Hertz Car Rental needed some help refreshing the brand of their partner rental car company, Dollar. After brainstorming, my team and I came up with a bold and energetic concept to differentiate the brand within the crowded car rental space. Through a fresh look, distinct voice and innovative tactics, we transformed Dollar and it became the go-to rental company for the modern family (yep, dog included). The messaging primarily focuses on value and getting the driver from point A to point B in the best way possible. My copy is relatable, helpful and friendly because crafting that perfect road trip playlist that will satisfy each co-pilot can be stressful—but renting a car doesn’t have to be.

Hertz Car Rental turned to us for a total rebranding of Thrifty, a rental company that Hertz had recently acquired (yet hadn’t done much with). Playing off the name, I crafted copy that spoke to the savvy, street-smart traveler. You know, that “do-it-my-way” vacationer that crafts his or her own deals…even if it means flying two different airlines. The main message? Thrift now, splurge later. You’ll see how that confident, take-charge attitude finds its way into the various content pieces. In addition to the branding elements, I helped to craft instructional copy guidelines for the brand.

With 1,200 campus stores across the nation, Follett is the country’s largest higher education retailer. Their goal was to make a personalized templated site that could work for all 1,200 campuses—from small college town to big city university. After perusing their current site, I switched up the voice and tone to be more conversational and self-aware in order to appeal to college students. (Because, let’s be real, no one really wants to spend all that money on textbooks.) Through crafting more lifestyle content e.g. sample articles, I demonstrated to Follett that they could be more than just a bookstore, but the go-to expert on all things campus life.

As a final deliverable for the client, I also crafted a video script outlining the success of the IBM and Follett relationship that was played at the 2018 Adobe Summit.

White Castle

As White Castle’s agency-of-record, I had the opportunity to work on a multitude of projects with the iconic brand. In order to attract a younger millennial audience, the slider expert underwent a two-year overhaul that included a new voice and visual footprint, which we infused into their various seasonal product campaigns. This two-year overhaul resulted in Bold Move—a campaign that mirrored the bold nature of White Castle’s food and honored any Craver that took a step out of the ordinary. We even introduced new own-able language for the brand!

This campaign was a big step forward for the brand and I crafted a Voice and Tone guide to help lead them into the next era. Who said a 95-year-old brand couldn’t be bold school cool? Insert sunglasses emoji here.

As the primary day-to-day writer for White Castle, I was in charge of crafting content across digital, print, radio and TV for the brand’s seasonal offerings. One such seasonal offering in the spring of 2017 revolved around smoothies, floats and Belgian waffle sliders. The main goal was tout the 2 for $4 Belgian Waffle Slider deal as well as raise awareness that the golden-brown goodness was available all day (and night). I’ve included messaging examples that span across in-store signage to a commercial and everything in between.

Anywho, let’s get wafflin’.   

Cue the shameful self-promotion. But, first, we’re going to time-travel back to 2011. 19-year-old Mary Kate was feverishly studying for an econ exam, decided to take a little break and, well, @AwkGrlPrblms was born. (Psst…give me a break, @AwkwardGirlProblems was already taken.) Through a relatable and authentic voice plus a little bit of “right time, right place” luck, I amassed thousands of followers. It’s weird. I can’t explain it. But I have fun with it. I’ve included a couple pulled from my coffee table book, but feel free to follow me on my quest for validation and tubs of queso. 

Culturelle 

When iHealth came to us looking for an inventive way to sell some probiotics, I got to googling. Turns out there are a ton of little microorganisms that line the inside of our digestive tract and they’re called the Gut Flora. Based on brand data, we knew that people were buying Culturelle, but they didn’t really understand why or how the probiotics truly work. The solution? An interactive probiotics pro that could answer all those questions. Her name? Flora, of course. In addition to some tactical ideas, I crafted a sample Pandora spot to highlight Flora.

Any ideas I came up with had to live within Culturelle’s current campaign, Be Good Inside. Ask Flora was our digital extension concept for Culturelle’s Be Good Inside campaign—proving to the client that digital content shouldn’t be a direct lift from their print or commercial creative.

Shell has embarked on a journey to become North America's leading polyethylene supplier. In order to successfully differentiate themselves, Shell wanted to reinvent the customer experience and establish credibility for this new business—a challenge that only an integrated IBM iX team could take on.

Our field research showed customers are treated like commodities by established suppliers. After years of lackluster experiences, customers have come to expect little from their polyethylene partners, even though partnership is exactly what they need to grow their business. Everyone is a customer in their daily life—my task was to bridge the gap between the personal and the professional. 

To create a new experience that would resonate with customers, I brought the attentiveness and personality of the retail industry to the polymers space. Drawing inspiration from best-in-class brands across retail such as Nordstrom, I collaborated with the strategy and graphic design teams to craft a personable voice as well as introduce tools with familiar retail features. To quote one customer: “I can track my kid on my iPhone, yet I don’t know where my delivery is at any given moment.”

The outcome of this vision and strategy? A new brand campaign: Break the Mold. Shell Polymers is new to the game, which means they aren’t bound by legacy processes and have license to introduce ideas and services that their competitors simply cannot. Playing off a common polyethylene term, “Break the Mold” embodies that fresh, rebellious mentality.

Key marketing deliverables included:
-Strategic framework
-Branded digital content (e.g., email, social media, video and website)
-Communications calendar
-Educational material for internal teams and third-party partners
-Internal signage for the home office