Energy House Calls – Transmedia Campaign Featuring Original Content

Challenge: Confusion and mistrust

Traditionally, residential programs for Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) have been promoted through separate, unrelated marketing campaigns, leading to communication fatigue for customers. And while PG&E brand awareness is high, brand trust is low. 

Solution: Reality TV http://energyhousecalls.com/

My Role: Creative Director, Writer, Producer, Editor, Temporary Californian

The campaign site EnergyHouseCalls.com features episodes, how-to project videos,
PG&E program information, an interactive energy-saving game and more.

On August 3, 2012, PG&E launched an energy industry first – a DIY-style reality TV show. Led by Host/DIY expert Carmen De La Paz, our team helped Californians assess energy issues, identify PG&E programs and DIY projects to help lower usage, then complete an energy transformation in one day.

Energy House Calls showcases the benefits of PG&E residential programs in a contextually relevant way. Rather than a lecture (“Use less energy”), it’s a conversation (“Here’s how you can save money on your bill. What have you tried?”). When customers see real people like them doing things to save energy and money, they're interested – especially because in some parts of California, an energy bill can exceed a mortgage payment. 

Support media via cable, cinema and online drove customers to http://energyhousecalls.com/. Customers could also watch the episodes on Hulu and YouTube. An interactive tour, retail installations and social media rounded out the customer engagement experience.

On location in Chico, California

Print

O'Reilly Auto Parts TV

Do you know the "O-O-O-O'Reilly" jingle? It's pretty dated. 

But our clients insisted that we include it in their new TV campaign. 

So we reinterpreted the jingle with whistling.

Hankook Performance Tires

My boss at Momentum loves cars. Me? Let's just say I willingly bought a PT Cruiser. Nevertheless, I've worked on Pennzoil, Quaker State, Rotella T, Rain-X, Black Magic, Buick, Pontiac and O'Reilly Auto Parts, plus racing sponsorships for Shell (NASCAR, IRL, NHRA), Hostess (Hostess Race Divas) and Domino's (NASCAR). Whenever an automotive account comes along, chances are I'm on it. 

This work is from a sidelined pitch for Hankook Performance Tires.

Most people don't realize they need new tires. So we proposed leaving these cards on vehicles at stadiums, racetracks and other high-attendance venues to drive awareness and sales. 

"Movie Posters" for Original Series Presentations

Sometimes, the design director at Momentum seeks my concepting and copywriting help with "movie posters" to help sell an original series. "Rogue" was picked up by DirecTV for 2013. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/directv-thandie-newton-rogue-322995

Another concept for "Rogue."

The treatment for "Ghostkeeper" reminded me of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" with ghosts.  
It wasn't picked up.

Bud Light Maxim Exposure

Maxim Exposure was a program designed to get Bud Light into upscale bars and clubs. At each venue, the event team would scout for guests to invite to the VIP Maxim party held in each of the 40+ cities on our tour. These are 3 of the promotional print ads that ran in Maxim.

In addition to print, I was responsible for the conception and execution of an interactive Maxim Hottie photo shoot. We'd project the video on the wall of a club, then invite guests to "direct" the virtual model by typing commands on a keyboard. I came up with at least 15 responses to "take off your bra." My favorite bit of feedback was from a guy who told the event staff he felt sorry for the model. He thought she was in another room of the bar, awaiting commands.

Howl-O-Scream at Busch Gardens 2010

My X was mine. I worked as a team of one to concept this rock and roll-meets-horror movie tale for Howl-O-Scream at Busch Gardens, an annual Halloween event that the Tampa park depends on for a major percentage of annual revenue. It was truly the best project of my life. I wrote songs, selected talent and sold the clients on Dean Karr, the LA director and photographer whose first music video was "Sweet Dreams" by Marilyn Manson.

Through a transmedia campaign that seamlessly wove the storyline between paid and non-paid media, the Florida market discovered that the leading lady known as Sylvie kills. Writes a song about it. Then keeps a finger as a souvenir. You could even give a friend a finger on Facebook.

My X was the first Howl-O-Scream concept to permeate the park experience, from grisly fans at the front gate to a My X haunted house to live My X performances all 18 nights.

Key insight: Busch Gardens knows how to host concerts. They do it all year to drive sales. So when the Howl-O-Scream website went live in June, we promoted the one thing that the 21+ market will pay for in advance – a rock show. See, that's the best thing for Busch Gardens. Sell tickets in advance so they can estimate park attendance and run promotional prices accordingly. During any given week of the online display campaign, Busch Gardens averaged $150k in direct online sales. This number eclipsed all previous online sales, regardless of event or brand campaigns. 

Campaign highlights: 
MyXRocks.com was an interactive online experience where you could explore Sylvie's dressing room, watch a music video, view the :30 TV spot, download three original music tracks and more (I wrote lyrics for all three and the original composition for "My X"). From the first tease in June, loyal Howl-O-Scream fans tried to unravel the mystery of Sylvie, downloading her songs, deciphering her posts and even creating fan art. More people visited the dedicated website than for any previous Howl-O-Scream campaign. And Howl-O-Scream Facebook followers increased by 50% during the campaign run. 

In market, My X was everywhere with live appearances by Sylvie, television, print, outdoor, digital banners, Ford vehicle wraps and local promotions with Dominos, MUVICO, Applebee’s, Smoothie King, local malls and Pepsi.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Howl-O-Scream+My+X&oq=Howl-O-Scream+My+X&gs_l=youtube.3...10888.15955.0.16308.18.18.0.0.0.0.128.1328.14j3.17.0...0.0...1ac.1.RfrEGxHjetY

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Howl-O-Scream+My+X+behind+the+music&oq=Howl-O-Scream+My+X+behind+the+music&gs_l=youtube.3...119073.121783.0.121950.19.19.0.0.0.0.137.1491.15j4.19.0...0.0...1ac.1.Jugd4QtccxA

Promotional Print

Campaign site MyXRocks.com

Explore Sylvie's dressing room, download free songs, explore the park and buy tickets.

Select a finger and a message then send. My favorite line? "Should have put a ring on it."

Music video for "My X," directed by Dean Karr

Muvico Theaters promotion. The :30 spot ran in theaters.