MY ROLE
Group Creative Director
RESULTS
+56.1%
social engagement YoY
+74.3%
avg time on site YoY
+84%
Google search ads YoY
Leading a Leader to Leadership
Despite 120 years of brand recognition, Hammermill needed to earn more aisle at the trade level and increase familiarity among millennial business end-users to secure their business long-term. I worked closely with the strategy team who flipped quant and qual research into insights that we used to refresh the brand’s positioning and digital content strategy. I lead the creation of a new design system, photo library, packaging, and more. Finally, we launched the rebrand with a feel-good campaign for trade customers and end-users alike.
Going Viral on TikTok (without TikTok)
Months into our brand work, we spotted user @beard-al posting about Hammermill’s 99.9% JAM-FREE® Guarantee in a viral TikTok that quickly found itself on subreddit front pages. Hammermill didn’t have a TikTok profile. Rather than scrambling into a new platform without a strategy, I lead creative strategy across design and copy to amplify Al on Instagram and Twitter. This unlocked new fans, converting thousands of them to owned channels. Hammermill TikToks received more than 4 million views, 1.5 million likes and 4,700 comments.
Better, Brighter, Bolder
With a refreshed brand now in market, we eyed their profit leader: premium-grade paper. I drove the creative team to produce an understated, confident campaign that challenged what the industry believed paper marketing could be, art directing photography and producing video myself. I also oversaw the design of the landing page. The campaign exceeded Meta benchmark CPM by 37%, LinkedIn CTR benchmark by 48%, and visitors stayed on landing page almost 2 minutes, also far exceeding industry benchmarks. We gained industry attention, gave existing trade customers a renewed sense of value in their purchases, and - better yet - had customers of lower grades turning their heads.
Brand Success(ion)
What says "millennial business end-user" more than the audience of HBO's Succession? Our refreshed Hammermill products were featured in the Emmy-winning final season, watched live by more than 2 million viewers. Don’t worry, these 90 seconds of audio (and these 90 seconds only) are SFW.
Project Information
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Creative Direction
Lawson SowardArt Direction
Kaity Burns
Joel BentleyDesign
Cymone Wilder
Tia Smith
Kaity BurnsTone of Voice & Copy
Bob Raczka -
Creative Direction
Lawson SowardDirector of Digital Marketing
Lizzy KuzmicSocial Media Manager
Airin VirgilioCopywriter, Social
David HoodJam Label Designer 😋
Lawson Soward -
Creative Direction
Lawson SowardDesign
Cymone Wilder
Joel BentleyCopy
Bob RaczkaVideo
Lawson Soward -
Creative Direction
Lawson SowardDirector of Digital Marketing
Lizzy KuzmicCopywriter, Social
David HoodVideo
Courtesy of HBO