One of the more interesting projects that I worked on during my time at MediaCom, was the agency's pitch to win Uber’s North American media duties.
My partner and I were asked to develop a “big idea” and supportive creative that brought the media team’s strategic thinking to life, with executions that required a heavy focus on upwardly mobile millennial consumers and driver recruitment.
The resulting work played a pivotal role in the agency’s winning the $400 million account and received huge accolades from the clients, including CEO Dana Khosrowshahi and CBO Bozoma Saint John.
As the son of a father who suffered from Type 2 diabetes, it meant a lot to me when Jack Morton asked me to oversee all the creative for the internal launch of a new drug from Bayer.
Kerendia, their latest offering is a miracle drug that helps those who suffer from type 2 diabetes and have kidney disease.
Lenovo is one of the biggest multinational technology companies in the world, with operations and product sales in over 180 countries. It is also one of the main accounts I worked on during my time at CSM. As part of the company’s efforts to showcase their ability to deliver “smarter solutions” that went above and beyond their product offerings, we were tasked with developing creative and content offerings that demonstrated Lenovo’s deep understanding of global technology trends and demonstrated how they affected their target consumers.
When COVID hit, we helped them create a series of online conferences that brought together category experts to address and debate these trends and how they might change how we work, play, and create in the future.
The B2B and B2C work that I helped developed for the company were loved by our brand manager clients and high-ranking Lenovo executives and rolled out around the world. They also led to additional work being rewarded to the agency.
I was excited to land a freelance copywriter gig at Wunderman Thompson working on Volkswagen. Not only did it provide an opportunity to work on one of the most creative forward automotive brands, but it gave me a chance to brush up on my UX and other digital and social endeavors.
While timing didn’t allow me a chance to work on the introduction of the ID.Buzz (the return of the bus), I was afforded the opportunity to write copy across all the new 2022 models, as well as launch the VW’s efforts to become a 100% EV-focused and 0% carbon emission company, which felt as good to write as is it for the environment.
When you hear that you’ll be working on a pitch for a financial services client, it creates certain expectations as to the kind of creative that’ll you’ll be developing. Nothing could have been further from that thought when it came to Ally Financial.
Our brief called for innovative ways of using media and content to help enhance Ally’s perception as, “the next level of digital banking,” and we delivered. From ad units on popular lifestyle sites that blocked product offers that could lead to unnecessary shopping, and the highlighting of “spending traps” on Google maps and other directions-based sites, to savings-driven memes on Giphy.com, a holiday shopping/savings guide for Facebook friends, finding love with fellow savers on Match.com, and mock late-night infomercials for outrageous products that drove viewers to "rebox," return, and save with Ally. We even connected with Bravo about original TV programming that would have the Real Housewives learn about how to save money.
The most beloved execution that we presented, was a partnership with Amazon and Alexa that created a digital “swear jar” that automatically put money in a consumer’s Ally savings account every time they or a family member is overhead cursing.
Not only did all of this work do its part to help solidify a massive new business win for MediaCom, but it garnered some very high praise from Ally’s chief marketing and PR officer Andrea Brimmer:
“MediaCom had the best combination of total creativity-not only in big-thinking ideas, but also in the ways they use media and data and analysis of that data. We felt like their creative thinking and media approach could really push us.” – AdAge, June 15th, 2018
Heineken is one of the world’s best known and most consumed beer brands; with a well-established look, feel and tonality that it has successfully cultivated over the last 143 years of its existence.
As creative director and lead writer, it was my job to manage a talented team of creatives that developed programs and campaigns that drove awareness, participation, and sales behind the brand’s national sponsorships and regional promotions in the on and off-premise environments.
It was my personal mission to infuse some much-needed personality into the brand and a more updated approach by pushing creative boundaries (and templates) wherever possible, and introducing new tactics, technologies and content that would resonate with the desired millennial target audience.
In my three years of working on Heineken, we saw many successes, learned some hard lessons, made our clients pretty happy, and most of all, helped keep the brand firmly entrenched at the top of the import beer category.
I worked hand in hand with an extremely talented environmental designer to redesign Johnson & Johnson Vision’s booth for the 2022 ASCRS (American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery) show in Washington DC.
In addition to recalibrating the experience for the space to maximize traffic and engagement, we were tasked with incorporating new technologies and elements from their upcoming advertising campaign. As well, we introduced our clients to some of the latest cutting-edge technologies (new LEDs, reactive fabrics, VR, AI, AR, and more) that they can look to integrate into future booths.
Overall, show was an unmitigated success for the brand. In addition to booth visitation that far exceeded their expectations. They also were able capture 100s of names for their database and future contact. All of these led very happy clients and future projects from the brand for Jack Morton.
I have always been a firm believer in the value of content. Whether branded or non-branded, there are few better ways to connect, inspire, engage and entertain an audience. Especially with today’s consumers, specifically millennials, who don’t like to be marketed to, I’ve found a great deal of success building relationships and trust with the right content offering. That’s why throughout my career, I have always pushed the content marketing model, and have relished in the opportunity to create impactful, kick-ass, and audience-relevant lifestyle-oriented executions for a number of brands and properties. Some of this work, you can find prominently features throughout my website, and some can be viewed right here.
I was recently asked to participate in one of the biggest pitches of my career; a combined effort between WPP agencies Grey, Hogarth, Wunderman, and MediaCom in an attempt to acquire all of Bose’s global creative, strategy, production, and media business.
My team and I were tasked with coming up with content and media-centric ideas that helped bring Grey’s overarching creative concept to life and demonstrate a high level of innovative tactical thinking around key Bose products.
The end result was the largest new business win that I’ve ever been a part of, and an approving client nod to the work that I helped develop, with a promise to bring one of my ideas to life.
During my time at MediaCom, one of my primary responsibilities was working on the AB-InBev account, specifically the Ritas brand.
My team and I from the Content Creative group were tasked with bringing the planned media buy (TV, outdoor, digital and social) to life in unexpected, unusual, and in some cases, unheard of ways. We also were required to enhance our agency’s offering with inventive (i.e., on the strange tip and totally unforgettable) content executions focused around Fallon’s Rita’s campaign, the ever so sweet and somewhat delicious Water-Melon-Rita and Pine-Apple-Rita flavors, and the brand’s NFL initiative.
The clients loved our work, with big ups to the team for the brand buying off on my “manufactured fame” idea (inspired by the attention-starved Kardashian clan) as a means of introducing the Ritas characters to the public. The campaign, which incorporated a number of our creative and content executions, launched in 2018.
How could one possibly say no to working with of the hottest entertainment companies in the world? Especially, when it entails joining forces with a talented boutique shop (GO Creative Agency) to develop the launch campaign for NETFLIX’s dark and racy reboot chronicling everyone’s favorite teenage witch Sabrina, with The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
We were asked to develop OMG concepts and tactics that highlighted key show themes, such as light vs. dark, responsibility vs. teen love, and family, in ways that would appeal to a millennial audience, and connect with them and their own lives. As well, we wanted to provide a peek into the world of Sabrina and get potential viewers fired up for the series.
The work that we developed, built around concepts such as LIVIN’ THAT WITCH LIFE, UNLOCKING THE MAGIC and an AUA RECRUITMENT CAMPAIGN incorporated technologies including augmented reality and AI-driven facial recognition to mimic magic to create uniquely interactive OOH, print, digital and social executions. We also tapped into some more traditional forms of scary to create crop circle advertising, launch and viewing parties in haunted mansions and cemeteries, a co-branded show-inspired fashion line with Rue 21, and more. I even used my deep-seated knowledge of music and film to create exclusive Sabrina mood-oriented playlists for Spotify and horror movie-based trivia for BuzzFeed respectively.
Overall, the show’s been a big hit, receiving outstanding reviews from both fans and critics alike, with some of that initial success being attributed to the ideas and executions that we created.
When I was eighteen, I took my life savings and with the help of my parents, purchased a “vintage” 1979 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9. Since then, I’ve had a lot of love for the Mercedes brand and the high-end German-engineered machines that they build.
Later on while working at G2, I was able to fulfill an advertising dream of mine when I got an opportunity to work on the Mercedes account, developing concepts and copy for series of consumer-facing and dealer-driven projects.
When I started Em16 (the entertainment marketing division at Agent16), one of our first assignments was to build upon (and out) the agency’s highly successful “O-Face” campaign.
This included: pitching and winning the brand’s event production and on-premise collateral design responsibilities, developing non-traditional, experiential and digital tactics to enhance the agency’s offering to the client, and introducing celebrity talent to the above-the-line campaign.
Overall, the clients were extremely pleased by the work that was done, which had added to the overall success of the brand, and helped to keep them as the then leader in the flavored vodka category.
One of the fastest growing beer brands in the US; much of Dos Equis success can be attributed to the Most Interesting Man in the World. But this brand proved to be as complex in execution as the personality and deeds of its aforementioned spokesperson.
As a creative director on the business, a large portion of my time was spent overseeing and enforcing the complicated myriad of rules and regulations that governed the visuals and copy that we developed for each campaign in support of its national and regional sponsorships and promotions.
My team and I were able to successfully navigate these obstacles to create interesting custom work that helped drive the brand’s meteoric growth, with and without the assistance of the Most Interesting Man (prior to his banishment to Mars).
When IKEA approached MediaCom looking for more effective means making their media dollars work for them, they also came looking for new strategic thinking and creative approaches to drive their US business.
My team and I came up with a number of novel ideas, ranging from fabric personalization to buildings constructed with IKEA materials, and live in pop-up shops.
Our biggest contribution, was an idea that my partner and I developed, which involved transforming their signature catalog from staged, stock-looking shots, into a showcase that featured pictures of the brand’s furniture in homes of real consumers from around the country, with testimonials from them that spoke to the functionality and durability of IKEA products. This approach answered criticism that their products are too modern and do not fit into every type of environment.
The clients really liked the thinking that we shared, and said that they would look to implement some of the creative and content ideas into future marketing efforts in 2018 and beyond.
One of my all-time favorite beers that I worked on is Busch. It’s a brand that’s straightforward, unapologetically manly and simple, just like the brew itself.
For the brand's 2018 campaign, we ran the gamut with content and media-driven ideas, some ranging from smart and easy enough to execute (NASCAR car-themed POS display with under the hood storage, digital OOH that served up weather and fishing conditions, and bringing Busch experiences like fishing and camping to retail parking lots), to the slightly off the wall but definitely memorable (AirBnB partnership to book Busch-themed cabins in the woods, streaming streams OOH, and a branded cologne for NASCAR enthusiasts that smelled like gasoline and burnt rubber).
The best concept we came up with, and the one that the brand chose to execute was an ode to the Busch Man himself: we turned the 2018 Talladega 500 flannel. The Flannel 500 had everything from wrapped Busch-sponsored cars and outfitted pit crews, to giveaways that rewarded consumers for braving the heat in their own flannel gear, and scripted content that I developed for the rollout on Fox Sports. I was even in talks with Kenny Loggins to re-record his hit “Danger Zone” as “Flannel Zone.”
I was able to leverage my relationship with Scratch DJ Academy and my past experience with trend reporting and DJ culture to help Agent16’s planning department develop and launch an all-encompassing, lifestyle-based quarterly research report.
The premise of the Scratch Monitor was based on the idea that DJs are alpha influencers and as so, are in a unique position to offer insights and perspectives on trends, brands, products, and nightlife. The client list for this product included, Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Pepsi and R.J. Reynolds.
The Scratch Monitor created a new viable revenue stream for both the agency and its partner Scratch.
I was honored to be included on the agency “A-Team” that pitched for Belvedere Vodka’s below-the-line business.
The final presentation that we created can best be described as beautiful in both concept and execution. Hell, it even was delivered in a glass case.
While we did not win the business, the work that was presented opened the door for additional project and pitch opportunities from Moet Hennessy. And we were able to start each workday with a Belvedere cocktail (research and such). Cheers to that.
Once a huge volume driver for the Heineken USA portfolio (and a hipster favorite), Newcastle had unfortunately been relegated to a lightly supported, market-specific beer brand with a small, but dedicated consumer base.
What it did offer my team and I, was the chance to push the creative envelope by coming up with innovative (and cost-effective) ways to drive awareness, loyalty and promote sales in the on and off-premise spaces.
Furthermore, Newcastle proved to be a writer’s wet dream, as it is one of the few brands that I’ve worked on that is copy-driven in nature and provided ample opportunities for true storytelling (we got to use lots of words).
What started as just an inkling of an idea in the owner’s mind, has gone on to become one of the more successful brands in the gin category (thanks in no small part to the efforts of Agent16).
Serving as the de facto “marketing director” for the brand, my duties included: creating their initial marketing plan, overseeing the development of the liquid and packaging, launching their inaugural communications campaign and website, hiring and managing their PR firm, executing their launch party at Soho House, and facilitating product distribution in key NYC nightlife accounts.
As someone who still loves to play video games (and who once proudly owned an Atari 2600 console), I thought it was pretty damn cool when I was asked to help provide music for one of the company’s most popular titles.
For the brand’s second foray into the US market, my team and I were tasked by the client to adjust the visuals and copy created by their European AOR to bring the creative more in line with an American millennial audience, and develop a market-specific activation campaign for rollout in the greater Miami area.
When our Brand USA client was faced with a prolific decline in foreign travel to the States, they gave us a call … and sent a creative brief. They were looking for an inventive way to use music as a vehicle to draw travelers from key Asian, South American and European countries to the US.
With that, my boss and I used a bevy of insights provided by our strategy team to create a concept that we called Music A Go-Go, which was a multi-faceted, broad-reaching idea that would highlight the wealth of unique, varied, and accessible music scenes and sounds that can only be found in this country, brought to life through original content, live performances, and social media activations.
Once we had client sign-off, we briefed a number of high profile entertainment properties that had the music chops, global reach, and production capabilities to bring the idea to life. In the end, we selected VICE Media as the best partner for the initiative and then worked hand-in-hand with them to create a music-based program seeded in our initial concept.
The program that we developed together is set to launch in the latter part of 2018.
As the son of a designer, fashion has always been a part of my DNA, and a huge source of creative inspiration.
That’s why I jumped at a chance to work with the ultra-talented co-owners of Jo Handbags to produce a photo shoot for their initial line, help them develop their first lookbook, as well as launch their website.
There’s no better feeling than doing good creative work to help a cause. My partner and I (along with the rest of G2 NY’s creative department) were tasked with coming up with a concept for a pro bono print campaign for Action Against Hunger.
Our submission, which incorporated a simple, yet powerful visual and to the point copy beat out entries from across the W.P.P. network to run in high-end pubs around the country and bring awareness to a very worthy charity.
