Best marketing campaigns of 1997.

Earlier this month we hosted our fourth annual Software Marketing Summit Awards, an event designed to showcase the best and most effective marketing communications work in the PC software industry. The award winners--who are selected by a panel of senior marketing professionals--are worth a close look because they are representative of the level of competition that exists in major marketing channels. But perhaps more importantly, the winning entries make up a scrapbook of well-tested marketing innovations and methods. We don't just honor pretty ads and cute gimmicks; our judging criteria are weighted heavily toward bottom-line results. These are campaigns that really worked.

In looking at this year's 32 winners and finalists as a group, we once again see a definite pattern. Periodically, the software marketplace undergoes upheavals that reward risk-taking and fast action. At other times, the market calms down and the most successful marketers are those who do a better job of executing classic strategies. Clearly, 1996-97 was one of these quiet periods, and our winning entries reflect polish and fine attention to detail, rather than radical innovation.

We notice something else when we look at this year's winners and losers: The gap between great work and average performance is closing. Four years ago, we were sometimes amazed by how much bad packaging, PR, direct mail, and advertising we saw. Lately, however, a rising tide of competence seems to be lifting all boats; almost all of this year's entries legitimately earned good-to-excellent scores from the judges. For better or worse, it seems to be getting tougher to pull ahead of the pack with just a great marketing approach.

Here are the 1997 Summit winners and finalists, with comments on the approaches they used in their award-winning campaigns:

Advertising

* First Place: Jump! Music

Entry: "Discover the Music Inside" infomercial

How to sell software on TV: We've seen attempts to demo software on television, and the experience--to put it politely--is usually on a par with watching paint dry. But the Jump infomercial proves that TV can be an extraordinarily compelling medium for selling software. The Jump commercial emphasizes the benefits of learning a new skill, not the technology itself (what a breakthrough notion). And the production itself, which features jazz celebrity Herbie Hancock and an engaging bunch of happy customers, is a first-class job that compares favorably with the kind of production values that are typical on national television.

The Jump infomercial also reflects a gutsy decision to try something new (and expensive), instead of simply relying on the retail channel to deliver visibility. Jump estimates that 11 million households saw the 30-minute show, a level of exposure that is both broader and deeper than anything the company might have achieved in the retail channel alone.

Jump! Music, 201 San Antonio Circle, Mountain View, Calif. 94040-1276; 415/917-7460.

* Finalist: Broderbund Software

Entry: Carmen Sandiego Fall 1996 Print Advertising Campaign

New and improved: How do you convince parents to take a fresh look at a "new edition" of one of the oldest and best-known titles in the software marketplace? Broderbund's answer was to direct its print advertising at families whose oldest child was just moving into the Carmen Sandiego age range (8-9 years old) and then communicate a double sales message: The software has "fresh and contemporary" qualities, but it's also a long-time educational favorite that has attracted more than 300,000 fans.

Broderbund Software, 500 Redwood Blvd., Novato, Calif. 94948; 415/382-3009.

* Finalist: Hodgson/Meyers Advertising

Entry: Campbell Software StaffWorks testimonial campaign

Follow the leader: Hodgson/Meyers won top honors in last year's Summit Awards for its earlier Campbell Software ads, and the judges this year still loved the campaign. Each ad in the series features a testimonial from a high-profile user of Campbell's labor scheduling software--an approach that agency president Gary Meyers says helps position the company as "the credible and safe choice in a skittish market where purchase and implementation involves tremendous financial commitment."

Hodgson/Meyers Advertising, 610 Market St., Kirkland, Wash. 98033; 206/827-2506.

* Finalist: Motorola/Lexicus Division

Entry: "Handover to Handwriting in Hong Kong" campaign

Creative localization: Rather than just translate English-language ad copy, Motorola's Lexicus Division used the July 1 handover of Hong Kong to China as a theme for its WisdomPen Chinese handwriting recognition software. The campaign (which even included ads on local buses) pointed out that many more documents will now have to be created in Chinese script. Apparently, local Hong Kong computer users felt this was a credible message: The first month of the campaign produced a 500% jump in retail sales, along with a major OEM deal.

Motorola/Lexicus Division, 3145 Porter Dr., Palo Alto, Calif. 94304-1224; 415/858-6159.

Public Relations 

* First Place: Lois Paul & Partners

Entry: Lotus Notes & Domino campaign

Back from the dead: At the end of 1995, the Wall Street Journal predicted that the Internet meant the death of Lotus Notes, and much of the business and trade press soon echoed this idea. Lois Paul & Associates, Lotus's agency, responded with a massive campaign of product announcements, reviews, and appearances by Lotus executives at expos and press events. In particular, the agency hammered away at the notion that Lotus was part of a "three-horse race" among Web application servers. The year-long effort managed to tone down the "Notes is dead" frenzy in the press, and the more positive coverage in turn helped Lotus expand the number of Notes seats to more than nine million.