CHALLENGE

Within 5 weeks of opening, Elle Décor hired us to help manage the opening of their second Showhouse in Miami, Florida. Located in a luxury penthouse in the heart of Miami’s cultural and design center, this empty space was to be transformed into an impeccably designed space, showcasing designers and products handpicked by the magazine’s editorial team. Proceeds from the Showhouse were to benefit Miami’s Design and Architecture Senior High (DASH).

CREATIVE SOLUTION:

We joined the Elle Décor team from their home office in New York City, and seamlessly managed several aspects of the Showhouse, including the opening night invite list, travel and accommodations for Elle Décor employees, and the master contact list and calendar. We were also responsible for tracking all sponsored products and ensuring equal representation for every sponsor on the Showhouse floor. Post-event, we expertly compiled all the sponsor product information for resulting online advertorial content.

This project was slated for a prime in-book spot, and needed to really stand out. It was a challenge to incorporate the provided assets and bulky copy points with the client’s strict style guide design parameters.

CREATIVE SOLUTION:

Our solution attempted to seamlessly match the established Mazda brand identity by turning the copy points into a series of sidebars with graphics that pop. To pull this off well, we used a series of complimentary fonts set into attractive and easy-to-read sidebars that build a strong brand story.

CHALLENGE:

TMD was asked to fulfill Men’s Health’s advertising and merchandising commitments with an in-store sales event at the Tommy Hilfiger flagship location in Manhattan. Further, we were challenged with tying in a fitness theme to support advertiser product and offerings while also delivering a fun, stylish experience for customers.

CREATIVE SOLUTION:

The TMD team planned, organized and executed a high-impact “Get Fit for Fall” sales event, partnering with the New York Health & Racquet Club and Tommy Hilfiger.  The one-day, invitation-only event offered guests purchase incentives, trainer consultations, free raffles, and in-store giveaways in a stylish, sophisticated atmosphere.  The partnership between the three brands reinforced the target message of fitness, style and fun.

TMD conducted each phase of this event from concept to completion, including:  securing an appropriate partnership (NYH&RC), pre-event promotion, catering and entertainment, signage and on-site management.

The Men’s Health client was pleased with the TMD team’s leadership role and ultimately the event turn-out.  All details from pre- to post-event were executed smoothly and resulted in a great night for each participating partner’s sales objectives.

Talk about a tight deadline – Escort, Inc., a leading manufacturer of radar/laser detectors was launching an innovative new product. This project came with its own set of challenges, the first being that it was due two weeks from the time it landed on our desk. Secondly, we needed to design the piece to include testimonials and event information before receiving any of the completed materials. Add to that the client’s request to include as many images and copy points about the product. Finally, and possibly most importantly, the piece needed to be customized to address the design styles and parameters of three different magazines (Car and Driver, Road & Track and Popular Mechanics).  Needless to say, we had one heck of a challenge on our hands!

CREATIVE SOLUTION:

To showcase the unique benefits of Escort Live!, generate buzz, and promote pre-sale interest in the product, Road & Track, Car & Driver, and Popular Mechanics invited a select group of auto buffs to test-drive the device before it hit stores. We featured their reactions—along with descriptions and images of the Escort Live!—in the “Road Revolution” advertorial. Ultimately our team turned this project around—concept to design—within the two week deadline and delivered an engaging final product.

Welcome to the premiere of And Now a Word from the Talent, The Marketing Director Group’s new blog.

My hope for this blog is that it becomes a great forum for sharing innovative ideas about marketing—of course!—and for sharing the ways the specialized skills and rich experience of our Group’s team members give clients the opportunity to bring enthusiastic, committed, proven and reliable talent to their projects.

As owner and managing director, I think that’s what I am most proud of: that our clients know a Marketing Director team member brings complete professionalism to the table at all times. That’s why so many of our clients hire our peeps again and again.

And if I had to choose something to be second-most-proud of, I think I’d say it’s the personal qualities my Marketing Director team members embody. In their off-hours, they are involved in some amazing pursuits—everything from acting to baking custom-designed cupcakes, from century cycling to launching websites. I’m looking forward to having them describe some of their extracurricular activities in detail here in future posts.

In the meantime, I thought it would be apt for my first blog post to share info about a recent Marketing Director Group project that incorporates many of the hallmarks I like to think are typical of our work.

For Popular Mechanics magazine, we created a Client Entertainment event with a pre-release screening of the Disney film Tron, an amazing evening whose impact went far beyond Popular Mechanics’ clients seeing a really awesome movie. Our team managed the event from the very beginning, starting with proposing the partnership to Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures then negotiating the details of hosting the screening and in-book promotion. Then we executed, pretty close to flawlessly: we provided venue choices, catering options, and budgets, helping PM make selections that best fit their needs; and we finalized each and every detail of the event, held at The Disney Screening Room in NYC to bring added value to our client, so they could look good in their clients’ eyes.

If this sparks a flash of an idea of how something similar—whether very or vaguely similar—might enhance your brand’s marketing efforts, call me and we can discuss and brainstorm it at length.

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CREATIVE SOLUTION:
The TMD team created teacher-themed in-store events, held in 25 Macy’s locations nationwide. We called the program “Teacher’s Lounge and Recess” and offered manicures, massages, custom caricature drawings, refreshments and purchase incentives exclusively for Jones New York customers. The project required comprehensive development, management and execution. TMD coordinated every component and phase, including: invitation and promotional material, production/distribution, print advertising in Real Simple and local ad support, head liaison for Jones New York, Real Simple, and Macy’s regional managers, catering, research, vendor acquisition, budgeting and billing.

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CREATIVE SOLUTION:
The TMD team brought to life the compelling story of this iconic automobile company, complete with elements of history, romance, design and engineering.  The content was inspirational and sophisticated, showcasing Porsche’s distinctive brand attributes in a manner that appealed to the sensibilities of the target audience.

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