OOH Today Features Division of Labor Advertising as its Agency of the Day.

Quick shout out to OOH Today for featuring Division of Labor as the Agency of the Day. We always welcome positive press. And it’s an especially gratifying way to begin the new year. As we mentioned in our last blog post, we have high hopes for 2021, as a company, but also for the ad community, our country, and the world at large. So cheers to 2021 and starting off the year right. And, special thanks to reporter, Will Farmer for taking the time to write this piece.

One of several billboards in an OOH ad campaign for Lively HSA.

The Ad Agency. Not the Government Agency

By No Fear No Favor Last updated Jan 4, 2021

by Will Farmer
OOH Today
Media and Communications Manager

Division of Labor is an independent, San Francisco advertising agency. They develop strategies and creative campaigns to promote brands and sell products across all media platforms, including out of home.

Josh Denberg, founder and chief creative officer at Division of Labor Advertising.

Josh Denberg is the chief creative director and founder of Division of Labor. On top of his work with Division of Labor, Denberg also directs commercials and wrote a book titled “Stop Tweeting Boring Shit.” Additionally, he changes lightbulbs when they go out in the office. He’s a pretty good guy.

We had the chance to talk to Denberg. Here’s what he had to say about his company:

Interview with Josh Denberg, Founder and Creative Director at Division of Labor

 Will Farmer: Could you tell us about Division of Labor. How long have you been in business? Staffing? Size? Specialties? Billing? Regional Offices?

Josh Denberg: Division of Labor started in 2010 with projects from Microsoft and Nike and has worked with clients like Dropbox, Roku, Ford Motor Company, Live Nation TBS and the San Jose Sharks. We are between 6 and 10 people in the office before COVID but have project workers and freelancers around the world.

WF: What would you like brands and the OOH Industry to know about your shop?

JD: Our philosophy is, “Drop a bomb in the room and then throw in the leaflets.” Meaning, get attention with something big and emotional first and then follow up with rational benefits. We believe outdoor is the perfect medium for a digital age because it gets attention and gets people to Google. Digital and social can support from there.

WF: Do you work with clients directly and/or through agencies? What is the percentage breakdown?

JD: As an ad agency, we work directly with clients and outdoor is often part of the integrated campaigns we create and produce.

WF: Any comments or suggestions for OOH reps in approaching or working with your company?

JD: Being able to see the locations both on a map and from a consumer perspective is most helpful.

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 WF: What is your most memorable new business pitch?

JD: Our latest pitch win for Keen Shoes was most memorable because at 10 pm the night before the pitch, someone hit a button on the shared digital presentation and all the slides started disappearing!!! After some panic and %$#@ing, we found the digital restoration in our Time Machine, and life came back to normal.

 WF: What differentiates your business from others?

JD: We focus on great creative and results. Both are required in every project.

WF: How do you obtain new business?

JD: Clients often find us just by searching “Best Creative Agency San Francisco.” Our past work and reputation are what we rely on.

WF: Can you discuss some recent OOH campaigns?

JD: We’ve been creating award-winning and effective outdoor campaigns for over 20 years. We can turn around ideas in just a few days. Have a look at some of the outdoor we’ve done over the years: 

For the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, we created a simple, visual campaign that matched famous San Francisco tourist attractions with famous works of art from the museum.

 This Roku outdoor campaign went up in six major cities. Bold design and getting people to laugh were the keys to a 30% holiday sales boost in every city that had a campaign.

This holiday ad campaign was a game changer for Roku and digital streaming as a way to view TV.

Sticking your logo on a billboard is not enough to stand out these days. Today’s outdoor can also be a digital video. And taking advantage of great media placement with compelling creative is often the difference between success and failure.

 Website
http://www.DivisionofLabor.com

Industry
Marketing & Advertising

Company size
2-10 employees

Headquarters
Sausalito, CA

Type
Privately Held

Phone
415-944-8185

Email
Info@divisionoflabor.com

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The Small Agency Blog is produced by Division of Labor; a top San Francisco ad agency and digital marketing firm that’s been named Small Agency of the Year twice by Ad Age. The award-winning creative shop services clients on a retainer or project basis. They also offer brand consulting services and hourly engagements for startups and smaller brands. Click here for a free consultation. 

How to get more foster parents in San Francisco

One of the many executions in a new campaign seeking foster families in San Francisco.

San Francisco’s housing crisis impacts everyone in the city, including long-time residents who can no longer afford rents and young families forced to move away to buy homes. But one of the under-reported tragedies: It’s also having a devastating effect on foster children.  

Right now there are hundreds of kids waiting to be placed into homes in the city. And without a steady stream of  volunteers, those kids will be forced into homes far from the only city they’ve ever known.

So how does a government agency get fresh recruits? They team up with one of San Francisco’s top ad agencies, Division of Labor. 

The creative brief set forth by the San Francisco Human Services Agency was simple:  Create an attention-grabbing ad campaign that recruits 100 new foster families to join the cause. 

The ask is huge. It’s not like getting people to try a new laundry detergent or switch to a low-fat peanut butter. Becoming a foster parent is a life-changing decision. To that end, we needed an emotional hook that would get people to pay attention.

Inspiration hit while someone on our creative team was walking through a parking lot. He saw a huge SUV taking up two compact spaces. Not surprisingly, his first thought was:  “What a jerk.” But his next thought was “Unless that jerk happens to be a foster parent. In that case, they can park wherever the heck they want!” 

That idea really rang true with everyone on the project. It resulted in an edgier, more humorous campaign that changed people’s perspective on fostering and got them to think about it in a new way.

There are over 40 different executions across billboards, bus shelters, digital banners and social media platforms and they’re all based on the horrible, but not-so-horrible things we all do that can be made up for by being a foster parent. Things like, you might be a serial re-gifter or you might only tip 10% or you might eat all the m&m’s out of the trail mix, but at least you’re a foster parent. The tagline across the campaign: Fostering. It makes up for a lot.

The San Francisco Chronicle did a piece on the campaign launch, along with the perspective of a family who has fostered multiple kids over the years, including a medically-fragile baby they’ve since adopted.

And while ad agencies love free press, in this case, we’re hoping the free press attracts new families, not new clients.

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The Small Agency Blog is produced by Division of Labor; a top San Francisco ad agency and digital marketing firm that’s been named Small Agency of the Year twice by Ad Age. The award-winning creative shop services clients on a retainer or project basis. They also offer brand consulting services and hourly engagements for startups and smaller brands. Click here for a free consultation.

Seven essential tips for an effective OOH campaign

In the digital age, the growth of traditional advertising, print, tv, radio—has  stagnated with one notable exception. Out of home advertising (OOH), a catch-all term for billboards, transit wraps and point of sale signage is actually going gangbusters. According to the research firm, Magna Global, OOH spending grew 4.6% in 2018, a record high.  But, of course, not every billboard campaign will yield record results for the brand. So how do you make sure your OOH money is spent wisely? Of course, a well thought out, efficient outdoor buy is crucial. But great placement with a boring, wordy, generic message is worthless. Consider these seven essential tips for an effective OOH campaign.

#1 — Strategy First

Start with honest, human insights. An outdoor campaign for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, for example, targeted visitors to the city. The assumption is that people use social media to plan their trips, research their destination and ask for recommendations. But research found that 85 percent of vacation itinerary decisions are actually made at the destination. This one statistic was the driving force behind the See Them Both campaign.  Rather than compete with some of the more iconic tourist destinations, the museum chose to capitalize on their fame by promoting the museum alongside, Alcatraz, Fisherman’s Wharf, the Golden Gate Bridge and other bucket list faves. Following a three month campaign, museum traffic increased 48 percent while the average ticket sale increased 14 percent. So not just more people visiting the museum, more people spending more money. 

# 2 — Put Google to Work

Don’t try to explain everything while someone is driving 60 miles an hour. Compel people to do their own research. Ninety percent of Americans are proficient with the same research tool that got you to this blog post. If they drive pass something intriguing on their commute, they’ll Google it.  This approach proved successful for Comedy Central, which in 2018 ran an OOH campaign with messaging that read: #CancelSouthPark. Fans rushed to the internet for confirmation only to discover that it was the creators themselves pushing for the show demise, capitalizing on past viral Twitter campaigns which successfully saved the tv shows, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Lucifer both slated for the chopping block. 

#3 — Invest in Multiple Executions

OOH is meant to build brand awareness. And the best way to do that is to stick with one unifying message and then create varied executions that people won’t get sick of. According to the 23 Below Media Group, Multiple OOH executions improve lasting impact by 14 percent thus extending the overall life of the advertising campaign. This was the strategy used to help launch Roku back when awareness of streaming was only at 7 percent. Despite being a superior product, they were having trouble stealing market share from brand leader Apple TV.  Before we explained why our small, black box was better than the other small black box, we had to equate Roku with streaming so that when people did decide to jump into the streaming market, Roku would be top of mind. We blanketed communities with out-of-home messaging around the holidays that was funny and simple, but also varied. So it remained entertaining like the TV shows they love.  By the time the campaign was over, we had established brand awareness on-par with Apple TV and increased Roku sales by 30 percent.

#4 — Give Them Something to Talk About

People hate boring advertising. They love things that are funny, compelling or worth talking about. And, of course, outdoor advertising needn’t be static. Just recently, for example, Kelly Services needed a digital video execution for the Times Square facing side of New York City’s landmark NASDAQ building. It’s a fabulous location in terms of eyeballs. But because there are 26 windows smattered throughout billboard it’s a design nightmare. Most companies ignore the windows, which then breaks up the type and makes the images look pretty crappy.  But Kelly, a temporary staffing agency, incorporated the windows into their creative concept seizing on the adage: “Every time a door closes, a window opens.” In this way, the windows went from distraction to focal point and dovetailed with their overall brand message that no job is permanent. And because we knew the installation would turn heads, we even hired a production team to record people’s reactions when it went live in Time Square, which prolonged the life of the campaign by allowing it to proliferate on social media.

# 5 — Keep it Simple

Less is more.  We promise. Per research uncovered by  23 Below Media Group, OOH ads are 23 percent more likely to get noticed when they have fewer design elements. The billboard’s purpose is to build brand awareness. In the case of Metro Mile, for example, we cut right to the chase: Insurance for People Who Don’t Drive Much.”  The message, coupled with a playful illustration, is a way to pique curiosity, not close a deal.

# — 6 Pay Attention to Placement

If a board or location is super cheap, there’s a reason. Is it behind a tree? In a bad part of town? Blocked by construction? Also essential: Pay attention to what’s being advertised on adjacent OOH real estate as it can negatively impact your brand.  A billboard purchased by Burger King in Louisiana went viral, but for all the wrong reasons. The billboard was created to promote the fast-food giant’s meal deal—two sausage and cheese breakfast sandwiches for three dollars. Nothing provocative about it.  However, it was placed alongside a billboard purchased by the American Heart Association (AHA) which read: One in three people will die from heart disease. No further explanation is necessary.

# 7 — Quit asking your agency to make the logo bigger

The logo should be visible, but not so visible it’s the first thing people see. No one gives a crap about your logo without a compelling idea. Give them a reason to WANT to know who is doing the message. If all you had to do was make the logo bigger, we would have done that years ago for all our clients and retired by now. Apple’s “Shot on iPhone campaign” embodies this approach. The company used crowdsourced photos shot with the iPhone to demonstrate the power of the product’s camera. The Apple logo is dropped quietly and tastefully into the lower left hand corner of each billboard.

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The Small Agency Blog is produced by Division of Labor; a top San Francisco ad agency and digital marketing firm that’s been named Small Agency of the Year twice by Ad Age. The award-winning creative shop services clients on a retainer or project basis. They also offers brand consulting services and hourly engagements for startups and smaller brands. Click here for a free consultation.