DiversityInc - Special Issue 2007

punk-rock singer decided to fight back by doing what she could to prevent violent crimes against women. In 2004, she cofounded Right Rides, a community-based organization that provides free nighttime transportation to protect women from rape and hate crimes in Brooklyn.

The story of how Reid’s activism started over coffee and transformed into a project she’s trying to expand nationwide is part of the provocative documentary “BE REAL: Stories from Queer America.”

The film has its own web site

( www.stoli.com/bereal) and has been supported by national print and Internet advertising, promotions and events. Stolichnaya also has partnered with the gay-rights group Lambda

bian market, says Adam Rosen, the company’s senior brand manager.

Stolichnaya took the risk that creating positive images of gays and lesbians would create a “beneficial and unique” relationship with the GLBT community. The campaign has been well received in both the GLBT community and the advertising world, winning the Association of National Advertisers’ 2006 Multicultural Excellence Award in the gay/les-bian category.

“The movie and the campaign have resonated because they both are culturally relevant,” Rosen says. “They are relevant because they were done by members of [the GLBT] community.”

But has the campaign driven sales? Rosen says yes.

Although he says it’s difficult to quantify, Rosen says Stolichnaya has seen growth in awareness, sampling and purchasing in gay-and-lesbian-focused accounts where the campaign has been focused.

Company: Verizon
Communications/Wireless
Products: Broadband Services,
Internet, Television, Games, Wireless
Campaign: Realize
Target audience: Blacks
Advertising Agency: Burrell
Communications

Stolichnaya has seen a rise in sampling and purchasing among GLBT people.

Legal, which has publicized and promoted BE REAL at more than 25 events nationally.

Locked in a battle with rival vodka producer Absolut, Stolichnaya’s goal was to build brand awareness and loyalty in the gay and les-

Verizon, No. 1 on the 2006 Top 50, wanted to increase the number of black consumers who use its products because blacks represent 28 percent of Verizon’s customer base and, on average, spend more per month ($186) on communications and entertainment products than any other group.

Verizon turned to Burrell Communications, a black-owned agency, to create a comprehensive campaign that was fresh and exciting and that would help the company build further inroads to the black community.