Case Study:
Pregame
Big Y World Class Market
Back in March and early April 2020, brands were telling us that we were all “in this together.” The times were dark and indefinable. No one knew what would happen next, but everyone knew the loss would be profound. Brand messages seemed transfixed and stuck in this mode as, undoubtedly, production because an issue. Using new social distancing protocols (4 am shoots help), GCAi created Pregame, a concept built off of an idea proposed by Big Y Vice President of Corporate Communications Claire D’Amour-Daley. Pregame was an effort to help customers and Big Y messaging transition from the dark days of the surge to a message of appreciation, but also highlighting renewal.
Case Study:
Soccer Girl
Connecticut Orthopaedic Specialists
THE CHALLENGE: Through visual storytelling, develop a compelling narrative for an orthopedics group which highlights their expertise, internship program, and physical therapy services.
TACTICAL: Video production and digital marketing channel innovation. Utilized a targeted social media marketing campaign on Facebook/Instagram (split, simultaneous targeting was used to target Soccer Girl’s hometown to increase engagement, as well as the orthopedic group’s footprint).
THE RESULTS: Over 163k impressions, approximately 116k individuals reached, 60k+ engagement actions including 60k video views, 142 link clicks, 254 Likes, 27 comments, and 20 shares.
Case Study:
A Block of Wood
Peter Pan Bus Lines
“It opens with a block of wood?” Not the most comfortable, initial question posed by the client after reviewing the storyboard, but they went with the trust factor because they had seen how we turned other seemingly bizarre concepts into success before. And, for an app marketing campaign, being different and attention grabbing, would be the key to success.
While apps are nothing new, app marketing is. Most businesses with apps fail to move beyond the launch into actually engaging their customers in the benefits. That’s pretty shocking because the benefits flow both ways – to the customer and to the company.
But, in Peter Pan Bus Lines case, there’s much more. When you combine the app with a rewards program, things really accelerate. In fact, 80% of travelers purchase tickets through a rewards program. Combined with a travel app, customers gain incredible convenience and benefits that, in this case, include free travel. So, ride on any Peter Pan Bus right now and you will not only view a new app marketing video but also a fresh Perks Rewards program video. In between the two marketing videos is a brief welcome message by company Chairman & CEO, Peter Picknelly – all produced by GCAi.
The app and rewards videos will be disseminated through digital marketing campaigns in certain markets in the near future. These videos are the third in a series of passenger videos produced by GCAi that began when Peter Pan Bus Lines separated from Greyhound Bus Lines in 2017.
Case Study:
Making Memorial Day Memorable
Springfield Union Station
Memorial Day 2020 was like no other in recent memory. We all know why. The real question is, why did many brands and businesses treat it like it was?
You know the drill:
• Profound headline from last year “Honoring…”
• Stock image of a waving flag and/or military personnel
• Most importantly – your weekend and holiday hours
• Organic post on social media
This is not only the template for Memorial Day, it will be something similar for the Fourth of July, Labor Day and so on. Business as usual during times that have never been more unusual.
There are a million alternatives to this template trap, but let’s just explore one and why it worked so well.
Case Study:
Families Support
Each Other
Big Y World Class Market
They’re All Amazing
Big Y World Class Market
[Charlie] What would you say at the start of a pandemic fostered shutdown? Celebrations are canceled, schools are closing, businesses are closing or their employees are moving to remote work, the pandemic is starting to have a profound impact, but your business is “essential” and you are going to stay open? In the end, the message is strategic, but simple. You state expectations and reassure your customers. Based on a comprehensive crisis communication plan we presented the day before, GCAi shot this video with Big Y President and CEO Charlie D’Amour on March 17, and were in-market two days later.
[Maggie] We do a lot of C-Level videos. A great deal of them, thankfully and appropriately, are focused on employee appreciation. One way we prepare the interviewee is to ask them to imagine themselves chatting with a small group of employees: “What would you say to them?” It really is a great technique to relax and focus the interviewee, until you shove a camera in their face that is. For this interview, with Big Y Store Director Maggie D’Amour, our hope was to capture a genuine, human expression of appreciation. This statement would not just be directed at her store employees, but instead, she was speaking for the D’Amour family to 12,000 employees who, along with customers, make up the extended Big Y family. Not an easy job, but she nailed it.
[The Results] This video campaign ran both videos ran in tandem using an ad programming campaign technique called Campaign Budget Optimization. The were astounding: 4 million Impressions, 400,000 Video Views, 1.5 million Engagements, 19,500 Reactions, 1,000 Shares and, in these days of trolls and spammers, an amazing tonality score of 99.7 % positive.
