Below are just a few examples of the creative work from my career. Different consumers, different brands, different insights. My approach as the strategic compass on my brands involve mining for strong and timely cultural tensions, that intersect with meaningful consumer truths and our brands point of difference.

The creative I've included below is mostly TV (which is easier to share) but all campaigns are integrated campaigns that permeate through the marketing landscape: digital, social, print, and CRM.

Petsmart - "Partners in Pethood"

The Cultural Tension: Pets have an unprecedented status in today’s modern culture. From Christmas cards to birthday parties to starring roles in weddings, pets have become a part of the family.  And yet, the category still talks about them as "pets." Buy this food and your "dog" will be happy. Buy this toy and your "cat" will dance. We need to stop thinking about pets as just pets, and start thinking about them as people.

The Consumer Insight:  Pets aren't just pets.  They're our fur babies, our four-legged kids. “I am not a pet owner, I am a pet parent. I don’t manage my pet, I truly love him/her.”

PetSmart point of difference: PetSmart is passionate about the pets. From being the biggest pet charity in the country (donating over $30 million to animal welfare charities) to being pet owners ourselves, we are dedicated to the well-being of our furbabies. Our services of grooming, veterinary clinics, boarding facilities are all here to ensure your family members are in good hands. We are united in pet parenthood.

Seton - "Welcome to Humancare"

The Cultural Tension: In the US, and around the world, healthcare is a hot topic. Even saying the word, “healthcare” will spark a conversation that typically results in division, confusion, and not a whole lot of action.  The majority of Americans don’t know how healthcare reform will impact them. Health literacy in this space continues to be low. Regardless of where you stand on healthcare issues, most Americans can agree that it’s a broken system. Healthcare is complicated, laden with politics, and tends to focus more on legality than humanity.

The Consumer Insight: Healthcare has lost its human touch. Nowadays, people feel more like numbers than patients. Moreover, when it comes to healthcare, clinical excellence is expected. It’s table stakes. 
What consumers want more than anything is to be treated with compassion, dignity, and respect. 

Seton point of difference: Treating people with dignity and respect has been part of the Seton mission since The Daughters of Charity came to Austin in 1901. We needed to change the healthcare conversation, and get back to the basics of why hospitals were even created - to simply care for people. 

Zales - "Let Love Shine"

Cultural Tension: We live in world of mass-produced romance. Romantic comedies dubbed "chick flicks." Engagement commercials with the classic "bend and smile" moment. Cheesy reality TV with fairytale endings that always ends-up being fake (cough -The Bachelor franchise- cough). But real-life isn't like that. How do we inject a sincere portrayal of love in a world where love feels cliche?

The Consumer Insight: Love isn't a John Hughes movie. It's more real than that. It takes work. It begins with the big, epic moments that change your life and that you truly remember forever. But its also filled with small, intimate moments that define your relationship. 

Zales point of difference: Our world consists of many forms of expression. From tweets, posts, blogs and perfected pictures, we have numerous ways to share our emotions, our stories and our lives with whomever will listen. But for some reason, when it comes to love, those feelings are hard to express. With Zales you have the power to express your love without saying a word.

Miracle Whip Campaign (Part 1): "Take A Side" 

Cultural Tension: Keeping up with the Joneses is boring. Same white picket fence, same car, same kids' activities. In a world that's beginning to feel like a sea of sameness the urge to express individuality and creativity has become increasingly important. There is an unrelenting need to stand out from the crowd of vanilla followers. 

Consumer Insight: From our research we found that Miracle Whip enthusiasts gave up their love for the tangy product due to the fact that it was a polarizing flavor. "My husband and kids hate the taste of Miracle Whip, so I just get regular mayo." They would settle for the bland flavor of mayo, since it was universally accepted. But we realized these consumers love the tangy taste BECAUSE it's different than everything else. They value small walks on the wild side. From painting their nails a funky color to signing up for Zumba classes - they wanted to escape ordinary routine of daily life and dip their toe into something more interesting.

Miracle Whip point of difference: We KNOW we are not for everyone. And that's ok. We are Miracle Whip and we don’t want you to have to surrender individual preference to accommodate a more acceptable choice. We believe toning it down is giving up to ordinary– so we want you to proudly declare your choice. We know it is hard to swim against the current, so we are hitting the street provoking you to take a stand, and making room to buck convention.

Miracle Whip Campaign Evolution (Part 2):  "Keep an Open Mouth"

In 2011 the Miracle Whip love/hate campaign threw down the gauntlet and created a forum where consumers could tell us their opinions about our product. And boy, they didn’t hold back!  Lovers came to our defense and haters, well, they just hate us. We realized the opinion of haters was often the loudest and most heard.  Not only are these comments negative but they continued to perpetuate a prejudice against Miracle Whip 

“It’s disgusting fake Mayo!” 
“It’s too sweet!”
“Miracle Whip is a heinous and vile concoction …”

Our feelings were hurt, but hey we can take it. What we can’t take, and what we won’t stand for, is letting these negative comments affect the uninformed. Believe it or not there is large group of people unsure about what Miracle Whip is, and they were allowing these negative, biased opinions affect their decision about Miracle Whip and therefore decide they don’t like us before they even try us.

At Miracle Whip, we're fighting against the prejudice that can pollute fresh minds about our creamy blend of sweet and tangy.
 
We stand in harsh opposition to all forms of pre-judging. Especially when that pre-judging is about Miracle Whip. We embrace thoughtful consideration and applaud those who believe firsthand experience trumps secondhand information. We strive to silence the "I hate it, but oh, I've actually never tried it" crowd. Simply put, we are here to help people re-think their stance on Miracle Whip.

Chips Ahoy Chewy Gooey

Cultural Tension: From helicopter parents to tiger moms, modern relationships between parents and their children have often been identified as being over-scheduled and overworked.  A one-way street where parents defined the activity. But in today’s culture there has been an evolution in this relationship. Rather than a child or parent dictating how to bond, today there is a greater mutuality. Mom brings a broader definition of herself to the sandbox, not partitioning, but rather co-creating the fun. 

Consumer Insight: Through our research we realized that moms these days don't just want to sit on the sidelines and watch their kids play. They want to be IN on the fun. They want to participate, because connecting with their kids on a playful level, makes their relationship stronger. “I believe by combining interests with my kids, I can create a strong bond and lasting memories.”

Chips Ahoy! point of difference: Chips Ahoy! cookies have a magnetic pull.  It's a snack that suggests fun and tickles your taste buds with chip delight crammed in every bite. 

Additional creative available upon request.