Schaefer Advertising Co.

Creative

December 20, 2019

The gift of presence

Meaningful moments happen face-to-face, not when scrolling through your Instagram feed, or diving into the latest trending topic on Twitter. Unfortunately, facilitating those moments can be incredibly difficult – for everybody. Luckily, the holiday season gives us a chance to take a break from our regular routines to reset with the people that we love most and enjoy priceless time together. This year, as you’re making your way to your parent’s place, or visiting family in far-off places, we want to encourage you to bring something to the table beyond just your phone and create meaningful memories with your loved ones.

“Be Present” Schaefer Playing Cards

Every year, the Schaefer team creates a Christmas card to help celebrate the season and share some holiday cheer. But, the thing about cheer is that it’s an infectious feeling that can’t be contained into one card. In the spirit of spreading cheer, we approached the 2019 Christmas card asking ourselves “how can we make a card shareable?” So, we created a deck of playing cards that encourage people to gather their family and friends and play some card games together.

Inside The Package

Each box of cards comes in a small package that is marked with a Schaefer acorn sticker. Inside the package is an insert that explains the intent of our playing cards: to be fully present in the moments you share with your loved ones. The reverse side of the insert contains the rules and instructions on how to play four classic card games: Crazy Eights, Slap Jack, Squirrel, and Rolling Stone.
The box of cards is adorned with the classic Schaefer squirrel, which is also shaped into the letter “S.” The back of the deck instructs people to “Be Present,” and encourages them to take the cards wherever they travel this holiday season.

The cards themselves have been designed to represent different personalities found inside the halls if Schaefer Advertising. You’ll find the detailed designer checking her fountain pen for ink; the meticulous production manager measuring projects with his many rulers; the Jack of accounts, staying in constant contact with the client; the developer magically riding his unicycle and balancing his laptop upon his knees amidst a flurry of flying papers; and you’ll also spot the art director conceptualizing the next great idea, creating light and energy with his fingertips.

Each of these archetypes are loose interpretations of some of the very real people that make Schaefer the magical place that it is today.

Making Life Better

At Schaefer, we come to work every day and use fun as a tool to explore new creative ideas and create compelling strategies; as a way to connect with our co-workers, break down barriers and discover the best ideas together. We aim to make life better every single day, and we hope that we can use our work to bring joy to others and facilitate more meaningful moments between people. This holiday season, we’re using our Christmas cards to encourage you to put away your phone, gather your loved ones around a table and give them the gift of your presence.

Happy Holidays,
– The Schaefer Team

The Situation

Apps are everywhere and ever-reaching into the little nooks of our lives to improve some aspect of our experience. Want to plan your meals by the cycles of the moon? There’s an app for that. Want to order delivery Thai food without having to speak with someone or exchange cold hard cash? There’s an app for that. Want to have a group light-saber battle with your friends and family and divide the group among Jedi and Sith? You get the idea: from fun to food delivery, apps are diverse and serve a variety of functions. But, there’s a decided lack of apps on the market that support someone in their struggle against acne – until now.

Epiduo® Forte Gel Helps Teens and Their Dermatologists Manage Acne Treatment

Epiduo® Forte Gel (adapalene and benzoyl peroxide), 0.3%/2.5% is a once-a-day prescription topical acne medication with two active ingredients—adapalene and benzoyl peroxide. The powerful combination works together to treat tough acne and help prevent recurring acne from forming by unclogging pores and killing bacteria. Epiduo® Forte Gel had an existing app on the market called “epi-tracker,” but they were in need of a new set of eyes and a complete application refresh that really engaged users and retained their attention to the app. They wanted something that was user-friendly, and an app that partnered with healthcare providers to bring about better products and services.

When acne patients visit their healthcare providers, there is rarely enough time for the patients to become educated on their acne, or how best to treat it. In addition, it is crucial for acne patients to use products as directed to see a change in their condition. So, our app needed to continue to educate patients about their acne and encourage them to maintain their Epiduo Forte treatment plan to best manage their skincare.

Goals

  • Drive new myForte app downloads.
  • Drive consistent user engagement.
  • Educate acne patients about best practices for their skin care.
  • Encourage people to use the app daily to achieve desired results.
  • Make myForte a valuable, reliable resource for acne patients that use Epiduo® Forte Gel.

Approach

Going into the project, we knew that the patients using the myForte app were in a vulnerable state. Living with acne is a very personal battle that can have a powerful, negative impact on those suffering from it. So, we wanted to build an app that supported patients in their pursuit to treat their acne and gave them confidence to take control of their acne.


The Creative

Before kicking off the app, we needed a name. To quote Shakespeare (sorry), “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” While we agree with big Bill, naming a healthcare app can be tricky, mostly because healthcare nomenclature can sometimes be incredibly sterilized and devoid of emotion, but treating acne is not an emotionless battle. We wanted a name that reflected the user’s personal stake in their health and one that empowered them to treat their acne. We ultimately chose “myForte,” which gives the user ownership of their acne and its treatment. It also plays on the word “forte,” which denotes a person’s strength or positive abilities. When added together, “myForte” gives the user confidence that they can treat their acne, and that they’re going to do a great job in the process.

 

One of the biggest hurdles for those battling acne is staying consistent in their treatment, and regularly applying their medication. So, we built an app that gave patients the resources and reminders they need to stay on track to achieve the best results. We developed daily motivational messages that send users motivational messages to keep them engaged with their acne treatment.

All of the positive reminders and tips are paired with illustrations that take place in natural settings for the teen or young adult patient. The illustrations are inclusive of everyone facing acne. It was important to us that we didn’t bombard users with real acne imagery, which can be discouraging to see all the time.

Additionally, we felt that it was important to give users the ability to track their progress, which helps them see their improvement and gives their dermatologist the ability to observe their journey during follow up visits. We built in a calendar function that helps users track when they applied Epiduo® Forte Gel, but also asks them to record how they feel about their skin each time they interact with app. This way, we’re encouraging users to stay engaged with the app and to take time to reflect on their progress.

The split view function of myForte allows users – and their healthcare providers – the ability to measure the patient’s progress against any picture they’ve taken in the app. This small function is incredibly powerful for helping people track their progress and gives their dermatologist a larger view of their total improvement.

The Results

  • Over 87,000 downloads
  • Over 250% increase in app downloads each month
  • 40% User return rate
  • Over 15,000 progress photos captured
  • Over 16,000 feelings recorded
  • Over 100,000 profile attributes collected

Making Life Better

It’s easy for patients dealing with acne to feel downtrodden and made helpless by their skin condition. Often, these people have struggled with acne for years and feel like they’re out of options. When we created this app, we wanted to help patients suffering from acne take ownership and control of their acne treatment. With the myForte app, patients have the education and encouragement they need to confidently tackle their acne with a smile.







October 22, 2019

Succeeding in simplicity

When Sight Sciences approached Schaefer to help launch their new OMNI® Surgical System , we set our eyes on the prize and got to work.

The OMNI Surgical System Breakthrough

The OMNI Surgical System by Sight Sciences is a ground-breaking solution for ophthalmologists that allows them to perform two different procedures on patients who need intervention in the conventional outflow pathway. It also allows surgeons to treat patients who had prior cataract surgery where they couldn’t before. That’s a long way to say, OMNI does something no other device on the market can. Clearly, we were looking forward to the challenge of launching the new OMNI Surgical System.

The Campaign

Devising core brand messaging takes hours of research, strategy, discussion, and countless iterations to finalize a succinct message that cuts through the noise of a competitive space. Ultimately, we selected the core brand message of “Intelligent design meets the proven pathway,” which is a powerful message to ophthalmologists. It speaks to OMNI’s ability to impact 360-degrees of the conventional outflow pathway with one device, which was impossible in prior devices, making the procedure much more convenient.

New Identity

Since OMNI is the next generation of two previous devices, it required a new identity and logo that represented the innovation and elegance of the new and improved OMNI Surgical System.

We created a mark that conveys the functionality of the device and nods to the shape of the eye. The single circle represents the unity of the OMNI device, while the two circles contained within point to the two procedures it empowers surgeons to perform. When added together, the three complete circles illustrate the three points of resistance in the conventional outflow pathway which can be navigated by the new OMNI device.

The Results

Launching a new ophthalmic product is no easy feat, and the Sight Sciences team was looking to make a splash in an extremely competitive landscape. The new OMNI device launched in September of 2018, and because of its quality and utility, quickly gained traction from surgeons.

OMNI released their new device with incredibly lofty sales goals for the first quarter of 2019. We’re proud to have helped them meet their goals sooner than expected, and place the new OMNI device among the top tier of surgical devices for ophthalmologists in record time. Now, the industry is taking notice and key industry thought leaders are singing the praises of the OMNI device, which only solidifies its place as one of the leaders in the market.

Making Life Better

Schaefer Advertising is always searching for ways to use our work to make life better, and it’s clear that the new OMNI surgical system can have a large, positive effect on many people.

Before OMNI, ophthalmologists would have to use multiple devices to achieve the same end goal. OMNI provides an elegant solution for ophthalmologists and its dual-purpose design makes it an excellent option for treating a wider range of patients. OMNI gives surgeons a powerful way to help people address a sight-threatening condition.

Situation

When the Fort Worth Zoo enlisted Schaefer Advertising to help drive people to their new African Savanna exhibit, we couldn’t wait to take the bull by the horns and get to work. Our team was able to come up with a rich campaign that encapsulated the spirit of the exciting new exhibit.

The new African Savanna exhibit was built around a central prairie that houses giraffes, springbok, ostriches and many more species all in one exhibit. A winding path gives visitors a 360-degree view of the animals in the prairie and allows people to get closer to the animals than ever before. This creates a truly unique experience for each visitor and ensures that no two visits are alike. The main attractions are the hippo exhibit that includes above-water and underwater viewing, and the giraffe feeding deck. The new Savanna exhibit features shaded viewing spaces and is surrounded by an aviary that houses a variety of bird species.

Goals

  • Generate awareness of the new African Savanna exhibit
  • Send interested web traffic to the Zoo’s website
  • Drive more ticket sales centered around new exhibits

The Approach

The Get Closer campaign was created to highlight the capabilities of the new African Savanna exhibit and emphasize the intimate experience that the space offers visitors. We needed to clearly communicate that the African Savanna allows patrons the opportunity to get closer to the animals than ever before, and illuminate the giraffe feeding platform, and the hippo exhibit.

Before launching the campaign, our team developed a detailed multimedia strategy that would get more people interested in exploring the African Savanna exhibit. To deploy a fully-integrated campaign, we incorporated digital and broadcast ads alongside more traditional out-of-home ads in the form of pole banners, billboards and bus benches that were placed in strategic positions throughout the metroplex.

The Creative

The campaign featured the two stars of the new exhibit: the underwater hippo viewing area, and the elevated giraffe feeding station. Schaefer developed concepts that communicated the intimacy of the space, while also inviting audiences to look adventure in the eye.

We really enjoy using a medium to its full potential and thinking about new ways to use traditional mediums that command consumer attention. For the Get Closer hippo billboard, we used extensions to maximize the real estate on the board and communicate the capability of the new hippo viewing area. By extending the hippo’s head over the top of the board, we were able to mimic the water line and show viewers the capabilities of the exhibit.

Savanna TV Spot

We chose to use the African Savanna TV spot to expand and support the campaign’s core idea of “getting closer” to the animals and take local families on an authentic African safari right in the heart of Fort Worth. The commercial features children and families getting close enough to the animals to play a small game of “monkey-see, monkey-do,” and interacting with the new exhibit’s animal kingdom. Filming animals is unpredictable, but the “talent” decided that they were ready for their closeups and behaved like seasoned professionals.

The Results

  • The weekend after campaign launch saw a 316% increase in ticket sales compared to the weekend before campaign launch.
  • The 60 days after campaign launch sold greater than 35,000 more tickets than the same 60-day segment in 2017, for a 14.3% increase in ticket sales.
  • Standard media display click-thru-rate 216% higher than industry benchmark of .06%.
  • Rich media display click-thru-rate 46% higher than industry average of 2.25%.

Making Life Better

At Schaefer, we strive to make life better with each project that we take on and in every conversation we have. Going to the Fort Worth Zoo is an incredible experience, and it’s an honor to work with an organization that practices such extensive conservation efforts. Feeding a giraffe or standing eye-to-eye with a hippopotamus is such a joy for people of all ages and working to share that experience with a wider audience was the big cat’s pajamas.

The Latin rule of three “omne trium perfectum” is the principle that good, often great things, occur in threes. The Three Amigos, tricycles, and three-piece suits are just a few examples of great trios, but three’s excellence can extend into the advertising world and shape how brands communicate their key messaging.

The Goal – Engage Sales Team Around Core Brand Messaging

Soolantra Cream is a prescription skin care product for the treatment of rosacea. To improve overall sales, it was important for Soolantra’s sales team to understand the three key benefits Soolantra had over its direct competitor.

The Three Benefits:

1 – Soolantra is dual-purpose and can treat both inflammation and symptoms of rosacea.

2 – Soolantra is superior to direct competitor MetroCream, and proven so by multiple studies.

3 – Soolantra is non-irritating, and highly tolerable.

By memorizing these three benefits, the sales team would be able to better communicate with dermatologists and help get Soolantra to more patients.

Fun is Perfectly Acceptable

We set out with a tall task – creating something memorable that swaths of salespeople could use in their everyday sales routine. We wanted to grab their full attention, and reinforce the three benefits Soolantra has over its direct competitors. So, how do you break through the calamity of the day-to-day, and stand out among numerous notifications and piles of paper? By creating something fun.

The Work

We stretched the idea of fun into three distinct ideas and were expecting Soolantra to select one concept. But sometimes life unfolds in surprising ways, and that’s what happened when the client decided to choose all three concepts.

Tr!o Tr!v!a

Can you name the three types of ice cream used in a sundae? Can you recall the famous, fictional French trio that stood guard for Paris in the 19th century? Tr!0 Tr!v!a encourages the mailer recipients to play along in a fun trivia game that covers famous trios in pop culture. The card game engages people in a light-hearted manner, and asks them to dig into their cultural grey matter to uncover the right answers.

Go For Three

In basketball, there’s no greater glory than hitting a perfect three-point shot from the top of the arc. For the Soolantra sales team, that glory is re-created when they close a sale using the three key sales points in the core messaging. We wanted to play on “going-for-three,” and used the headband as a fun reminder of the core messaging. The tri-fold insert unfolds to display the messages on a paper basketball court. The whole piece is a testament to threes and reminds the team to hit all three sales points.

Soolantra Cream Three-Ring Circus

Just as Soolantra has three key sales points, our three-ring circus has three acts to remind the sales team about its benefits. The dual-purpose action of Soolantra is embodied by twin trapeze-artists, and its highly tolerable nature is represented by a tamed lion. The fact that Soolantra is superior to MetroCream is displayed as a strong man easily lifting a barbell, visually pointing to Soolantra’s strength. The poster was accompanied by Circus Peanuts, which just so happen to fall into Soolantra’s brand colors.

The Soolantra Three-Ring Circus mailer is concise and clearly communicates the core messaging in a light, and engaging way. We were proud when it earned a Gold Addy in 2018.

Celebrating the Brand

Since the target of our mailer were employees of Soolantra, we wanted to find pride in the brand.

Each mailer is sealed in a bright orange, padded envelope. This proclaims to each recipient that the enclosed items are anything but ordinary. The contents of the individual mailers are all branded with Soolantra colors, and each piece reaffirms the core messaging with ease. All of this is a reminder to the person opening the mailer that Soolantra is an exciting brand that is willing to have some fun.

Making Life Better

By incorporating some fun into healthcare messaging, we were able to capture the attention of the Soolantra sales team, and helped them improve on communicating key brand messaging. This allowed them to reach more patients by convincing dermatologists that Soolantra was the superior rosacea treatment.

It’s important that those suffering from the symptoms of rosacea can get therapeutic treatment that is pain-free, and helps them combat the chronic skin disease. We were proud to create a mail campaign that could help our client share their products with more patients, and ultimately help more people to feel confident in their own skin.

May 24, 2019

She Is Near Southside

In the Near Southside, we spend every day celebrating women. As a crucial part of the community, women helped define the purpose, culture and growth of the district. From entrepreneurs to artists and advocates, these female visionaries, past and present, had one thing in common—the spirit of the Near Southside. 

Every year the Southside Shindig brings neighbors and friends together to spotlight the people and milestones reached in the past year. It’s also the single biggest fundraising event for the Near Southside organization and district. 

This year’s theme honored all the women whose ambitions and talents nurtured the community, paving the way for life and work in the Near Southside. All the mentors, mothers and friends we came to know as rebels, risk-takers and rainmakers who showed us then and now what it means to cultivate community.

More than 9 million Americans battle psoriasis every year, and many of them aren’t happy with their treatment options. Fort Worth-based biotech company Nuvothera recognized a market opportunity for a more effective over-the-counter (OTC) psoriasis treatment, so they created a powerful three-step solution that patients could purchase without a prescription. Schaefer was charged with branding the new product and encouraging patient adherence. 

Goals:

  • Drive brand awareness, interest and online purchases among the target audience
  • Generate audience interest
  • Establish trust and credibility of Prosoria
  • Motivate consumers to buy Prosoria online
  • Build customer loyalty and drive repeat purchases

The Situation

Most people that suffer from psoriasis share a general dissatisfaction and skepticism with their current treatments and their over-the-counter options. They are constantly seeking something to treat psoriasis effectively and help them stay clear by preventing flare ups. They’ve tried other solutions – both prescriptions and OTC – but they haven’t found the treatment that’s right for them. 

Enter Prosoria. 

Prosoria contains clinical-strength, natural ingredients that work to effectively relieve the symptoms of psoriasis. Prosoria gives people battling psoriasis the confidence they need to stick with their skincare regimen and reinforces their confidence with an effective treatment for managing their psoriasis that is safe to use every day. It is a safe, effective solution and stands out as a trusted OTC medication.

A Message that Reads as Easy as 1-2-3

We wanted to highlight that Prosoria was an easy-to-use, highly effective OTC product with the quality of prescription psoriasis treatment. When creating the brand, we developed a logo and brand that stands out in the OTC space, but still has the reliable look and feel of a prescription-strength brand. Our team also sought to create a package that stood out on the shelves and engaged consumers to pick it up and purchase Prosoria.

We created a logo that includes 3 dots on top of the “i” in “Prosoria” to symbolize the application process and the packaging links together to illustrate a clear sequence of order and use. Like so many products, adherence is key and we wanted consumers to clearly understand how to use this product to get the best results. The gradual, easy gradient of blue to purple nods to the ease of use and the friendly effects of psoriasis treatment by Prosoria. 

Results:

  • Created a compelling, friendly identity system and packaging that communicates the ease and effectiveness of a new product that will stand out in the over-the-counter space.

December 8, 2018

Community Connects Us

Rebranding a city is a challenging and rewarding endeavor, a pairing we thrive in at Schaefer. In order to stand out among the 200+ cities in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and appeal to various stakeholders, it was critical for the City of Hurst to rebrand with purpose.

The Challenge 

Before Schaefer was hired, the City’s tagline was, “A Quality of Life City” an ordinary and nonspecific descriptor. The City sought to update their logo and messaging to better mirror the great progress the Council had made and align with the City’s updated mission and vision statements. Furthermore, they wanted to highlight their community values of respect, stewardship, positivity and inclusiveness. So, it was key that the new logo, tagline and seal worked together to amplify the city’s progress and position in the community. 

Approach

Schaefer began the discovery process with key stakeholders to discuss branding and messaging feedback and preferences, and to review past research findings. Once we determined the key insights that informed the brand and tone, we began building a brand platform that worked seamlessly across the marketing landscape.

Results

The City of Hurst’s new logo features clean lines and a simplified color palette. The star and the “H” give an updated nod to the original logo and seal, but with a modern and timeless approach.

The new tagline “Community connects us” nods to the dual meaning of connection, as in the physical way in which Hurst connects Dallas and Fort Worth, as well as the relationships formed between community members.

February 3, 2018

Legacy

The legacy of TCU is more than a century in the making. This year, we strive to add something memorable to that story.

The story of TCU Baseball is over a century in the making. New season, new page in the history books. What will be written?

New season, and a new page in the history books. It’s our goal and privilege to try to write something worth remembering in it.

December 15, 2017

From our tree to yours

Every year, Christmas always seems to arrive quicker than the year before. It can be easy to find ourselves running through the motions of holiday activities that we forget to savor and revel in the holiday spirit like we did when we were young. Even though we grow older and have busy lives, we should always try to find the time to express our appreciation to whomever or whatever is special and dear to us.
Our Christmas card features illustrations that each represent the best parts of our year as an agency. Work, clients, new babies, agency culture and a tribute to Boone. These acornaments are a fun way for us all to reflect on the last 12 months, literally. That copper foil is really shiny!
Life is busy and Christmas can become routine, but this is the time to cherish what means the most to us. Get wrapped up in the little things like spending time with someone who you hold dear, slow down and make a batch of hot chocolate for all your family, or even give an extra-long walk to Fido at his favorite park. It’s the little things that add up and can really make this season special.
Thank you to the clients and vendors for working with us. Thank you to all of the friends and family members who have supported our employees and the agency.
So, from our tree to yours, Merry Christmas. Enjoy this acornament from all the squirrels at Schaefer.