When Miracle Whip extended their KEEP AN OPEN MOUTH campaign online their creative agency needed a solution to quickly cast and close a diverse range of talent.
Working between two sets of demanding clients (Madison Avenue & Hollywood) can be a challenge but the short hand developed with Alloy’s lawyers helped speed this process along and we were able to cast and negotiate deals with Wynonna Judd, Jeffrey Tambor and Michael Ian Black.
After reading an article in the New York Times on social engineering films of the 1950′s I became intrigued with the concept of utilizing their classic style and format to address contemporary issues. Social engineering and the impact social media has had on modern dating seemed a natural alliance and the idea of this video series was born when creating branded content to support Alloy Entertainment’s second season of Dating Rules From My Future Self.
Ford received earned media and social promotion for the 2013 Ford Escape when I got Candice to tweet the photo below.
The video will launch later this year just launched!
An exclusive behind the scenes look at the creative process of how Alloy Entertainment worked with Macy’s to create the looks featured in their highly successful series “Wendy”. This mini series was extremely well received and supported Wendy’s launch.
Style icon Rachel Zoe was the perfect choice for this innovative web series developed for the LG Marquee. Creating challenges reflective of the phone’s core features and brand attributes was a creative way to highlight the technology while keeping users engaged and entertained.
Rachel and team (as always) were a pleasure to work with and we produced this content in a manner that was respectful of Rachel’s schedule while making sure the brand’s needs were met and we were able to craft a story that held viewer interest.
Additionally we produced this in a manner that ensured we could capture appropriate content to seed interest in social media (hence leaked exclusives which drove additional organic pick up).
Coordinating Rachel’s schedule to accommodate the hard dates surrounding LG’s media launch (not to mention the realities of production) was a challenge but through “no” is not an option attitude, quick thinking, Rachel’s amazing team and a super responsive staff we were able to shoot, edit and distribute an introductory episode setting up the association and challenges (below).
I loved Rachel’s live interaction through the LG phone on this episode which we changed it up a bit by casting two guys (do straight men even know who Rachel is or what she does?).
For one of the challenges I cast the Youtube powerhouse Jarmaine who promoted the series on her channel to great effect.
To support the launch of the HTC Status which had a one click upload button to Facebook this series was developed to provide users an exclusive look at Leighton’s creative process in writing songs with her band Check in the Dark and explore how a celebrity like Leighton utilizes social media to connect with fans.
In addition to creating the series I negotiated the deal with Leighton’s management team, worked with the brand to identify product integrations and executive produced the content.
Conversion and completion rates were extremely high and the series garnered tremendous organic pick up which (as a result of careful planning and coordination with appropriate internal and external parties) resulted in additional promotion for HTC through earned media across the blogosphere.
While still at BuzzMedia I met Angel and her family in South Carolina before she moved to New York. Before moving to Alloy there were three deals BuzzMedia needed my help to close; one involving BuzzMedia and Concrete Loop, one involving Kim Kardashian and BuzzMedia and last involving BuzzMedia and Ford.
Eighteen months after leaving Buzz it was great to catch up with Angel and see how she’s thriving in New York City and how well the relationship with Buzz is working out.
Angel has an artist’s soul, a brilliant future and don’t forget to check out her book (I was really touched to find my name in the acknowledgements).
My favorite photo below.
The authenticity and off the cuff feel of UGC has always intrigued me but the content can sometimes suffer when what’s captured is poorly shot and / or exceedingly dull. The creative challenge was to develop a celebrity driven series that combined professionally shot footage with an insider / UGC feel utilizing footage the celebrity captures themselves.
With the intent of providing users an authentic experience and a glimpse into the off camera lives of their favorite celebrities I developed “My Day My Life” as a series which performed consistently well on Alloy’s YouTube Channel.
This campaign was amazing to work on as Kotex and their advertising agency were very clear in their communication regarding brand positioning and key elements of which they were looking to promote.
We developed this idea of capturing “woman on the street” questions and comments from which the Kardashian’s could respond.
Not knowing how willing women would be to sharing their most intimate coming of age stories on tape before a camera I was amazed at the amount and quality of content we were able to capture. The stories were amazing (many we simply could not use) and I was once again reminded at how much I truly love the power of non scripted entertainment.
As always the Kardashian’s were on spot and real professionals.
While working at BuzzMedia I “discovered” Jared who was the very first blogger with which I did a distribution deal.
Four years ago Jared was an unknown commodity and nowhere near the powerhouse and social influencer he is today. Much has changed for jared but what’s remained consistent is his genuine love and unabashed appreciation for celebrities and pop culture.
This guy is the real deal. An authentic and original voice mixed with a passionate and highly intelligent mind. I have great respect for Jared and all he’s accomplished and I look forward to watching his exciting future unfold.
I produced this video as a way to introduce major advertisers to the Jared story but more to come on that shortly.
The idea behind Style Setters was to document the creative process behind how hair stylists work with designers to create the look that gets sent down the runway.
Working under an unusual tight deadline to secure multiple talent from film, television, and online the series garnered a tremendous amount of social media impressions throughout the blogosphere and youtube.
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