Bonfire Communications Wins Gold Quill Award in IABC's 2008 Competition

SAN FRANCISCO—June 24, 2008—The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) announced Bonfire Communications, an organizational communications agency specializing in employee engagement and strategy implementation, is among its winners for the 2008 Gold Quill Award competition. Recognizing the best in creative concepts, thought leadership and strategic thinking in business communications, the Gold Quill program honored Bonfire with a Merit award for its work with Genentech on an enterprise-wide transportation campaign.

Bonfire partnered with Genentech to design and implement “gRide,” an innovative transportation program that increased employee adoption and participation in alternative commuting. Based on a simple registration and self-tracking process, gRide allowed employees to choose their mode of transportation, connect with co-commuters, and earn rewards based on frequency of use. A playful brand framework featured a series of icons representing their options, from BART to bikes, raising awareness of alternatives and resources across multiple launch vehicles.

“Our strategy was to change employees’ transportation habits in order to meet corporate goals. We designed a fun and easy communication campaign that shifted their deeply ingrained perceptions around alternative commuting,” said Kate Helber, Campaign Director at Bonfire. “By understanding their concerns, we were able to appeal to employees and address their needs in targeted ways. To date, the gRide program has increased participation by over 9%, increased registration and reporting by over 50%, and employee testimonials attribute gRide to improving the quality of their lives.”

The gRide campaign was judged in the Employee/Member Communication category on technical excellence, creativity and innovation, effectiveness in identifying and responding to an organization’s or community’s needs, the delivery of measurable outcomes, and the overall success of the project. Bonfire and other Gold Quill winners received their awards on June 23 in New York City at the IABC 2008 Gold Quill Awards ceremony and dinner.