THE NEXT GRETSCH GREATS: GLOBAL ANNIVERSARY PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGN

Client:

Assignment:

The Gretsch Company was founded in 1883 and has produced some of the world's greatest drums and guitars over the span of four generations. However, changes in ownership over the years had resulted in inconsistent branding. As the company's 125th anniversary approached, the current president knew that they needed to engage the next generation of Gretsch enthusiasts.

Strategy/Implementation:

Initial planning research indicated Gretsch had the opportunity to Implementation: reinforce its reputation as one the world's best manufacturers of
top-quality guitars and drums, particularly with the next generation of potential Gretsch players. JS helped The Gretsch Company define an anniversary campaign that would not only celebrate the company's deep heritage, but also would position the brand and energize its loyal and future fans for the next 125 years.

The plan for the anniversary celebration was two-fold:
• Engage target audiences by developing and executing the Next Gretsch Greats Unsigned Artist Competition, an online competition to identify the world's hottest unsigned bands in seven key markets for Gretsch: the U.S., U.K., Canada, France, Spain, Germany and Japan; and
• Pitch The Gretsch Company's anniversary story to guitar and drum enthusiast trades and consumer media, emphasizing the unique family legacy and artist roster that have supported the company for four generations, while also leveraging other creative ways (including the Next Gretsch Greats contest) to place the Gretsch name in the media.

Results:

The Gretsch MySpace page added more than 20,000 friends over the course of the nine-month campaign, the Next Gretsch Greats Unsigned Artist competition received 879 entries and over 55,195 votes, and the campaign received 331 positive media placements. Print impressions totaled more than 8.3 million and broadcast impressions surpassed 10.5 million.