With the country headed toward brighter days, all of us are beginning to find a place back out in the world. As marketers, we have a responsibility to help our clients respond to what’s happening in a way that feels authentic.
Especially during monumental times like right now. The nation is rounding the corner of a 16-month-long, virus-spewing, catastrophic, storm cloud, heavy enough to pull all the stars right out of the sky and take down 7.9 billion smiles with it. In times like these the message matters most. Getting it right is…hard. And to be honest, more times than not, the messages marketers deliver can miss that very important mark, leaving behind an ugly stain. And the worst part of it all is there isn’t a spot remover in existence that has the power to remove it. Just time and hopefully others who struck out even worse.
For KSV, the goal has always been to try and be as human as possible. After all, behind every brand is someone like you or me. Behind every agency logo is a team of people. Individuals who happen to also be people like you and me. And behind every screen or brand experience is more of the same—moms and dads and sons and daughters and grandmas and babysitters and their cats and their dogs and fish and neighbors. And all of us are connected to this commonality of having experienced whatever you want to call the last 16 months.
So, when one of our clients, the Sponsors of Mass Save, needed to craft a timely message for their 2021 brand awareness campaign, we decided that a motivational, thoughtful push to round third base and head for home was the only way to go.
Throughout the pandemic, the Sponsors of Mass Save - Berkshire Gas, Cape Light Compact, Eversource, Liberty, National Grid and Unitil - worked tirelessly with statewide partners to carefully serve their customers, maintaining flexibility, and adapting their regularly provided services and initiatives to keep saving customers money and energy in a way that kept both customers and service providers safe, healthy, and comfortable.
The latest Mass Save campaign—Keep On—is a story of inner strength, celebrating that internal on-switch that remained flipped up when everything else was turned off. Because, in so many ways, we’ve all had to Keep On—adjusting to find our footing in an ever changing, pandemic landscape. It’s a simple human truth. Something every single one of us can relate to.
This story was assembled with found footage from all corners of the internet: user generated, stock video and owned content from independent filmmakers. The original score by LA based, Beta Petrol gave us an opportunity to put our own fingerprint on this work. Whitehouse Post stitched together the edit with precision, craft and lots of patience.
With a message that is intended to resonate among many, the campaign has a holistic focus, stretching statewide to reach audiences including: income-eligible communities; Spanish and Portuguese speakers; renters; homeowners; and small businesses.
With help from our out-of-home (OOH) partner Billups, an expansive OOH campaign accompanies the TV buy. Contextual "Keep On" messaging covers the state encouraging people to "Keep On" doing the things they love—going to sporting events, supporting local businesses, visiting the coast… all while the Sponsors of Mass Save keep on doing what they do best: finding ways to help their customers save money and energy.
The idea was brought to life on Twitter and other social channels in a slightly different way—an homage to all the incredible things people Keep On doing during the pandemic: adopting new best friends, keeping their businesses open, learning how to paint by number, and generally finding meaningful ways to keep moving forward.
Check out the full Keep On video spot below: