RETURN THE LOVE

Issue: Petco, a pet care brand, was losing out to non-pet retailers who were selling pet products during the holidays. Petco knew the bond between pet and owner better than anyone, but it was being lost in a sea of new competitors. We had to remind pet parents of their priorities.

Insight: Pet parents go out of their way for their pets during the year, during a busy holiday season, they’re tempted to shop for their pet where it’s most convenient, not where their pet’s best interest is in mind. The gifts that bring pets and pet parents close together are rare, and as much a gift for the parent as it is for the pet.

Idea: Encourage pet parents to share the love. As other retailers used novelty and convenience to appeal to the busy shopper, Petco set out to encourage pet parents to make pets the priority and give their pet a gift that they both will remember.

Impact: With a record-breaking Black Friday, Petco is projecting to reverse a three-year trend of negative sales during a critical holiday season.

TRUTH IN RUNNING

Issue: The world didn’t need another running shoe, so as an unknown running shoe brand in America, 361° was challenged to jump into an already crowded running shoe category. The board’s had a lofty goal of tripling revenue in a 12-month span or abandon the U.S. market entirely, so we had our work cut out for us.

Insight: Real runners don’t want to be sold to, yet the running category is rife with ads tout ‘the perfect shoe’, imagery depicts happy models and lofty technical claims. What runners want is the truth. We needed to get back to real running.

Idea: Expose the truth about running. To help runners reflect on what’s most important about why we run, 361° had an opportunity to run towards the truth while other brands ran away. 361° was going to be the brand that takes the BS out of the category by selling running, rather than just selling shoes.

Impact: 361° is outpacing its goals. Sales were up almost 100% in six months and the running world is taking notice.

FEED THE FLAME

Issue: El Pollo Loco was positioned to capitalize on the fresh/real ingredient movement, but the competition was catching up and delivering at the pace of today’s on-the-go consumer. To grow with the rising tide of QSR, we brought El Pollo Loco back to the core values and equities the brand was founded on.

Insight: Finding the time to sit down and share an authentic, quality meal is harder than ever, as both time and money become a premium. We are missing those quality connections between each other and the food we eat.

Idea: Feed the flame of connection. From the brand’s Hispanic roots and bring up in the LA food culture, to real cooking and family-style meals, El Pollo Loco makes food that brings people together.

Impact: By early 2019, El Pollo Loco had recognized y.o.y. sales growth of 11 percent and outpaced the industry on Wall Street by over 30 percent.

BREAK THE CYCLE

Issue: LivaNova, a medical device company, developed a technology to treat a rare form of drug-resistant epilepsy. Only that was 20 years ago and despite years of proven safety and efficacy, the device was perceived as outdated. No matter how consistent the results, doctors continued to prescribe harmful drugs to patients who saw no real improvement. We needed to change the therapy’s image among physicians and give patients a fighting chance.

Insight: Physicians were chasing false hope. While they understood the risks of prescribing these medications, doctors were tempted by big pharma’s promise of possibility, despite no evidence these drugs would ever work. Physicians were playing a dangerous game of trial and error.

Idea: Break the cycle of ineffective drugs. To shake physicians out of complacency and provoke them to think differently about a device treatment, we took a bold approach that called out physicians who were stuck in the old way of doing things.

Impact: Six months since the campaign launch, LivaNova recognized a 26% increase in sales even without the brand’s first patient-focused campaign, which launched later that year.

LIFE’S TOO SHORT TO FAKE IT

Issue: In the wake of the women’s empowerment movement, women were fighting the equality differences across the board. But one inequality wasn’t being addressed: in the bedroom. But she was too embarrassed to talk about sex and lubricants. In order to break through, we needed to energize the empowered woman and end the stigma to help all women reach their climax.

Insight: Women live in a gender-imbalanced world, and that extends into the bedroom. Nearly all men climax during sex, but only half of women do.

Idea: Life’s too short to fake it. Break down the orgasm gap bedroom by getting real about the orgasm and woman’s sexuality. Empower her to refuse fake orgasms and feel confident in demanding the big “O”.

Impact: This New York Fashion Week activation was the first tentpole of the 2019 campaign for Astroglide and drove nearly 10M impressions and 10K survey responses in just two weeks.

MUSIC IS WAITING

Issue: Taylor Guitars saw themselves as true pioneers of the music industry. But to the outside world, they were just another high-quality guitar manufacturer. Taylor needed to establish an emotional connection with players and enthusiasts and engage them in their DNA. Designing a new way to build guitars (from your garage) took guts.

Insight: In the pursuit of music, we risk failure, but those courageous few do it anyway.

Idea: Courage is the mutual passion between Taylor Guitars and its players, and ‘Step Forward, Music is Waiting’ is the invitation. The series features real-life musicians and guitar makers who, in the face of challenging circumstances, made courageous decisions and kept pushing forward.

Impact: Globally, Taylor Guitars achieved record-breaking sales results, achieving more than double-digit growth rates where the campaign ran since 2014.

OUTDO YOURSELF

Issue: Carving out a distinct and relevant positioning in the budding, yet cluttered and ill-defined fitness drink category. While core fitness-minded consumers are up on their functional nutrition and fuel, among them is a discerning audience who hasn’t found a performance energy brand that fits their higher-level, sophisticated needs.

Insight: A true competitor strives for their best, but no matter the effort, they will eventually reach the limits of what their bodies can do. In order to outdo themselves, they need to hack the body.

Idea: Outdo you. To give credit to the gym-goer and acknowledge the relentless commitment and effort they put into every day, hour, and minute, we partnered with larger-than-life athletes and produced a steady stream of content that pushed beyond what was thought the common athlete was capable of.

Impact: In Year 1, we exceeded sales goals. In Year 2, we dethroned the then-category leader, Bang Energy, to become the number one performance energy beverage.

YAAMAVÁ BRAND LAUNCH

Issue: Introducing a new brand while transitioning from one with 30+ years of equity, the casino risked losing equity, consumer loyalty, and ultimately market share. The new Yaamavá brand needed to suggest a change in the casino experience while maintaining a commitment to San Manuel Casino’s network of attractive and distinctive associations.

Insight: The casino was a true gambler’s casino, but guest behavior suggested they were striving to get more out of each visit. When guests step away from tables or slot machines, their craving for excitement doesn’t stay with the game, they’re searching for more.

Idea: Discovery of something new. It’s in our very nature to find exhilaration in the new. To see excitement of the unexpected. An endless yearning to experience what lies beyond the ‘every day’. Using the meaning behind the native Serrano word Yaamava' as inspiration (‘spring’ and ‘rebirth’), we would stoke the flame of curiosity, expand imagination beyond reality, and indulge in every sense that would lead to a yearning for discovery.

Impact: Opening in December 2021 to much fanfare, the casino saw more foot traffic than any other attraction in California, second only to Disneyland.

Case study coming soon.