Before Samsung became known as the maker of the world’s best TVs and mobile phones, they had an image problem: They basically didn’t have one. People saw Samsung as the cheap electronics you bought when you couldn’t afford a Sony or Maytag.
In truth, Samsung was an incredibly innovative company. To bring this to light, we created Samsung’s first multi-product campaign in the U.S. that literally highlighted the “wonder” of the Samsung brand.
The campaign was lauded as one of the most memorable and breakthrough of the year. Within months, Samsung solidified their position as the #1 TV brand in the U.S. and one of the top Home Appliance brands–both of which are still true today.
For years, Pop Tarts and the “Crazy Good” campaign were loved by kids. But today, teens, not kids, are the ones who voraciously devour Pop Tarts. So to get sales to pop, we had to show teens that we “got” their often random and twisted sense of humor—and “got” where they liked to hang out, which is, of course, on social platforms.
To convince skeptical Teens that this was not your little brother and sister's Pop Tarts, we created tons of content for more “mature audiences” on social channels like Snapchat and Pop Key. We focused on music (a huge teen passion point) in our storylines and sponsored “Crazy Good” concert events around the country. Today, sales are stronger than ever and Pop Tarts is one one of the most popular teen brands, with over 5 million Facebook fans alone.
To Cheez-It fans, there’s only one Cheez-It snack cracker. Which was kind of a problem. While Cheez-It offered over 20 different varieties, most Cheez-It lovers only had a relationship with the core Cheez-It cracker. So sales were starting to slow.
The Christoper Guest-directed “Real Cheese Matters” campaign (featuring a pseudo-psychologist who assesses the “readiness” of cheese wheels for Cheez-It crackers) had done wonders for the core business. Now it had to sell new crackers, too.
With the “No Cheese Left Behind” initiative, we successfully took this mature brand to the next level. Content that lived online and on TV supported new crackers like Grooves, Zingz and Hot & Spicy and helped turned these tiny Cheez-It crackers into a huge billion dollar brand.
For over 50 years, Tony the Tiger helped make Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes one of the most beloved brands in America. Despite Tony’s popularity, Frosted Flakes had recently lost its roar. Dads and Teens, our key consumers, knew “Frosties” tasted “Grrreat.” But to make the cereal relevant again, we needed to show that Frosted Flakes could bring out the greatness in each of us.
We launched the “Let Your Gr-r-reat Out” campaign on the big stage, the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The :60-second spot profiled the behind-the-scenes true story of Nicola, an eleven-year-old girl in a wheel chair who was appearing in her first commercial. (The :15 TV ran later during the broadcast). While the spot only aired once, it was the #2 most remembered and loved commercial of the Games (Nike was #1). More importantly, Frosted Flakes sales were “Gr-r-r-eat” again, reversing a three-year decline.
Following the successful brand re-launch, we created an NFL-films inspired campaign to support new Cinnamon Frosted Flakes, the most requested flavor by Frosted Flakes fans on social media. The TV effort focused on Dads, and we created a specific Snapchat version for teens. Cinnamon fans cheered and helped make the cereal one of the most successful new Frosted Flakes product launches ever.
If you were born before 1990, you probably believed that Ernie Keebler and the elves from the Hollow Tree baked the world’s best cookies. But as Keebler ad budgets got smaller and smaller over the years, fewer and fewer cookie-lovers knew Ernie and enjoyed his cookies.
To reinvigorate the brand, we needed to get people (especially Millennial Moms) to believe in the magic of elves again—and do so on an elf-sized budget. So, inspired by the door of Ernie Keebler’s Hollow Tree, we created The Tiny Door Project, a multi-platform social and PR program.
With contributions from local “elf” artists, we built and installed Tiny Doors in parks across America. We brought elfin magic to moms' favorite social channels with our “Elfstagram” and Tumblr pages and spread the word via Twitter. We even scraped a few pennies together from the Hollow Tree’s sofas to run a TV spot and complemented the effort with some whimsical print ads featuring hidden Keebler elves.
Our elfin efforts paid off big time. TV networks and communities around America went crazy for the Tiny Doors. Cookie sales went up. And most importantly, people started to believe in the magic of elves again.
Healthy breakfasts are painfully boring. Many adults would much rather eat kid cereals like Froot Loops for breakfast than lumpy oatmeal. They’re just too embarrassed to admit it.
Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut was the sweet, nutty cereal made for adult tastes. To introduce this popular U.K cereal to the U.S. market, we needed to remind adults they had a “serious breakfast” problem—and Crunchy Nut was the answer.
Enter, The Crunchy Nut. A super-hero inspired by Adam West’s Batman from the 60’s TV series. With a spoon on this nose, a honey stick in hand and a pimped-out milk truck, The Crunchy Nut was a ridiculous character with a serious mission: To bring the fun back to breakfast.
To introduce The Crunchy Nut, we created his alter-ego—a mild-mannered milkman—who took over our Facebook page. We then launched the campaign on TV and created a series of online “mission” films which dramatized how The Crunchy Nut was saving breakfast.
The Crunchy Nut was an instant hit with cereal lovers and cereal-loving celebs. Kristin Chenoweth tweeted her admiration. Jimmy Kimmel had him on his show. And sales results were super, as Crunchy Nut achieved a 1% share in its first 6 months on shelf.
The Crunchy Nut saves Jimmy Kimmel's side-kick and his side-chihuahua from boredom.
Morning’s kind of suck for most of us. They start too early, you’re always running late and you barely even have time to eat. Which is why Nutri Grain breakfast bars were so successful: They’re a good-for-you breakfast you could eat on the go.
With the rising popularity of granola bars, Nutri Grain sales, like the fruit- filled bars themselves, were soft. The brand needed its own granola bar to drive sales and a breakthrough way to introduce it.
Which inspired us to create “The Mortons,” the least likely family to love mornings or breakfast bars. Hell, if Nutri Grain granola bars could get a vampire family to become morning people, they’d have to be good, right?
The launch literally brought the brand back to life. Fans loved the Morton’s (especially well-known actor Steve Valentine) and saw Nutri Grain in a crunchy new light.
Kellogg’s Rice Krispies have been a staple in U.S. households for decades. But for sales to Snap, Crackle and Pop with today’s Millennial moms, we had to connect with them in a new, more relevant way. We had to get creative.
The “How Many Ways…” campaign repositioned Rice Krispies from a bowl a cereal to a serving of creativity, a huge passion point for Millennial moms. We started on social channels like Pinterest and Facebook, where we knew they looked for inspiration, and served up tons of tasty content that showed creative ways to eat Rice Krispies for breakfast and as Rice Krispies treats.
We also partnered with popular food bloggers, The Today Show and even the White House at Easter to celebrate the limitless ways Rice Krispies could be the perfect creative canvas for moms and kids.
The results even surprised our iconic characters Snap!, Crackle! and Pop!. While the overall cereal category declined, Rice Krispies shot up 3%.
Fairly or not, Pharmaceutical companies are not the most loved. OK some people really hate them, believing the high cost of their medicines make them greedy and heartless.
One Pharma company was different. AstraZeneca made their medicines affordable for all who needed them. And partnered with the American Cancer Society to support Hope Lodges, homey, comfortable places near hospitals where cancer patients and their families could stay for free during extended treatment.
To create awareness of the program, we made this film. It was inspired by the idea (confirmed in research with cancer patients) that for some patients, being away from the comforts of home can be just as difficult for them as the treatment itself.
