The Story
The annual Fort Worth Zoo Ball is their largest fundraising event of the year in support of the nonprofit, privately owned zoo. This is an elite affair put on by a committee of top Zoo donors who rely on Schaefer to help execute the annual theme. For 2014, the theme was inspired by the annual Festival of the Elephants in Jaipur, India. The central piece was to be a high-end invitation that would make Fort Worth’s elite excited about coming to the ball.
The Work
Our first step was immerse ourselves in Indian culture (via Google and World Market rather than the subcontinent itself, sadly). Through colors, textiles, patterns we began to get a good sense of direction for the piece. If only we had a designer who was really into elephants. Maybe one who has an elephant pen and mug and figurines all over her desk. Oh, right. Blair.
This theme was tailor-made for designer Blair Babineaux, whose love of elephants (and good design) made her the obvious one to take the lead. Both of these loves were apparent in the final result.
Describing the details of this piece would take approximately forever, but here are some highlights (or you could just look at the picture, right?). The six-panel invitation is printed on a thick pearlescent paper that was flooded with red on one side. Each unique panel was intricately laser cut by the folks at Artifacture in Dallas. Once folded, the invitation was secured with a die-cut bellyband featuring even more laser-cut elephants. The metallic gold envelopes were beautifully hand addressed by Lauren of Blue Eye Brown Eye calligraphy using a custom-mixed ink.
All told, we partnered with six different vendors to make our vision come to life (each of whom might lock the door when they see us coming next time).
The Results
The event was a big success, and the invitation was unanimously well received. Eight-foot replicas of the invitation panels were used as decorations at the Ball, and the chairwoman of the planning committee said, “This is my favorite invitation yet. I’m not sure how we’ll top it next year.”
We don’t know either, but, as always, we’ll seek what’s possible. Even if it does give us all gray hair.
UPDATE:
Schaefer was awarded a gold national Addy for the 2014 Zoo Ball invitation. This is our first national Addy award, and to give it some context, we were one of only 77 gold winners out of 40,000 entries. Needless to say, we’re proud and excited to represent Fort Worth among some of the top agencies in the country.
Check out the complete List of 2015 National Addy Winners.
The video was part of a broader initiative to get fans more engaged in the game atmosphere, giving the TCU football team more of a home field advantage. Our approach was to have the TCU faithful renew their pride in the school by drawing on the proud history of the program. We wanted the fans to feel like they were a part of the team.
After developing several concepts, we worked with TCU Athletics to produce a 90-second video that featured TCU’s Riff Ram chant. This chant has been around since the 1920s, and our video builds on that history as well as its universality amongst Horned Frogs of all ages. We’re asking the TCU Horned Frog Faithful to AMP IT UP (TCU Football’s campaign this year) and help make Riff Ram a tradition at home games again. Go Frogs!
Here is a collection of shots from behind the scenes.
Produced in partnership with Nutter Productions.
Charlie Howlett – Senior Designer/Art Director
I recently found some hand-painted signs that Jeff Canham did for Mollusk Surf Shop. Looking through his work on his site really makes me want to start painting again, whether it’s type or just fun designs. I haven’t yet because I want to do it perfectly on the first try, but I know I won’t because I never practice. It’s much easier to stick to computer design because I do it every day, and it’s easier to execute what’s in my head.
Sometimes, I’ll make little doodles for my four-year-old son. It’s fun to make him smile, but I think I should also spend time doing work that makes me smile. It’s so easy for a designer to look at their portfolio and say, “This is me.” But it isn’t. It’s work that I’ve done, but it’s not me. Jeff’s work is making me want to do more personal projects just for my own enjoyment. Like this “H” I made just because.
Here’s a riddle: What says “You’re important, come to this tasting event and here’s a bribe?” You guessed it, a foil-stamped invitation with a gold fork and mini chocolate cake inside.
Client Hurst Conference Center hosted an event for local event planners to show off all their amenities, including adaptable spaces and a full-service kitchen. Since the event would include a tasting menu prepared by their on-staff chef, we decided to tempt attendees with a taste of what was to come.
“The good stuff is in the middle” relates to Hurst’s prime location in the heart of the metroplex, but of course it always applies to desserts. Of course, we being the thorough and thoughtful partners that we are did diligently sample a range of desserts to pick the one that was most likely to attract a crowd. All in a day’s work.
“If it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing.” – Mythbusters, Paul Gilbert, Liberace probably, et al
Recently, the Fort Worth Zoo asked us to continue running their long-standing membership campaign. The existing creative had been in-market for almost four years, and the expectation was that we simply reuse the exiting creative for digital and outdoor media.
The concept centered on the headline: Meerkat Monday, Tiger Tuesday – make every day Zoo day. Our intrepid young graphic designer, Blair Babineaux, wondered if we couldn’t expand this creative to not only include additional benefits, but to take full advantage of the digital billboard medium to run multiple creative messages for each day of the week.
Blair got to work creating seven billboards with a different animal for each day of the week. This also opened up space to include additional membership benefits.
And so, with a little thought and a few questions, we were able to push beyond the original idea (without additional cost).
“This is how we do it.”– Montell Jordan and Schaefer Advertising Co.
Todd Lancaster – VP, Creative Director
Actually, there are three things that, for some reason, have inspired me throughout my career. I’ve never been one to keep up with industry news or other agencies. I don’t want to be influenced by other people’s take on advertising. I’d rather be inspired by books and movies and music, which can lead to unique advertising concepts.
One thing that’s always inspired me is skateboarding. I was super big into it back when I was a teenager, when the Bones Brigade and all those guys were big. And it’s not really the design surrounding skateboarding so much as the motion of it. It’s hard to explain, but I feel like the fluidity of motion inspires the way I think and design, even now.
Another inspiring thing for me is kind of strange. I love black and white movies, and I watch On the Waterfront pretty much every time it comes on TV. I recently found out that the buffalo plaid jacket Marlon Brando wears throughout most of the movie was actually green and not red. I can’t explain how this inspires me, but I actually found myself thinking about it while I was working through some design concepts the other day.
The third thing that’s been inspiring to me is an interview with Dave Grohl I saw online. One of the things he talked about was resisting the urge to self-edit. You don’t like it when other people mess with your stuff, so why do it to yourself? The imperfections that go along with spontaneity are sometimes the most interesting parts. I try to remember that with design.
Scott Porter – Copywriter, Photos, Video, etc.
For photography, I recently discovered the work of Josh Wool. Portraits are my favorite thing to take, and his are awesome. Between his work and all the Photoshop tutorials I’ve been watching lately, I’m really itching to shoot a lot more.
For writing, I’m currently reading a collection of Hunter S. Thompson’s articles for Rolling Stone. I’d (somehow) never read any of his stuff before or seen any of the movies about him. For being known as a drug-addled wild man, his writing is surprisingly coherent. Irreverent and vulgar, yes, but uncompromising. I think he’d be the kid who called the emperor naked. I doubt any client is going to ask for Gonzo-style copy, but I’ll see if I can’t sneak it in somewhere.
Scott Porter – Copywriter, Photos, Video, etc.
For photography, I recently discovered the work of Josh Wool. Portraits are my favorite thing to take, and his are awesome. Between his work and all the Photoshop tutorials I’ve been watching lately, I’m really itching to shoot a lot more.
For writing, I’m currently reading a collection of Hunter S. Thompson’s articles for Rolling Stone. I’d (somehow) never read any of his stuff before or seen any of the movies about him. For being known as a drug-addled wild man, his writing is surprisingly coherent. Irreverent and vulgar, yes, but uncompromising. I think he’d be the kid who called the emperor naked. I doubt any client is going to ask for Gonzo-style copy, but I’ll see if I can’t sneak it in somewhere.
Founded in 1984, Presbyterian Night Shelter is a non-profit organization that does more than just provide a place to sleep. Through a variety of services, they help clients on the journey from homeless to home. With new services being added and new building projects underway, they came to Schaefer for rebranding and fundraising materials.
The open door logo was birthed out of a game of catch in the side yard. That probably had nothing to do with it, but it’s how we got the creative juices flowing. While the door is symbolic of the roof Presbyterian Night Shelter provides to the homeless, it’s also a symbol of permanent housing, which is the goal for everyone who stays there. For many, the Night Shelter is the only door open to them. But there’s hope on the other side.
Another aspect of the project was fundraising materials for a new women and children’s housing project on the Night Shelter property. While the original ask was for printed materials, we looked at the fundraising goals as well as the potential donor base and decided that a video would be the most effective way to go.
Filmed on a shoestring budget by our, at that time, brand-new friends at 1820 Productions, the video sought to convey a single, powerful idea: home isn’t a place, it’s a feeling. As you hear businessmen and women, professionals and even someone who is currently homeless talk about home, the specifics might be different, but the feeling is universal. Punctuating it all is the surprising statistic that 85% of homeless people don’t stay that way.
Homelessness is a curable condition. And we’re proud to help Presbyterian Night Shelter in their mission to end homelessness in Tarrant County.
Everyone, this is Amanda Peredo, Schaefer’s new operations coordinator. As “The O.C.,” Amanda will be the friendly voice that takes your calls, the smiling face that greets you in our lobby and the person we complain to when we’re out of snacks.
Recently, I sat down with Amanda to ask her the hard-hitting questions Channel Scott News is known for.
Scott: Hi, Amanda. How’s it going?
Amanda: It’s good! How are you?
S: Hey, I’m the interviewer here, okay?
A: Oh, uh…okay.
S: But I’m fine, thanks for asking. So – tell me everything about yourself in a blog-friendly number of words.
A: Oh gosh, born and raised on an island. Now I live in North Texas.
S: […] Okay, I’m going to need more words than that.
A: Um…I come from a big military family, so I travelled a lot growing up. I lived in Spain, then Guam, then Texas, back to Guam, then back to Texas. And now I’ve found my home in good ol’ Fort Worth. I’ve lived in the area for 20 years, but I’ve worked in Fort Worth for six years.
S: Where did you work before?
A: I worked for XTO Energy for five years. I started as an intern, and they hired me full-time after college.
S: How do you like Schaefer so far?
A: I love Schaefer. I love the people, the different work and meeting clients that come in.
S: I’m not Ken, you don’t have suck up to me.
A: Oh, I hate it here. Just kidding.
S: Cool, how about something important. What is your favorite animal?
A: My favorite animal? Um…I kinda like the honey badger. He’s got a great motto.
S: Do you put ketchup on your hot dogs?
A: I do, plus mustard. That’s it.
S: And here I thought I was going to like you. What else can you tell me to make up for the fact that you’re a ketchup person?
A: Let’s see…I won the Steer Fort Worth photo contest. Mayor Price picked my photo and I won a new Canon DSLR camera.
S: Actually, I’m the photographer around here. You should probably keep that at home.
A: (sigh)
After that, the phone rang and I got the feeling that the interview was over. So we may never know the truth about where Amanda was when the Hindenburg blew up, but we can continue to speculate. I’m Scott for Channel Scott News, signing off.
