Case Studies
Examples of work in partnership with teams
KEEP THE DRIVE: Saving Teen Lives through Corporate Social Responsibility
SITUATION: With car crashes as the No. 1 killer of teens, Allstate embarked on a mission to change teen driving behaviors.
RESULTS: Reduced on-the-road teen fatalities by 30% over five years, engaging eight million teens, partnering with 500 schools and informing decisions of 75 policymakers.
CHANGEMAKERS UNITE: Transformation During Rapid Change
SITUATION Declines in giving, low awareness of the brand’s value proposition and increases in community needs urged Greater Twin Cities United Way to re-examine its approach.
RESULTS: Refreshed the brand strategy focused on racial equity, diversified revenue sources and launched innovative products and services to fill gaps in community solutions. Raised $65 million and served 500,000 people per year. Enhanced awareness of United Way’s work with a 300% increase in positive earned media coverage and double-digit growth in reputation/trust score.
BURN THE TURKEY: Owning a Category through Brand Marketing
SITUATION: Anytime Fitness sought to pre-empt typical New Year’s Resolution chatter and do the unexpected.
RESULTS: Invited people to indulge while sharing entertaining ways to burn the turkey calories at home during Thanksgiving. Dominated the fitness category with 100% share of voice and secured 497,000 social media engagements and 4,000 web sessions at average duration of 9:06 minutes (six times the industry average!). Due to strong results, Burn the Turkey became a multi-year campaign.
WE’RE IN THIS TOGETHER: Serving Community during Pandemic
SITUATION: When COVID-19 hit, people experiencing poverty were disproportionately impacted. Many lost their jobs, making it even more difficult to afford rent, food and child care. As a result, Greater Twin Cities United Way sprung into action.
RESULTS: Quickly launched two marketing campaigns raising $15 million in two weeks to provide emergency pandemic support for community – with The Obama Foundation publicly commending the work. Through advocacy, secured $486 million in government funding as well as equitable policy momentum for Minnesotans in partnership with coalitions.
THE GOLD COMB AWARDS: Growing Employee Engagement
SITUATION: Overall, employee engagement is low in the hair salon industry and Supercuts wanted to reverse the trend.
RESULTS: Created inaugural employee engagement program, resulting in 71% employee participation. Sixty-four percent reported stronger colleague connections as a result and 98% requested program annually. Grew participation to 80% and tripled engagement in year two.
WHAT A DOLL: Launching Products through Influencer Marketing
SITUATION: With stiff competition in the 18-inch doll category and flat toy category growth, American Girl needed a differentiated approach to increasing relevancy of its Historical Character line among girls and their moms.
RESULTS: Launched American Girl dolls whose story took place in 1850s New Orleans using music as the storyteller in partnership with NOLA native Harry Connick Jr. and his daughter. Drove significant store traffic and sales and secured 75 earned media stories.
THE BIG GAME: Kicking Off Virtual Reality with NFL
SITUATION: Greater Twin Cities United Way had an opportunity to engage people in its community work during the SuperBowl Experience - a 10-day, pre-game event for fans.
RESULTS: Partnered with NFL to engage kids of all ages in social/emotional learning through virtual reality. Reached 300K people, surpassed fundraising goals by 25% and secured hundreds of donor leads. NFL stars stopped including Stefon Diggs, Kyle Rudolph and Tony Dungy stopped by to engage fans.