Creative Director/Brand Storyteller
OH Partners called needing help with their pitch for Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. How could I say no? I worked with their team to develop two conceptual directions for Virgin’s new Las Vegas venture. OH won the business, and I got called back to help with the teaser campaign. For the latter, I suggested a website: whileyouwaitlv.com, to create anticipation for the grand opening. It’s now live and generating buzz.
With resorts in Laguna Beach and Beverly Hills, and plans for more, the company needed a corporate campaign that embodied the casual elegance and intimate nature of its properties. I’d been part of the launch branding team for both properties. Creating a voice and aesthetic for the corporate entity that was separate than, but also encompassed both proved an intriguing challenge. Ultimately we chose a minimalist, highly evocative approach that relied on simple copy and classic images to convey the essence of the Montage brand.
The infamous Five50 pizza joint hired my agency to develop a campaign as hot as its ovens. We launched the following print, outdoor and email campaign to rally Vegas to drop in for a slice. Needless to say, it worked.
We were tasked with launching the revival of Santa Barbara’s famous El Encanto hotel. With it’s private villas and proximity to LA, we chose to position the resort as a hideaway for the city’s rich and powerful. This presentation won SK+G the Orient Express North American business.
CONNOISSEURS OF ANONYMITY
You know who you are.
You’re the kind that loves to steal away. Start the weekend
on Thursdays. In the morning. You have no problem
saying: Hold my calls. Or popping up the coast to feel
the sun from a new angle.
You don’t bother with luggage. Or plans.
You respect that leisuring under deep cover is a distinct
art form. And you, in your linen shirts and dark sunglasses,
are one of its most ardent practitioners.
Welcome.
We are here to assist you in all your anonymous pursuits.
WE’VE GOT YOUR NUMBER
It’s Villa 320. That’s the Presidential Suite. Where you’ll steal away. Remove the cell from your ear and bring a cocktail to your lips. Hear the trees rustling. See the ocean spread out below you. Ask your man to send over a cappuccino and handmade pastries. Sink your teeth into flaky crusts. And taste the sweet life.
THE HIGH LIFE. ON THE DOWN LOW.
Unlike the genie in the Aladdin’s lamp, your personal concierge grants unlimited wishes. A midnight candlelight dinner for two? Why not. A round of mango gelato for your cabana? Already on its way. A Swedish massage? How does noon sound? Whatever your leisuring heart desires, your concierge delivers with a quick snap of his fingers.
THE BUSINESS OF ANONYMITY.
The melding of great minds works best when you retreat together to a quiet lair with a cup of foamy delight in your hand and the horizon within your reach. For the former we have a masterful kitchen staff. For the latter we provide ocean view boardrooms overlooking islands you may wish to conquer. So gather your thinkers, disperse the dossiers, and strategize away.
LET THE SECLUSION BEGIN.
There is no time to lose. Only time to gain. Swing up to our bluff and ensconce yourself in a posh villa. Ask your concierge to bring around a cheese plate. And a cabernet. From Napa. Preferably ‘97. And a little chocolate something the chef whipped up. We would expect nothing less from a connoisseur of anonymity like you.
Here’s an outfit that’ll put you in a Lamborghini and tell you to floor it. Their challenge: consumers didn’t realize they could actually drive the cars. More than one in fact. For multiple laps around a custom track. We developed billboards that ran along the highway near the Las Vegas Speedway, as well print ads for car enthusiast magazines. As to be expected, a test drive was critical to the creative process.
There’s only one to launch an Irish bar at New York-New York Hotel & Casino: smugly. This headline driven print and outdoor campaign positioned Nine Fine Irishmen as the authentic Irish pub on the strip. I had the awesome pleasure of creating the brand voice. The only thing more fun was being there on opening night.
The original celebrity chef, Wolfgang Puck needed a campaign that reminded Las Vegas visitors that his restaurants were still hip and desirable destinations. These ads have a little fun suggesting that everyone is doing the Wolf.
Launched over 50 years ago by a small group of luxury pool builders, UAG has grown into a multi-million dollar company comprised of commercial and residential builders, pool retailers and service professionals. I was tasked with evolving the corporate brand for the next 50 years of growth. I created a new lead generation website to attract new members, and a print campaign, as well as a number of collateral pieces. The video below was developed to introduce the new brand to the company shareholders at the annual conference.
United Aqua Group’s retail brand, AquaValue, was in deep need of an overhaul. My challenge was to carve a unique brand space within the already crowded pool store market. We wanted to position the brand as the local experts, a store you could count on for advice and repairs as well as products. And that’s how our affable, but clueless pool guy was born. We filmed a bunch of web videos and built a website to help consumers find their local AquaValue store.
When Montbleu bought the Caesar’s Casino in Lake Tahoe, they decided to take the resort in a new, more Vegas direction. That meant a hip bar, sleek ultra lounge, and advertising that conveyed a youthful, irreverent brand. We played up the juxtaposition between nightlife and wildlife. A few days after our spot aired, life imitated art: an actual bear ventured into the parking lot.
