Schaefer Advertising Co.

Client Services

Turning Gratitude Into a Memorable Experience

Hoedown for Heroes is an annual celebration benefiting the American Warrior Association, dedicated to honoring the service and sacrifice of veterans, first responders, and their families. The event brings together the community for a night of heartfelt appreciation, lively entertainment, and Western charm.

Schaefer was tasked with creating a Save the Date and invitation suite that would capture the heart of the event—fun, festive, and full of gratitude—while maintaining a sense of authenticity and pride. The goal was to design a piece that didn’t just inform but embodied the Hoedown’s spirit: honoring heroes with style, sincerity, and a touch of Texas flair.

Hoedown For Heroes Logo

Bringing the Western Spirit to Life Through Design

To convey the event’s energy and authenticity, Schaefer looked to classic Western motifs and tactile design details. The team wanted to create an invitation that would feel both timeless and unexpected—something guests would want to keep long after the event.

Drawing inspiration from the craftsmanship of cowboy gear, the design centered around a boot-shaped invitation, complete with embossed detailing and a brass grommet that allowed multiple layers to fan open. Each insert—ranging in shades of cream, denim blue, and saddle brown—was shaped to match the outer form, creating a cohesive and interactive experience.

Complementing the invitation was a Save the Date card that introduced the event’s theme with a rope-inspired frame and bold Western typography. The restrained color palette and clean composition balanced rustic authenticity with modern sophistication, giving the suite a warm, welcoming tone that reflected the heart of the cause.

Hoedown For Heroes Invitation

A Bold Vision Brought to Life

The final invitation suite blended handcrafted charm with refined precision. Six die-cut cowboy boots featured debossed details, echoing the texture of real leather. Layered interior boots carried event information, sponsorship opportunities, and donor acknowledgments.

Connected by a brass grommet, each boot slides out in an upward motion, implying the idea of dancing and further emphasizing the “hoedown” theme. A coordinating detail card with subtle illustrations and classic western iconography added another dimension of storytelling. The tactile feel of cotton paper and debossed accents, paired with thoughtful layering gave recipients a true sense of quality and care.

Hoedown for Heroes Boot Invitation Closeup

Beyond an Invitation—A Tribute to Heroes

From the moment recipients opened the envelope, the invitation set the tone for a celebration rooted in community and gratitude. Every detail, from the boot silhouette to the layered textures, was designed to honor the heroes the event supports.

The invitation didn’t just announce a date; it invited connection. It reminded guests why they gather each year—to stand together, celebrate service, and say thank you. Schaefer’s dedication to storytelling, design craft, and emotional resonance transformed the Hoedown for Heroes invitation into something far more than a print piece, it became a heartfelt tribute and a keepsake worthy of the people it honors.

Hoedown for Heroes Invitation
Invitation Opening for Hoedown for Heroes

Situation

For the first time in over 20 years, Bank of Texas expanded into a completely new market: San Antonio. With a flagship location opening in an affluent neighborhood, the challenge was clear. How do you introduce an unknown bank to a loyal, established community and inspire them to switch?

Goals 

  • Build brand awareness and establish trust and credibility 
  • Drive consumer growth in checking/savings accounts, youth accounts, mortgage loans, and wealth management
  • Attract small business clients with competitive banking tools and personalized support
  • Win market share from competitors by promoting the benefits of switching to a more personalized, community-focused bank
  • Promote product offers to strengthen launch messaging and encourage customer acquisition 

Strategy

The launch campaign focused on creating local relevance, building trust, and demonstrating the value of personalized banking services to different target segments. Schaefer’s strategy was to highlight Bank of Texas’s personalized approach, offering tailored banking solutions that go beyond transactional services—fostering long-term relationships. An integrated approach was planned with digital and traditional media and community partnerships to saturate the local market and build awareness across different touchpoints.

This strategy ensures Bank of Texas is perceived as both a community-centric and financially robust bank, capable of serving diverse customer needs.

Solution

We developed a two-phase campaign strategy, beginning with a teaser phase to build anticipation, followed by a launch phase to drive awareness and encourage action. The campaign featured tailored creative for distinct audience segments, including adult consumers, Hispanic families, youth, and small businesses, highlighting Bank of Texas’s commitment to personalized services, financial stability, and strong community connections. The campaign utilized a diverse mix of media channels—OOH, digital (search, display, paid social), local publications, email, and direct mail—to ensure broad visibility and engagement with key offerings such as checking accounts, business banking, mortgages, and youth & college student accounts, with accompanying San Antonio market welcome offers. Strategic messaging, including slogans like “Ready, Set, Grow” and “Life Happens Here,” was crafted to resonate with varying consumer needs while reinforcing the brand’s commitment to relationship-driven, community-focused banking. This approach aimed to build brand awareness, establish trust, and inspire local consumers to consider Bank of Texas for both personal and business banking solutions.

Bank of Texas San Antonio direct mail
Bank of Texas San Antonio print media

Results:

  • $5.5MM in deposits generated within the first six months
  • 281 new accounts opened
  • 7.5 million impressions delivered across digital and print channels
  • 50K+ ad clicks and 40K landing page visits with a 23.18% engagement rate
  • Paid Search achieved a 78.4% engagement rate and 29.6% CTR on branded keywords
Bank of Texas San Antonio out of home

Community Involvement

To celebrate our connection to the San Antonio community, we joined in on one of the city’s most beloved traditions—Fiesta. We designed a custom Bank of Texas Fiesta medal, honoring the colorful spirit of the festival and inviting locals to stop by, say hello, and add to their collection. It was a small token with a big impact, reinforcing the Bank of Texas commitment to showing up for the city in ways that matter—culturally and authentically.

Bank of Texas San Antonio Fiesta pin
Bank of Texas San Antonio Fiesta pin step and repeat

Summary

By crafting a targeted, two-phase campaign, we successfully introduced Bank of Texas to the San Antonio market, building awareness and trust with key local audiences. Through tailored messaging and strategic media placements, the campaign emphasized the bank’s commitment to personalized services, financial stability, and strong community ties. This case study exemplifies Schaefer’s ability to create compelling, audience-centric marketing solutions that drive both brand recognition and consumer action. By engaging diverse segments—adults, Hispanic families, youth, and small businesses—we helped position Bank of Texas as a trusted, community-focused financial partner in San Antonio.

Breathing New Life Into a Holiday Tradition

Every holiday season, the Fort Worth Zoo gives people two ways to give something more meaningful— 1) memberships that unlock a year of Zoo adventures and 2) adoption packages that support the care and feeding of Zoo animals. But keeping the campaign fresh, relevant, and exciting year after year—while still driving results—is no small feat. In 2024, the Zoo leaned on Schaefer once again to make that magic happen, and this time, we focused even more on the impact behind every gift.

Fort Worth Zoo Holiday Mobile

Rooted in Purpose, Refined by Data

We took a more mission-driven approach, focusing on the deeper impact of each gift. With the campaign headline “Share the Wonder, Support the Wild,” we highlighted the joy of giving and the tangible support each purchase contributes to the Zoo’s conservation efforts.

To reach more high-intent gift-givers, we employed a full funnel media plan, including OOH, paid search, paid social, email, display, and publication placements, while layering in new strategy — including, but not limited to:

  • Addressable geofencing to target households based on census and demographic data
  • An extra Cyber Monday email to tap into deal-seeking holiday shoppers
  • Mid-campaign budget and media optimizations to boost performance 
Fort Worth Zoo Holiday Out of Home

Making the Mission Tangible

We led with gifted memberships as the hero offer, positioning animal adoptions as the cherry on top — complete with an animal plush and coloring kit. Creative assets leaned into emotion and mission, from dynamic carousel ads to emails that reinforced the dual benefit of every gift.

Behind the scenes, we monitored performance daily and weren’t afraid to adjust in real-time. When we saw a dip mid-flight, we reallocated dollars, refreshed messaging, and fine-tuned our media approach to finish strong.

Fort Worth Zoo Holiday Web

Impactful Messaging, Strong Results

Ultimately, the campaign rallied to deliver big:

  • Gift membership sales exceeded goal by 13%
  • 4% YoY revenue increase
  • 283K+ clicks and 9.7% CTR across all channels—well above industry benchmarks
  • Meta carousel ads drove 1.17M impressions, 14.5K clicks, and 14.7K engagements

At Schaefer, we like to stay nimble and take a hands-on approach to managing media campaigns. And with this Holiday campaign, our team made fast, strategic adjustments that pushed the campaign across the finish line—and then some.

Fort Worth Zoo Holiday E-mail

An Unparalleled Sellout for Zoo Run 2025

For the first time in Zoo Run history, the event sold out before the early bird deadline—an unprecedented achievement that highlighted the power of creative storytelling and strategic media execution. Zoo Run is a beloved annual event that brings families and the community together for a fun and unique experience, and this year, Schaefer was tasked with generating results that were bigger and better than ever. The challenge was to not only maintain strong engagement but to expand the event’s reach beyond typical Zoo attendees of families and children, drawing in audiences like millennials and Gen Z.

Blending Nostalgia with Modern Appeal

Schaefer developed creative that embraced a nostalgic, vintage-inspired look—featuring hand-drawn illustrations of iconic Zoo animals seen along the race path. The campaign’s warm color palette of cream, forest green, and pops of orange created a visually striking identity that stood out across all platforms. The tagline and pun, “At Run With Nature,” tied everything together, reinforcing the event’s unique charm and appeal.

Executing a Full-Funnel Media Approach

To ensure the message resonated with the right audiences, we executed a full-funnel media approach, leveraging out-of-home placements, paid search, paid social, email, text, streaming video, and local publication advertising. By starting the campaign earlier than in previous years, we maximized visibility and engagement right from the start.

Capturing Attention and Driving Engagement

The campaign struck a chord with families, fitness enthusiasts, and younger audiences alike. The nostalgic yet fresh creative direction resonated with attendees, while our precisely targeted media strategy guided users seamlessly from awareness to registration. The results? A historic sellout and an overwhelming response from the community. Even more, over 2,000 people indicated via a form on the website that they would have signed up if spots had still been available. 

Unprecedented Demand and Community Excitement

  • Sold out before the early bird deadline—a first in Zoo Run history!
  • 118% to goal for revenue
  • 48% increase YOY in landing page visits 
  • +13% increase YOY in Paid Search clicks, with a 43% CTR 
  • 3.24M impressions on Paid Social, with a +63% YoY increase in clicks

Pushing Boundaries Year After Year

Zoo Run 2025 wasn’t just another successful event—it was a record-breaking one. Year after year, Schaefer finds new ways to elevate the campaign, keeping it fresh, engaging, and more effective than ever. After selling out for the first time in 2024, we took it even further in 2025—proving that a bold creative vision and a smart, strategic media plan can drive unparalleled results.

Creative That Captivates, Strategy That Delivers

By blending a standout, retro-inspired creative approach with a meticulously executed media strategy, Schaefer helped Zoo Run achieve its most successful year in 26 years. The combination of visually compelling design and precision targeting didn’t just fill the race—it created excitement, expanded the audience, and set a new benchmark for future events.

Featured Case Study

Racing to New Heights: Historic First Time Sell-Out for Zoo Run 2024

Zoo Run 2024 marked the event’s 25th anniversary, and it was the perfect moment for a creative campaign to bring the excitement of this beloved event to life. The main goals included driving awareness and filling registration spots, with an…
Read More

Bringing a Historic Fort Worth Attraction into the Future

The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History unveiled its newly transformed Jane & John Justin Foundation Omni Theater in December 2024, featuring the world’s largest LED dome ever installed in a museum. This state-of-the-art theater boasts an 8K LED display, offering unparalleled visual clarity and a truly immersive experience. The challenge? Generating excitement and ticket sales for a venue that was still under construction, making it difficult to showcase its groundbreaking features to potential visitors. The Museum enlisted Schaefer’s expertise to craft a compelling campaign that would not only captivate audiences, but drive ticket sales ahead of the grand opening.

Fort Worth Museum of Science & History Omni Theater

A Full-Service Approach to a Flawless Launch

From strategic vision to effective execution, Schaefer provided:

  • Strategy: Developing a go-to-market plan that ensured maximum awareness, engagement, and conversions.
  • Creative: Concept development, art direction, copywriting, and design to capture the Omni’s brand new, immersive experience.
  • Media: Media planning, buying, execution, and real-time analytics to optimize performance throughout the campaign.
Fort Worth Omni Theater Advertising

Creating a Vision for an Unseen Experience

We were challenged with making viewers feel the thrill of the Omni Theater before they could experience it in person. Using AI-generated imagery, we crafted visuals that transported audiences into the other worlds. Paired with compelling headlines like “Don’t Just Watch. Discover.,” we built anticipation and excitement in the market.

Fort Worth Omni Theater Instagram Stories

Blending Digital Precision with Emotional Storytelling

Through a carefully orchestrated media mix, targeting DFW and outer drive-markets in Texas, we generated strong awareness before ticket sales launched in November. Our full funnel approach combined paid search, social, and targeted publication partnerships in the arts, culture, and family entertainment space to create excitement and drive ticket sales prior to the opening.

Fort Worth Omni Theater Static Ads

Big Impact, Bigger Results

  • In just over a month, we drove $168,249 in online ticket sales.
  • Of the total revenue, 39% was driven directly from paid media.
  • We surpassed Paid Search benchmarks, with 24% higher CTR and a $1.25 lower CPC than the industry standard.
  • Paid Social generated 4 million impressions, driving massive awareness for the duration of the 4-month campaign.
  • Publication e-blasts drove open rates as high as 62%, click-through rates up to 20%, and 26K+ clicks across media placements.
Fort Worth Museum of Science & History Omni Theater Social Carousels

More Than Marketing—Creating a Movement

At Schaefer, we don’t just market attractions—we create anticipation, showcase experiences, and drive results. The success of the Jane & John Justin Omni Theater launch proves that a strong blend of storytelling, media strategy, and bold creative can turn any challenge into a success.

January 13, 2025

Members Zoo More

A Cornerstone of the Fort Worth Zoo

Membership is one of the backbones of the Fort Worth Zoo—fueling conservation efforts, enriching guest experiences, and ensuring the Zoo remains a world-class attraction. But driving membership growth isn’t just about listing perks; it’s about creating an emotional connection that makes people want to be part of something bigger.

At the start of 2024, Schaefer Advertising launched new creative for the Membership campaign designed to increase awareness, drive engagement, and boost both new memberships and renewals. With ambitious goals and a highly competitive digital landscape, the challenge was clear: how do we communicate the full value of a membership in a way that is concise, eye-catching, and actionable?

Compelling Creative Built for Every Platform

To captivate potential members, we developed a simple yet powerful creative concept: Members Zoo More. This central idea wasn’t just a tagline—it was a clever turn of phrase that encapsulated all the incredible benefits of membership in a way that was fresh, fun, and deeply engaging. Across different channels, we brought the message to life:

  • Members Zoo More for friends – emphasizing guest passes and memory making.
  • Members Zoo More across the U.S. – showcasing benefits you can find at other zoos nationwide.
  • Members Zoo More for conservation – reinforcing the direct impact members have on wildlife conservation.

The campaign was designed to be as dynamic as the Zoo itself, using bold colors, playful typography, and stunning imagery that immersed audiences in the marvel of membership. But great creative is only half the battle. To ensure maximum reach and impact, we deployed a full-funnel media strategy, spanning:

  • Paid search
  • Paid social
  • Streaming video
  • Display 
  • Email marketing
  • Print and out-of-home 
  • Publication-sponsored content

We also took a strategic, always-on approach—adjusting our flighting throughout the year based on seasonal trends, to reach potential members when they were most likely to convert.

Stronger Engagement, More Members, Bigger Impact

The campaign delivered measurable, year-over-year (YoY) success:

  • 287% increase in page sessions
  • 198% increase in new users 
  • 8.1 million impressions from paid social (61% increase YoY)
  • 4% increase YoY in total members 
  • 6% increase YoY in total membership revenue 

Perhaps the most telling stat? New users to the Zoo’s membership page skyrocketed from 452 in December 2023 to 4,454 in January 2024. A clear indicator that our fresh creative and strategic media approach was hitting the mark.

At Schaefer, we don’t just create ads—we craft campaigns that move the needle. By combining bold, audience-driven creative with a media strategy designed for impact, we helped the Fort Worth Zoo turn awareness into action. The Members Zoo More campaign is proof that when storytelling meets strategy, the results speak for themselves. 

Celebrating a Milestone: The 25th Annual Zoo Run

Zoo Run 2024 marked the event’s 25th anniversary, and it was the perfect moment for a creative campaign to bring the excitement of this beloved event to life. The main goals included driving awareness and filling registration spots, with an underlying objective of surpassing the prior year’s results.

Engaging Audiences with Vibrant Creative and Strategic Media

Schaefer crafted an upbeat and eye-catching campaign with the headline “Zig-Zag Through the Zoo.” The creative design used playful, illustrated animals and neon yellow lines to add a sense of movement and energy. Even more, the creative highlighted the Zoo’s newly returned lions, which were a key feature of the race route. Our media strategy included a full-funnel approach to guide users from learning about the event to signing up. We engaged audiences through a mix of paid search, paid social, email, text messages, streaming video, OOH, and display ads—ensuring we reached them at every stage of their journey.

Record-Breaking Success: A Sell-Out Event and Impressive Growth

  • Zoo Run SOLD OUT for the first time in its 25-year history!
  • Registration quantity was 152% to goal, and revenue reached 141% of the goal.
  • Paid search traffic skyrocketed, driving 5x more clicks than the prior year, with an impressive 44% CTR—a 41% increase.
  • Social media engagement soared with 3.8 million impressions and more than 142K total post engagements.
  • Email strategy helped boost engagement with the highest click-through rates seen in years.

Turning a Tradition into a Historic Achievement

Schaefer’s creative vision and strategic approach helped make Zoo Run 2024 a resounding success, not only meeting but exceeding all expectations. By blending bold, fun visuals with highly targeted media, we helped make the 25th anniversary a celebration to remember—turning this beloved event into a sell-out success and solidifying it as one of Fort Worth’s favorite family traditions.

April 16, 2024

A Membership to the Arts

Photo by Robert LaPrelle

Schaefer is a proud partner of the Kimbell Art Museum, having supported the museum in individual ticket sales and museum memberships for five years. Throughout our time together, we have led project-based initiatives like premiering the exhibitions to the community through unique, hands-on activations. We also support all digital media strategy and management throughout the year. 

A benefit to a long-term partner includes the compounded learnings that come from each year and every test. As we all know, the digital landscape is ever-evolving, and it is crucial for your campaigns to grow alongside it. 

Photo by Nic Lehoux

What’s Different?

As we closed out 2023, we reflected on what worked and what didn’t. The Kimbell offers museum-goers new exhibitions each year, and while each exhibition differs from one another, the timing stays somewhat regular. This allows us to test media strategies that overlap campaigns, such as brand or membership, with the peak season featuring new exhibitions. In 2023, we tested the use of higher awareness mediums combined with campaign overlap and tactic flighting to compare against 2022’s results.

We found that due to the name recognition of both the Kimbell and the renowned artists featured in the special exhibitions, awareness was less important in our target market. Therefore, we shifted our focus to conversion-based tactics for 2024. However, we also found that having our brand and membership campaigns ‘always on’ allowed for just the right amount of awareness to boost sales year over year. We applied these learnings to our 2024 plan and are eager to track performance as the year progresses.

Photo by Nic Lehoux

What Worked?

Another benefit of a partner like Schaefer is that we are always optimizing mid-campaign. We’re not waiting for end-of-year to review the campaigns, but constantly applying best practices and learnings to our live campaigns. Because of this, we saw significant growth and positive results in 2023: 

  • 180% website revenue growth YoY
  • 247% increase in revenue directly attributed to paid media
  • Over $8:1 annual return on ad spend (ROAS)

*Header photo by Nic Lehoux

Using BigFoot to tease a big reveal. 

Situation 

Within the eyecare industry, the idea of interventional glaucoma treatment has been categorized as an elusive myth for years. ViaLase developed a game-changing system designed to leverage two proven technologies to create a new, non-invasive approach to glaucoma. When this new system is approved by regulatory agencies, the myth will finally become a reality. Therefore, our client needed a campaign that would create attention and support a successful launch of the new concept.

Goals

  • Develop materials needed for a successful brand launch
  • Develop a highly visible campaign that would cut through the clutter of a crowded market 
  • Rapidly generate brand awareness
  • Explain the fundamental technology behind the device
  • Solicit interest and inquiries from qualified leads
  • Provide meaningful measurements of the campaign results

Strategy

Schaefer Advertising responded with a showstopping, attention-grabbing campaign that used teaser imagery of a Sasquatch, or “BigFoot”, creature to convey that the “mythical creature” was finally here – and real. The sheer uniqueness of the concept was a huge and dramatic departure from the cold, clinical ads embraced by other players in the industry. 

Solution

An integrated campaign was launched that included paid search, organic social, email, and digital display on well-known industry publications and websites. Each medium enabled the client to tell its story and document the response rates as viewers clicked through for downloads, demos and landing-page visits. 

Vialase yeti display ads

Results

By leveraging paid search and strategically-chosen publication placements (such as newsletters, e-blasts, ROS banners, and sponsored social posts), the campaign achieved noteworthy results within the first three months of launch.

  • Website tracking identified 98% new site visits, with an impressive 53% engagement rate
  • High clickthrough rates 
  • And, most importantly, awareness started with a bang, with healthy responses from an elite and highly-qualified audience of eyecare and glaucoma specialists
Sessions

15,864

New Users

13,771

Pageviews

17,130

Engagement Rate

53.42%

Vialase yeti print ads

Summary 

The launch campaign accomplished its primary goal of driving brand awareness among surgeons for ViaLase and its innovative design.  And, in addition to gaining insights into paid search performance, the client began to forge strategic partnerships with leading industry publications. The geographic spread and engagement metrics highlight the campaign’s effectiveness in reaching a qualified audience, setting a strong foundation for future marketing efforts.

Overall, the campaign was another example of Schaefer’s ability to combine solid knowledge of healthcare markets and attention-grabbing creativity to tell a cohesive and relevant brand story.

The Nutcracker ballet is a timeless performance that has delighted audiences for more than a century. Over time, it has cemented its place as a beloved holiday tradition and one of the most popular ballets of all time. Each holiday season, Texas Ballet Theater (TBT) stages 35 performances between Dallas and Fort Worth, which sets the tone for ticket sales throughout the season. For some ballet companies, sales from The Nutcracker make up more than 85% of a company’s ticket revenue for the season. While its popularity makes it easy to sell performance tickets, The Nutcracker also creates a unique opportunity to attract a broader audience to experience the art of ballet. 

As the agency of record for the past six years, Schaefer Advertising has helped TBT increase ticket sales year-over-year to make The Nutcracker a revenue powerhouse. Fresh off a record-setting year in 2022, TBT increased its goals for 2023. 

To meet the new goal, our team acted quickly to implement new optimizations that leveraged our current campaign assets, made strategic recommendations for TBT-owned channels, and proposed a few incremental options to get in front of new attendees. A peak-valley-peak approach to paid search led to higher revenue for lower costs, making paid search a key driver of conversion revenue. The coordinated email marketing campaign launched in late November ranked second in revenue generation. 

Texas Ballet Theater Nutcracker Assets

Results

The Nutcracker campaign concluded its 2023 run with record-breaking revenue and ticket sales, surpassing each previous year’s revenue and 2023 goals for both Dallas and Fort Worth. Total revenue closed at 120% to goal, with online sales specifically growing revenue by over 30% from last year.

2023 Goals

Revenue: $2,639,534
Ticket Sales: 36,080

2023 Actuals

Revenue: $3,237,384
Tickets Purchased: 47,056 

Campaign ROI

12:1

Texas Ballet Theater Social Media Assets
Texas Ballet Theater Display Posters
Texas Ballet Theater Nutcracker Website
Texas Ballet Theater Nutcracker Website Full Size
Schaefer Advertising Co. | Ft. Worth, Texas
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