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.

Grocery Fun for MECU and You

I think there is something so appealing about fake food. I like it when it's plastic, or miniature, or pretending to be something else like a hamburger phone, or like when you get your lemon juice in that fake plastic lemon squeeze bottle.



I realize that most people probably don't have this same obsession. But I think most people agree they love food... you know, the real kind. So it's for more than self-indulgent reasons that I can say I love the food themed promotion we recently launched for MECU (Motorola Employees Credit Union) who are based outside of Chicago, IL.



MECU exists to be the go-to financial institution for employees or family members of employees of Motorola. So they rely less on mass media and more on member-focused marketing. When they asked us to come up with a new take on a member referral program, we came up with a yummy solution: a chance for a lucky member to win $400 in groceries for themselves and the person they get to sign up to be a MECU-er just like them.



Since their service centers are one of the primary places we'd be reaching members, we wanted to make an instant impression. We created an oversized standee that could be further elaborated upon by service center managers who are encouraged to fill the three dimensional "sacks" with real groceries and arrange real paper bags also filled with groceries around the base of the standees.



We wanted to get really dynamic with all the components of the campaign, so the die cuts and three dimensional details just helped give everything that extra pop...



... like floor clings (actually heavy traffic removable carpet clings) made to look like toppled bags of groceries on branch floors...



... and a die cut direct mailer that carries out the paper sack theme.

But, our theme was more than just a food fixation. It was really based on the idea of MECU providing for their members like they've always had. Putting groceries on the table is something that is fundamentally family and financially oriented. With messaging positioning MECU as a not-for-profit alternative to big banks, we're helping them put their difference out there "on the table" for their members to remember and share.

And there's nothing fake about that.

Playing With Blocks

How do you get to play with blocks as part of your grownup job?



You work in advertising. That, and you have a client like Cox Communications who lets you use blocks to illustrate how their local stores are better than what their competitor – sounds like A-Gee & Gee – is offering.



The featured medium of this campaign is television, so we gathered together the contents from the bottom of my kids' closet, and shot stills of a little neighborhood scene that we then had animated to create the final commercials.



We also created digital outdoor boards using the same imagery.



Beep, beep!

Kathleen was the lead creative on this campaign, which is running here in Oklahoma starting this week. Since Cox is the local cable provider (in addition to providing telephone and high speed internet service) they get lots and lots of play on the tube, (i.e. television... I don't think TVs actually have "tubes" inside them anymore?)



I actually wanted to name this post Playing With (Sounds Like Begos), but we're trying to avoid getting in legal grey area. If you'll notice on the final animated commercials, all the distinctive circular pegs are Photoshopped off the tops of the "blocks" to give them a more generic appearance.



But, lets just say, I am nuts about Begos! I love to build fancy Bego houses and stuff from scratch (this is the front of a bodega style market I brought from home), but then it makes my five year old feel bad: "mom, why isn't my Bego house good like yours?" So I may have to start playing with Begos in private (or in this case, at work) so he doesn't get a complex. It may be too late – especially if I keep calling them Begos.

Get Going With Your Scootery Self

My coworkers love it when I shoot pictures of them really closeup on the way places, like in airplanes, or cars. When I say love it, I mean hate it, because it freaks them out a little, and they sort of retract their heads away from the camera that's suddenly right in their face, which gives them a frozen smiled "why-are-you-doing-this-to-me?" expression.



But that doesn't mean I've quit doing it. Account coordinator, Hallie, is looking slightly frozen but very summery as she drives us to an equally summery promotional event, the Get Going radio remote and registration at TFCU (that's what the flyer's about that I'm sticking in her face, as well as my camera).



It's a sunny blue-sky day and one of the outdoor boards promoting the event is located right by the branch we're going to, so it's a good photo opportunity. Although the drivers who have to slow down because I'm standing in the middle of the street to take the perfect shot are perhaps a little annoyed.



But I had to get a good angle, because I'm really thrilled with how the scooter rear-view mirror extensions turned out. The outdoor company used real metal bars which look great when the sun hits them as you drive by.



The scooter is the big draw of this promotion. This is the second summer Tinker Federal Credit Union has done the Get Going promotion where they give away a pair of Buddy Scooters plus a $100 gas card. It's wrapped around an auto loan push including boat loans, RV loans, motorcycle loans... you know, all the ways you get going.



There were lots of people signing up, and the radio station that was hosting the remote had pizza, music, and other extra activities going on. Most of the TFCU branches are able to display a real scooter provided by Atomic Brown Scooter Shop.

They had a sign taped on the scooter that said "please don't sit on the scooter." Yeah, we were really great example-setters on that one.



The Get Going promotion was pretty successful for TFCU last year, so this year we tried some additional mediums. Like the outdoor with extensions, in-branch standees, and these cool floor clings placed in the entry ways and near teller areas.



They also used Get Going themed "It's On Us Cards," which TFCU often uses to reach non-members in close proximity to the branches at coffee shops or Sonic drive-thrus, surprising customers by having prepaid for their drinks.



Plus, they commissioned some whimsical window paintings for their front doors. These remind me of the ones Allegiance Credit Union did a few months ago that were surprisingly easy, inexpensive, and effective. For a fun or humorous promotion, it fits right in and especially lets current members know there's something new going on.

A Facelift of Their Own

Looking for our Cosmetic Surgery Affiliates case study? Find it on our new site!