Advertiser: JWT
Agency: JWT ATLANTA
Category: Viral Film
Technical Support Analust: Brian Salman (JWT Atlanta)
Planning Director: Colm Murphy (JWT Atlanta)
Community Manager: Hanna Park (JWT New York)
Director Of Creative Technology: Jeff Small (JWT Atlanta)
Art Director: Hope Jordan (JWT New York)
Planning Director: Melissa Parsey (JWT New York)
Associate Director Of Creative Technology: Pat Bronson (JWT Dallas)
Digital Experience Director: Paul Schoknecht (JWT Atlanta)
Chief Creative Officer: Perry Fair (JWT Atlanta)
Interactive Developer: Tom Nelson (JWT Dallas)
Art Director: David Canavan (JWT New York)
Planning Director: Dylan Viner (JWT New York)
Account Supervisor: Esme Arzola (JWT Houston)
Planning Director: Gail Brooks (JWT Atlanta)
Director Of Integrated Production: Peter Blitzer (JWT Atlanta)
Senior Copywriter: Troy Leyenaar (JWT Atlanta)
Art Director: Jean Tanis (JWT Atlanta)
Director Of Business Development: Sherri Scott (JWT Atlanta)
Associate Director Of Digital Strategy: Sunni Thompson (JWT Atlanta)
Relevancy
South by Southwest is known for birthing the latest and greatest in technology start-ups. JWT was looking to make an impact amongst this group of people and knew that the best way to accomplish this task was to create a start-up agency that was as nimble and flexible as the companies that we were going to meet. The nimbleness and flexibility of WALTER allowed the agency to think and act like the start-ups.
Implementation
JWT decided to launch WALTER, a lean, unpredictable creative agency built specifically to work with startups, at SXSWi via press and social media. The goal was to meet with 25 start-ups in 2 days and build an entire campaign for the brand while the other agencies were shut down so that they could attend panels. We decided to team up with offices from around the world to bring together the brightest in the industry. The end product would be early-stage relationships with the newest technology and start-up companies and having developed a flushed out campaign for our new client.
Outcome
Within the first six hours, our goal of booking 25 meetings was met. Conversation on Twitter about JWT was 24.4% higher than normal and blog conversation was 33.5% higher than normal. Conversation came from around the world including Brazil, UK, France, Australia, Jordan, India and the US. Press impressions reached over 25 million and included placements in The New York Times, Ad Age, PSFK, MediaPost, Egotist and AdRants.
Client Brief Or Objective
JWT wanted to create a stunt at South by Southwest Interactive 2013 to develop brand visibility and gain access to promising start-up clients, finance partners and brands. There were two primary objectives. First was to strike an early-stage partnership with a startup that had a brilliant idea, helping to bring it to market. Second was to engage with startups that were of interest to our clients. Additional goals included modernizing the perception of JWT, positioning JWT as the go-to agency for brands, developers and financiers looking to launch digital ventures and demonstrating the value of JWT’s network.