The Situation
mcgarrybowen (Dentsu) was on the cusp of losing their largest piece of business in the Chicago office.
The Ask
'We need you guys (meaning me and my partner Jayson) to lead the Olive Garden account and all that comes with it.'
The Answer
That meant taking over all broadcast, brand design, online video, site work, digital ads and any other surprises that came along. Forge an airtight relationship with the CMO and manage a number of teams that work on the account. 'And don’t let us down, this is an important account for the agency.'
We delivered. And maybe even more. Anyone who’s run a retail account knows it’s a lot of work. But we grabbed it tight with both arms, and after a few year, left it in a better place then where it was when we began.
The Results
Helped Olive Garden achieve 24 straight quarters of growth (until COVID).
Exceeded sales forecasts during COVID.
Improved our Pile score from 3.65 to 4.59, prompting our reviewer to say he’s never seen scores this high this far into a relationship.
Maxed out agency bonus that year.
Consistently topped the agency’s client satisfaction survey.
Visual Language
We wanted to continue to evolve & elevate the brand with updated visuals & language as we continued to create a welcoming and thoughtful experience at every touchpoint. We developed custom typography & fonts, glyphs and illustrations that appeared on menus, commercials and even in some physical restaurants. We also wrote and designed 'philosophy statements' that artfully blended the warm welcoming tone with the brand promise.
Brand Animation
I had wanted to update the visual mnemonic (logo animation) for quote some time, to make it feel more crafted as opposed to just another animated logo. As we were in the process of updating several other elements of the brand now was the time to fold this in. Working with The Mill, we created something extremely ownable that made it even more Olive Garden.
The Bread & Butter (video content)
Pardon the pun, but the media buy was in constant need of being fed, and we had no shortage of content shoots, editing and ideas to keep it full. This is a range of content we created with Olive Garden. We also moved the needle and began to help OG show up in digital media buys on OTT as well as social with content that had a bit more personality that just rerunning their LTO spots.
What's the best way to tease something massive is about to land at a restaurant? Run trailers in movie theaters borrowing from one of the most memorable moments in Jurassic Park.
We continued to highlight the crave of the food, as well as the sheer size of the new entrees they were launching.
Short, punchy, and powerful. With a smile.
The Pasta Pass was a big deal for OG. It was a limited edition pass that gave some lucky customers lifetime of unlimited pasta. Billed as 'Lifetime access to UNLIMITED servings of your favorite pastas, sauces and toppings' this year they were giving away a trip for 2 to Italy and wanted us to create something FUN to promote it.
With no budget or time. We delivered in a couple of days, and love how this turned out.
OG wanted a dramatic change for the Never Ending Stuff Pastas promotion, and the charge was 'push me outside my comfort zone' from our CMO partner, Jen Tate.
Using a popular track by Hot Chip, we created what would be known internally as the OG MUSIC VIDEO. Working with out director partner, Irv Blitz, we created something as far outside the box as OG had ever stepped, while not losing the beauty and craveability of the food.