Justine Santos

AGENCY: VMLY&R

Trust in the US government amongst the general public was at an all-time low, the country seemed more divided than ever before and no one really knew about why or how being counted in the Decennial Census could have impact on their lives.

Campaign Goals: Motivate all people living in the United States to self-respond to the 2020 Census in the mode they prefer (online, by mail or phone).

Get a more accurate count of underrepresented populations.

PLATFORM: Shape Your Future. Start Here.

Regardless of where you live, where you come from or what your beliefs are, most people can agree that when their community is thriving, it means a better way of life for themselves and their loved ones.

What people didn’t know is how the Census had the potential to shape their communities.

We needed to get the word out that responding to the 2020 Census would inform how $675B in public funding for communities will be allocated over the next 10 years. We also needed to let people know that you don’t have to be 18 years old to be a community member — children (even newborns) should be counted, too!

Universally (within the US), schools, hospitals and clinics, fire departments, road maintenance and business development were viewed as key facets that ensure community wellness.

Outcome:

The integrated-360 campaign effort consisted of a $500M media buy comprised of about 627 pieces of work in 44 languages.

By the end of campaign efforts, this decennial Census garnered a higher self-response rate than the 2010 Census and reached a 99.9% completion rate. Results showed 7.5% increase in population count over the 2010 Census.

Work stressed the importance of inclusivity and being counted—especially during a divisive social climate.

PSAs were designed to edu-tain people living in the United States about what the 2020 Census is, why it matters to them and how to participate.

AGENCY: McCann Worldgroup

Not many people know what the Army Reserve is all about — there’s a tendency to define it by thinking about the word “Reserve” itself and presume it means that these are soldiers “on call” to be at the front lines. When it comes to barriers to join the Army, combat and isolation from family and friends are top reasons.

Outcome: This campaign was designed to show people that the Army Reserve defies expectations in a multitude of ways:

It’s part-time: In the Army, part-time service isn’t as big of a time commitment as traditionally defined in the workforce, it’s at least one weekend a month and two weeks a year.

Not compromising: A major hurdle for most is the worry that being a soldier means sacrificing home life and personal identity. In the Army Reserve, you serve close to home (within a 50-mile radius) and maintain your personal interests.

All soldier: Even with a part-time commitment, Army Reservists gain all the leadership skills and benefits that being a soldier entails.

Online traffic to the Army Reserves site increased 26% over the previous year, reaching an all-time high at the time of this campaign. Time spent on site and click-through to geographic search for local recruitment centers exceeded campaign goals.

USPS continues to create a dialogue with Hispanic SMBOs by showing the meaningful impact USPS can offer as a partner.

Strategic Platform:
USPS is the nation’s operating system connecting businesses to Americans.

Insights: USPS wanted to continue to assure Hispanic business owners that they are equipped to handle businesses’ shipping needs on a large and wide scale.  

Carriers are one of the brand’s most recognizable assets, showing their role in the bigger scheme of delivery puts USPS’s reach and strength as a partner puts things into context that means growth for business owners .

AGENCY: McCann Worldgroup

The USPS brand wants to create more meaningful connections with Hispanic audiences, this time focusing on SMBO owners with its Spring campaign efforts.

Strategic Platform:
When You Ship With Us, Your Business Becomes Our Business

Insights: 

Based on conversations with Hispanic B2B target audiences, we unearthed useful learnings:

1)    Need to build awareness/develop relationship with target:

Hispanic SMB Owners don’t automatically think of USPS as a shipper that can handle the sizes and amounts of shipping a business needs.

Showcasing that big businesses depend on USPS puts the brand in the game. USPS's claim of 'delivering more packages from online purchases than anyone else in the country' further instills trust.

2)    Leveraging USPS ownable assets to build desire:

'UPS/FedEx delivery men are in a hurry and it’s never the same person, they change routes. You always see the same USPS mail carrier, they’re like family/another colleague.’
-USH LA SMBO Groups

Hispanic SMB Owners credit USPS with developing relationships with them through its mail carriers. So we decided to play to that strength by showing how USPS and its mail carriers care about their business, too.

Outcome: 

(Digital): With banners and social media posts, we proudly landed in areas that informed Hispanic business owners about USPS ability to act as a trusted partner for small businesses and recognizable big brand names. 

(TV): "Greetings" resonated well with test audiences and highlighted USPS as a relatable and familiar brand that you build a trusted relationship with.

Further, it showed that USPS understood that Latino identity is not homogenous but comprised of many countries with their own unique customs. Greetings demonstrated that USPS had a deep understanding of distinct Latino subcultures through showcasing SMBO-carrier relationship building with different salutations by country of origin.

AGENCY: McCann Worldgroup

Situation: USPS is a recognizable name that people associate more with affordability than reliability when it comes to shipping. With holiday being a busy time of year for the shipping category, 'twas the season to communicate that USPS ‘Delivers to More Homes Than Anyone Else in the Nation."

Strategic Platform:
We Deliver More Holiday Cheer

Insights: During the holidays, Latinos have nuanced behaviors and customs that USPS tapped into:
1) Latinos are holiday shopping procrastinators. Most holiday shop online, but tend to start later than others. This meant a greater dependency on shipping reliability.
2) Latinos celebrate more. For many, holiday gift giving extends to Día de Los Reyes (Three Kings' Day) on January 6.
3) “Detallitos” or small but thoughtful gifts from the heart are not uncommon, and create tighter bonds.

Outcome: USPS' integrated Holiday campaign efforts were attributed to sales success with revenue increases over the previous Holiday season.

The Hispanic campaign had positive impact on perceptions of brand value, piqued interest in use and also gave the brand a competitive advantage in showing its understanding of nuanced Latino consumer needs and cultural traditions.

“Regalos” TV spot positioned USPS as the holiday hero that delivered for Latinos. The spot leveraged a recognizable and nostalgic Latino holiday song centered around 'Belen,' both the word for Bethlehem (Three Kings' journey destination) and a common girls' name.

Banners showcased popular Latino Holiday traditions and with efficient paid media efforts, increased visits to the Hispanic landing page from the previous year.

AGENCY: McCann Worldgroup

The US Army was having trouble connecting with prime audiences -- Hispanic Gen Zers and their main influencers, their parents.

Hispanic Gen Z recruits were underrepresented in terms of enlisted Army soldiers in contrast to their large presence in the US population. We needed to figure out the barriers for considering the Army as a next step after high school for Hispanic families.

By identifying the Hispanic Gen Z recruitment issue, we were able to conduct qualitative and quantitative research centered around our Hispanic targets for the first time in Army and agency history.

Insights: 

1)    Importance of Family and Community

Hispanic culture is one of collectivism -- extended family and sense of community are commonplace. When it comes to Latino culture, families are tight knit and major life decisions are family decisions.

2)    Expectation to continue education after high school, but absolutely no financial planning

Culturally, most Latinos are Catholics that believe that destiny is in God's hands and leave things to fate (fatalismo). Parents and kids weren't saving for their kids' futures and assumed that working to pay for education was the most likely solution.

3)    Negative perceptions and low awareness of Army's offerings

Most Latino audiences were unaware of what the Army has to offer. Even worse, those that had opinions saw the Army in a negative light.

The biggest hurdle the Army is faced with in connecting with Latino parents' are misguided fears of their child enlisting and having to face prejudice/racism and being targeted for the front lines. 

A universal issue that the Army will continually need to overcome are perceptions of it as an inferior and outdated military branch.

Strategic Platform:
Brings The Future Forward To Its Versatile Team

Outcome: 

Army Soldiers come from all walks of life and protect our country through a multitude of professional specializations. Focusing on the possibilities within the Army in an aspirational way by showcasing Latino Soldiers thriving in innovative and exciting career paths is a direction that is resonating with Latino audiences.

Recent brand tracker results are showing positive gains in brand opinions amongst Latino Gen Z prospects and parents.

As a result of our consulting work, Latino audiences went from being overlooked to becoming a continual focus for communications within the Army organization.

AGENCY: CG MGS

African American consumers view Verizon as a premium brand -- one that offers quality, but is stately and out-of-touch with youth. African Americans are tech addicts that are willing to pay a premium for the best options if they are proven.

Strategic Platform: 
"Expression Amplified" 

Insight: Music and Technology are leveraged by African American millennials to spread influence, assemble and start movements. For this audience, time is of the essence when sharing within these forums to create greater impact. Not being able to share experiences in real-time can be frustrating. Luckily, Verizon Wireless has the best network delivering unparalleled reliability and speed to keep you connected in-the-moment.

Outcome: Verizon connected with African Americans millennials through Experiential and Digital efforts leading up to and at the 2015 ESSENCE Music Festival.

Verizon’s “Now Playing” tour were activations in key markets (Chicago, New Orleans, Washington DC and Los Angeles) featuring artists Omarion, Luke James and Wale.

Both “Now Playing” Tour and the Essence Festival efforts were promoted through the company website, banner ads, social media/influencer posts and radio live reads.

The 2015 Essence Festival was a premiere celebration of African American music and culture and featured acts such as Kendrick Lamar, Mary J Blige, Usher, Missy Elliott and Kevin Hart. Verizon had a large presence at the festival that intersected technology with culture. 

AGENCY: GALLEGOS UNITED

As the largest cable and home internet provider in the US, Comcast is a powerhouse in the telecommunications industry. The assignment was to develop a Spanish-language campaign. However, a more impactful, broader reaching, growth market shaping America’s culture was identified in Bicultural Latinos/Hispanics.

Strategic Platform:
"Enable Your Fullest Life"

Insight: Bicultural Latinos live their lives at 200%. Most identify as 100% American and 100% Latino -- being a part of both cultures is advantageous, empowering them with a broader perspective and allowing them to live more enriched lives.

Comcast XFinity equips Latinos with the best entertainment tool to help them live their lives to fullest.

Outcome: Research and tracker results allowed for us to create Comcast’s first-ever bilingual campaign. Aptly titled “Because I Can,” the campaign showcased the versatility of interests of the bicultural consumer and how Xfinity enriches their daily lives.

Post-launch research results showed that this bicultural campaign was more relevant, salient and appealing than past Hispanic efforts and outperformed some General Market executions.

Further, it resulted in the client entrusting the agency to produce original digital Xfinity programming (via red carpet presence at events) geared at Latino audiences interested in emerging pop culture.

AGENCY: GALLEGOS UNITED

US Marketers were capitalizing on the growing popularity of soccer during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Our agency noticed that most brands failed to connect with a key audience, US Latinas.

Strategic Platform:
"Soccer Is A Passion That Fits Her"

Insight: US Latinas are more likely to watch soccer than American men.

These women not only want to display their nationalistic pride in outfits they wear, but also potentially in how they outfit their homes for viewing parties. Not only did we identify an opportunity to outfit Latinas in the colors of their native countries, we also wanted to communicate the importance of home goods, too.

Outcome: A TV spot and social media posts centered around "Fanaticas."

The campaign had positive impact on the brand:
— sales increased by 3%, individual spend increased by 39%
— 3 in 4 surveyed consumers found campaign to be appealing and engaging
— JCPenney Latino's social media fanbase increased by 46% and 17.1 million impressions were generated. 

AGENCY: GALLEGOS UNITED

Target is a retailer that offers a shopping experience that our most people enjoy, however, it wasn’t top-of-mind for everyday products at low prices.

Strategic Platform:
Anyday Heroics

Insight: Nurse, cook, stylist, cleaner, tutor, corporate ladder climber, Latina moms are wearing multiple hats on a daily basis in modern times and this ensures that she is always busy and on-the-move. It is a certainty that she will come across unexpected surprises, near disasters and stresses on a daily basis.

Count on Target to have solutions for everyday problems...yes, even THAT one.

Outcome: The “Life as a Moving Target” campaign deepened Target’s emotional appeal by framing the brand as the solution to any of life’s curveballs. 

AGENCY: GALLEGOS UNITED

The Alzheimer’s Association wanted to develop an awareness-building campaign about the disease. Most existing campaigns about Alzheimer’s are focused on the same message of memory loss. Our challenge was to find a new angle that would succeed in our goal of building awareness but also deliver a more impactful, emotionally salient message.

Strategic Platform:
"Through the Lens"

Insight: Alzheimer’s not only impacts not only the memory process, but also 'color, awareness and your field of vision.’

Outcome:

The idea behind the “Alzheimer’s Gallery” campaign was to dramatize a symbolic visual connection of the tragic impacts of Alzheimer’s by placing the viewer in the shoes of someone suffering from the disease. Images are distorted, hazy, garbled and heartbreaking tributes to loved ones of those with Alzheimer’s that evoked an emotional and visceral understanding of the illness and its widespread effects.

Executions were showcased and sold at Los Angeles Artwalk (100% of proceeds went to the Alzheimer’s Association) and adapted to print and OOH.

Our campaign garnered much publicity, with blogosphere reporting by Design Taxi, Ads of the World, Gute Werbung and El Hombre Anuncio and international coverage by the UK’s Daily Mail (http://tinyurl.com/kuhsck3). “Alzheimer’s Gallery” inspired the Daily Mail to spark further conversation on new medical research that discussed our strategic insight that Alzheimer’s affects beyond forgotten memories, also impacting visual perception.

Additionally, we won some hardware -- a bronze Cannes Lions, CLIO Healthcare Awards (3 gold, 3 silver, 2 shortlists) and 3rd prize at New York Festivals World’s Best Advertising.

AGENCY: interTrend

 Toyota wanted to capture the attention of a prime market for its Corolla model, female Asians millennials and connect with them in both the real world and within digital media.

Strategic Platform: 
“Big Dreams, Compact Package”

Insight: Our target was an urban dweller where compact solutions are a necessity -- Corolla was the right size and for the most part, purchased for pragmatic reasons (reliability, gets me from point “A” to “B”, economical). However, our target led busy lives (work and play, online and offline) and had interests that were less practical and more inspired and extraordinary -- enter the Corolla’s emotional appeal, it’s intelligently appointed and well-designed interior.  

Outcome: Creatives developed a campaign heavily focused on experiential and digital efforts and featured virtual Japanese pop icon, Hatsune Miku. Miku lives on hard drives, but appears as a holographic presence that fills arenas in Japan. She was a perfect personification of our strategic platform. Campaign elements included Miku’s first-ever US in concert in Los Angeles, a flashmob, a series of spots that ran on TV and online, a Miku makeup tutorial with YouTube star, Michelle Phan and a hub page linked to Toyota.com.

As a result of the efforts, Toyota significantly increased app downloads, traffic and leads for the Corolla. To date, the campaign has over 2 million online views. On the night of the concert, Toyota saw a 600% percent increase in Toyota Shopping Tool app downloads. After the first night's spike, app downloads continued to outperform normal download rates throughout the week. Corolla leads jumped by 30% that week, and time spent on the one Corolla/Miku web page outpaced time spent on the entire Corolla section of Toyota.com (including customization tools, pricing pages and demo videos). 

The campaign was awarded the ANA Multicultural Excellence Awards Grand Prize for Digital Media.

AGENCY: RPA

The Las Vegas Hotel strip was a crowded and ubercompetitive space for the luxury hospitality industry with an abundance of choices within close proximity. Mandalay Bay was seeking out an agency partner to strengthen its stance in the marketplace. For this pitch, RPA was tasked with creating a distinctive brand position for Mandalay Bay that would appeal to its staple audiences: Young Affluents, Business Travelers and Californians.

Strategic Platform:
"Exotic Luxury"

Insight: While Bellagio Hotel had a classic approach to luxury, consumers often viewed them as stuffy. Mandalay Bay is more casual and contemporary. From a man-made beach, tropical scented lobbies and a bar called “Rum Jungle” to bungee suspended wine servers and Andy Warhol art pieces, Mandalay Bay had all of the right elements to pay off our "Exotic Luxury" strategic approach.

Outcome: Carving out this “Exotic Luxury” territory resulted in a new business win for RPA ($7M in billings) and the positioning was creatively delivered showcasing Mandalay Bay attractions that creatives dubbed “Untamed Luxury.”  

AGENCY: RPA

Acura was launching a redesigned version of their flagship vehicle, the TL. For our client, it was imperative to communicate that this was the most powerful Acura to ever exist.

STRATEGIC PLATFORM: 
"Power In Motion"

Insight: Other competitors' vehicles rivaled the new TL's horsepower but, what TL consumers loved about their vehicles was the precision of it's handling performance and clean design. After interviewing TL designers, we found out that the inspiration in the vehicle's lines was all about fluidity and the look of movement even when it was still.

Outcome: Creatives were inspired by the design story and consumer motivations, but were also sensitive to the client's ask to talk about power through impactful visuals. 

AGENCY: GRUPO GALLEGOS

Situation: Our client wanted to develop sub-brand QSR concepts that would cater to a key audience they felt like they were missing out on -- millennials.

Strategic Platform: 
Discover YOUR Denny's

Insight: When it comes to dining, millennials want a restaurant that will allow them to break their routines (work/school), socialize and of course, dine. Millennials want a comfortable place to relax, a place that they can identify with and a place that speaks their language.

For college and urbanite Millennials, sense of discovery, belonging and socialization are key factors to connect with brands/places.                

Outcome: Working closely with creatives we brought millennial fast dining concepts to life from naming to operational strategies.

We netted out at recommending a personalized approach that would allow millennials to feel ownership over the dining experience from in-store ordering options to daily dining music playlists to literally seeing their name in lights with our "[Insert Your Name] Denny's" approach. 

AGENCY: TEAM ONE

We evaluated The Ritz Carlton Spa sub-brand to assess how it could work harder for the business. The goal was to give The Ritz Carlton Spa an identity that would elevate it to the pinnacle of the spa category, not just the best of hotel spas.

STRATEGIC PLATFORM: 
"Healthful Rejuvenation"

Insight: After delving through numerous industry sources and conducting interviews with spa goers and stakeholders (journalists, spa directors and experts), we found that there wasn't much point of differentiation within the category. Everyone was talking from the angles of relaxation and escapism. The Ritz Carlton Spa could stand out as a provider of services for clients actively seeking personal transformation with lasting effects.

Outcome: Our research not only led us to a communications strategy, but allowed us to create a full-marketing plan with potential to impact the business in both the short and long-term.