100% Cork Wins 2011 IAC Best Advocacy Integrated Campaign

SAN FRANCISCO, April 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The 100% Cork campaign has been named the Best Advocacy Integrated Ad Campaign for 2011 in a prestigious international competition sponsored by the Web Marketing Association.

The Internet Advertising Competition award was given to San Francisco-based Citizen Group for creating and producing the branding, advertising, videos, experiential and online components of 100% Cork.  The firm shares the honors with the campaign's lead agency, Sitrick And Company, which oversees strategy, public relations, events management and social media for the campaign.

You can see all the elements of the 100% Cork winning entry here:   http://www.webaward.org/iac/winner.asp?eid=8229

This is the fourth IAC award Citizen has received in the past five years. The coveted international award showcases the best in digital and integrated campaigns across 86 top industries. The 100% Cork Campaign shares the stage with other big winners including Nissan's LEAF electric car campaign, Toyota's Sponsafier and Coca-Cola's Happiness Machine.  

Each year the Web Marketing Association names the Best Integrated ad campaign as part of the annual Internet Advertising Competition (IAC) Awards.  Now in its 11th year, the IAC Awards are the first and only industry-based advertising award competition dedicated exclusively to online advertising.  Best campaigns are selected by judges who review all of the entries using key criteria such as creativity, innovation, impact, design, copywriting and use of the medium.

"We are honored to receive this award alongside such recognizable and innovative brands such as Coca-Cola and Nissan," said Carlos de Jesus, director of marketing for the campaign's lead sponsor, the Portuguese Cork Association.  "I think it's a testament to a unique story well told by our agencies Citizen Group and Sitrick. We applaud their breakthrough efforts to communicate the significant, sustainable benefits of natural cork versus plastic and metal wine stoppers."

Citizen and Sitrick's 100% Cork campaign has been raising awareness for the past year about the environmental, social and technical advantages of choosing real cork wine closures over artificial ones. The campaign has been covered by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time, the Huffington Post and other leading media outlets.  The campaign's Facebook page has attracted more than 45,000 fans and advertisements run regularly in The New York Times and on National Public Radio.

Contrary to popular misconception, there is no shortage of cork, and cork oak trees are not cut down to make cork. A portion of their bark is sustainably harvested every nine years during a 250-year lifespan. Biodegradable and recyclable, cork also provides an economic incentive to preserve vast cork oak forests in the Mediterranean Basin that annually offset 12 million tons of carbon – the equivalent of taking 2.5 million vehicles off the road.  The forests also prevent desertification, provide habitat for hundreds of plant and animal species, and create some of the world's best-paid jobs in agriculture.  

About 100% Cork

100% Cork is a campaign to educate U.S. wine consumers about the benefits of choosing wine with real cork stoppers because of cork's environmental, technical and societal advantages. The campaign seeks to recruit and organize wine consumers to request that winemakers and retailers choose natural cork over artificial stoppers. The campaign is funded by the Portuguese Cork Association and the Cork Quality Council.

About Citizen Group

Citizen Group's mission is to build brands for companies and organizations that aren't afraid to lead with their values. The San Francisco-based agency is dedicated to building "citizen brands" by helping its clients shape values-based brand strategies, and then bringing them to life through creative campaigns and community initiatives that inspire audiences to participate. In addition to the Portuguese Cork Association, Citizen's clients include Amnesty International, AT&T, Cisco WebEx, Mezzetta Foods, NRDC, Playing For Change Foundation, Rock The Vote, The Heinz Endowments, USA Network, United Nations, Wal-Mart (sustainability project) and WWF.  Learn more at: http://www.citizengroup.com.

About Sitrick And Company

Sitrick And Company is widely regarded as one of the top strategic communications firms in the United States. Clients include public and private companies – from those in the Fortune 100 to start-ups — as well as government agencies and high-profile individuals.  Its staff includes former senior executives of Fortune 500 companies and business and finance editors and reporters from such news organizations as The Wall Street Journal, New York Times and NBC and CBS Television news.  Learn more at www.sitrick.com.

SOURCE 100PercentCork.org