The Austin affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure was looking to educate the Austin community about their contributions to breast cancer care right here at home – 75% of their fundraising goes to help women in Austin with breast cancer screenings and care. To reflect their ties to Austin, I came up with the idea to knit bomb some of Austin’s biggest icons with huge, pink bras, including Maria of Maria’s Tacos, the giant Peter Pan at Peter Pan Mini Golf, the Hutto Hippo and others. The campaign garnered lots of positive press coverage for Susan G. Komen Austin, as well as an ADDY and a national PR award.
Work completed while at Sherry Matthews Advocacy Marketing.
When the City of Austin hired Sherry Matthews Advocacy Marketing to gain support for its tobacco-free initiatives, we knew we had to appeal to Austin’s unique sensibilities. Playing on Austin’s fondness for kitschy food trailers, I came up with the concept and name for the “Ashtrayler” – an eye-catching, Austin-specific means of bringing attention to the cause. The Ashtrayler visits health and wellness events around town, and people are encouraged to sign the affixed ashtrays with a pledge to remain (or become) tobacco-free.
Austin’s “Live Tobacco-Free” campaign seeks the support of the community for a healthier city where citizens can enjoy public spaces without inhaling second-hand smoke. To help rally proponents of the cause, I wanted Austinites to be able to share which of their favorite spots would be better without cigarettes. The interactive “I wish” billboard concept I created is the main feature of www.livetobaccofreeaustin.org.
During my time at Sherry Matthews Advocacy Marketing I was the lead writer on the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) traffic safety account, writing web copy, print ads, brochure copy, and social media posts, as well as press releases, grant proposals, and reports.
Most of my work focused on drunk driving prevention, including this "Choose Your Ride" campaign which presented in very visual terms the choice to be made when you've gone out without a designated driver -- ride home in the back of a taxi or find yourself in the back of a police cruiser.
The concept played out across OOH, web, a mobile app, and was even made into an actual vehicle by the Austin Police Department and then replicated by police departments around the country.
In my time as the lead writer on the TxDOT account at Sherry Matthews Advocacy Marketing, I created several campaigns targeted specifically toward the college audience.
This first example is from a poster series for the "Who's Driving Tonight?" campaign to persuade college students to designate a sober driver. The posters were included as part of a kit that went out to college dorm resident attendants all over Texas. I created the concept and copy for the poster series, which won a bronze ADDY award in 2011.
I also helped establish the “Santa in Texas” Facebook profile for TxDOT to promote sober driving during the holidays. I guided concepting and creation of a “Keys for the Holidays” interactive game and “Workshop After Hours” video, wrote the content for a “Reindeer Quiz” and “North Poll,” as well as many posts from Santa himself.
Austin Energy requested my help writing clever, slightly cheeky headlines to fit with their "Your Electric Vehicle: The Ultimate Conversation Starter" campaign. The goal was to make electric vehicles feel less nerdy and to get Austinites talking.
LSO is a regional package carrier with some of the highest on-time delivery rates and the industry's lowest damage claim rates. But even though their service was friendlier and more fastidious, they were struggling to compete against the giants in their field: FedEx and UPS. In my time at Door Number 3, I worked to help tell the unique LSO brand story, beginning with market research and an analysis of customer data and culminating in a brand refresh.
After crunching data both qualitative and quantitative, I worked to establish a strong brand positioning rooted in LSO's unique "reasons to believe," such as their delivery personnel's creative problem-solving and the great care they take with packages. To highlight LSO's accommodating, personal touch I gave them a new tagline: It's All in the Delivery.
Finally, the key customer-facing elements, packaging (envelopes and boxes) and fleet, were redesigned to showcase a commitment to shipping.
When Dell was debuting a new Inspiron product that was fun, capable, and ultra-portable at an attainable price, I developed a campaign concept and copy that would capture the interest of the Gen Y audience they were trying to reach. I wrote campaign copy for print, video, OOH, and web that encouraged consumers to “color outside the lines.”
While at Door Number 3, I worked to develop a campaign for Texas's 529 college savings plans, the Texas Tuition Promise Fund and the Texas College Savings Plan. I conducted market research and customer interviews to develop a strategy that would increase awareness and, ultimately, enrollments. I developed a campaign concept aimed at assuring parents that the Texas 529 program was invested in their children's future. The campaign slogan -- "We've got big plans for little Texans" -- was ultimately adopted as their tagline.
The campaign I wrote included online ads and radio.
For Tribeza's "Makers" issue, I wrote a piece highlighting the various opportunities around Austin to learn how to do just about everything... from bee keeping to sword forging.
In 2012, I covered the best SXSW Interactive promos for Entrepreneur.com, capturing some of the more innovative attempts by brands to beat out all the other attention-seekers roaming the streets of downtown Austin.