OLSON Campaign Tops Viral Hall Of Fame List
Olson recently topped MarketingSherpa's 2007 Viral Marketing Hall of Fame list for its work for Sunflower Market, a refreshing new kind of organic grocery store.
Introduced in Indianapolis, Sunflower Market was created with the specific intent of making organics welcoming - more fun, less political/pretentious, far more affordable - to suburban "Everymoms." Olson's charge was to break down the barriers of their "organophobia" in a guerilla way.
Weeks before the launch, key media contacts received branded sunflower pots with seeds and dirt. "By the time the seeds germinate," said the mailer, "you will have seen the sunny new face of organics." The week prior to the grand opening, fields of sunflowers spontaneously began popping up in front lawns and along major thoroughfares throughout the community, ultimately driving shoppers to discover what just popped up in their neighborhood.
Online, Olson created the "Amazing Growing Virtual Sunflower." Users can grow the downloadable desktop plant or kill it, depending on how much water, sunlight and fertilizer they give it each day. They can then email their sunflower to brighten the days of their friends and family, and of course, spread the word of Sunflower Market.
"The Sunflower brand has such a special place in our hearts," said Tom Fugleberg, Olson's executive creative director. "We partnered with our clients through every possible aspect of its creation, from naming, to in-store experience, to developing a viral campaign to introduce it. So this honor is particularly meaningful for us all."