Wattson & The Sparrow

Meet Wattson

Wattson Mouse Pad

Wattson appears on the bumper of every Cobb EMC company vehicle

(New for 2015) Promotional Wattson artwork

(New for 2015) Promotional Wattson artwork

(New for 2015) Promotional Wattson artwork

(New for 2015) Promotional Wattson artwork

(New for 2015) Promotional Wattson artwork

Wattson’s Birthday (March 2015)

Wattson’s first billboard appearance (March 2015)

Wattson having fun at the North East Cobb Community Egg Drop (April 2015)

Wattson having fun at the North East Cobb Community Egg Drop (April 2015)

Wattson & his linemen friends at the Big Shanty Festival (April 2015)

Wattson filming a safety video for TV23 that will reach an estimated 25,000 students per year at the Cobb County Safety Village

Wattson hanging out at the Cobb County Safety Village (June 2015)

Wattson hanging out at the Cobb County Safety Village with his other mascot friends (June 2015)

Wattson racing Cobb EMC employees at the employee fun fair (July 2015)

Wattson supporting the Kennesaw State University Owls with Cobb EMC employees (September 2015)

Wattson at the Cobb EMC Annual Meeting (September 2015)

Wattson thanking 911 call center workers during Public Safety Appreciation Week (October 2015)

Wattson getting ready for an author visit at Oak Grove Elementary for Literacy Week 2015 (October 2015)

Wattson on the front of the Literacy Week 2015 sweatshirts (October 2015)

Wattson mentions on Cobb EMC’s Facebook page

#538Spotlight on Excellence Entry FormNRECA Voting Member Classification * Distribution Cooperative: more than 90,001 meters

Category * 13. Best Wild Card

Entry Title * Wattson: Cobb EMC Safety Mascot

I wish to receive Judges' comments onthis entry

Yes

Contact's Name * Becca Duvall

Cooperative * Cobb EMC

Mailing Address PO Box 369 Marietta, Georgia 30061 United States

Contact's Email * rebecca.duvall@cobbemc.com

Contact's Phone Number * (678) 409-3747

Name of entrant as it should appear onthe award (if given)

Mark Justice

Is this the first time you've entered theSpotlight competition?

Yes

Entrant's Email mark.justice@cobbemc.com

Names of others (freelancers ororganizations) involved in the project, ifapplicable

Mark Justice, Andrew Herdeg, Alex Hamilton

Describe your/the co-op's role in the project *

Mark Justice came up with the idea to have a safety ambassador mascot to represent Cobb EMC as a brandpersonality and engage the community in safety messaging. CEO Chip Nelson selected the red-tailed hawk for the mascot because of its prominence in his home state ofGeorgia. Cobb EMC employees submitted and voted on mascot names, which led to the establishment of "Wattson," a play onthe electric term, "watt." The concepts behind Wattson's personality, characteristics and appearance were developed and fleshed out by CobbEMC's education and community relations department, headed by Mark Justice. While Wattson was "born" in 2013, the Cobb EMC mascot program was expanded greatly in 2015 by Mark Justice.Mark further developed the appearance of Wattson; in March 2015, he purchased a new Wattson mascot suit taggedwith Cobb EMC elements in several new locations to increase brand association with Wattson and Cobb EMC brandawareness in general. The new suit was so well loved by the Cobb EMC Marketing and Corporate Communicationsdivision that the original Wattson suit is currently being refurbished to reflect the changes and new additions. Mark Justice worked with Andrew Herdeg, Cobb EMC creative design specialist, to develop Wattson-brandedmarketing and promotional materials, including mousepads and flash drives to be distributed throughout the co-opand partner-in-education schools, billboard advertisements, and stickers that Wattson hands out during hisappearances.In 2015, Mark Justice coordinated approximately 61 Wattson appearances at Cobb EMC, local schools and communityevents with an impact of nearly 43,000 people (in-person impressions).In 2015, Mark Justice branded the co-op's signature safety presentation as "Wattson's Electric Avenue." In June 2015, Mark Justice coordinated the filming of a TV23 safety video featuring Wattson that will viewed byapproximately 25,000 children at the Cobb County Safety Village each year. In 2015, Mark Justice introduced Wattson's conservation-focused sidekick, the Sparrow, who is now featured on newpromotional stickers. Andrew Herdeg was responsible for converting illustrations of Wattson and the Sparrow into vector images andgraphics for web and promotional purposes.

Describe others’ role in the project(Reference outside sources of material,including templates; pre-existing Webtools and apps; information from outsidegroups, such as Straight Talk orTouchstone Energy; stock photos andmusic, etc.) *

Street Characters, Inc. produced the mascot costumes based onillustrations and ideas provided by Mark Justice and Cobb EMC. Alex Hamilton, local freelance illustrator, drew the characters ofWattson and the Sparrow based on the finished Wattson mascotcostume. Five trained, contracted mascot performers fill the role of Wattson asneeded.

Circulation or Number of People Reached * ~43,000 (in-person impressions of mascot), ~200,000 (combinedprint and web impressions)

Number of Attendees *

Project’s Budget * $19,727.22

Target Audience(s) * Children, co-op members, Cobb, Bartow, Cherokee, Fulton andPaulding county communities

Project's Objective * The initial purpose of the Wattson safety mascot program was topromote safety in a fun and engaging way. However, through thefurther development and execution of the program in 2015, Wattsonhas become not only a safety mascot, but a brand personality andawareness tool for Cobb EMC.

Restrictions/Limitations *

Quite a few limitations come with coordinating Wattson appearances. Each of the mascot performers must be trainedon how to interact with kids in the costume, safety protocol, remaining on-brand while in the suit, etc. Because themascot performer has limited vision in the costume and is not allowed to speak, at every appearance there must be ahandler for Wattson to communicate with the event's hosts, help the performer in-and-out of the costume andcontrol event crowds to maintain the highest level of safety for all in attendance. With Wattson's increased popularity throughout the community, there is a relatively significant demand forappearances which are typically early mornings, evenings and weekends. With only two Wattson suits (that must beproperly cleaned and returned to Cobb EMC after each appearance), we must carefully plan and schedule mascotperformers and handlers. Wattson appearances are also restricted by weather. With the nature of the Wattson suits, Wattson cannot appear atany outdoor events if it is raining.

Describe why you chose this type of socialmedia and how you used it *

Provide a brief summary that states thepurpose of the event, how the programwas implemented, and results and howthey were measured *

Provide a brief summary that states thepurpose, how the program wasimplemented, and results and how theywere measured using the RACEframework. Each component has its ownword limit noted below.

Research *

Action *

Communication *

Evaluation *

Upload Supporting Materials File #1 cobb_emc.2015_best_wildcard.pdf8.90 MB · PDF

Upload Supporting Materials File #2

Supporting Materials Link

Special Instructions

Created20 Nov 2015 107.0.137.179