Talent & Energy - Past Projects

Case Studies

Spike Sports Drink

Remember when Gatorade had 87% of the sports drink market? Well, we decided to enter the arena head first and help a minority company introduce Spike the sports drink, nationwide with the help of three former NBA greats. This was a total start-up effort without benefit of a corporate budget.

Did we mention… we were being watched and critiqued by none other than Coca-Cola, our joint venture supplier.

We did the marketing concept, found the crack in the wall, and positioned Spike as the quality priced alternative - with an innovative packaging angle – the plastic bottle with the pull top. Yep, that’s right, we were first to bring it to the world.

We introduced a national promotion utilizing the backyard basketball game “Around the World” and set up eight press events and sampled literally tons of spike. We established a broker network, placed booths at trade conventions, identified four international distributors, wrote the company policy manual and even helped produce a television commercial.

So how did we do? In our San Antonio rollout, Spike was outselling our big green friend Gatorade with our largest account within the first six months on the shelf, and was named the official drink of the San Antonio Spurs, Texas Special Olympics, Roundball Ruckus and lots more.

Spike was also featured in The Wall Street Journal, Black Enterprise Magazine and other targeted media outlets. Later, it rolled into the national launch of Powerade and gave Coke a big edge over Pepsi on the learning curve. A win-win for everybody.

Story-On-A-Roll®

Today’s games, toys and electronic gadgets entertain, but they do little to educate. Children need to think in order to learn. They should be challenged to reason, rationalize, differentiate and analyze, in order to prepare themselves for the future. We all know that how kids spend their afternoons at home will shape their adult lives. And, we now know kids can learn on their own.

Enter Story-On-A-Roll, an innovative five foot long, 18” inch high “story” scroll that is instant education & entertainment, where kids can work on it – at home, with friends, at their own pace, while being challenged to think. You color, solve hidden puzzles, word games and other surprises. Cool stuff.

Well, we literally created the company that’s getting rave reviews across the country from children’s educational retailers all the way to home school catalogs. Talent & Energy was brought in to spearhead the marketing, sales and public relations for this new division of a successful media company in South Florida. Innovative tube packaging, cross promotions with crayon, sticker and adhesive manufacturers, and endorsements from education and the arts have given the brand a tremendous start, with features in several publications even before the first stories were “rolling” off the press.

We kid tested the concept, enlisted the help of the International Museum of Cartoon Art and created hyperlinks with virtually every children’s educational association. All throughout the process, it was mandatory to remain true to education. There was a tremendous sense of satisfaction knowing that this product gives kids a lesson, It does make them think, It asks questions and it promotes self-esteem.

Ready, set, go! We produced the product, pricing, manufacturing, budgets, promotional materials, selling brochures, broker networks, retailer calls, endorsements and everything else that needed to get done by launch date.

Sorry for the irresistible pun, but this product is really on-a-roll now, and we couldn’t be happier.

The NFL Alumni

Are you ready for some football?

We were hired to handle communications for Super Bowl XXXIII for the five star-studded events sponsored by the NFL Alumni – including the televised NFL Player of the Year awards, skeet shoot, golf tournament, pre-game tailgate party and the big game itself. But, after 20 years of marketing, we really weren’t surprised when the biggest hit of the entire weekend turned out to be the official NFL Alumni logo hat we gave away at the tailgate party.

This wasn’t a knock….it was a slam, bam, in your face, taunt your mama opportunity screaming in our ears. Within days, we were in the game and had the ball, and the NFL Alumni Special Teams program was born.

The game plan was simple. The NFL Alumni logo is magic. Everyone wanted to be a part of it. And, the Alumni are a non-profit service organization that works voluntarily on behalf of youth. We developed a turn-key direct mail program to every season ticket holder of every NFL team in the country drafting them into the Special Teams, giving them the chance to rub shoulders with the former players through chapter events – and give back to their communities through the membership drive.

We assembled a new member kit of newsletters, hat, lapel pin, wall certificate, car decal, coupons and discounts on several official NFL Alumni products and services. And, we gave every new recruit the chance to win two tickets to the next Super Bowl. Then, we packaged it into a four-color two-sided mailer that conveniently went into the same envelope that contained the upcoming season’s tickets.

The program continues today, and local hero’s are being recognized not just for their logo hats – but for the wonderful support they are giving the former players as they help America’s youth gain an advantage in the game of life.

Incidentally, it’s one of their biggest revenue generators too.

Integrated Health Technologies

We found the cure to Snoring.

Don’t laugh. We tackled one of the biggest public health concerns in this country, which when left untreated, can cause several serious problems, including sleep apnea, where you stop breathing altogether. We helped a team of dentists uncover the secret to snoring - when you go to sleep, the tongue relapses against the posterior wall of the pharynx, and as the airway becomes partially blocked, the walls vibrate, and you snore.

A simple mouthgard type device called The Silencer System can be custom fitted to each patient, in a dentist’s chair, and as it pulls your lower jaw forward ever-so-slightly, it keeps you from snoring.

Talent & Energy created the complete in-office marketing kit for the dental practice, several direct mail pieces, wrote press releases for local media, conducted public awareness seminars on snoring, trained the office staff on turn-key protocol and brought in local celebrities to draw publicity and expose the human side of this problem.

We recruited and trained over 2000 dentists into the program, forged a partnership with the American Dental Association and most importantly, saved countless marriages in the process.

We’re doing our part.

Starbucks Coffee Company

How many times have we found ourselves six deep in a line at Starbuck’s early morning coffee-hour waiting for the Tall Latte of the day with room for cream? Not only has Starbucks become very successful – They’ve become part of our daily vocabulary!

But, things change a bit and the kettle starts to boil when your team is challenged to train store managers on selling those $500 dollar espresso machines, mugs and European gift sets during the holiday season.

They needed Talent & Energy.

We brought together several regional managers and developed a meaningful and relevant training program for the holiday season. It had to be funny. It had to be fast-paced – to keep the attention of over 1000 people in the main ballroom at Disney World, and it had to communicate to them in their language. We used real-life situations in real-life stores and hammered home the key points for success. We incorporated video vignettes from around the world to visually demonstrate the selling techniques necessary.

The results.

A record-breaking season…

and we’ve been invited back for an encore.

GENERATIONS
Magic in a bottle

Looking younger with Collagen and Elastin are two of the most talked about, hottest, most promoted products in all of cosmetics - especially with people in their 40's, 50's and 60's. Anti-aging products now number into the hundreds - at all price points and with all kinds of "breakthrough ideas". Well, we saw an opportunity to take a pharmaceutical technology and dive right in. All we knew was that these three GENERATIONS collectively spend billions - not millions - but billions - on trying to make wrinkles go away. It's not a vanity thing - it's simply trying to look as good as you can - and why not.

We created GENERATIONS with R3, a consumer product - that is without the aid of a physician or an invasive procedure - that actually can tackle the cause of wrinkles - and solve the problem, by sending abundant proteins of collagen and elastin directly into all three layers of the skin to replenish lost collagen, restore your skin structure and rejuvinate the young, firm skin you had in generations gone by.

This was a complete turnkey project. We wrote, produced and edited a 30 minute paid programming television show that would air in virtually every major market throughout the country, and in many cases - on more than one cable network at the same time! Television actress and respected host Nancy Stafford teamed up with 20 non-paid recruits from all across the country to give their testimony to the effectiveness of GENERATIONS. We found hand-blown bottles in Italy and custom acrylic boxes from the Far East and packaged the product in Dallas, manned the phones in Omaha and mailed out thousands of boxes every day from Nashville.

Today, GENERATIONS is in 7 countries and growing rapidly. In fact, last we heard, it was the #2 selling cosmetic product on QVC Japan. Product extensions, new distributors, a new ad campaign and updates to the infomercials will keep Talent & Energy staffers going strong for generations to come.

The client is glowing and frankly, so are we.

TV SHOW FOR SOUTH FLORIDA'S BOOMING AUDIENCE

What do you do when you have a ball making TV shows, and you have 1.7 million residents between 45 and 65 years of age, representing the single largest demographic group of the total population, right in your back yard? You find a way to talk to them. So, we created a local television show specifically for these Boomers & Seniors, with all original programming that explores lifestyle-enhancing services and the products and places aimed at a truly dynamic demographic, South Florida's Baby- Boomers and proactive seniors.

We teamed up with long time talent pool partner Minds I to write, produce, edit and distribute this new show, which began airing in March 2003, to over 2.5 million TV households.

Boomers & Seniors covers a myriad of intriguing topics and issues. Segments include: "Caregiving" - when the tables are turned and parents need help, where do you turn? "Home at Heart" - how to find, build & improve your dream home, "Investor's Showcase" - explores how to grow a nest egg and prepare a sound financial future, "Healthier You" - which uncovers health, medical, fitness, and lifestyle activities to invigorate the heart and mind, "Great Getaways" - profiles destinations for a day or a long weekend, "Test Drive" - features incredible auto opportunities, and "Around Town" - explores culture and the arts, and much more! Everything was done locally. We scripted the pieces, digitized the video and even hired the crew and bought the doughnuts.

And, it's actually advertising for the clients. As "Boomers & Senior's" explores topics and issues of interest to the audience, we thoughtfully place the client's service or product "embedded" within the storylines, and portray them as the experts possessing the insight and knowledge to help our audience, and their future customers, gain a better understanding of the subject matter.

We captivate a viewer with an engaging story, while weaving a product or service within that story, and all the while the viewer feels no need to zap, surf or tape over the message. It's that simple. And it works! So, how's it doing? Well, we've been picked up by the local ABC affiliate WPTV and have a steady time spot on Sunday mornings. Fun, innovative and a proven successful formula.

Still waiting for that standing table at my favorite restaurant though.