IBM Campaign
I was tasked by the client (as sole creative) with ideating a creative strategy to convince IBM sales teams to focus on small leads, which were being lost and becoming costly.
The campaign had to be immersive, so that sales teams could not ignore it; at the same time, I could not be abrasive or talk down to the teams in any way.
The strategic approach was:
1. A series of humor-based emails, covering introductory emails, reminder emails, progress-report emails, and congratulatory emails.
2. A series of in-office posters, designed to show how small things can be brought together to create great things. Each poster showed the work of an artist who had recreated classic buildings using thousands of matchsticks.
“Small leads matter. Don’t throw them away.”
3. An in-office (communal space) screen installation showing a “profit pipeline” as a regular (transparent) pipe carrying water. The pipe is leaking (representing losses). As the water builds, the financial loss is counted to the right of the screen. Also, the comedic IBM characters from the email series are seen standing beneath the leak, with the water gradually rising towards their necks.
“Small leads build up. Stop the leak!”
4. A luxury chocolate gift placed on every desk with a card reading:
“Small things matter. Thanks for your support.”
The client was delighted with the strategy and execution. It was used across IBM offices, apparently with robust results; and the email format was eventually used by IBM in B2C campaigns.
Company Newsletter
I was tasked with managing the team of content writers (in-house and third party). I began by forming an SEO strategy for content (B2C/B2B) , with content calendars split across teams, each covering specialist topics, based on strengths.
In direct relation to this, I played a leading role in mapping out social media content strategy, so that SM and newsletter content could be linked and mutually support/promote popular topics, driving engagement across platforms.
I also wrote my own thought-leadership pieces on the B2B side of the business, as well as contributing articles on the B2C side.
Additionally, A/B testing of subject lines, H1s and lead-ins, with a view to improving CTRs/ORs, played a large role in growing engagement. The tests, with an experimental approach developed and written by myself, led to new records for the newsletter.
Thought-leadership Piece (B2B)
Company Rebrand
Hired to help drive a rebrand from United Florist Network (UFN) to Lovingly. The company created and optimized websites for independent florists (B2B), and made them available through search, both independently and via the Lovingly Network (B2C).
Although technically B2B, florists themselves were more B2C in terms of the approach needed to turn prospects into clients. The link below shows a presentation of my part in that rebrand, including SEO-optimized landing pages, taglines, press releases, and more.
Some slides display links at the bottom, which provide in-depth examples of what is being described. The “cover” slide is an example of the “show, don’t tell” rule in copywriting.
Landing pages linked to are finished pages from that period, based on copy decks I created that indicated the design approach for long-form SEO-optimized pages. Header copy or intro copy demonstrates use of an “agreement line” followed by a line with which we’d like prospects to agree.
Some of the images (computer screen acting as a “picture” frame for floral designs), came from a talented designer, who picked up brilliantly on the “show, don’t tell” rule and my “Your Art, Our Expertise” rebrand tagline, allowing design and copy to work seamlessly together.
Many of my strategic approaches are based on user research, feedback, demographics, user personas, A/B testing, and other data indicating engagement/action; or competitive viability, such as keyword analysis.