Archive

01 Dec

Posted at 18:47h in

Our brand promise for the Grand Rapids Public Museum is Be Curious. And with Real Pirates: The Untold Story of the Whydah – from Slave Ship to Pirate Ship, what could be curiouser? This historically rich exhibit is the true tale of the Whydah, the first authenticated pirate shipwreck in US waters, complete with a replica of the ship, and treasure touched by the pirates themselves. We were asked to help deliver an eager audience. We responded with a hearty radio campaign targeted at parents looking for a little educational gold for their own little pirates....

30 Nov

Posted at 21:32h in

Founded in 1934, retail giant Meijer pioneered the “supercenter.” Many fruitful years later, its Corporate Headquarters was literally bursting at the seams and used the opportunity to create a true campus “experience” to embody the brand. The goal of the project was to inspire and transition the lifeblood of the organization - the corporate employees - to a fresh, future-forward way of working. It included the creation of an entirely new, progressive building on campus to house the merchandising and marketing teams, as well as connect the other buildings and create a unified experience. We named this three-year effort the “Peach Road Project” after the original reference by locals of the company address, and developed a comprehensive plan to inform, inspire and educate the employees about this path to the future....

29 Nov

Posted at 17:39h in

Produced to coincide with the re-opening of the Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium at the Grand Rapids Public Museum, our film honors Grand Rapids' native, Roger B. Chaffee, and the courageous men whose grand ambitions were to explore sights out of this world. Roger Chaffee was chosen out of 1800 elite applicants to join the NASA Astronaut Corps and spent over two years in training to become the pilot of the Apollo 1 mission. His lifelong dream of going to the moon ended tragically in 1967 during a pre-flight test. This short documentary pays tribute to a brave hometown hero....

27 Nov

Posted at 21:36h in

Recently we designed a traveling exhibit, Grandmother Power, in conjunction with the Grand Rapids Public Museum. Based on the book Grandmother Power: A Global Phenomenon by photojournalist and author Paola Gianturco, the exhibit is a visual narrative highlighting the work of grandmother groups fighting for political, economic and social justice around the world. The installation is constructed from humble, sturdy materials like cardboard pillars and textile pop-up walls that suggest resourcefulness. A digital component allows visitors to share personal stories about their own grandmothers. We also developed the marketing campaign for the exhibit, which pairs traditional grandmother imagery with unexpected messaging. From Grand Rapids, a national tour for the exhibit is being planned....

26 Nov

Posted at 20:24h in

Steelcase is a US-based global company designing work space, furniture, and technology for business, education and healthcare. Insight-led innovation has made it a thought-leader on work collaboration. 2012 marked its 100th anniversary, and CEO Jim Hackett asked us to help position the company for the next century. We created a company manifesto in the form of a storybook and three-minute animated film, and a multimedia social initiative discussing the future of work. This discussion began with the "dreams" of children from around the world, captured in a documentary film.  A web platform for the debate - "100 Dreams, 100 Minds, 100 Years" - went live at the TED conference that March.   Learn more about our anniversary work and approach....

25 Nov

Posted at 22:32h in

We helped our client, the publicly-owned Grand Rapids Public Museum, articulate their vision "to instill passionate curiosity and a deeper understanding of the world around us" in a new tagline, Be curious. In order to increase museum membership, a simple and fun premise was devised: by buying a museum membership, you become the owner of the Museum and all it has to offer - including over 250,000 scientific, cultural and historical artifacts. The "Become a Proud Owner" campaign featuring the new tagline includes magazine, outdoor and digital advertising, radio ads, direct mail, and guerrilla tactics - lamppost tear sheets, mock Craigslist ads and eBay listings - as well as a social component. The Museum relies on the goodwill of the West Michigan community and this campaign encourages a sense of individual ownership....

24 Nov

Posted at 18:42h in

Our client, the Grand Rapids Public Museum, is located at the heart of the city which, in 2012, was named "Beer City USA." The museum was mounting an exhibition to celebrate the brewer's art through the rich history and cultural influence of the hallowed beverage. We were asked to name and market the exhibition. In gratitude for seven thousand years of service to mankind, we called the exhibit simply "Thank you, BEER!". We designed the identity, signage and merchandising. We created advertising online, on posters and radio, and in a prolific newspaper and magazine campaign. We also initiated an online grass-roots social media and guerrilla promotion....

23 Nov

Posted at 02:55h in

In spite of a powerful brand identity and loyal passenger base, Frontier Airlines’ history has been a rollercoaster ride. In 2010 the airline with a different animal on the tail of every plane, and A whole different animal on the fuselage, was merged with Midwest Airlines. CEO Bryan Bedford of Republic Airways , then owner of both brands, asked us to communicate Frontier’s vision and values to the newly-merged workforce. We created a short film with Oscar-winning documentary director Daniel Junge, Why We Fly, to capture the very human relationship between employee and passenger....

22 Nov

Posted at 04:36h in

In 1987 our client Steelcase meticulously restored the Meyer May House, a Prairie-style Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece. The home's 100-year anniversary was placed at the heart of a strategy to generate discussion of "The Next 100" for Steelcase. We designed a website to showcase the house through the lens of Wright's principles, a digital advertising campaign, and communications including a new identity and collateral materials. All in support of a symposium called "A critical dialogue on 21st-Century Architecture and Design and the ongoing relevance of Frank Lloyd Wright," which explored Wright's design principles created 100 years ago and brought the Master himself into a dialogue about the future.   Learn more about our anniversary work and approach....

21 Nov

Posted at 17:36h in

Our long-standing client Steelcase is a global thought-leader in the world of work and workspace. In collaborating on the company’s centenary campaign, CEO Jim Hackett asked us to envision the hundred years ahead. The campaign theme was Unlocking Human Promise, and we proposed a film in which 10-year-olds around the world would imagine the future they would inhabit. We shot in Mexico City, Munich, Capetown, Mumbai, Shanghai and Denver with Oscar-winning director Daniel Junge, and cut a 17 minute documentary. The film, One Day, launched a social campaign in which thought leaders and the public also shared their dreams of the future....