CONFIDENTIAL – NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION
GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS TOOLKIT
FY15 PERIOD 3
Delivering the right story, to the right audience, at the right time
Earth Month and Light The Way™ Candle
Contents
OVERVIEW 3
STRATEGY 3
ON-COUNTER TIMING 3
PRESS SAMPLE AVAILABILITY 3
COMMUNICATIONS ASSETS SUMMARY 3
OBJECTIVES 4
STORY ANGLES 4
TACTICS 5
TACTIC CHECKLIST 5
KEY MESSAGES 5
SPOKESPERSON TABLE AND QUOTES 6
TARGET MEDIA 8
BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS 8
SOCIAL MEDIA UNIQUE HASHTAG 8
GLOBAL CUT-A-THON – SAVE THE DATE 8
NEWS RELEASE - PROTECT WATER TO PROTECT WHAT YOU LOVE 9
NEWS RELEASE - SHINE A LIGHT FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE 12
FACT SHEET - MAKING WAVES WORLDWIDE 14
AVEDA EARTH MONTH 2015 PARTNER LIST 16
PITCH GUIDE - EARTH MONTH STORYTELLING 22
ECO-TIP SHEET - HOW TO PROTECT WATER AND WHAT YOU LOVE 24
OVERVIEW
Aveda’s signature Earth Month presents an enormous opportunity to raise awareness of our brand mission, and to secure stories beyond the beauty pages to raise funds and support our network in building an authentic connection to their communities. Global Communications will engage the media, to secure compelling storytelling around this core Mission-led program.
As we have in the past, markets with a strong salon presence will be encouraged to participate in our global initiative – the 24-hour Cut-A-Thon – on Monday, April 13, to draw attention to the global Earth Month campaign, and to the activism, passion for environment demonstrated by local salons, spas, Institutes and Experience Centers. These events will be designed not only as fundraisers, but also as business building and guest recruitment opportunities. Markets will also be provided with a PR toolkit on hosting a Catwalk for Water event, inspired by the successful events we have seen develop in North America and APAC.
Global Communications strongly recommends that each market host at least one of the major fund-raising activities, either participate in the Global Cut –A-Thon OR host a “Catwalks for Water” fashion show.
STRATEGY
In 2015, the goal is to enhance Earth Month engagement and the issue of protecting clean water by emotionally connecting with guests through the effect that clean water has on the top causes they care about most: children, animals, and habitat protection. The Global Communications strategy will ensure that storytelling will focus on this theme and deliver content that will secure coverage beyond product placement of the candle, as follows:
· Engage the Aveda network of professional by encouraging participation in the 24-Hour Global Cut-A-Thon for Clean Water hosted by Aveda Institutes and Flagship Salons around the world on Monday, April 13.
· Support the Catwalk for Water program with a high impact PR plan
· Maximize the fundraising, awareness raising, brand-building and business building potential of Appointments for Clean Water by developing a local PR toolkit to support the salon network.
· Create buzz prior to Earth Month and pulse content/images/universal hashtag throughout the campaign to increase awareness about Aveda Earth Month.
· Increase awareness about Aveda Earth Month through engaging content, a strong universal #ProtectWhatYouLove campaign and inspirational images/videos on social media platforms, including: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
· Leverage a survey-themed story to ensure feature coverage on consumer news feature pages and online titles. The template for this story to be delivered in January.
ON-COUNTER TIMING
Period 3: March 29, 2015
PRESS SAMPLE AVAILABILITY
Shipping for full-size press samples is scheduled for December 8. Aveda Global Communications will fund a limited number of samples. Markets will fund shipping and any additional quantities required.
COMMUNICATIONS ASSETS SUMMARY
· Press Materials
o Earth Month Press Release
o Light the Way Candle Press Release
o Earth Month Survey Story
o Aveda & the Planet Timeline
o Making Waves World Wide Customizable Press Release
o Earth Month Eco-Tips
· Images
o Light the Way Candle Image – digital and stylized
o Earth Month packaging illustrations
o Captioned photos of Water Projects
· Video
o Earth Month Campaign Video
o #ProtectWhatYouLove Videos featuring Global Artistic Team and Aveda Professionals
· Event and Planning Tools – To be delivered by Wednesday, December 31
o Global 24-Hour Cut-A-Thon
o Catwalks for Water Press Release
o Survey Story Template
OBJECTIVES
· To drive awareness of Aveda’s commitment to the environment
· To support Light the Way Candle sales
· To drive guests and potential guests for hair services in connection with Earth Month
· To generate media and social media buzz for Aveda by leveraging Global Artistic Team as spokespeople for the #ProtectWhatYouLove campaign
· To generate grassroots regional coverage by leveraging local fundraising events.
STORY ANGLES
Professional:
Utilize the Global Artistic Team to showcase what they do to #ProtectWhatYouLove
· Consumer: Position the Global Artistic Team/local stylists/salon owners as those who are living the Aveda mission “to care for the world they live in” and the things they do to protect what they love - #ProtectWhatYouLove
· Trade: Position the Aveda network of salon/spa professionals as a movement for change and a beauty brand that is living its mission to “care for the world we live in.”
Mission:
Tell the stories of our successes in making a difference on a global and local level.
· Consumer: Tell the story of the how the Aveda funded Global Greengrants water projects in Madasgar have helped families in the region of Manakara, where the communities were able to come together to construct new water systems, helping to keep families safe and healthy..
· Through a consumer survey focused on water conversation Issues to position Aveda as an authority for environmental responsibility and leadership.
· Trade: Tell the story of Aveda’s beautiful Earth Month 2015 campaign artwork that was developed from the region of Manakara, Madagascar and what clean water means to them. The illustrations were drawn by children of the villages showing the happiness clean water projects have brought to their lives: clean water for people, plants and animals.
High Performance/Innovation:
· Consumer: Focus on Aveda’s leadership in the area of packaging by highlighting the use of reclaimed glass and made-ready materials and by providing tips for re-use of the glass container.
· Trade: Tell the story of how Aveda uses 100% reclaimed glass container for its Earth Month candle, which used less water and electricity than PCR glass and that a portion of the paperboard cartons are made from make-ready materials.
TACTICS
No budget:
· Service #ProtectWhatYouLove video content featuring Aveda professionals to online media outlets including bloggers, vloggers and key media outlets who utilize video content.
· Partner with top media outlet to provide weekly “Earth Month Eco-Tips from Aveda” featuring various local salon/spa professionals/owners and what they personally do and what they do in salon. Utilize the Earth Month Eco-Tip Sheet to guide content.
· Engage local media personalities and bloggers to share your social media activity surrounding fundraising efforts such as posting pictures, dollar amount raised on Facebook and Twitter (#ProtectWhatYouLove, #AvedaEarthMonth) before, during and after each event.
· Gift Light the Way™ Candles to appropriate celebrities with a request to support through their social media channels.
· Light the Way™ Candle and press material mailing.
Medium-budget:
· For markets that can accommodate a press event in their budget, we recommend hiring a national or regionally relevant/brand-appropriate celebrity or local VIP to kick off the Global Cut-A-Thon and/or a Catwalks for Water event in order to bring large-scale awareness to the Aveda Mission.
o Invite Aveda Tribe Members, guests and media to post pictures via social media channels with hashtag #AvedaEarthMonth.
o If the event would be better served by including all salon/spa services, please use salon-a-thon or spa-a-thon, if only focusing on spa services.
TACTIC CHECKLIST
Utilize this checklist to ensure the chosen tactics deliver the following:
· On-brand, on-budget, on-time
· Experiential elements
· Highlights key point of difference and innovation
· Educates on key ingredients, benefits, aroma and sourcing story
KEY MESSAGES (Markets to assess their PR results against securing media mentions on key messaging)
· Aveda salons/spas help protect and provide precious resource of water to people and communities around the world with Global Cut-A-Thon and Appointments for Clean Water throughout the month of April.
· Thanks to the commitment and passion of the Aveda Network and its guests, the brand has raised more than $38 million to help support organizations that directly affect environmental change since 1999.One $12 Light the Way™ Candle purchase can mean 1 years’ worth of clean drinking water for a person in Madagascar. (For example, $52,500 of the proceeds from the 2011 candle went to a water system for the 5,000 residents of Manakara, Madagascar.)
· 100% of the $12 Light the Way™ Candle purchase price (based on SRP) supports clean water projects around the globe.
· The Light the Way™ Limited Edition soy wax candle features a rich and spicy pure flower and plant aroma inspired by Madagascar.
SPOKESPERSON TABLE AND QUOTES
Spokesperson / How to Position the Expert / QuotesIan Michael Black
Global Artistic Director, Hair Color / Provide this quote as part of a story about what Aveda professionals do to #ProtectWhatYouLove / “I think the things that I protect are the obvious things like friends and family, but I think it is really is about taking the time to help protect the earth. We've only got one. We've all got to live here. We have no choice.”
“So it is really taking the time and the effort to recycle. We all go shopping to buy groceries, cleaning products, whatever it may be. I think it's always just making the right decision. I think in this day and age, there's always the greener solution, and they're just as good. And they're not really more expensive, and it's really just taking that time to make that conscious decision that you do, it’s those small things that can have a very big impact in the long term.”
Ricardo Dinis, Global Artistic Director, Hair Cutting / Provide this quote as part of a story about what Aveda professionals do to #ProtectWhatYouLove / “The one thing I do to protect what I love is to take care of my body, to eat organic, and to buy local, whenever I can.”
Allen Ruiz, Global Artistic Director, Hair Styling / Provide this quote as part of a story about what Aveda professionals do to #ProtectWhatYouLove / “I think the biggest thing for me when I think about protecting what I love, it would have to be family. When I think about family I think about future generations. I think about my nephews, and then their children, and you know, what what's going to be there for them, and how can we protect it and what are we doing to protect the Earth. That is how you protect what you love.”
Janell Gleason, Global Artistic Director, Makeup / Provide this quote as part of a story about what Aveda professionals do to #ProtectWhatYouLove / When I think about what I want to protect, of what I love, of course I'm a mother, so I have a future generation that I have to think about. So I do feel that working for a company like Aveda, especially during Earth Month, I'm constantly, every day.. So to me that's important, because for this future generation, I want to make sure they have a good world to live in and understand how the world evolves and affects everyone else. It's all about making sure that she's protected, personally.”
Tippi Shorter
Global Artistic Director, Textured Hair / Provide this quote as part of a story about what Aveda professionals do to #ProtectWhatYouLove / “To protect what I love, and what I love is my family, particularly my daughter. I'm always worried about the type of world we're leaving behind for the next couple of generations, or just the next generation period.”
“I think I try to make smart choices to protect what I love, . When it comes to the car that I drive, the food that I buy, where I spend my money. I like recycling my dollars into Fair Trade type of organizations. So just trying to really make consciously smart choices.”
Dave Rapaport, Vice President, Earth and Community Care, Aveda / Utilize Dave to help tell the story of Aveda’s mission to care for the world we live in and the commitment of the Aveda network.
Utilize Dave to enhance the storytelling behind the partnership with Global Greengrants and the projects in Madagascar. / “Aveda’s Mission, “to care for the world we live in,” is the very principle on which we were founded, and is the driving force behind our annual Earth Month campaign.”
“Each of the professionals in our network is with Aveda because they care deeply for the world we all live in and want to be part of doing something about it. We are proud to have such passion behind all the important work being done to help raise awareness for our local Earth Month partners to protect clean water. Only at Aveda is money raised on such a global scale one stylist, one esthetician, one massage therapist, one instructor, one student, one adviser and one guest at a time.”
“Aveda has strong relationships with our suppliers of essential oils from Madagascar, and since this is also a country where access to clean drinking water is a daily struggle for many people, we wanted to help meet this basic need in our sourcing communities.”
“We've now funded projects in three different villages that have helped bring clean drinking water to thousands of people, reduced incidents of waterborne illness, and given mothers more time to spend with their families instead of collecting dirty water from far away sources.”
“Aveda plans to continue our support for communities in Madagascar thanks to our outstanding partners in the country and the support of our guests in purchasing Light the Way candles.”
Terry Odendahl, Executive Director, Global Greengrants / Utilize Terry to help tell the regionally relevant stories of the impact that Aveda is making through Global Greengrants Funds. / "We are proud of our critical partnership with Aveda,” said Global Greengrants Fund Executive Director, Terry Odendahl. “Global Greengrants is supporting local people who have solutions to issues impacting their lives and environments. In some cases, that means funding a community to build and care for its own water system. We are also helping educate kids on sustainable farming, and making Aveda grants to protect rivers, forests, and watersheds.”
“Aveda’s support makes an enormous difference to Global Greengrants Fund and our goal of creating a sustainable world,” said Global Greengrants Fund Executive Director, Terry Odendahl. “Partnering with local communities, we have protected over 750 watersheds, lakes and rivers, and have supported over 22,000 women working for clean water in their communities. All of this is made possible by the sale of Light the Way™ Candles and the salon owners who participate in Aveda Earth Month. We are grateful to the Aveda community for their visionary support!”
TARGET MEDIA