CASE STUDY 3

The Why

Accenture is one of the largest leading consulting firms on the globe. Their world-class business solutions are used in every industry from commercial airlines to governmental state agencies, clean energy reformation and beyond. But in order to gain new business, they still need to compete against equally established consultancies. In an effort to win business, Accenture invests thousands of hours on their presentations, an investment that can be lost if they don’t end up the front runner.

With millions on the line, Accenture was seeking a way to stand out creatively among the competition and increase their win ratio, without spending additional funds on advertising agencies to get there.

The What

Accenture PODs were created around the U.S to meet the internal creative demands of Accenture.. They are small, nimble creative satellite offices, each acting as self-contained ad agencies. They are on-call for Accenture teams who want to a gain a competitive edge for their presentation, helping increase the chances Accenture comes out on top.

The How

Although we were considered in-house to Accenture, we did not have insight into the ask until we spoke with the source, the solution creators themselves. When we were called to involvement, we lead an hours-long workshop to glean insight into the human story and uncover the bigger picture.

The workshops were interactive and engaging. A few approaches taken were rapid-fire post-it brainstorms that helped tap into the team’s initial gut feelings and an exercise in which we created cardboard cereal box, distilling the fundamental insights of their solutions in an attention-grabbing way.

In the end, we created an in-tandem brief the POD creatives took away and used to create three different conceptual routes, each having a different score on the veritable risk “Richter scale.” Once a route was chosen, we use the look, feel and tone to craft deliverables that could aid the Accenture team in winning their pitch. The medium spanned everything from in-house videos, commercials, books, interactive 3D projections and beyond.

The Work

Client: Coca-Cola

Contributions: Script development and writer, video director, strategic development, research

The CCO of Coca-Cola had a big challenge—he needed to convince one of the most established companies in America that despite their centuries-long success, it was still vital for them to push boundaries and innovate. The video production manager and I started by researching the “too big to fail” cautionary tales—Kodak and Blockbuster to name a few—and positioned the need for fresh thinking. I wrote the script and helped direct the video in-house. In the end, the CCO used the final video and manifesto below in a presentation to his colleagues and motivated them to purchase a $1 Million dollar contract with Accenture.

Manifesto:

BE THE FEARLESS

We have a vision of the future.

A future that is fresh, bold and full of flavor.

One where the worlds’ desires aren’t just met, but anticipated.

Never wavering in our mission to refresh the world.

That future isn’t here yet.

But it’s for the taking.

It won’t be easy,

but nothing important ever is.

It will take effort, heart and guts.

Holding on to what works, but not so tightly that it becomes unmovable.

After all, no ever changed the world by standing still. 

Things are changing and we are here to answer the call.

To be the restless.

Be the bold.

Be the happiness.

Be the never satisfied.

A fresh future is coming.

Can you taste it?

Client: Arkansas Department of Human Services

Contributions: Script development and writing, strategic development, V.O. Talent

Arkansas was looking for a way to refresh and keep up with the growing demand of their state welfare programs. Accenture has experience streamlining other state agency program platforms, so they had a lot of technical expertise to offer. But above all else, this was a story about people—helping them get the food and doctor visits they need. So we conducted one-on-one interviews with Accenture employees about what working for the people of Arkansas would mean to them, human to human.

Arkansas ended up feeling the connection and awarded Accenture the business.

Behind-the-scenes: Workshops

No project moved forward until we met with each team to uncover the bigger picture, the ideas that would stand out, change minds and win the pitch. During the hours-long collaboration, we used interactive exercises to access the core human element to their technical solutions and build the strategic basis for our creative madness. Each workshop built a strong foundation for both the work and our team dynamic.