Third Degree Nostalgia

Awe. Moving. It conjures thoughts of new beginnings. Excitement over things to come. Dreams of our new space, all shiny and new. And lets face it, how close each of our desks will be to a window.

We are ready for the next leg of our journey but for us, as we pack, we are feeling a bit nostalgic.

Original logo on a mason jar mug.

Current logo on a coaster.

Don't you just love old photos?

A coaster. And a reminder.

Oh, the creative that could be found on these old hard drives. And the incriminating emails.

Do they even make HOT DAMN anymore?

Media Buyer by Day. Office Designer by Default.

Everyone knows those people who work hard to develop a knowledge base and craft in college only to move on to start a career in an industry unrelated to their degree. That’s me. With a Bachelor of Interior Design from the University of Oklahoma, (and countless all-nighters in the College of Architecture studios) I’m now working on 8 years at Third Degree. As a Media Buyer, my Excel spreadsheets are not only strategic and thoughtful, but let’s be honest…color coordinated.

Did I mention it also qualifies me to judge coloring contests?



I interviewed for a temporary position as the Receptionist to pay the bills after college. Having spent a couple weeks in a hot warehouse, checking the caps on tubes of “Femoré” (I’ll leave that product description in the hands of Google), I was ready for a job in a climate controlled office. Little did I know most of the summer, shorts were considered “office chic” in the old Mercantile building.



After falling in love with these guys…



and these characters…



And learning that Media at Third Degree was not just about numbers and spreadsheets (no matter how colorful) and was more about finding targeted, creative and impactful ways to get our clients’ messages out…I stuck around…for awhile.



I was later asked to co-design our Diner/Breakroom/Conference Room with coworker Kathleen Shannon. We rented a cargo van, shared scandalous stories with each other (her more so than me) and crossed the Red River to IKEA.



Now, with the help of Creatives, Adam and Brett, I’m calling that the Trial Run before the new task at hand.



A whole new office space: demolition, construction, codes, timelines…may I suggest a little wine? And one excited Media Buyer.

ABNB Federal Credit Union's "Holiday Regrets" Promotional Campaign

Visit our new site to see the ABNB Holiday Regrets mall campaign case study!

Got A Mall. Got You Covered.

It's not because our media planners are mall rats. Although I'm sure they'd admit to eating an Auntie Anne's soft pretzel or slurping an Orange Julius with a Gap shopping sack (with its classic logo in tact) hanging from the crook of one arm. But malls are a great place to get where people are – with some unexpected messaging. And we don't just mean those rotating poster kiosks.



Our most recent mall attack is an ER campaign for a regional hospital, Unity Health Center. While we'd done our fair share of outdoor for this small-town-provider trying to keep their community close to home vs. trekking an hour to the big city – the mall had been an untapped territory for getting out the word.





It takes a lot of planning and clever use of space to get the best impact out of a wrap like this. You don't want it to look like a flying giant banner accidentally smacked into to the front of the building and just stuck there.





If you asked our media planners (after bribing them with soft pretzels or Gap gift cards of course) to tell you the top four reasons why they recommend mall placement for your messaging, they'd say:

1. It's a perfect example of taking your media message to where people are, as opposed to making them come to you.

2. Like outdoor, but people aren't whizzing past at 60 mph-- they have more time to take the message in.

3. A great medium to tackle that ever elusive tween/teen audience. Several recent studies have been done about the effectiveness of mall advertising against teens.

4. It is a great way to target geographically. If your market potential is several neighborhoods, as opposed to an entire DMA, seek out your local mall. For the most part, people shop, close to where they live or work.

It's why we've "gone to the mall" for clients like Planned Parenthood where we've wrapped unused storefronts strategically located next to family rest & play areas, Buck The Norm with a debt-wise message right around holiday shopping time, and ACOG Clean Air messaging with a giant suspended "square of clean air" over the atrium-style food court and square blue-sky floor clings leading up to all the escalators.



ACOG "Get Square" including mall installation.

Planned Parenthood mall storefront wraps.

Buck The Norm mall banners.

Get Out of The Box. Get Square.

I know "get outside the box" is about the most overused and un-outside-the-box statement you can make. But how could I resist? We literally hung a gigantic box above the two-story metro mall courtyard to promote GetSquare.org, the clean air awareness campaign.



Okay, it's a square to be exact. And it has not crushed or killed any shoppers yet.



Suspended Square



Food Court Railing Clings

But it has gotten their attention.



In fact, over the seven-plus years Third Degree has worked with ACOG on the Get Square initiative, public recognition of clean air habits and willingness to change those habits (i.e. carpooling, gassing up at night) are up to 70% awareness. And while Oklahoma's federally mandated air quality regulations have become even more stringent as of late, our state continues to see improvement.



Uh... and hello? It's just a great and noble endeavor, which always gets us inspired to create great work.







Newly redesigned GetSquare.org web site.

We've continued to evolve the look and feel over the years.



And the creative approach isn't the only way we've "mixed up" our delivery. We've always implemented non-traditional and grass roots outreach for Get Square – like the annual summer electric lawnmower giveaway. But most recently, we gave away kites. (That's what's in the bag.)



We were going to give them away July 4 weekend. That's us putting up banners for the outdoor event.





Fly That Kite, Jared! Fly It!

But severe storms and flash flooding meant a no-go for that day. What? Severe storms in Oklahoma? I don't believe it.



But all's well that ends well. We regrouped and planned for a giveaway on tax-free weekend, taking advantage of some major back-to-school crowds, plus a popular yearly Lego event taking place in... you guessed it... the mall!



We handed out reusable shopping bags as well as the kites under the shadow of our awesome square.



So I suppose you could say it all came full "square." You know, like full circle – but square. Heh. heh. Those square jokes never get old.

Thanks ACOG letting us go the extra mile. The extra mile with less fuel emissions. And we carpooled. Better yet, we walked there. Yeah... we walked there together.

Also check out our mall advertising for Planned Parenthood.

Going To The Mall

Maybe you grew up like me thinking the mall was a mecca for all things wonderful - everything you could ever want with an Orange Julius on top. Or maybe you aren't as keen on this particular shopping concept avoiding all things "mall" (mall stores, mall food, mall walkers, mall rats.)

But the reality is, especially with the holiday season upon us, that you are going to find yourself in the mall sooner - rather than later.



We recently got some seriously oversized, and seriously impactful, Planned Parenthood messaging in the Crossroads mall.



Jentry and Holly, who are always on the lookout for interesting media opportunities, scouted out some unoccupied storefronts in high foot traffic areas and negotiated some great placement for this not-for-profit client. Then we got busy putting together some larger than life designs, and our installers got cracking.



One location, which we thought was truly inspired, was across from what I like to call "the kid pit." You know the area where the moms and dads take a break with about fifty screaming corralled kids who are bouncing off big foam owls or lily pads or whatever.



Well directly in the line of vision of any young mom who might be zoning out in "the pit", is the "our family is just the right size" storefront banner. We thought it was appropriate. Right?



Our second location is a series of several panes along a major corridor with images of young, prepared and incredibly large-headed people with a positive message to share. You can't help but look at them. And, if you look closer, you can get a list of services that Planned Parenthood provides.



We think it's definitely space well used.

Mad About The Mall

We've been getting excited about mall advertising lately at Third Degree. We've recently done floor clings and banners for the Square of Clean Air campaign and Buck The Norm. We've also got some new mall concepts for a few other clients brewing for the fall that will target shoppers when holiday traffic starts to gear up.



So earlier this week I was looking for some unusual advertising real-estate opportunities to shoot and mock up for a client proposal (if I happened to get some new shoes, too, so be it.)

As I was passing Banana Republic I did a serious double take.

Because Don Draper was looking right at me.



That's his lovely wife Betty giving me a frosty stare, as well. And if you don't watch Mad Men on AMC, a drama documenting the Madison Avenue advertising agency world of the sixties, these names might not mean a lot to you. But at Third Degree, they mean double-standards and scotch... secrets and stereotypes... and, mad, mad style.



After I caught my breath and started discreetly snapping away (mall security be damned), I saw how extensive this brilliant cross-promotion went. With signage throughout the stores, and early sixties office-inspired dresses and suits featured alongside profiles of favorite characters from the show. And this clever little collateral, which I quickly grabbed up...



a little mini Banana Republic Mad Men catalog.



It includes a free iTunes download of a Mad Men episode, a Banana Republic coupon, and a "casting call" contest, where you can enter to win a walk-on role in the actual show and a $1,000 Banana Republic gift card.

Third Degree might just have some entries among our employees. Not only do we have the season one DVD box set of Mad Men in our agency diner, we've also got a quiz at the bottom of our new web site home page where you can choose Donald Draper as your favorite ad guy among other fictional competitors, and we've had an employee win a costume contest dressed as Joan, the show's sexy office manager.



The little brochure also pairs characters from the show with a Banana Republic break-down of their style with corresponding outfits.

We also have another employee blogging about her own custom Mad Men character on AMC's web site where you can "Mad Men Yourself." AMC is hitting on all cylinders with environmental and online ways of getting fans excited, and hopefully getting non-fans interested enough to jump on board, for the fall season kickoff on August 16.



Obviously I am a target because I am already a fan. But this is just a great example of non-traditional advertising hitting the right person at the right time.



Oh... and it worked on my husband. Brilliant.