Novant Health Thanksgiving Day Parade Charlotte Center City Partners 2015 IDA Award Submission

Lonely Planet’s 2014 list of America’s best Thanksgiving Day Parades.  The Thanksgiving Day Parade has been a holiday tradition in Charlotte, N.C. since For almost seven decades, hundreds of thousands of participants, volunteers, sponsors, families, and friends from across the region have cherished this event as a part of their Thanksgiving Day traditions. In August 2013, the tradition almost ended when the Carolina’s Carousel Parade could not find a title sponsor. With the help of Charlotte Center City Partners, the parade had a new sponsor and a new name: Novant Health Thanksgiving Day Parade.  More than 2,500 people representing approximately 120 organizations participated in the parade. High school and community marching bands performed along side new larger-than-life floats, snow globes, and our patent pending inflatable “Segwalloons”; a unique balloon design wrapped around a Segway. * HISTORY

“ We continue to aspire to be one of the best parades in the country. By continuing to add new floats, large balloons and floats, and live performances, this parade will be the crown of the southeast” - Robert Krumbine Chief Creative Officer & Senior Vice President of Events EVENT DETAILS  Annual free event in a prominent Uptown location  Front-row seating tickets were available for purchase throughout November, over 400 seat were sold  Adults and children of all ages  Nearly 500 volunteers participated in 2014  Broadcast in more than 1.5 million homes on WBTV on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day  6 Rating, Highest Rating ESTIMATED ATTENDANCE More than 100,000 55% of attendees come from Mecklenburg County 34% from surrounding counties and 11% from out of state or other counties TARGET MARKET Residents of Charlotte, NC, Mecklenburg County & surrounding region ECONOMIC IMPACT Generates over $1 million in spending that contributes to the local economy Out of town visitor provide the hospitality sector with business during a traditionally slow week for hotels CHARLOTTE DETAILS  More than 11 million annual visitors from a diverse regional audience  Fastest growing city in the U.S. FAST FACTS *

2014 PARADE HIGHLIGHTS A new song was written specially for the Novant Health Thanksgiving Day Parade by composer Rob Pottorf: “Celebrate the Season”

MARKETING CCCP MEDIA: 8 Tryon street kiosk posters 6 Tryon street news rack banners 54 Tryon street light pole banners 39 Tryon street calendars 2 Overstreet banners Orange barrel digital media PAID MEDIA: CBS Radio (Christmas K): 1,608,960 impressions Charlotte Magazine: 116,000 impressions Observer Insert: 216,000 impressions CharlotteObserver.com: 255,718 impressions Observer Bonus Ads: 446,000 impressions Coffee News: 45,600 impressions Radio Disney WBT Link: 763,000 impressions WFAE Radio Where Magazine: 280,000 impressions Total paid media impressions: 3,731,278

Charlotte Center City Partners conducted and extensive marketing campaign featuring print, radio, television, web, social media, billboards, co-op advertising and earned media. FYC MEDIA: FYC Newsletter: 72,000 impressions FYC Calendars: 11,700,000 impressions Tryon Street Kiosk Posters Tryon Street Pole Banners PRINT MEDIA: Charlotte Magazine Holiday Home Tour Ad My School Rocks Observer Insert Where Magazine SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook page Twitter page Total paid media impressions: 3,731,278 MARKETING

EARNED MEDIA: AOL Travel Associated Press Charlotte Observer Charlotte Parent CBS Radio (Christmas K) Disney 411 blog FOX46 Carolinas Gaston Gazette Lincoln Times–News Lake Wylie Pilot Lonely Planet MSN Travel News & Observer News 14 Carolina Q-City Metro The Queen City Buzz The State Time Warner Cable WBT Radio WBTV WCCB, Wilson’s World WCNC WFAE WSOC Total Impressions: 142,706,578 MEDIA

 Over 100,000 Charlotteans attended the parade on Thanksgiving Day  Broadcast in over 1.5 million homes on WBTV  This does not include the viewers who watched the parade as it re-aired on Christmas Day as well as those who watched the program on Time Warner Cable on Demand during the month of December.  6 rating—the highest rating TELEVISION COVERAGE

Novant Health branding extended into schools’ legacy: NOVANT BRANDING MARCHING BAND COMPETITION: 1st Place: North Lincoln High School 2nd Place: East Burke High School 3rd Place: Fort Mill High School Over $10,000 in prizes 2014 Band Trophy:

Investment in a full-scale float or snow globe allows brands to come alive in creative ways that can only be experienced within the magic of the Novant Health Thanksgiving Day parade. The theme, characters, audience contact and the story that each unique float represents create a lasting impact for audiences, boosting brand affinity and differentiation. PNG Float Custom Inflatables CONCEPTS COME TO LIFE

NEW FEATURES Patent pending “one of a kind.” The 2014 Parade introduced three new Segwalloons to the military portion of the parade. Segwalloons are unique to Charlotte and were created specifically for the Novant Health Thanksgiving Day Parade Segwalloons provide a distinctive opportunity for sponsors whose goals include brand interaction among a wide variety of audiences. Along with the three new Segwalloons, some new features include the tricycle and new flooring for the performance stages. We also introduced our new Queen Charlotte Mascot.

SPONSORS Supporting Sponsors: Arts & Science Council, Charlotte Knights