CASE STUDY
AEP had an issue to solve...
CHALLENGE - THEIR JD POWERS NUMBERS WERE NOT POSITIVE.
They were perceived as a utility company that was not in tune with their customers. They needed to do something to improve their image.
SOLUTION - CONNECT ON A HUMAN LEVEL.
AEP’s solution was to reach out to their customers on a regional basis through TV commercials and other media platforms. They sought to make a humanized connection between the company, the local communities and their customers.
The commercials made that human connection by profiling real employees, and telling the stories of how they and the company spend time and resources giving back to their communities.
PRODUCTION APPROACH - NO production company.
The nearly year-long operation was organized inside of AEP’s ad agency, The Shipyard, by Stribley & Co with an independent production team.
We produced 4 commercials per regional operating company for a total of 28 spots. Plus we captured content for web use, print ads, billboards and out-of-home platforms. We also shot tons of footage and stills for their library to be used in the future.
We had three crews…A main crew doing docu-style interviews and story shots, a lifestyle/vignette crew for story endings and a drone/time lapse team. We also had a photographer capturing stills along the way.
The team shot for 68 days over 21 weeks in 10 different states.
From a cost perspective, the project was produced very efficiently as a result of not having a traditional production company and by packaging the brand’s content needs together into one big production.
OUTCOME - SUCCESS!
The end result was creative work that was loved by the client and did its job of improving AEP’s JD Powers numbers and the company’s perception with their customers.
In fact, the client liked the work so much, they decided to produce a corporate image commercial targeting a completely different audience. This spot was designed to run nationally on Sunday morning television and to create awareness within the investment banking community as well as federal and state legislators.