Deanna Marie

Portraits are reserved for the people that matter most to us. So we created vivid moving portraits of the people (and places) that Mutual of Omaha helps its members protect — their kingdom. Through a series of spots, we portrayed kingdoms all across the U.S. — each filled with different families and stories — showing that every kingdom is worth protecting.

Big Brothers Big Sisters was in desperate need of an overhaul. So we were tasked with bringing the brand into the modern age, revitalizing it from the top down to appeal to an entirely new generation of Bigs and Littles with a culture they’ll be proud to be part of, a brand voice they’d be proud to add theirs to, and a brand look they’d be proud to rep.

Turns out, petroleum has an awareness problem. So Valero — one of the largest petroleum refiners on the planet — came to us for help in spreading the word about all the products we know and love that use the stuff. Because Valero does so much more than power the planet, they help create the products that power our daily lives in small, but vital ways. Making some of life’s biggest little moments possible.

To keep our story focused on authentic human moments, we used a subtle color treatment that used Valero’s primary palette to highlight the petroleum-based products in each shot without distracting from the story.

As the pandemic raged on, the reality of remote work became mindnumbingly real. So we approached our client, Motorcity Casino Hotel, with a whole new way to promote their online gaming platform: a virtual escape room that’s equal parts fun and mundane — fundane, if you will — AND free to create. Play it for yourself here.

From concept to activation, this project was my baby. The Governator tweeted about it, a famous writer told me my “scripts were GREAT,” people were stealing yard signs out of their neighbor’s yards and I got to work with the greatest design team in the universe. I’d call it a win. Here’s the scoop…

Big Slick Celebrity Weekend is a Kansas City tradition featuring home-grown celebrity hosts like Paul Rudd, Jason Sudeikis and more. They do it every year, but In 2016, our team decided to do more than just refresh it with new colors and taglines. We wanted to go big. So, I led the creative team in giving the city (and the nation, it turned out) a comedic candidate they could believe in and a cause they could get behind. The result? Tickets sold out faster than ever, we earned 123.5 million media impressions, saw a triple-digit increases in social engagement, and raised a whopping $1.3 million in support of Children's Mercy Hospital. That's a full quarter of a million dollars more than was raised in 2015. And that's no joke.

Winner of two 2017 AAF-KC Gold Addys and five 2017 Nonprofit Connect Philly Awards, including Best In Show.

MGP came to us with a unique conundrum — they’re already an industry-leading distiller, but they needed help actually leading the industry. When it came to thought leadership and connecting with their fellow distillers (and clients) as fellow craftspeople, they were falling short. So we created the MGP Distillery Collective and launched Rackhouse Roundtable — a first of its kind content series (now in its third season) that brings big players and small craft distillers to the table for spirited discussion and great spirits.

The result was 3X lead generation, 145 new wholesale customers, a $6 million increase in revenue and a 10X reduction in cost per lead. Peep the full case study here.

Not all new homes are created equal. And our client, Meritage Homes, needed help getting the word out. So we developed a unique and ownable brand illustration style to help us tell stories about building science that you don’t have to be a building scientist to enjoy.

FleetFarm just went through a major overhaul of their store interiors, but they were looking for an agency to help them bring their brand to life outside the aisle through language and experience as well. I was tasked with developing sticky brand language inspired by their new tagline, "Built for real life," that would help FleetFarm embrace their cult brand status and unite their customer base with sentiments that felt, well, real.

Tick and flea medicine is the largest category in pet health marketing. And while most of Credelio’s competitors were in an arms race to prove who’s toughest on ticks and fleas, we saw an opportunity to talk about something equally important to pet owners — being gentle enough for the pups they love. So, we decided to give the category a little character…literally. Credelio, the tiny defender of dogs, was created as the pup-loving-tai chi-doing-amateur-stand-up-comedian-kung-fu-kicking-mini-metaphor spokesperson for the product itself.

And our tiny spokesperson got big results: A whopping 74% increase in sales.

Valero was ready to launch their new rewards app, but they didn’t want to do it like the other guys. So we created an animated world in which each character represents an app feature — all set to a song you’ll be whistling for days. Meet Shiloh the Shopper, Dash the Speedster, Penny the Saver and Otto the Organizer…

Every year, Meritage Homes raises the bar for its Earth Day social activations. In 2021, we helped them hop on the ASMR trend with a series of Meritage Meditations that tie back to their energy-efficient home features. To see the microsite, click here.

For IHOP's 2015 holiday campaign, we saw an opportunity to do more than just promote pancakes. Instead, we brought a little magic to the iconic brand with the IHOP Workshop, featuring whimsical illustrations, a breakfast-making elf and joyful, rhyming signage throughout the restaurant. From window signage to menu messaging, the creative came together as an invitation for guests to discover joy in every bite.

Winner of one Silver and one Gold 2016 AAF-KC Addy.