Michael B. Robertson     Creative Director/Copywriter

A FEW CASE HISTORIES

HYUNDAI
After a successful U.S. introduction in the mid 1980s, quality problems and poor design had turned Hyundai into the laughing stock of the industry just 10 years later. On the verge of pulling out of the U.S. market, a last ditch effort was made to save the brand. While Hyundai had committed to new technologies to improve the build quality and the look of its cars, American consumers needed “proof” that Hyundai could be relied upon. By introducing “America’s Best Warranty, 10 years and 100,000 miles,” we were able to provide reassurance to consumers that an investment in a Hyundai automobile was a safe decision.
The campaign: DRIVING IS BELIEVING, executed in print, TV, on-line and point of sale demonstrations, also addressed the image problem of Hyundai by using humor and engaging situations to improve the appeal and social acceptability of the cars. The results: Between 1998 and 2002, sales increased from less than 100,000 units to over 400,000 units. Just as importantly, quality perceptions and image ratings skyrocketed. Today, Hyundai is the fastest growing Asian automobile brand and has Toyota, Honda and the American brands nervously looking in the rearview mirror. The advertising was recognized with a Gold Effie for effectiveness.

TEXACO
While Texaco is one of the best -known brands of gasoline in the world, to consumers gasoline is gasoline – it’s a commodity. It seemed that no matter how many marketing dollars Texaco put against their gasoline product, sales remained pretty much flat. After in-depth consumer research, we came to believe that if we could give consumers an emotional reason to believe Texaco superior to other brands, instead of just rational reasons, we could move the sales and share needle upward. Starting with the iconic symbol of the brand – the Texaco Star – we crafted the campaign: ADD MORE LIFE TO YOUR CAR. TAKE IT TO THE STAR. By using humorous, larger than life situations and a catchy musical signature, the advertising (TV, Print, Radio, Outdoor and Direct Mail Promotions) was able to break through consumers’ resistance to gasoline claims and bring Texaco’s improved performance story to life. After just one year, the campaign for Texaco gasoline increased the brand’s market share on by 1 percentage point. It doesn’t sound like much, but the jump represented nearly $1 Billion in additional sales. The creative won several major awards, including a Silver Effie for effectiveness.

PACSUN
The competition in the teen fashion retail category is intense. A brand that’s hot today can be stone cold tomorrow. In 1999, Pacific Sunwear, a chain of about 200 stores located mostly in malls, came to us to design a branding campaign that would increase awareness of Pacific Sunwear and create a buzz among fickle teen shoppers. After countless hours getting to know our teenage consumers in intimate “listening and learning sessions,” we felt we had uncovered some exciting insights into our target. The first was to recognize that our kids (suburban mall shoppers) wanted to be hip and fashion forward, but were uncomfortable with being too edgy. They wanted fashions from a store that provided what they were looking for, but wasn’t too extreme and most critically, didn’t try too hard in its messaging. Another learning we took away was that the name, Pacific Sunwear, had to go. In it’s place, we recommended the nickname, PacSun. It was brief, hip and easy to say. For the advertising, signage and in-store elements, we also designed a distinctive and unique signature for the brand – PS. The PS in a circle quickly became an icon for the PacSun brand. Bringing these assets together in dramatic, yellow-hued magazine ads and rough, documentary style commercials on MTV, we created a position for PacSun as the ultimate destination for California surf and skate board apparel. Sales and store openings exploded in just a few years. By 2004, the chain had to grown to over 1,000 stores nationally and firmly established itself in the minds of teenage consumers.

(The case histories outlined here were efforts I spearheaded creatively in my role as Executive Creative Director of Bates Worldwide in New York and Irvine, CA. I want to make it clear that several talented professionals on the Bates team played key roles in the success of these stories.)