Undisclosed Work & Pitches

While at Media.Monks, a majority of my work is cultural and social strategy for creative pitches and special projects. This work is protected by NDAs, so the specific details cannot be shared. Clients include: Hasbro, Walmart, Michaels Craft Stores, WeTransfer, Urban Decay, L'Oréal, CeraVe, YSL, and many more.

My role on these projects is threefold.

1. I begin with a brand diagnosis, which allows me to achieve a deep understanding of who the brand is and its purpose.

2. Secondly, I focus on the key social platforms and identify behavioral patterns and motivations to discover opportunities for the brand to connect with users.

3. Lastly, I research and understand the social context, ensuring all of my campaigns are on the forefront of cultural conversation and innovation. As a self-titled “cultural anthropologist” this is typically my favorite step - a moment where I can facilitate brand interactions that don’t feel contrived.

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The social thinking and content strategy was interesting and inspiring. It has caused quite a bit of excitement and conversation in the office!

DSW - Cut Loose!

TikTok Hashtag Challenge // 2021

DSW asked Kevin, and the Movers + Shakers team, to build a dance Hashtag Challenge (HTC) using the classic song, “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins. This was a tricky task - how much nostalgia is too much, will people actually do a complicated dance, and how does this relate to DSW!?

PROCESS:

After compiling strategic research on DSW, fashion on TikTok, and the current HTC ecosystem, the team began creative ideation. Three creative approaches were selected and Kevin began creating sample videos for each of the concepts. From there the team worked on influencer selection, briefings and final edits on in-feed ads. (P.S. A special thanks to my landlord, whose selection of my red front door inspired us immensely!)

The first video on the left was Kevin’s original mock-up that captivated the DSW team and the middle video was an influencer piece developed.

Results:

In 3 weeks the campaign saw a total of 7 Billion Views with overwhelmingly positive sentiment and high ROA (Impressions being the key KPI).

Tanologist

TikTok Top View // 2021

This revolutionary self tanning brand worked with Kevin, and the Movers + Shakers team, to Develop a TikTok campaign that drives people to buy and share their before-and-after glow. The campaign to included original music, influencer posts, and a Top View ad unit (seen to the left.)

Process:

Upon the SOW being signed, the strategic research began. I identified six key insights that the creative team used as framework for ideation. Some insights include:

1. Visually seeing the product in use is important for people stigmatized from antiquated self-tanners.

2. A fresh tan can complete any look - it allows you to feel your best and glow from the inside and out.

3. Tanning allows you to feel like it’s summer all year long

Many audience segments were identified upon further research. Some examples include:

1. The Inland Socialite | Gen Z cusp (23-27 y/o), female, interested in looking her best, cares about their skin, feels joy when someone asks if she’s recently been on vacation

2. The Intrigued Skeptic | Gen Z and Millennial, male and female, interested in the idea of self-tanning but are scared of messing it up or making a mess, trying to avoid sun do to skin damage

Results:

The Top View ad and influencer pieces received overwhelmingly positive sentiment and Ulta sold out of the product after launch! While I can’t disclose exact figures, the CTR for the Top View well exceeded TikTok’s own benchmarks and the recent rise in in-store product offerings at Target and CVS are in large part due to the successful launch.

Beekman 1802

TikTok Influencer campaign // 2021

Beekman 1802 is a body and skin care company that uses goat milk in a majority of their products. They were looking to add high-quality content for their new Brand Channel that they could promote (with the main KPI being awareness/views). A secondary goal was to develop creative that had a wide array of tones and approaches - as the brand wanted to test-and-learn what content performs best on the platform.

Process:

Kevin served as the lead Strategist and lead Creative on this project. After much research, Kevin finalized the strategy and target audiences and began conceptualizing. After suggestion by Kevin, the client agreed to focus half of their ad buy on Awareness-focused pieces and half on Conversion-focused pieces.

In 3 days Kevin develop over 15 potential ad units that could be developed. Beekman 1802 selected 10 video concepts to develop with the help of influencers. These concepts ranged from talking goats, to aesthetic soundscapes, to a shirtless man discussing the product. Kevin also developed multiple mock-up videos to help the client understand the story a piece is tell.

Results:

Prior to boosting, the content pieces had a total of 4M organic views (avg. of 400K views per video.) With multiple pieces of high-performing content, Beekman 1802 saw explosive growth in followers and views - with majority positive sentiment. There channel was recently featured in a Traacker case study (see below.)

Neutrogena:

Skin Balancing Cleanser

Influencer Campaign // 2021

Neutrogena came to Kevin, and Movers + Shakers, with an urgent request: help increase sales of their new line of cleansers geared towards Gen-Z. They had developed them to target the younger demo but low sales risked the SKU being pulled off shelves.

Process

The first step involved Kevin watching copious amounts of skin-care TikToks which informed the product, landscape, and audience audit. From there Kevin began ideating ad concepts that fit within various steps of the conversion funnel.

Instead of large amounts of video concepts, the client decided to select a few strong concepts and have multiple influencers receive the same creative brief. These assets will most likely be used on the Neutrogena brand channel, once it launches.

Results

This campaign is still ongoing, but as of mid-June the pieces had a combined total of 25M views. The confidential paid media data suggests a massive success in terms of conversions and CTR on ads ran.

Playtika #SheIsBingo

Organic TikTok Hashtag Challenge // 2021

Kevin was tasked with managing strategy and creative for this Israel-based brand. They had already developed an original song, featuring Luis Fonsi and Nicole Scherzinger and were looking to Movers + Shakers to help it go viral on TikTok.

Strategy and Creative included redeveloping the dance to encourage UGC and influencer selection. The results of the campaign were astronomical for the budget provided - with almost 70M views to date as well as multiple press articles.

Taco Transit Tuesday

Disruptive Event and Omni-channel campaign // 2019

To celebrate the warmer weather and summer vibes OCTA partnered with Wahoo’s Fish Tacos. Public transit riders could show there OC Bus or Metrolink pass on Tuesdays at any participating location and receive a free taco!

To generate buzz for the promotion Kevin organized and executed a large-scale event at the Irvine Spectrum in Irvine, California. A full-size bus was transformed into the world’s largest taco truck - and over 500 tacos were served from the bus.

The development process and final event were filmed for a promotional video (see right). A landing page and traditional social media buys also supported the outreach efforts.

SMU Spotify Account

Disruptive Activation // 2016

In 2016, while Kevin was the Communications Coordinator, he noticed a rise in corporate Spotify accounts/playlists. After the playlists were curated (See far right), Kevin wrote, produced, recorded, and submitted an audio track to Spotify. This allowed for all organization owned playlists to include multiple auditory cues with information on their purpose/mission.

To this day, these playlists are still actively updated and streamed by students.

It should be noted, the cover art is the organization’s official logo.

SMU Buzzfeed Quizzes

Disruptive Activation // 2016

Kevin's campaign for Missions Conference included more than Instagram, it also included Buzzfeed content. This blog, news and entertainment site is frequently visited by college students at Biola. One form of content posted on Buzzfeed is quizzes where users can answer fun questions and get an even funnier result.

Quizzes was created to promote the breakout session opportunities present at that years conference (top right) as well as promote a t-shirt fundraiser (bottom right). The questions were developed to highlight other organization events and activities. These quizzes were taken by over 30% of the student body on average.

Other quizzes:

Which STM Shirt Should You Buy?

Which Missions Conference Session Should You Attend? (2017)

In 2021 Shopify was hosting their annual developers conference and decided to host live conversation and Q&As. Due to the niche culture of the platform, general Community Managers were not a viable route so Kevin acted as a Discord CM during the length of the conference. Tasks included answering user questions and fostering conversation in the message boards.

Kevin wrote this article for the Movers + Shakers blog in celebration of 2021 Pride Month!

Colgate reached out to Kevin, and the Mover + Shakers team, to develop a set of ads to be run on TikTok to advertise their new smart toothbrush: HUM. Kevin ideated more standard ads as well as influencer activations (as seen above.) The ads saw good CTR and view time.

For 2019’s Rideshare Week campaign Kevin was under a tight timeline with limited budget. He worked with We The Creative, a creative agency located in Costa Mesa, CA, to redesign the existing illustration with a new layout and all new puns (yes, Kevin developed multiple puns per animal!) Tactics include a landing page, social media ad buy, an employer outreach event, and raffle prizes.

Kevin was recently tasked with developing multiple sets of TikTok Ads for Under Armor. Responsibilities included content ideation and influencer selection as well as campaign monitoring and reporting.

During his first month at Movers + Shakers, Kevin began helping ideate and produce content for the Keys Soul Care brand channel. This is a skincare brand founded by Alicia Keys in partnership with E.L.F. cosmetics.

To encourage more people to use bicycles as a means for transportation, OCTA utilizes Bike Month to annually host events and promote bicycle commuting during Bike to Work Week in May. Tactics include a landing page, grassroots outreach via local bike shops, social media ad buy, employer outreach, and a bike rally.

Kevin secured a Kaiser Permanente sponsorship to pay for the event T-Shirts (see below), refreshments, and raffle prizes. Local officials spoke at the rally and rode the 2-mile route with the group.

Kevin was strategist and lead creative on OCTA’s 2019 Dump the Pump efforts. Tactics included social media ad buy, OOO ads on bus shelters and bus wraps, and an irl event where local government officials spoke.

Kevin designed and successfully submitted this Snapchat Filter for Missions Conference 2017 while he was a Communications Coordinator. This process occurred prior to Snapchat’s decision to make filters for-purchase - Kevin had to work with Snapchat to have this filter approved for organic use based on campus location.

Strat for setting spray

Above is a Digital Media Kit that was made for SMU when Kevin was working with them. It includes a Press Release, Frequently Asked Questions and an organizational overview.

Dump the Pump is an annual day where commuters are encourage to commute to work via alternative forms of transit. Tactics included social media ad buy, OOO ads on bus shelters and bus wraps, a landing page, and an irl event where local government officials spoke as well as Heidi and Tim from KLOS.

During his time as a Marketing Specialist, Kevin was tasked with writing and designing new Fact Sheets for the various programs offered by the Transit Authority. Communicating complex programs in one sheet was difficult, but the results have helped the programs continue to grow each year.

Above is a research study preformed by Kevin. He research the effects colors have on Instagram user's perception of organizational credibility.

In his first project at OCTA, Kevin acted as the lead strategist, creative, and designer. To advertise the Youth Summer Bus Pass promotion, Kevin designed and animated R1 ads (above) and R2 ads (below). Tactics primarily focused on social media ads.