Direct to the Addys

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Brooks

The annual Houston Addy Awards are right around the corner, and we at MMI are particularly excited about two radio spots we created for Direct Energy that are contending for Addy honors this year.

Both ads address a difficult messaging challenge:

“Goodbye Bill” was written to encourage consumers to switch to Direct Energy when their concern over their electric bill is likely to be on the wane. When “Goodbye Bill” hit the airwaves in Houston and Dallas, the historically hot summer of 2011 was in the rear view mirror. Knowing that many people were still smarting from several months of staggering electric bills, we sought to simultaneously remind them how burdensome a summer electric bill can be, and remind them that locking in a low price with Direct Energy now can protect them from similar distress next summer. We created a character (Bill) to represent the high summer electric bill. In the spot, he’s presented as a charmless and unwanted house guest. While he is not surprised when he is sent packing for the winter, he is most surprised to find out that he won’t be returning next year. With this ad, we took a straightforward sales message that might have been too easy for a listener to ignore, and turned it into an entertaining and memorable story.

“Noise” had an altogether different purpose. The spot was developed to represent Direct Energy’s incumbent brands (CPL and WTU) in markets where those brands were, prior to deregulation, the consistent and only electricity provider. Faced with an influx of new competitors touting a wide range of offers, Direct Energy asked us to develop a spot that positions their incumbent brands as the reliable and straightforward provider with offers that can be counted on.

Regardless of the awards these spots win, we are very proud of them. They both represent an engaging and story-driven approach to making our client’s desired message resonant and memorable.

Congratulations to our friends at Direct Energy and kudos to our creative and production team. Onward to the Addys!

Touchdown for Chipotle

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Lauren

This past Sunday night was the Super Bowl for music lovers, and although the hype for commercials at the Grammy Awards is far less emphasized, there were a handful of heavy-hitters making a statement, and an impression.

For one, Chipotle. The title sponsor of the night’s festivities went big:

Once you enter the professional world of advertising and PR, you never view commercials the same way again. After spending the first 20 seconds or so intrigued by the story playing out, my mind went into business mode, clicking through and checking off boxes on what exactly made this commercial brilliant and effective:

It was unusual and interesting – from the get-go, you weren’t really sure what it was advertising and what it was trying to say, but you knew it was…
….visually captivating! Kudos to the art directors.
It was made with the audience in mind. It included elements that appeal directly to music lovers watching the Grammys (I’m guessing it took the average viewer 2.5 seconds to identify Willie Nelson covering Coldplay, and another 2.5 to Google the song)
There was a clear brand message. We use natural ingredients. The end.
The clear brand message was tied to a charitable cause.
There was a clear call to action for that charitable cause. The end of the commercial featured the promise of something unique and unobtainable elsewhere – a download of the Willie Nelson cover, only available on iTunes, where 60% of the money earned by Chipotle and Willie would go to the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation.
It was designed for social media integration. The commercial was meant to induce conversation, and they were ready to participate, with the commercial running on their YouTube channel and careful watching and responding to comments on Facebook and Twitter.

Going through this mental checklist as the commercial played on, it occurred to me that not only are these the rules we apply at MMI, they are each 100% scaleable to the task at hand. Large or small, campaigns with a message, means of sharing that message and a clear, concise call to action can go a long way to achieving the desired outcome. At MMI, it’s such a pleasure to be a part of this process for clients–never forgetting to draw from the world around us to see what new, magical experiences we can create next for our clients and the audiences they wish to reach.

Clients with a Cause: Wishing at Perry’s

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Lauren

We love working for clients who give back to their community, and can’t help but give a shout out to the folks at Perry’s Restaurants, who will be teaming up this Thursday with the Bay Area Chi Omega Alumnae Chapter to host their annual Rock’n Wishes event.

The event will take place with the trademark Perry’s flair – succulent five-course meals, live music, silent auction and margaritas, but with the focus on the heart of Perry’s: helping grant the wishes of Houston-area children coping with life threatening medical conditions through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

In the past five years of hosting, Perry’s has helped raise over $200,000 for the foundation and local children. This year Houston-area kids Angelina, Julia, Cooper and Nicole all have wished for a trip to Disney World, and the team at Perry’s is ready to outdo themselves and break donation records. If you have a soft place in your heart for these kiddos or know someone in the Clear Lake area who may be want to attend, spread the news so we can send them to Orlando!

If you’re interested in attending and helping Perry’s support Make-A-Wish, visit the Perry’s Houston Facebook page here to see the full invitation for details.

A Very Merry Banksgiving

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Lauren

As we speak, a thousand or so holiday cards, laced up and sealed with a bow, are on their way to our extended MMI family, hearkening the return of our most beloved annual tradition.

It’s that time of year – time for the MMI holiday charity fundraiser and bank-decorating contest – and we have much to celebrate. First and foremost, a wonderful year filled with exciting, enriching, successful client projects, sure to inspire a record-breaking, bank-jingling MMI donation to the yet-to-be-decided bank contest charity for 2011.

card2
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Event Planning: Three Things Will Always Go Wrong

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Lauren

Nothing rings more true in the world of PR. When planning an event, three things will always go wrong. This is a little mantra we’ve adopted (and a particularly poignant section in Cindy’s soon-to-be-published MMI 25th Anniversary book).

We say this not with pessimism, but because it is realism (which I suppose is a pessimist’s translation of the word) that allows us to plan for the hiccups and last-minute change-ups so that no matter what happens, we are able to keep our eyes on what needs to be accomplished and hit our goal regardless of the day’s events. (For our MMI event planning checklist, check out Maggie’s blog post here.)

PerrysRibbonCutting

This past week, the Perry’s Steakhouse account team and I joined Perry’s leadership in San Antonio to help kick off the opening events with a ribbon cutting and media “Hard Hat Preview.” With much enthusiasm from the San Antonio community on the anticipated arrival of such a wonderful restaurant, we expected 26 members of the media to attend for the tour and tastings.
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Getting Squared

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Emily

At MMI we know that building relationships with our clients and developing trust is everything. For me, that is most evident in working with our client Planned Community Developers (PCD) – a relationship that Cindy Marion began over 20 years ago. The misconception in our industry with a relationship this long is that it leads to stagnation. I would argue the opposite – it is because of our long partnership and mutual trust and respect that PCD trusts us enough to let us do innovative and amazing things on their behalf. We recently worked with them to create a social media video for Sugar Land Town Square, where a giant talking Square interacted with community members and caught them on candid camera. The result is fun and entertaining and really shows off the wonderful atmosphere and people in Town Square.

Click the photo below to visit their YouTube page and get a first look:

Marion, Montgomery, Inc.