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From The Portfolio of Local Ads
Four buzzworthy campaigns from Connecticut shops
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Business New Haven
2/17/2003
By: Melissa Nicefaro
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Flipping through the newspaper, you'll see pages filled with bank and cell phone advertisements. You may be in the market for a phone already or an ad might just catch your eye. When you hear a radio spot for coffee, can you practically smell the pot brewing? Can you taste the cold beer when you see a Budweiser truck go by? With good advertising, you can.
What does it really take for an advertisement to sell a product?
Here, BNH looks at four successful advertising campaigns and what it took.
Advertising Agency: Cashman & Katz, Glastonbury
Client: Mohegan Sun
Medium: Print
Strategy: Mohegan Sun opened in 1996 on the coattails of the highly successful Foxwoods Resort Casino, then five years old. According to ad agency Cashman & Katz, Mohegan Sun had to compete for high stakes as well as repeat players, both very important market segments. The agency knew that high rollers from throughout the region had already established themselves at Foxwoods and built up tremendous banks of comp points - a significant incentive to stay where they were rather than try out the newer and [then] smaller casino. Mohegan Sun had to quickly develop name recognition and find ways to attract a meaningful share of the market.
Enter C&K, contracted to develop a campaign to promote bus sales as a convenient, alternate way to get to the casino, particularly for visitors who live more than an hour away.
"We quickly realized that an important key to increasing bus traffic to the casino was reaching and motivating an 'untapped' audience. Once again, we were confronted by the fact that Foxwoods had already lined up most of their tour bus operators. As a component of our plan to address both the overall marketing needs and the tour operator situation, we developed a four-color freestanding insert (FSI) to run in many of the prominent Sunday newspapers in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island," according to a C&K spokesperson.
"From a creative standpoint, the casino had to give potential customers a reason not just to come to the casino, but to ride the bus lines servicing the Mohegan Sun Casino. This strategic direction, of course, also addressed the needs of tour bus operators. Our campaign pivoted on the concept that gambling at the Sun is more fun when you take a friend with you and the FSI coupon allowed the consumer to take a friend along for free. As a two-for-one promotion, the FSI was also cost-effective for the Sun. Nevertheless, when design, production and insertion costs were calculated, it became clear the Sun would need at least 3,000 extra people aboard buses-directly attributable to the FSI - to justify the campaign."
Cashman & Katz says the campaign was so successful that bus ridership directly attributable to the FSI jumped by a whopping 13,000 and that between October 1996 and 12 months later, numbers of customers visiting Mohegan Sun by bus increased by nearly 100 percent. Over the sunsequent year, both scheduled and charter bus business continued to grow rapidly for the casino. Scheduled business, in fact, grew by 30 percent between October 1997 and October 1998. Cashman & Katz's Mohegan Sun campaigns now include direct mail, print collateral, radio and print advertising in seven states.
Advertising Agency: Genova & Partners, Greenwich
Client: Constant Comment Bigelow Tea
Medium: Radio
Strategy: Increased competition for Fairfield-based Bigelow Tea had resulted in flagging sales and market share especially with regard to its flagship brand, Constant Comment.
"Via an intimate radio campaign, we reminded consumers who had left the brand of the warm emotions and experiences they associated with Constant Comment. We also let people know that Bigelow is a family business run by people who are passionate about what they make," explain account managers at Greenwich-based Genova & Partners.
The radio spot begins as soft music plays in the background: "On a crisp autumn day, or maybe a gray winter afternoon, a kettle is put on the stove. Two teacups are placed on the counter and as the scent of orange rind, spices and mountain-grown tea fills the room, a ritual begins. A ritual of shared confidences, warm laughter and Bigelow Constant Comment tea.
"For over 50 years, Constant Comment has been the tea mothers share with daughters, daughters share with friends. Because of all the teas out there, there is only one Constant Comment. The deliciously fragrant tea made by a family so committed to freshness, they seal every bag in a flavor fresh pouch. A family that makes you understand that when you heat the kettle and get out the cups, you're not just making tea, you're taking part in a cherished ritual. Bigelow Constant Comment. Some things change. Others remain constant."
The 55-second spot, which mentions the brand name four times, ends with a tea kettle whistle blowing. Was it the woman's sleepy, warm and inviting voice, or the description she gave that boosted sales? Or was it just the reminder to once-avid tea drinkers who somehow forgot?
According to the agency, sales tracking showed that in test markets where the spots ran, Bigelow Constant Comment's sales were up an average of ten percent. In addition, in the same test markets, all other Bigelow items were up four percent.
Advertising Agency: Brad4D, New Haven
Client: Grand Avenue (New Haven) Merchants Association
Title: "Grand Experience"
Media: Print, Web site, also buses and cabs
Strategy: Grand Avenue in New Haven needs a commercial identity, according to local community leaders. This campaign, to be seen on buses, taxi cabs and in other urban settings, displays the unique character of Grand Avenue and its businesses, setting up a perception of Grand Avenue as a place greater than the sum of its parts.
The ads, designed by Brad4d advertising agency, are scheduled to debut this spring, pending funding. The effort is part of a community renaissance initiative funded by partners including Empower New Haven, the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, Fleet Bank and others. The idea is to bring more business to New Haven neighborhoods that need the business.
"A lot of expensive and elaborate studies were done to see what they could do in this commercial corridor," explains agency head Will Bradford. "One recommendation was to find a way to promote the corridor. This evolved into the whole 'Grand Experience' theme."
In the ad design process, some wanted to focus on the Latino population of the area, but there were also pockets of other ethnic groups. Considering the fragmentation, Bradford skirted the ethnic idea and introduced the idea of a 'Grand Experience.' It's a tricky campaign, according to Bradford.
"If you say you're in for the 'Grand Experience, it might be an experience that in your mind might be an experience other than what you actually get." But isn't that true with all advertising?
"It's a destination," Bradford says. "The neighborhood is simply an adaptation of destination marketing on a smaller scale. We're working on a similar program for the Boulevard and the theme for that is 'Industrial-Strength Shopping.'"
Trying to get people to the Grand Avenue area is the main goal of the campaign.
Notes Bradford, "It's not a conventional client where they know pretty much what they want to do and there are just one or two things that need to be approved."
Advertising Agency: Influential Communications, Stratford
Client: Milford Bank
Title: "Bank on Milford"
Medium: Print
Strategy: Influential Communications (IC) chose "Bank on Milford" as a slogan for the Milford Bank. The advertising agency says the phrase "invokes community pride, commitment to the future and the old-fashioned value of having a bank your town can claim as its own."
IC promoted the concept through advertising and promotion that tied the bank tightly to its home community and assisted in creating and embellishing community events. Today the Milford Bank "owns" several signature events in town.
According to an IC description of the ad: "The stone tower is the city of Milford icon. Part of 'Founder's Bridge,' it is featured a hundred ways in town. The local newspaper uses the tower to mark its Milford edition. A local shop sells images of the tower on blankets, coffee mugs, Christmas ornaments and more. Several hometown organizations feature the tower on their letterhead. We turned it into a bank."
The "Bank on Milford" campaign ran for six years and IC is currently rolling out a new campaign with a tagline: "Milford's Best Bank!"
According to IC, the "Bank on Milford" campaign generated strong recognition among target audiences. The bank grew to be IC's largest account, as the agency served in a variety of capacities including: marketing consulting, advertising creation and placement, public relations and Web site support.
"While many people at the bank worked very hard to make it happen, we do believe our marketing efforts on the bank's behalf played some part in taking the bank from a $129 million to a $226 million institution. The bank has been the number one Milford mortgage lender for the past four years," according to the advertising firm.
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