ATIE FITZ)GERALD BRAND STRATEGIST
KATIE (FITZ)GERALD STRATEGIST Objective Seeking a role in brand strategy or in digital strategy at an advertising agency or product innovation group.
Education VCU Brandcenter M.S. in Mass Communications concentration in Communications Strategy Graduation: May 2009 GPA: 3.5 University of South Carolina B.A. in Advertising Minor: French Graduation: August 2007 GPA: 3.67 Université de Pau et Des Payes D’Adour Study Abroad Fall 2005
Professional Experience TAXI International creative agency based in Canada, New York and Amsterdam Strategic Planner New York, NY November 2009 - August 2010 • Developed brand plans, communications strategies and digital plans for agency clients including New York Life, HBO Go, New Holland, ClearWire Rover brand and Blue Shield of California • Responsible for research on all clients and new business opportunities • Did research and helped with presentation development on more than 10 new business pitches • Strengthened relationship with client Kraft by creating a blog where I wrote about new product ideas and beverage trends • Wrote competitive reviews for New York Life and ClearWire Rover brand • Wrote mobile communications brief for Blue Shield of California • Wrote social media strategy and did execution for TAXI NYC and Food Content Alerts • Completed international survey on life with food sensitivities for Food Content Alerts Wikipedia entry for Rover client and Food Content Alerts • Wrote
JWT International full-service agency with over 200 offices in 90 countries Trendspotting/Strategy Intern Global Office in New York, NY July 2009 - November 2009 • Managed, contributed to AnxietyIndex.com and JWTIntelligence • developed and executed social media strategy for AnxietyIndex.com and JWTIntelligence • Wrote The Best Brand Responses to the Recession • Contributed to 10 Trends for 2010 and 100 Things to Watch in 2010 planning department by contributing trends research to projects • Assisted
Naked Communications
An international communications planning group, known as a group of “brilliant misfits” Communications Planning Intern New York, NY May - September 2008 • Conducted consumer research, competitive analysis, contributed ideas and helped build communications plans for new business pitches to J&J and Unilever • Distilled the creative ideas of 6 different agencies to create an over-arching strategic idea, which resulted in the “Let’s Fix Dinner” campaign for Stouffer’s • Shot and edited two short films: an interview with artist Brad Holland and one about the people in the Soho neighborhood research and ideas in brainstorms for current clients like Malibu Rum • Contributed
O’Keefe Brands (Brand Consultancy)
Brand consultancy, has won over 100 industry awards including AdWeek’s “Agency of the Year” Freelance strategist Richmond, VA December - May 2009 • Repositioned the commercial side of a local bank to appeal to small-medium business owners and better align with the retail side of its’ business • Interviewed employees of the bank as well as current clients on the business side Don’t be a stranger • Contributed to building of the brand architecture and writing of the brand beliefs credo • Brainstormed creative ideas for how to reach the target audience segments for the paper and did research for writers • Wrote
Flavors.me/KatieFitz LookitsFitz@gmail.com @KatieFitz 803.413.6708 Brooklyn, NY
Other Experience Freetimes Newspaper Alternative weekly paper in Columbia, SC that covers local news, politics, art, music and food Advertising Sales Intern Columbia, SC Spring 2007 • Acquired new advertising clients ad for current client • Designed
Time Warner Cable Cable, Internet and residential phone service provider, second largest cable operator in the U.S. Corporate Marketing Intern Herndon, VA Summer 2006 • Formulated the idea and design for an online game for Time Warner film “The Ant Bully.” Worked with TWC’s advertising agency to develop and produce the game coordinate and develop marketing efforts for all TWC service areas • Helped
National Student Advertising Competition National competition held by the American Advertising Foundation, client for 2007: Coca-Cola Integrated Marketing Communications Director University of South Carolina, Spring 2007 • Led multiple focus groups with teens • Created non-traditional event idea for campaign in creation of the creative concept. • Aided
The Martin Agency Creative advertising agency, ranked #3 Best Agency in the U.S. by AdAge Student Workshop participant June 2005 • Chosen as one of 15 students nationwide for the student workshop • Created fully integrated campaign for Hanes ‘Barely There’ brand’ campaign to the heads in the agency • Presented
About • Conversational in French • MRI Simmons, Radian 6 and Keynote • Training for the NYC Marathon and fundraising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society from VCU Brandcenter helped the school win the O’Toole Portfolio School Award, 2009 • Work
Don’t be a stranger Flavors.me/KatieFitz LookitsFitz@gmail.com @KatieFitz 803.413.6708 Brooklyn, NY
Brand campaigns • Showtime - TAXI Created and proposed a new tagline that accurately captures the twisted insanity that viewers love about Showtime’s original series. • First Market Bank - O’Keefe Brands Created a brand positioning and communications plan for bringing in new small/medium commerical business customers. • Scope - VCU Brandcenter We are all looking for “the one.” Scope gives you the confidence you need to strike up the conversation when you meet that person.
Assignment Develop a tagline for Showtime that can be used across all promotional materials and platforms and that embodies SHO’s position as the hot premium entertainment provider. Background SHO’s current tagline is “TV at its best,” which is limiting in an era where video entertainment goes far beyond the confines of the 14” x 12” television screen. It also falls short in speaking to why Showtime is unique; any of its competitors could use that line.
Brand truth: Showtime celebrates beautiful dysfunction SHO’s original content is all about societal dysfunction and pushes the taboo into the limelight. In all of their hit shows, the main characters are clearly crazy, flawed and twisted individuals. Showtime’s sports programming is similarly intense, unique and addictive for its viewers.
The essence of Showtime based off of it’s brandtags.net profile
Showtime vs. its biggest competitor, HBO While HBO is merely provocative, light entertainment, we jump into the pit and revel in the thrill of gritty, biting, dirty and daring content. Where they are just eccentric, we are seriously twisted. HBO is in a weak spot both content wise and with their new tagline “it’s more than you imagined, it’s HBO.” Showtime has strong content, a growing viewer-base, won a ton of awards and wants to aggressively go after marketshare with a strong positioning.
Target Audience: The Armchair Psychopaths They are addicted to drama and horror on TV. They love the idea that it’s ok to think the bizarre, dark, flawed and outright insane things that pop into their heads as they go through the motions of daily life. They may be parents, office workers or teachers but they are turned on by danger.
SHO
HBO
Our recommendation
• Self-concepts: Stubborn, self-centered, courageous, adventuresome, demanding • They enjoy taking risks • Believe that people get what they deserve • Addicted to TV drama • Believe that real men don’t cry
• Implies that SHO is bolder and braver than competitive channels • Suggestive, sexy and tongue in cheek • Fits with the risque nature of original and curated content • Reflects the edgier lifestyle and attitude of viewership
Business objective Increase the number of small-medium business owner accounts About FMB Based out of Richmond, VA, FMB has expanded to other small cities in Virginia as well as into North Carolina. It’s founder, Jim Ukrops, also founded a grocery store in Richmond called Urkop’s.
FM
Branding objective First Market Bank has it’s business banking and retail banking departments. The two needed a single brand idea to be united under.
I AM A BIG BANK. I am faceless. I don’t have an identity. You see me in a logo, an email, a phone message but I am not really there. I am an invisible empire that operates through invisible processes to pump out answers for our nameless clients providing invisible rationales. I am a robot, a number crunching machine. My actions are based on ratios, formulas, income statements, credit scores, and algorithms. My bankers are machine operators. They input the information. And hand you the output with their invisible hand. Jump on the conveyer belt and start moving. Jump off at anytime. The machine will keep going with or without you. It never stops. There is no emotion. After all, a face expresses emotions. But, I have no face. I may lie and describe my personal touch, but how can you touch something that is invisible?
A system of mutual invisibility
FM
Category Insight What was once an industry that revolved around relationships - banker and his customer, has turned into a machine where no one knows the other’s name. It’s a system of mutual invisibility.
I AM A SMEDIUM BUSINESS OWNER. To a big bank, I am faceless. I don’t have an identity. I am a source of deposits and withdrawals, debits and credits, loans and payments. To a big bank, I don’t merit personalization. When I call, I bounce between unfamiliar voices providing generic answers. My personality is a series of notes in a file, observations made by a series of faceless machine operators. To a big bank, my business is categorized by type, size and income without consideration given to my future goals. My aspirations are my own. It’s not that the machine doesn’t want me to succeed, it’s that it doesn’t know how I succeed. It’s not that it doesn’t value my business, it’s that it just doesn’t know my business. I simply move along the giant conveyer belt waiting for the output from the system. Nothing is about me. It’s about how I fit into the system.
FM
Consumer Insight - Explanation Smedium business owners start their own companies because they have original business ideas and they want to be in charge, making the decisions. But big banks make decisions for business owners based on a mechanized system that doesn’t take into account original ideas or individual needs. The smaller the boat the bigger the waves As a Smedium business owner, every decision carries huge weight. It determines whether or not you will be in business next month. That’s why having a banker who understands your individual needs can help you cater a plan to make your goals.
Brand Insight The brand feared that through having store locations in the Ukrop’s grocery stores they would be looked down on my business owners as “the grocery-store-bank.” Through talking to potential clients and current clients we found this to be false. The Ukrop family is known for doing a lot of good in the community and the founder, Jim Ukrop, for his honesty, community pride and smart entrepreneurialism. People associate these good values and business sense with the bank.
FM
Scop
The Situation Unlike what Axe may tell you, most of us don’t go out in search of the next man/woman of the moment, but rather the one who will make our hearts stop and change our lives for good. Scope had become the grandfather’s mouthwash and was in bad need of a fresh new look in order to attract a new generation of young adults. The competition was telling consumers “your teeth will fall out if you don’t use this product” or “using this will help you attract all the boys to the yard.” We decided to take a more realistic approach. Objective Update Scopeʼs image and gain new users
Category insight Communications by our main competitor, Listerine, injected fear and worry into consumers with information about medical and scientific reasons to use their product. In general, the fresh breath category sends the message that “if you use our product, you will be awesome.”
Target We are speaking to a crowd of young, urban professionals ages 21 - 34.
Target insight We are all looking for “the one,” but when you first meet that person, it can be nerve wracking. Communications strategy “Scope is the confidence builder you need to get the conversation started”
Tagline “Prepare for the unexpected”
The microsite, scopestories.com, provided a platform for people to share the story of how they met their significant other.
The storyteller Smart Phone widget enabled interaction with the map on the go. And if you needed some Scope, it could point you to the nearest store.
Scop
The Microsite
Tag the spot on the interactive map where you met. Scrolling over the map, see where others had met their “special person� and read their story.
Scop
Special Note This work has been chosen by the Director of the Brandcenter, Rick Boyko, as an example of student work to show to planning and creative directors at several agencies throughout the U.S., as well as to the Brandcenter Board of Directors. This work is also featured in SIXTY Magazine as well as on the walls of the Brandcenter. Teammates Jessica Colbert, Jay Adams, James Wood
Bottle redesign The new bottle design would provide two benefits: 1. It would differentiate Scope on the shelf where it currently blends into all the knock-offs that use the Scope bottle shape. 2. This design has a hand-grip on the side and a pour cap which would make for easy use. Justification for new packaging Due to the fact that 70% of purchase decisions are made at the point of sale, the packaging is the last chance to speak to the consumer. Proctor and Gamble, the parent company of Scope, recently changed the packaging of another one of their brands, Head and Shoulders, and saw a 30% increase in sales. If Scope saw a 10% increase in sales as a result of the new bottle design they would take back their position as the #2 mouth wash.
Thanks for your time
See more at: http://flavors.me/katiefitz @KatieFitz LookitsFitz@gmail.com 803.413.6708