How Mod Op Harnessed its Energy to Launch ExxonMobil’s First-Ever Power Play Awards

So how did they do it?

Building an Awards Program from the Ground Up

In December 2018, ExxonMobil LNG came to Mod Op with a challenge to launch an awards program completely from scratch, all based on a referral from someone with whom we’d worked previously. Now, that’s a leap of faith!

From when the moment our relationship with ExxonMobil began, we had less than four months before the awards would be announced to plan the launch, outline objectives, nail down budget, develop award categories and terms, launch two websites, create assets, schedule paid/organic programs, determine prizes, find a platform to track submissions and recruit judges.

Of course, we didn’t (and couldn’t have) done it all alone. In order for a program like this to be successful in short order, we needed collaboration.

Mod Op and ExxonMobil worked together to establish goals that aligned with the key focus of the program; raising awareness of diversity in the LNG industry; building awareness for the Power Play Awards; and building a community of ambassadors for the program across the industry.

Once the objectives and timelines were set, we worked tirelessly to develop a comprehensive awards program from the ground up.

With everything in place, our team flew to Shanghai to help ExxonMobil announce the Power Play Awards at LNG 19. In preparation for the live, in-person announcement, we produced ambassador pins, printed awards handouts, drafted and distributed a press announcement, managed ExxonMobil LNG’s social channels to supplement outreach for the awards and developed and launched two new websites in just four months’ time – one in English and one in Chinese.

Launching and Promoting the Inaugural Awards

Leading up to and during the awards process, Mod Op executed numerous promotional campaigns and developed supporting materials to raise awareness for the awards.

We launched several paid media programs to extend awareness of the awards to a broad audience within the LNG sector, nurtured site traffic back to awards content and encouraged nominations leading up to the submission deadline.

From April through December, our team implemented organic and paid social media campaigns to support the awards and share ExxonMobil LNG updates.

We supported the awards program through public relations by drafting and distributing three press announcements to our media lists. We also pitched the media for interviews during Gastech 2019 to increase exposure of Power Play and the awards.

Throughout the process, Mod Op corresponded directly with nominees and finalists, verifying submissions and coordinating attendance at Gastech. We also developed finalist and winners’ packages. And we worked with an awards company to create and engrave the prestigious trophies.

Supporting ExxonMobil LNG at Gastech 2019 and the Awards Ceremony

At Gastech 2019, our team provided event support including coaching and coordination of speakers and judges, interviewing finalists and winners, designing and printing awards, transporting the trophies, coordinating media interviews, live-tweeting and filming the show and awards ceremony.

During Gastech and the awards ceremony, the Mod Op team filmed and produced five quick-turn videos for immediate implementation, including an awards ceremony recap that was filmed the night of the event, edited and finalized for implementation and social posting by midday the following day.

Putting together an event like this was no easy feat, but it wasn’t just what Mod Op was able to deliver that made it all worth it in the end. It was getting to meet the finalists and winners face-to-face and getting to know them. It was collaborating with various Mod Op team members from other offices and working together to accomplish something big. It was making the client’s dream come to life when so many factors had made it seem nearly unattainable.

A Major “Power Play” of Results

Mod Op and ExxonMobil LNG’s efforts throughout the process paid off tenfold. Not only were the awards a huge success, but the nominations submitted were heartfelt, enlightening and emotional.

Overall, the results of our collaboration with ExxonMobil were huge:

• Digital paid media delivered 560,229 impressions and 3,060 clicks from April – September.
• The Power Play Awards web page received 32,000 pageviews.
• Mod Op’s paid search efforts drove 343,328 impressions, 3,060 clicks and 5,534 visits to the Power Play Awards page.
• Organic and paid social programs on Twitter and LinkedIn generated 4.6 million impressions, 54,000 clicks and 92,400 engagements.
• ExxonMobil LNG’s LinkedIn and Twitter followers increased 238% and 38% respectively from April – December 2019.
• During the nomination process, Mod Op secured 81 nominations, submitted from 157 companies across 52 countries. During the final community voting portion of the judging process, nearly 40,000 votes came in from the LNG community.
• During Gastech and the awards ceremony, all 12 of the international finalists were supportive of one another, because even if they didn’t win their category, they knew this awards program was a win for women in the industry. This was truly a success story for women supporting women.

When all was said and done, the launch of the Power Play Awards was an unmitigated success, and the event proved to be a major power play, both for women in LNG and for Mod Op’s new relationship with ExxonMobil.

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