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When we took ownership of Lilyana marketing, the community needed a brand that better connected homebuyers to the true joys of living in this community.

Honing in on Key Differentiators

This community is far from cookie-cutter, so it only made sense to highlight the factors that make it stand out in a cluttered and crowded market. For Lilyana, it’s the conveniences and lifestyle that make it a truly special place to call home. With more than 50-acres of green space, the community is packed with natural amenities, numerous parks and things for homeowners to do outdoors. All of which keep the community and people connected. 

A Refocused Brand Position

Lilyana is located in Celina, a peaceful, up-and-coming town remote enough to harbor tranquility and close enough to Frisco to take advantage of its entertainment, energy and everything it has to offer. When we began to evolve the brand position, we pulled the thread of accessible tranquility to show prospective homebuyers that it is possible to have it all when you live at Lilyana. 

Communicating Joy and Tranquility 

We needed a way to portray the very real, and often intangible, qualities that make this community so special. By incorporating bubbles as a visual element, we were able to communicate the true value of a Hillwood community—connection, comfort and an ethos rooted in community. All while positioning Lilyana as a place to pause and enjoy the moment.

In addition to visually refreshing the brand, we also revitalized the brand language to communicate joy in the Lilyana lifestyle. “A place to embrace life’s moments” communicates that Lilyana is a community for people to slow down and enjoy their lives – right here, right now.

Building a comprehensive brand story gives real estate brands more space to have meaningful conversations with home buyers. Developing Lilyana’s position in a cluttered and competitive space helped the brand stand out, and ultimately led to more home sales.

Schaefer is proud to have been recognized by Medical Marketing and Media as “Best Place to Work” in 2020. In a tumultuous year marked with uncertainty, we are truly humbled and energized by the recognition. It is the result of tireless work done by the entire agency, lead by the vision and guidance of our Healthcare team. We couldn’t be more grateful for the recognition.


From the winners announcement article by MM+M.

In a year when the workplace has been upended, the prioritizing of company culture and staff matters to a greater extent than ever before. The results of our third annual review spotlight the best small, midsize and large agencies, along with life sciences support firms, as rated by those who know them best: the employees themselves.

Schaefer Advertising

Never before has Schaefer’s mission to “Make Life Better” been more important to its employees than right now. From vital healthcare assistance (the company waived testing and hospital fees related to COVID-19), to an emergency cash fund for bill pay in the case of a spouse or family member being laid off, staffers say they have felt “seen” and “supported” from the very start of the pandemic.

In an effort to increase communication and boost morale, the company instituted virtual work anniversary celebrations on Zoom with heartfelt tributes from colleagues, and a daily “silver lining” email thread where one team member shares a positive experience from their quarantine and then chooses which colleague goes next.

While almost all Schaefer staffers shared their immense appreciation for how “fully transparent” their company president has been, through his efforts to send daily update emails and to reassure the team no furloughs or layoffs would take place, it was his turn as ice cream man that really garnered accolades.

Despite the fact that many employees live between 40 and 150 miles from Schaefer’s offices in Fort Worth, Texas, the company’s owner personally delivered pints of ice cream from a local artisanal creamery to every employee to thank them for their hard work during these difficult times. A gesture welcomed by all as “an incredibly unexpected and much-appreciated surprise.”

Survey Stat

Schaefer Advertising had 31 responses — the most in its category — and was one of the highest-scoring agencies for the answer to “Responded quickly and decisively to ensure employee productivity was unaffected as much as possible.”

Surgeons have many procedural options when caring for patients, and treating glaucoma is no different. Despite the numerous procedures and tools available for ophthalmologists, they each have the same goal: to treat their patients most effectively.

So, when OMNI® launched their new 2.0 device, which has functional advantages over other similar products on the market, we had to communicate the benefits this new device had over its competition.

An Evolved Device Needs an Evolved Campaign

Efficacy is what uniquely sets OMNI apart from other glaucoma treatment options available to surgeons. Beyond efficacy, the new OMNI device provides patients with a more acceptable risk level, addressing all three points of the conventional outflow pathway. While other procedures and devices focus treatment on a single point of resistance. The OMNI Surgical System allows surgeons to treat all severities of open-angle glaucoma, empowers them to intervene in combination and standalone procedures, and provides surgeons with the ability to treat glaucoma with versatility. All of these product advancements ultimately empower surgeons to treat their patients with a more efficacious approach with confidence and provide patients with a higher level of ocular treatment. 

It’s All About Efficacy

OMNI’s brand awareness is strong and based on a functional message that resonates with ophthalmologists, cataract surgeons and glaucoma specialists. But we needed to evolve their position from function, that was established during the first generation of the device, and move into a more benefit-driven message that emotionally connects surgeons to their patients. To achieve that, efficacy had to be brought to the front and center of the campaign messaging. Additionally, we had to communicate that no other device addresses all three points of resistance in the conventional outflow pathway. 

The concept, “Go for Three,” alludes to taking a three-point shot in basketball. It puts the ball in the hand of the surgeon and empowers them to make the choice. This tagline nods to the new OMNI device being the highest-scoring option available on the market, and encourages surgeons to choose the option that is better than the rest. Why settle for a 2-point layup when you have a wide-open shot at a 3-pointer? This active metaphor was a way to invigorate and engage the target audience with something unique in a crowded device market and simply position OMNI as a shot worth taking. 

OMNI Go For Three campaign - Landing Page-Animation

Results

  • Reached an all-time high in sales
  • Accelerated the brand in a very successful direction
  • Made a huge splash in the industry, even amid the Covid-19 pandemic
  • Evolved campaign expanded into a sales aid, educational materials, website, and into more multi-media placements

Places are defined by people, and the Near Southside is among the most vibrant and diverse communities in Fort Worth. So, when they approached Schaefer to help them rebrand their identity, we focused on the neighborhood they create and the people and ideas the Near Southside attracts.

We wanted to present that the Near Southside is first and foremost a community where people and business can thrive in an inclusive and supportive environment. The result is a design balanced in minimalism and boldness that allows the artistic soul of the Near Southside to come through, but also be functional enough to carry the brand across everything from way-finding signage to social. The new color pallet represents the diverse voices that stand up for and continue to create opportunities that cultivate community.  The updated identity is malleable enough to work across mediums but enduring enough to be used over decades to come.

It is a pleasure to partner with local organizations that build up our community and help them identify their message and purpose, and carry that through to representing their brand. By creating a flexible mark that more accurately represents the community and culture of the Near Southside, we’re hopeful that their message will resonate more deeply with future community members and contributors. The Near Southside is an excellent ambassador and cultivator of the arts and culture that permeate our neighborhood and creating something that elicits that same level of passion is why we come to work every single day.

Let’s start by getting to know you a little better. Tell us about yourself.

I was born and raised in Fort Worth, and the only time I’ve left here for an extended period of time was when I went to Austin for school for four years. I’ve always loved living here, and I really enjoyed visiting Fort Worth when I was in school because it seems like every few months Fort Worth is growing and changing. 

I have one sibling, a younger brother, and he goes to UT as well – we come from a big Longhorn family. Both of my parents went to UT, some of my grandparents, tons of my cousins, aunts and uncles went there, too.

I love Texas sports – I grew up playing softball and field hockey, which I played from seventh grade into high school. My current dog is named Dak – after Dak Prescott – and my last dog’s name was Romo – after the other Cowboys’ quarterback.

What’s something you love to do?

I love to travel, but it’s obviously been a tough year for the travel industry. My goal pre-covid was to visit a new place every single year. I’ve been to a chunk of cool places out of the country, but I’d like to explore more US cities. 

What’s your favorite place?

I really like the beach, but I don’t love the ocean. I like the sand, and I don’t mind boats, but I’d rather enjoy the ocean from a comfortable distance. I also really like the mountains – I love Colorado for how diverse it is; a lot of hiking, biking and skiing in Colorado.

 What do you love about the job?

I just love the spontaneity and the constant changes that advertising has. There’s always new projects and the space is constantly evolving. I don’t think we’ll ever reach a stage where advertising is mundane or boring.

If you could do anything besides what you are doing now, what would you do professionally?

I would own a restaurant and/or write a cookbook. 

What is the last thing you binge-watched?

Greys Anatomy, hands-down. There are rumors that it’s the last season, and I would be crushed. Although, they’ve gone on for a while, so they’re running out of storylines. I just hope that they end it on a high note.

What’s your favorite book?

Favorite book is American Royals, and it’s about what it would be like to have a royal family in America. It’s fiction, but it’s interesting and entertaining. I’ve always been fascinated with the royal family; there’s so much legacy there.

If you could live in any sitcom, which would it be?

I would probably say The Office because it’s such a classic. When you don’t know what to watch, just put it on. It’s a feel-good, funny show and the characters just can’t be beaten.

If you had to eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Sushi. I can go into a sushi restaurant and enjoy anything on the menu. 

What’s your favorite children’s story?

The Olivia books by Ian Falconer. Olivia is a pig, and her professions and adventures change every book – in one book she’s a pilot, another book she’s a scientist, and in another she’s helping with Christmas. I just love those books. My middle name is also Olivia, so I really connected with that series early on.

If you had an extra hour of free time every day, what would you spend it doing?

I would put an extra hour into the morning and spend it having coffee. I’m so much more productive in the morning; I’d add an hour and just spend it working and drinking coffee. 

Any words of advice?

Wake up every day and choose to be happy. I think it’s definitely a choice, and it can be easy to let things get to you and stray away from that. But, choosing to be happy is such a key to being successful and enjoying your life, which is why we’re all here. 

Why Schaefer?

As a person who has grown up in Fort Worth, working at Schaefer has always been a goal of mine. It was a familiar place when I was in high school and people from Schaefer came into our school to speak about advertising and the industry, and it was always attractive to me that they were invested in the people of Fort Worth. I also love that Schaefer invests in the people that work here: we’re invested in the numerical growth of the agency, but we’re also really focused on growing the individual and improving their strengths and making them a more capable person. I love that the people here genuinely care about each other.

When the pandemic began, the UNT Health Science Center embraced its position as a leader in our community by providing a singular source of uplifting and empowering content. This culminated in coviddayxday.com serving as the center of the UNT Health Science Center’s covid-19 campaign. We knew that we had to engage a wide audience and convince them to adopt new, healthy behavior practices to meet the campaign’s goals and keep our community safe. Sounds hard, right? It is – but reaching the right audience with the right message can be done through thoughtful strategy and nimble responsiveness. 

Goals

  • Generate community awareness of the coviddayxday.com website in Fort Worth, North Texas and beyond
  • Drive meaningful traffic to the new coviddayxday.com website
  • Encourage optimism and empowerment through reliable information

Meeting Audiences During the New Normal

Reaching audiences during a pandemic is tricky for numerous reasons, the largest of which is that people’s normal day-to-day routines have been overhauled, which makes reaching them difficult with traditional targeting strategies. So, when we began laying out a paid media campaign for DAYxDAY, we had to be creative and think about how to capture the attention of our audience in their new normal. Furthermore, we needed to communicate our message to English – and Spanish – speaking audiences that make up the bulk of North Texas’ demographic composition.

For general targeting, our strategy was adjusted for the lack of commute time where we would normally distribute content and re-tooled to focus on reaching audiences in-home. That meant leveraging Pandora and smart speakers to get media in front of people working from home. We also partnered with reputable news sources in North Texas for paid media, which elevates the trustworthiness of our content. To reach Spanish-speaking audiences, we used the same tactics and leaned into Spanish-speaking news partners as platforms to run paid media. 

Reliable Information

When we began the DAYxDAY campaign, one of the primary goals was to cut through the noise and provide consistent, reliable information that was rooted in science and verified to be a best practice for community health. While framing the content pillars, we asked ourselves “what kind of information would be most helpful to our target audiences?” After ample deliberation, we chose five pillars under which we’d publish and contextualize our website content: News, Tips, Community, Well-Being, and Health Experts. Each of these pillars represented a different scope of information that could help inform and uplift our community in the face of disinformation and the harsh reality of life-altering quarantine protocols.

To fill up our content buckets, we reached out to community health and news partners to provide a steady stream of topical, up-to-date information. In addition to partner content, we created organic articles that were based on thoroughly researched subjects that were reinforced with trending search traffic.

Adjusting in Real-Time

Navigating the ever-changing world of covid-19 – from evolving health protocols, to shifting rules on social media and search engines, and understanding new clinical study updates – made this campaign particularly challenging. However, there was nothing more difficult than adjusting to the shifting regulations on social media to boost our campaign messaging. Shifting social regulations meant that we had to be nimble and responsive to the latest updates and incorporate the ambiguity of the restrictions into our paid and social media strategies. Throughout campaign implementation, we had to adjust our boosted messages so they adhered to the latest regulations on that specific platform, but still communicated the points we needed to convey.

Results

  • Over 12.4 million media impressions served
  • Over 1.4 million people reached through social channels
  • Over 166,800 pageviews registered
  • Over 118,400 unique website visitors
  • Email, display advertising and paid social media performance each greatly exceeded industry benchmarks

Audience Engagement isn’t Rocket Science

Providing useful content to a receptive audience will almost always return quantifiable gains. Through careful market research and detailed audience targeting, we were able to exceed the healthcare industry benchmarks for each of our analytical KPIs. Through it all, we not only exceeded expectations, but we also held true to the goal of empowering an informed, optimistic response among the North Texas region. When your mission is to Make Life Better, these results make us all humbled to play a role in changing minds. 

Building a brand from the ground up is an exciting opportunity and challenge for our team. In this case, the branding needed to reflect the ground, the air, and the ether. The Medical Innovation District (MID) in Fort Worth started out as a disconnected/amorphous physical footprint, an energetic entrepreneurial community, a rich density of medical professionals and patients, and a vision for the future. Altogether, Medical Innovation District was a vision of possibility, so, when they called Schaefer to help name and brand the organization, we entered into an intense discovery process to help clearly communicate the purpose of this local innovation hub. But, can you build a brand from a vision and a mindset? 

Goals

  • Generate awareness for Fort Worth’s Medical Innovation District by highlighting differentiation and a cohesive identity and opportunity in Fort Worth
  • Name, brand and launch district to cultivate direct conversations with key targets and attract them to Fort Worth

Strategy

From the outset, we wanted to find a path that spoke to entrepreneurs and innovative brands, striking the right balance to attract established healthcare companies and industry disruptors alike. We began strategizing the branding and positioning for MID by holding in-depth interviews with the internal stakeholders of the organization and community. We also wanted to incorporate the proximity to a dense healthcare employment cluster as a benefit of the location, which helps nurture local collaboration. Establishing the MID as a place where people collaborate and innovate solutions was critical to the final branding and positioning.

Refining the Brand Name to Reflect Purpose

When approaching any brand identity, it’s important to carefully listen to the client so that their industry-specific knowledge is pulled through to the final product. For the Medical Innovation District, that meant refining their purpose and clearly communicating it with a unique name. Specifically, the client wanted to get away from the term “Innovation,” which is oversaturated in the marketplace and does not illustrate the process behind innovation, which is the result of constant iteration. So, we looked at the core of innovation and saw a path to an answer: iteration, which is the process of constant improvement and at the heart of innovation. 

We chose iter8 as the new brand name for MID. iter8 directly reflects the process by which ground-breaking ideas are created: through constant testing, fine-tuning and evolution. Furthermore, the name more accurately communicates the purpose of iter8’s position in the market and community.

Marrying Entrepreneurship and Healthcare

When we began branding the MID, we wanted to focus on bringing to the foreground the opportunity for entrepreneurial development to attract healthcare anchors, which are at the center of medical innovation. Positioning iter8 in Fort Worth as a place to pioneer new ideas in healthcare is a natural fit because Fort Worth is a place that pushes the boundaries of what is possible and creates new doors to open. At the heart of Fort Worth and iter8 is a maverick’s spirit, so we positioned iter8 as a brand that creates new frontiers in the healthcare landscape by fostering innovative ideas powered by community and collaboration. 

Results

  • Unique and ownable name and identity
  • New launch advertising materials and website to centralize contact with key targets

Make Life Better

You can build a brand from a clear vision of the future and an innovative mindset. For iter8, that mindset will enrich the community of Fort Worth for generations to come. Fort Worth is our home, and it is rewarding to work for a client that helps position the city as a leader in local innovation and drive creative and scientific thought leaders to our great city.

Union Park by Hillwood Communities wanted to differentiate themselves on the market to stand out with their target audience to attract more homebuyers. To do this, we dove into their existing creative suite and focused on the key elements that separated Union Park from its competitors.

Goals:

  • Evolve the creative campaign by leveraging the approved positioning and key messages
  • Update Union Park’s visual identity to reflect the vibrancy of the brand
  • Craft messaging that would stand out against competitors and stand the test of time

Differentiated Positioning

Union Park is an extraordinary place, created to celebrate the vibrancy of life in Little Elm, Texas. The community itself is dynamic, energetic, and designed for people that pour themselves into an active lifestyle. When we were discovering the market differentiators for Union Park, we wanted to focus on the active lifestyle that the community offers its homeowners. We did that by highlighting the vibrancy of the neighborhood and showcasing the vast array of activities that are available to Union Park residents. Whether it’s scavenger-hunting at Central Park or cooling off at the Cove, there are plenty of opportunities for Union Park homeowners to enjoy community and camaraderie outdoors.

Updated Messaging

When creating the campaign messaging, it was important that we capture the essence and differentiators that separate Union Park from other communities. We also needed to communicate that the variety of home prices make it an incredibly accessible neighborhood for nearly any budget and every phase of life. Furthermore, we needed to highlight that Union Park is a Live Smart™ community, developed around Hillwood’s five enduring principles: connection, well-being, enrichment, stewardship, and convenience. Each of these principles was considered when the spaces at Union Park were designed, so communicating them was crucial to accurately market the community. We created new messaging and positioning to communicate the vibrant lifestyle that Union Park offers. 

Some of our updated messaging featured copy-points: “Live Vibrantly Every Day; Here, Is The Most Vibrant Way to Live; Inspired Living for Every Phase.” Each line touches on the inspired living that helps define Union Park and resonates with new homebuyers.

Building A Comprehensive Creative Suite

When expanding and updating a brand platform, it’s important to reinforce the positioning while improving brand engagement. For Union Park, we worked within the brand platform to update the look and feel of the brand identity but ensured that each iteration still comfortably fit within the brand standards.

The updated creative suite encapsulates the essence of Union Park and evokes the same excitement for vibrant living as a walk through any of the community’s parks. It’s light and green and active and incorporates some of the natural elements that surround Union Park. The result is a fluid identity system and brand mark that accurately communicates the brand’s purpose and place, and is usable on anything from signage to web banners.

Results

  • Developed a comprehensive creative suite that is flexible across mediums
  • Updated campaign messaging to better connect with target audiences
  • Won Best Overall Advertising Program at 2020 McSam Awards
  • Created a new website focused on engagement and conversion
  • Created award-winning signage used at Union Park
  • Greatly exceeded YTD home sales goals
November 19, 2020

Community without compromise

Connecting with the right target audience is crucial to marketing success. Bluewood is a Hillwood community filled with possibilities. Known for its unique ability to balance comfort and adventure, Bluewood wanted to attract a new wave of home buyers entering the market by crafting a campaign message that rang true to its target buyer and its inspiration. So, we evolved their existing messaging to create a new campaign that attracted young, vibrant shoppers, and cemented the Bluewood brand as a community without compromise. When we set out to create updated messaging, we aimed for something that reinforced the brand’s positioning and communicated the energy of Celina and the personality and vision of the community. Celina is a city that is rapidly growing and offers new residents fantastic potential as an up-and-coming community.

We landed on “Meet the Community as Bright and Bold as You Are,” intentionally focusing our position around the experience, to better paint a picture of the lifestyle Bluewood promises. The message immediately identifies with the younger homebuyer looking to buy a home in an up-and-coming community that just happens to be situated in one of Texas’ fastest-growing cities. It nods to a growing community emboldened by the people who live there. The updated message reflects the optimism of the area, the community and our target audience to position itself right alongside this exciting stage of life – bright and bold.

November 13, 2020

River & Blues

River & Blues Fest is a new kind of music festival, featuring a uniquely American lineup of longtime favorites and soulful up-and-comers in country and blues. Launching its inaugural year right here in the heart of Fort Worth, the River & Blues Festival needed a dynamic identity system to engage and attract music lovers and artists alike across a primarily digital landscape.  

Launching a New Identity System

Drawing inspiration from the rhythm and the river, we turned up the volume on the ethos and the experience to allow the vision of the festival to come through. The result was a scalable brand identity that represented the heart and soul of the music itself—a perfect balance of grit and a good time. With so many moving pieces, it was important to create a system that easily blended photography, motion and print elements, but most importantly position this instantly legendary weekend as one that can’t be missed.

Connecting with Our Target Audience

Launching any new brand can be a challenge and making noise about a music festival can be especially challenging in Texas. But, a clearly defined vision and a true one-of-a-kind blend of country and blues music is a fantastic experience to position. To connect with a wide audience, we needed to communicate that the River & Blues Festival is not just a blues festival, but also a country music festival, which appeals to a wide range of local music fans spanning demographics. Furthermore, we wanted to bring the river through in our messaging and identity to illustrate that the festival takes place on the Trinity River at Panther Island Pavilion in the heart of Fort Worth. 

Concert Going amid Covid-19

“The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that anything can happen. But, what no one accounted for, or could have foreseen, was the covid-19 pandemic. River & Blues Fest was meant to make its first-ever debut during the summer festival season. As it turns out, that fell right during the height of the coronavirus lockdowns. Like other big-name events, we had to shift from a traditionally communal live music experience to a socially-distant, socially-conscious festival. Which meant more than a new date to ensure the people attending, playing and working not only felt safe but participated responsibly. In addition to new precautions we needed to communicate that, while the experience might look different, the music still sounds the same. And after all this time apart, maybe sweeter. 

Results:

  • Total digital campaign resulted in more than 3.2 million impressions and an above-average CTR
  • New website generated 82.5K pageviews, 50.2K sessions and 42.4K new users
  • Brought a new brand to market and established their brand foundation
  • Created a flexible brand identity system
  • Partnered with artists to cross-promote on social and traditional radio
  • Built an email database from no subscribers to just over 1,500

Make Life Better

Artists and the people who support them rely on gigs and performances to make a living. River & Blues Fest is, without a doubt, going to be a good time. But it’s also going to prop up an art form, a nearly forgotten genre that survives with every chord. More so, it supports the artists, especially the grassroots, independent and often local musicians still waiting to be discovered. We are so proud to work with a client that uplifts the local creative community and is flexible enough to adjust their brand-new music festival to be safe and socially distant. Bringing people together safely is important now more than ever.