CHALLENGE

With over 5,500 nonprofits in the country clamoring for attention (and dollars), the American Heart Association's (AHA) O.C. chapter needed a genius marketing campaign to raise awareness and donations for its annual marquee event, the Go Red for Women Luncheon.

The goal was a worthy one—inspire more women to take charge of their heart health and defeat their number one killer: heart disease.

Creativity was paramount — and also happens to be the lifeblood of SMS.

Double-digit click-through rates, plus a big boost in donations!

SOLUTION

Honored to help, our team pulled out all the stops and created a compelling end-to-end campaign that pumped new life into AHA's fundraising:

• Crafted a can't-miss concept with head-turning visuals
• Created buzzworthy attention with compelling digital marketing and cool incentives
• Made a big impact through a sponsorship brochure, signage, invites, event program and email/direct mail solicitations.

RESULT

The Go Red for Women Luncheon got everyone’s heart pumping — as did our campaign results:

• Double-digit open and click-through rates
• A strong boost in donations over the prior year's offline-only efforts
• A major improvement in attendance and donations, with only a minimal impact on budget

CHALLENGE

Known for “leading innovation” in excess of 150 years, Toshiba is a highly successful Global 100 provider of advanced systems, products and solutions. One of their latest creations—a new cloud-based Virtual Desktop Service (VDS)—freed professionals to be more agile and productive by giving them access to the applications they need—anywhere, and from any device.

Amid the hyper-competitive tech market, it was critical to quickly educate, motivate and generate trial for this product among IT executives. SMS eagerly took up the challenge.

27.2% email open rates!

SOLUTION

Getting inside the minds and influencing behavior of IT professionals and C-level executives proved a challenging but worthy assignment.

SMS did what it does best—with meticulous research, keen insights, plus carefully crafted messaging and creative work. The result was a nimble multi-touch marketing campaign that included:

• Highly targeted email blasts
• Follow-up phone calls by Toshiba reps—scripted by SMS
• An enticing white paper "freemium" to drive trial

RESULT

Nothing “virtual” about our VDS campaign success. With open rates ranging up to 27.2%, our emails broke through the clutter and got time-pressed executives to try trial versions of the product in record numbers.

CHALLENGE

When powerhouse LG released their new G4 smart phone, they were up against challenging marketplace competition. Samsung, Motorola, Google and Apple all launched some bold new devices but LG was determined to stand out from the clutter — and to do that, they had to find the one angle consumers couldn't resist:
FREE STUFF.

But developing a program, promoting it with finesse and capturing both loyal and new buyers was no easy task. LG needed to engage with think-tank quality brains, technological maestros, creative masters and logistics warriors to take it from the starting gate to the finish line. So, they did. They turned to SMS.

Sales and product awareness: off the hook!

SOLUTION

We strategized to develop the promotion and the offer's key communication points. After collaborating on messaging, we built and managed a seamless microsite that was fully integrated with the LG website to promote G4s.

Microsite Details: Our super smart tech staff managed the back-end administration of the microsite, making sure the input and tracking functionality flowed smoothly; consumer-facing communications were on strategy and problem-free; and the overall online experience progressed without a hitch. And, the functionality worked to not only facilitate the program, but also gather survey information on customers' purchase behavior and preferences.
Other key actions included:

• Handling back-end administration dashboard to process redemptions
• Managing inventory and fulfillment
• Providing program analysis and results

Supporting Materials: Our creative and print production squad developed and produced artwork and messaging to cohesively integrate with LG's promotional branding and went out to all consumers who purchased the G4 model.

Fulfillment: Our crew closed the loop to ensure the promotional materials were meticulously packaged and delivered directly to participants. By leveraging our full capabilities through both SMS divisions, all aspects of the promotion were successfully executed.

RESULT

The promotion was an overwhelming success. Phone sales increased and over a quarter of a million consumers filed for rebate redemptions.

CHALLENGE

Southern Californians tend to consider themselves fairly energy-aware. Yet studies showed a gap between perception and a true energy-efficient lifestyle. SCE was in a prime position to shift consumer behavior, and part of a joint effort to do just that—the Communities for Conservation program, which aimed to get apartment complexes to cut electricity, natural gas and water usage up to 20% through a healthy competition.

Even with this great program on deck, SCE was struggling for compelling ways to reach out and engage customers. It was a big challenge. But nothing’s too big for SMS—SCE’s go-to “resource” and boutique agency of record.

Energy awareness up, energy usage down!

SOLUTION

Because changing behavior is always hard, and the program goals were so ambitious, SMS knew an initial hard-hitting recruitment drive was key to success. Unleashing our own boundless creative energy, we went to work crafting a series of attention-grabbing components that included:

• A press release to generate buzz within the owner and tenant segments
• Program opt-in agreements
• Inspiring emails detailing the program
• An engaging program website offering prizes for energy-saving actions, ideas, tips and photos

Next came a plethora of materials designed to reinforce the program and spark the competitive spirit of local apartment communities:

• Inspiring collateral, direct mail and emails
• Motivating onsite materials like counter cards, posters, lawn signs, banner stands and brochures
• Exciting usage reports to track progress

RESULT

Slated to run for a year, the program launched in April 2017, and immediately began “energizing” Southland residents to change their habits. Initial analysis revealed a significant downward trend in resource usage.