THE SITUATION:
Domino's profits soared, but on social media and in homes, America's enthusiasm for the brand hovered at a tepid "meh."
THE CHALLENGE:
Americans love pizza, they just don't love Domino's.
THE OPPORTUNITY:
1) Define a brand purpose that's true to our DNA and true of our audience's relationship to pizza.
2) Shift the brand's use of social and digital from coupon brokering to channels that celebrate all the magic that pizza brings to people,
WHAT WE DID:
Defined our purpose around the belief that Pizza is Magic.
Shaped a comprehensive, illustrative, and integrated social strategy that would guide both Domino's and CP&B through future campaigns.
STRATEGIC PRINCIPLES:
Below are the four key points the strategy rests upon:
Use your brand purpose as the guiding star, not industry gimmicks or social media trends.
Focus on what excites people, not which platform has the most buzz.
Reframe the audience by shared interests, not their demographics.
Re-think the KPI: measure interest and enthusiasm (shares, earned media), not "engagement" (i.e. likes and followers).
THE BACKGROUND
Domino's reinvented how pizzas get delivered. They made it feel magical, and built a car around making sure every pizza, bottle of soda, and the driver got from the store to the customer safely and ready. With a Cannes Lion already in the bag, we needed to bring the DXP to life for our fans in social.
THE CHALLENGE
For those who've never seen a DXP, how do we get them into the car using available digital channels?
WHAT I DID:
Worked closely with creative teams as a strategic guide to deliver a renewed brand POV on a legacy promise: being the first to redefine and set a new standard for pizza delivery.
To do this well. I conducted rolling consumer research, brand and social monitoring, and analysis on industry trends, as well as presenting findings and strategic framework to both clients and agency leadership.
THE INSIGHT
People use technology to bypass physical reality and experience places, things, and people that interests them.
THE OPPORTUNITY
Invite our followers on social (Instagram) into the DXP with an interactive, 3D image game that tours the vehicle and rewards with a coupon code.
Read more about the Instagram story here.
And while I didn't write the brief for the TV spots, I continued consumer and cultural research that fed into creative development throughout and up to production.
Here are the spots:
DXP LAUNCH
DXP TV launch.
See the project's Cannes Silver Lion recap here.
SALT FLATS
Play in a different space, and refresh worn out automotive tropes to tell our unique story.
SOCIAL STRATEGY (Instagram & Facebook):
Watch the spot here.
We brought the fun to fans in an interactive way. Part of our larger integrated strategy was to push what we could do on social platforms beyond a simple image with a link to order pizza. We wanted to bring people into the brand spirit in unusual, goofy ways. This game was one stab at doing that.
THE BACKGROUND
Pearl Izumi put modern cycling apparel on center stage when they suited the first U.S. Cycling team to win the Tour de France. As visionaries and pioneers who've expanded globally, they've become a household name for both elite and casual cyclists and runners. But great gains in popularity pressure and scratch what a brand stands for and who their core, muse audience is. They came to CP&B to help them figure that out.
THE PROBLEM
Pearl Izumi has lost touch with the culture and heart of elite athlete (cyclists/runners).
WHAT I DID:
On a lean team of six, I bore the onus of developing and executing in-field consumer research, shepherding creative development and execution toward strategic, brand, and business goals, as well as taking on the role of photographer, copy writer, and designer for campaign materials.
WHAT I DISCOVERED FROM RESEARCH:
Leading competitive brands celebrate the pain of endurance, not the reward of enjoyment.
Meanwhile, Elite Athletes know that the key to enduring is enjoying. All sweat and no smiles makes for a sad (and stressed) athlete.
How do we show that Pearl Izumi celebrates the truth about what inspires Elite Athletes to keep enduring?
THE OPPORTUNITY
Use the truth to define the brand’s vision and refresh the tag: Endure & Enjoy.
Then debut it in a big, experiential, and unforgettable way in front of the world.
We thought that, to begin, we needed to put our purpose in front of the world's best at the U.S. Open. The Pact (seen here) is a manifesto and pledge to take back the endurance category.
Because we're celebrating the spirit of the endurance athlete, we wanted anyone who believed the message to sign and share it through their social channels.
See it here (and feel free to also sign and share):
We shot and produced a :30 spot that launched during the 2015 U.S. Open. It's a delicate, wise, and strong point-of-view that calls every athlete to introspect about why they endure.
One of the many things we made for the launch was the Endure & Enjoy stem cap. We made these because, as a cyclists cranks up steeps, or against the wind, or in sleet and snow, they bear their head down and are face-to-face with the stem cap.
It was our way of putting a bit of encouragement in their face when the enduring is toughest.
As part of our integrated social strategy, we co-created/produced Pearl Izumi's first podcast with pro athletes who live and breath our message.
THE PROBLEM:
There's not a simple way to network and meet new, random people in cities.
RESEARCH & STRATEGY POV:
How do people--new residents and visitors--go about connecting with people to hang out in a city they're not familiar with?
WHAT I DID:
The research included follow along ethnographies and in situ group interviews across multiple U.S. cities. Along with this we interviewed bartenders in the same cities to get their perspective on how bar-and-scene wandering young adults network to find their unique party niche.
WHAT I LEARNED:
Our key mindset/audience (wealthy, single, cultured, and highly educated young adults) use a combination of Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and Tinder (or Dark Social) to connect with and geolocate people (like themselves) to party with.
THE BRIEF:
What can we make that gives these scene-seeking young adults the steering wheel to find a party suitable for their tastes?
THE STRATEGY:
Develop a digital steering wheel that seamlessly locates parties and bars with the unique vibe they're looking for.
THE RESULT:
Once the research was over, it was simply a question for Pernod to find a partner to make the app.
In 2015, Absolut in conjunction with 360i released Hoppr, an app that puts the discovery of the right party into the lonely, street-wandering scenester’s hands.
This fun campaign came from a brief I led point on. It emerged from months of intense research and branding, and articulates a slight shift in how Aspen connects with people in real-life situations away from the dentist chair and off the TV.
Here's a glimpse at the thinking.
PROBLEM:
Aspen can’t inspire patients to complete dental plans.
INVESTIGATE:
Go out into Aspen’s core audience and experience their life from their level to understand why they prioritize dental hygeine.
INSIGHT:
Their life is already full of too many financial and personal pressures, and teeth are the least of their concern. After all, it won’t be a problem until much later. So they’ll think about it then.
OPPORTUNITY:
Show how their future might feel and taste if they don’t make their teeth a priority now.
CREATIVE STRATEGY:
Prepare their favorite meals in a way that, without teeth, they’d need to enjoy it.
