The brief
Boutique hotel group 21c Museum Hotels planned to open their 9th and newest property right in our backyard. Naturally, we jumped at the chance to create a campaign that captured the attention of their socially-savvy, artistic target audience. The challenge? Make this new hotel-meets-museum stand out in a city with nearly 200 hotels and a world-class art scene.
The idea
C U SOON CHICAGO was our take on contemporary art, using deconstructed brand elements—including 21c’s famous penguin mascot—to create a motion-forward, mobile-friendly paid social ads and OOH with stopping power.
Because the hotel was under construction, we knew we needed to get creative with our limited assets. So we took a graphic approach to pique curiosity, be thought-provoking, and make the unfamiliar, familiar.
The results
Our campaign drove significant reach, impressions, bookings and newsletter signups in the short period right before Covid. Our campaign also grabbed the attention of the Indigo Design Awards—winning Gold, Silver, and Bronze across categories.
In addition, the C U SOON campaign become the benchmark for 21c’s reopening efforts across all properties.
The brief
Over the years, Chicagoans formed the perception that Navy Pier is a tourist destination (Bubba Gump’s anyone?). This culminated at a time when pandemic impacted visitation and people were just beginning to travel again.
Armed with new audience research, Navy Pier chose us as their brand agency to help to shift the perception that they are more than just a Ferris Wheel. The goal? Create an overarching platform to build awareness, drive visitation, and become more sophisticated in targeting. We aimed to show that while Navy Pier has something for everyone, not everything is for everyone. It has that one (or many things) you’re into.
The concept
Our “Made for” campaign subverts locals’ and travelers’ expectations of the Navy Pier experience by speaking to their interests and the unexpected, iconic activities only at the Pier. “Made for” is Navy Pier’s declaration of providing a personalized, unique experience that’s made for everyone. While Navy Pier serves epic views from the Wheel—it’s much more than that. It’s dancing to free live music on the weekend with your kids. It’s cocktail hour with friends on the largest rooftop bar at Offshore. It’s date night that ends with spectacular views of fireworks.
The campaign is bold and flexible, bringing fun energy and a playful POV to bust existing perceptions and reinvigorate the brand.
The results
We took a truly integrated approach, leveraging a mix of TV, radio, OOH, and paid media to showcase the true Navy Pier experience, with an emphasis on Spanish language marketing. Our campaign has had a wide reach with over 100M impressions served across 3 months and over 1M new website users discovering events and things to do at the Pier. Some other fun results:
85% ROAS (over 90 days reporting period)
8% increase in visitation YoY
5% lift in “consideration” for exposed audiences (brand lift study)
Click-through rates 25%-50% higher than industry benchmarks across digital channels
The brief
An iconic brand with a rich history, Miller High Life needed to connect its legacy with Millennials who value authenticity and craftsmanship. For the generation who can see through the hype, High Life is the beer that’s always been true to its roots and brought people together.
The idea
We built a campaign with the mantra that living the High Life is about more than the money in your bank account. It's about seeking out and celebrating the people and things that matter most. It's living in the moment and raising one up to it. Since 1903, Miller High Life has believed the good life is out there. All you have to do is pursue it.
I was the lead copywriter for the team at Arc Worldwide that created a brand campaign that celebrated the Pursuit of the High Life and encouraged our drinkers to find out what that meant to them in the form of well crafted experiences.
The result
The campaign extended from retail to out-of-home to print, which led to Arc Worldwide/Leo Burnett being named agency of record and ultimately inspired the "I am Rich" TV spots by sister agency Leo Burnett.
We also created the Limited Edition Artist Series as an extension of this platform idea to showcase its authenticity through a partnership with Harley-Davidson and make the brand collectible.
Here's to the Pursuit of the High Life.
Photography credit: Bil Zelman
The brief
Fruit baskets, gift certificates, branded merch—it’s all expected and all been done when it comes to corporate gifting. Columbus Craft Meats wanted to launch their new charcuterie gifts direct to consumer during the holidays and stand out during the busy giving and food gifting season.
The idea
Showcasing the charcuterie experience and using the foil of the competitor that literally wraps their pears in foil, we launched a digital campaign that positions Columbus Craft Meats’ charcuterie kits as the “New Cure for Boring Gifts.” Display, paid social, paid search, and native ads used a motion forward approach to play up the appetite appeal for our digitally savvy foodie audience.
The results
The campaign drove purchase during the highly competitive season, and significantly overperformed on awareness and engagement, ending strong with almost 30M impressions and 150K+ click-throughs with week-over-week CTR performance improvement. The campaign was so well received, we adapted the concept to a B2C audience the following year.
The brief
While their mission to advance all women wasn’t changing, Network of Executive Women realized that the world around them had. The organization needed a reimagined brand to connect with a new generation of Gen Z and Millennial women and male allies while representing their powerful network of nearly 15,000 members and 300+ corporate partners. NEW had begun evolving their program and partnerships to be more innovative and inclusive—and the brand needed to better reflect that transformation.
Boiled down to two words? Make it modern and inclusive.
The idea
850+ unique names explored and tested. 9 visual directions pressure tested. 20+ logo directions explored. Testing and focus group discussions with hundreds of internal stakeholders and external professionals. The result? A name and visual identity that more strongly reflects who the organization is now and next.
Here’s to what’s new and what’s next.
A brand transformation of this magnitude needed a web destination that makes an impact. Our goal was to create a rich web experience that feels inclusive, inspires engagement, and makes a meaningful connection with prospective and current members as well as corporate partners. We worked to replicate the community and support that members and partners feel as they engage with inspiring content and thought leadership, register for events, connect with their region, and search for jobs. See the new website for yourself.
We helped NextUp spread the word about their transformation through social content and strategy, email support, partner and regional member toolkits, blog content, launch concepts, and stakeholder communication.
The results
While the new brand just launched, it’s already receiving rave reviews from members and partners alike. We were thrilled to partner with NEW’s transition to NextUp in a way that helped them own their voice in the space, elevate the strength of their existing community, and connect with a new, more diverse generation of women and allies. Here’s to the next 20 years and beyond.
The brief
Put simply, Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky aren’t on the top of people’s must-visit lists. We want to change that. The goal of our campaign is to establish the perception that the newly unified Cincy Region is a rich, cultural travel destination and put it on people’s radars.
The idea
The “Our Culture. Your Cincy” campaign was born from the insight that one of the most culturally packed destinations in the U.S. is also one of the friendliest.
Elevating Cincy’s culture brand positioning across display, paid social (read: Meta, Twitter and Pinterest), paid search, custom display units and Thrillist sponsored content, the creative uses bold color and high-impact video and imagery to extend a warm, open invitation for travelers to experience Cincy’s unrivaled, unexpected, and welcoming culture. We also helped Cincy introduce themselves to a travel-obsessed TikTok audience.
The results
Spoiler alert: Visitation has made its rebound and tourism is way, way up in Cincy. In April-December, our campaigns led to:
310M impressions
8.9M clicks
4,000 conversion actions
4.1K flight and hotel bookings though Adara alone
$8.1M messaged visitor-spend from 47,000 visitors based on the NEI Study of our Epsilon campaigns
And not only did our campaigns help put Cincy on the map and lead to us winning the MeetNKY business to promote the entire region, our efforts helped land the Cincy Region on Conde Nast Traveler’s Best Places to Go in 2023.
The brief
Diet Coke launched a stunning new can featuring its cropped iconic logo. So how could Diet Coke show off its new look at retail? Launch a national retail kit and digital promotions.
The idea
Make Diet Coke the fashionable must-have of the season. Our campaign took a fashion-forward approach that included a one-of-a-kind brochure with stylish fall trends. Think fashion magazine meets traditional booklet.
Partnering with online fashion magazine Stylecaster to curate exclusive content, we crafted an editorial story about Diet Coke’s new look, fall trends and savings.
The results
Retailers, shoppers and trendsetters got excited about Diet Coke’s new look, and even AdAge paid attention.
Additional retail campaign components included eye-catching in-store pieces and a stylish sweepstakes redeemable with My Coke Rewards.
The brief
Miller High Life and Harley-Davidson, American classics that share a city, history and beliefs.
The two brands initially came together to celebrate their shared 110th anniversary for one of the beers' most successful retail programs. Our program needed to build upon this partnership and connect with Millennial drinkers in an authentic way. And we knew design played a key role in choice of beer.
The idea
We partnered with five artists who embody the originality and independent spirit of High Life and Harley Davidson, including Jon Contino and Hydro74, to illustrate unique can and poster designs as a part of our Limited Edition Artist Series. Every time you bought High Life was a chance to win a customized Harley-Davidson bike and limited edition gear.
The results
Our iconic packaging and on-premise activations not only lived up to the two brands' legacies, but generated social buzz and invited fans to collect the limited-time cans and gear.
The brief
Moving from a traditional to a digital-first marketing approach, Choose Chicago needed a web destination that inspired leisure travelers to discover things to do in Chicago and ultimately book their trip.
The idea
Tell a story that’s unmistakably Chicago by creating an immersive experience that inspires leisure travelers at every step of their user journey.
Our goal was to give an insider’s view of Chicago—through content and imagery—before they even stepped foot in our city. Our creative and tech teams worked closely to bring the life the website through content audit (of more than 3,000 pages!), content strategy, UX and site taxonomy, content editing and creation, UI design, and photo shoot direction.
The results
We’re proud the web experience we built and maintain received over 9M visits in 2021, playing a significant role in Choose Chicago being named Best Big City in the U.S. five years in a row by Condè Nast Traveler readers.
Since site launch in September 2019, compared to the old site —even with the pandemic—we’ve seen traffic to the blog has increase by over 300%, partner/member listings by over 90%, and calendar has seen an increase.
The brief
Upland wanted to bring its easy drinking Vienna lager into the full lineup. Because lagers are traditionally harder to brew, we wanted a name and brand that reflected the hard work of our brewers while toasting to the hard work of our drinkers.
The idea
Free Time Lager serves as a 12 ounce call to action to liberate our own time. A rally cry to take back what’s rightfully ours.
Our free time comes well deserved after a long week spent on someone else’s clock. And with this beer, Upland wants to help make sure how we spend it counts.
To launch Free Time, we created an integrated campaign that engaged drinkers across multiple touch points, including social media, email marketing, liquor store tastings, on-premise bucket deals, swag giveaways, and signage at Upland retail locations. I led naming, branding, marketing strategy, PR, and creative execution for the new beer and its launch. And not to mention a video shoot where we took turns smashing clocks in the brewery.
The results
Free Time struck a chord, particularly with domestic cross-over drinkers, right out of the gate and has become a cooler favorite. The beer gained buzz on social media, Untappd, and beer publications, including Draft Magazine and Indy Beer Sleuth.
Illustration: Courtney Kuebler
Screenprint: Zachary Davidson
Screenprint photo credit: Zachary Davidson via Instagram
The brief
Upland has been infamous for its sour beers, particularly among beer geeks and trading circles. As sour beers gained more mainstream popularity, Upland looked to gain trial and loyalty from those most likely to try and buy—wine and liquor drinkers.
The idea
Subvert the expected. As part of our overall campaign to increase trial, we partnered with Tullamore D.E.W.’s national Dew and a Brew tour to create a new spin on the legendary bar duo of whiskey and beer—Irish whiskey and sour beer. And we even went so far as to create intriguing sour beer cocktails. Upland hosted an exclusive pairing event featuring Tullamore D.E.W.’s brand ambassador Jane Maher on her quest to discover interesting beer and whiskey pairings. The large green tour bus stopped at our sour beer brewery, and we invited beer and whiskey lovers to learn about our unique pairings, followed by a tasting event at local pub Irish Lion.
The results
Not only did the tour gain Upland sours visibility, it gained a new loyal following for its delightfully pucker-inducing beers. And it was the beginning of a beautiful partnership between Upland and Tullamore D.E.W. We hosted several tasting events throughout the Indianapolis and central Indiana area to inspire unique pairings and trying something new. Long live the Dew and a brew.
Photography and video: Anna Powell Denton
The brief
Chicagoland Speedway had hosted NASCAR races with epic fan experiences since 2001. But how could the track become synonymous with great racing cities like Daytona?
Tie the NASCAR racing tradition with Chicago's cultural tradition.
The idea
We delivered an iconic campaign that celebrated Chicago's racing tradition and the track's 15th anniversary. Headlines with "Chicago-isms" and a graphic treatment inspired by the Chicago flag paired with racing, driver, and fan images drove it home. Pun intended. The campaign spanned digital, print, TV, radio, and experiential, bringing new thrill seeker and Hispanic audiences as well as lapsed diehard fans to the race.
The results
At the finish line, Chicagoland Speedway saw a 200% return on investment and created the best attendance in 5 years.
The brief
Prior to being acquired by Providence Bank & Trust, Urban Partnership Bank was a community bank that served Chicago's South and West sides. It was a bank that was different than other banks. Their commitment to customers beyond Fortune 500 banks —working with an underserved market to provide viable options for those with financial hardships as well as education for local customers and entrepreneurs. It was a bank that worked for King Drive, not Wall Street.
With an aging customer base, they needed a big idea that would increase brand awareness with young professionals and local business owners.
The idea
Launching in the digital space, the "Our Interest Goes Here” campaign captured its dedication to the community. We crafted inspiring messages that highlighted how the bank works for its customers and supported the story with bold, custom photography that captures the energy and beauty of Chicago's Southside neighborhoods in an ownable, authentic way.
The results
The initial campaign far exceeded industry benchmark of 0.05% with a 0.53% click-through rate and over 15 million impressions. The campaign ran for several years with slight evolutions to keep it fresh and performing well.
Photography: Michael R. Schmidt
The brief
vitaminwater isn't new to the beverage party. However, people all over the globe still didn't know when or why to drink the rainbow of flavors. The drink that fuels the creative class asked us to create a campaign and global toolkit that spotlighted and educated drinkers the products' benefits and occasions.
The idea
So, we asked vitaminwater drinkers to color their day. Our concept married bold colors with playful words and icons to grab attention and inspire our global audience on when, where, and why to enjoy the flavors.
The results
Our global toolkit educated and inspired the creative class to bring more color to their day. We brought boldness and innovation in-store and on-shelf through individuality, color and wit and provided a strong messaging strategy fueled by benefits and wit.
Active 20-somethings don't make resolutions.
So, how do you reach these milennials in the new year? Give them ways to do more of what they're already doing—hanging out and competing with friends.
Miller64 dared its drinkers to try something new with Dareball. Partnering with deal site LivingSocial, Miller64 drinkers could enter a code online to catch a Dareball— a deal for under $64 with anything from a day on the slopes to a indoor rock climbing adventure, topped off with a Miller64. Throw the dare to a friend and you could get coupons and deals.
This conceptual campaign featured in-store POS and packaging with copy that called out the promotion. On-premise and out of home was intended to create intrigue and drive people in store to grab Miller64.
What started out as an excuse for friends to brunch turned into a popular blog. Which then turned into Chicago's guides to the best bloody marys on Thrillist.
Bloody Best was two gals' search for the best bloody mary in Chicago and beyond. I wrote posts and managed our social and Wordpress accounts. My pal Elaine handled art direction and photography. Started in early 2012, our blog featured reviews of Chicago's most of-the-moment brunch spots as well as bloody mary mixes. Our blog garnered attention of brunch lovers everywhere after we co-wrote "Chicago's Most Ridiculous Bloody Marys" with Thrillist. The article garnered a few hundred thousands hits its first week, which led to an invitation to talk bloody marys on Windy City Live.
Read more articles we wrote for Thrillist.
