MASS Hispanic Marketing Honored @ Pro Awards.

MASS Hispanic Marketing was honored in Chicago earlier this month at PROMO Magazine’s annual PRO Awards Banquet. MASS’s entry placed third out of four finalists in the category, “Best Use of Event Marketing (Five or Less Venues)” for a five-market campaign it developed on behalf of Snuggle Fabric Softener. Dubbed, “Snuggle Fiesta del Cariño Hispanic Laundromat Party,” it was the sole Hispanic campaign chosen in any of the award’s numerous categories.

“We are extremely proud of this recognition for many reasons, not the least of which is that we were competing in a General Market environment,” said MASS President Maria Madruga. “This award is proof certain that a great strategy and creative idea are a great strategy and creative idea, no matter the language or price tag attached to it.”

First place for that category went to the National Football League for a General Market promotion called, “NFL Kickoff Live From Times Square.” According to PRO Awards’ organizers, the nominations were made this year in a more competitive environment than ever: More entries were received for the awards’ 17 categories than in past years and the judging was stricter than usual. No finalists were chosen in one of the categories because the judges did not deem any of the entries to be exceptional.

MASS’ entry consisted of an entire month of Laundromat parties (31 in all), sponsored by Snuggle, and organized in Hispanic neighborhoods in LA, Dallas, Houston, Chicago and Miami. The promotion’s theme, “Fiesta del Cariño,” tied in directly with Snuggle’s Hispanic advertising campaign, whose slogan is, “un cariñito extra” (a little extra love). The strategy was extremely targeted, as teams of Spanish-speaking helpers or “Snugglers” were deployed to each event to do consumers’ laundry. There, they treated the public to free washing, drying and laundry products, music, entertainment for the kids, carry-in and carry-out laundry service (to and from consumers’ cars), games, premiums and refreshments.

The campaign, which sought to generate brand awareness and PR, product trial and consumer excitement, was a huge success, with more than 115,000 product samples distributed over a month’s time. The public relations campaign, which was designed and executed by Miami-based Hispania Public Relations, generated 5.5 million media impressions, in 39 Hispanic newspapers, radio, and TV media, for a combined editorial value of $250,000. It was a two-pronged program, which included staged press events to kick off the first Laundromat party in each market, as well as partnerships with local charitable community organizations, all of which received free washers and dryers, courtesy of Snuggle.