developed by a teacher who shared it with his students at the Shaolin School of Health and Self Defense in San Francisco. Sun Born Natural Products Co. in Sacramento, Mayo’s client, recently signed an agreement to commercialize the product in the United States.

Ad People

Mary Beth Garber, the longtime president of the Southern California Broadcasters Association, has moved to Katz Radio with the title of executive vice president of radio analysis. … Ocean Media, a media- buying agency based in Huntington Beach, has opened an office at 6041 Bristol Parkway in Culver City. Jay Langan, executive vice president at Ocean Media, will lead Ocean Media/L.A. … Direct-response ad agency Inter/Media Group of Cos. in Encino has hired Jenn Patterson as vice president of digital strategy. Patterson was previously assistant vice president of e-commerce at Union Bank. … The National Italian American Foundation paid tribute to the late Joe Cerrell, public affairs consultant and founder of Cerrell Associates, during its West Coast Gala on May 19 in Santa Monica. Cerrell had served as vice chairman and president of the organization. … Public affairs agency Englander Knabe & Allen has hired water and port expert Juan Garza as vice president. Garza was previously an executive at Republic Services, the nation’s second largest disposal company. He will work as a lobbyist and consultant for water and transportation clients of Englander Knabe.

Staff reporter Joel Russell can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 237.

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