COLLEEN KELLY
HERSHEY'S S'MORES SATURDAY
The Hershey's brand launched a new campaign, Heartwarming the World, a mission to melt the distance between people in order to create a better, sweeter world.
Summer is a key season for Hershey's to win with its ultimate icon of summertime, s'mores. However, consumers reserve s'mores for "special" occasions like camping trips...and barriers like mess, a lack of a fire source, and even awareness among younger family audiences are diminishing s'mores relevance. We needed to find a way to make s'mores more accessible, an "everyday" dessert option.
We looked at behavior of consumers who were interested in s'mores to model from, and found that searches peaked on Saturdays. This sparked a way in...what other food items have gone from a "once-in-a-while" thing to a routine? Taco Tuesday, Meatless Monday, etc. So we married that cultural insight with search behavior, and S'mores Saturday was born.
HERSHEY'S EMOJI BAR
Our research showed us that for many families, back-to-school is more than just kids getting notebooks and pencils. It’s also getting emotionally and socially ready to enter a sea of new faces and situations, and having something to help make some connections would be pretty sweet.
We set out to heartwarm the halls of schools everywhere with our new Emoji Bar, giving kids a whole new way to share a smile when they go to back to school.
Our new Emoji Bar features a product innovation that get everyone talking — with fun emojis on the actual bars! Standout packaging and high impact POS grabs attention in-store, and we're making it even bigger with chances to win a box of Emoji bars, big PR events and targeted media to get us on the back-to-school list.
Going back-to-school doesn't have to be scary or intimidating. When you make a connection with new HERSHEY’S Emoji Bars, it’s easy to Share A Smile... and a laugh...and a wink...
The Emoji Bar earned 1 billion media impressions in less than a week, with coverage by Thrillist, POPSUGAR, People, and Today. Sales are predicted to blow away forecasts, making this program a part of a total brand turnaround story, re-igniting brand love in every basket.
THOMAS' ENGLISH MUFFINS
Thomas' is a 137-year old brand, beloved by a core loyal consumer following, but one that is also aging. We needed to bring renewed energy to the brand to appeal to a younger demographic who may or may not be familiar with a "nook & cranny," Thomas' signature point of distinction. It's no surprise that Millennials don't connect with "nooks & crannies," the term dates back to the 13th century!
Blending see and say was a key to driving brand and product recognition. Our campaign breathed some new life into the nook & cranny with fresh photography that mixed relatable lifestyle imagery with appetite appealing photography, plus a catchy pop-inspired original song that made nooks & crannies top of mind.
FORDHAM SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL AND CONTINUING STUDIES
To gain a sense of what was authentically right for the future of the Fordham SPCS brand, I conducted an in-depth audit of existing internal and external communications, competitive school messaging, and facilitated one-on-one in-depth interviews with key administrative stakeholders, as well as focus groups with students, faculty, and alumni. Using the insights gained from that discovery process, I led a strategy workshop with the clients to align on key points of difference and co-create a vision for the brand’s direction, then developed a new positioning statement, personality, audience segmentation, and message mapping that drove the creative expression, visual identity and verbal articulation that guided future communications.
PANTENE BEAUTIFUL HAIR WHATEVER THE WEATHER
The weather can wreak havoc on your hair, but if there’s one thing you can’t control, it’s mother nature. Pantene (the expert on hair care) partnered with the Weather Channel (the expert on predicting conditions to come) to deliver data-driven relevant messaging along her path to purchase based on localized weather forecasts, specifically humidity-related changes that bring on hair’s worst nightmare—frizz.
Geo-targeted mobile ad units gave her a “haircast” for the week and served up the right product for the condition coming her way. We knew this was a problem-solution mindset, so we also delivered a coupon to drive her right to store, where the display helped her navigate by weather-related issues. This connected experience drove base and total category sales, making Walgreens one happy customer and ending bad hair days for a whole lot of consumers.
Awards: WARC100 #5 Best Global Campaign, Ogilvy ARF Best in Show, Digiday best mobile brand experience, Digiday finalist most integrated retail experience, Reggies (2 Gold, 1 Silver), Effies (1 Gold, 1 Bronze, Grand Effie Finalist), Addy (1 Bronze), ProAwards (1 Gold, 1 Silver), OMMA Finalist, IAB Mixx Finalist, Jay Chiat Silver in Best Research
PANTENE + REFINERY29
Our target wants her hair to be healthy, but the styling process in itself creates a vicious cycle of damage she’s constantly trying to fix. She doesn’t see a way to get the sexy hair she wants without putting it through daily abuse. And the party-packed holiday season is prime time for hair self-harm. We needed to give her permission to style without risk, establish credibility that Pantene is a styling brand she could trust, and select the right media context for the message.
Permissibility: “Practice Safe Styling,” a relevant, action-oriented message with swagger, confidently stated from a brand with results-driven claims to back it up.
Credibility: We partnered with Refinery29, her online style guru, to create inspirational, multi-platform content including hairstyling how-to videos, trend reports and more. Pantene styling products were woven throughout, so no matter her style during the holidays, Pantene was a relevant part of her playful lifestyle.
Context: Working with our media partners, we placed the message in the places she was looking for party-season style inspiration and making social plans with friends, driving her to a content hub on Refinery29. We closed with a mobile offer to drive trips to Target, her style retailer of choice, and at the in-store display, she could continue to engage with Augmented Reality Refinery29 styling content via Blippar.
Result: Pantene styling product sales at Target increased by more than 50% vs. the holiday timeframe the prior year.
2021 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL
In response to the global pandemic, we reimagined the 2021 film festival as we knew it...creating an online experience that captured the essence of the brand in ways we never thought possible, delivering record ticket sales, attendance, and engagement.