Business Objective: Communicate an ad agency’s core capabilities in order to win additional business from a key existing customer.

Situation: St. Louis advertising agency McGowan Crain has the motto: “Simple. Smart. Strategic.” So when they wanted to highlight their abilities as an agency, they applied that marketing philosophy inward. Why tell people what you can do when you can show them with a dynamic video that proved to be simple, smart and strategic? McGowan Crain also had an attractive office space with design capabilities from idea to the printed page on-site, thus providing a perfect scenario for a behind-the-scenes agency tour.

The Mercury Solution: McGowan Crain brought Mercury in to help visually elaborate their idea to take viewers on a journey of a mock design project. Mercury translated the agency’s concept into a dynamic capabilities video. The completed video took viewers on a choreographed agency tour to meet the people behind the advertising. The video illustrated the creative process from brainstorming to production to finished product, while at the same time showcasing past work and demonstrating the agency’s capabilities. The finished product was a fast-paced and stylish demo reel that both educated and entertained.

Timeline: 4 weeks

Results: “We came to Mercury with several concepts on how to use video to define our breadth of work, and they brought our ideas to life on the big screen,” said Ben Crain, Principal at McGowan Crain. “We have been able to leverage this demo in several capacities and were able to secure several new business projects as a direct result.”

Further Accolades: “The McGowan Crain Experience” video was recognized with an award of distinction in the 2008 Videographer Awards, an international awards program directed by communication professionals to honor talented individuals and companies in the video production field.