Captain’s Log

ABOUT ME

Specialty: Creative Strategy

Skills: Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft Office, Mac OSX, WIndows 8, Ubuntu

My name is Ian Bush, I’m a creative thinker with a focus on and strategy, and I am a sailor.

Through sailing I have learned the value of preparation. I like to know how the steps I take now will come in useful down the road when I’m performing. I start my work by analyzing the existing conditions. By doing this I learn what will work and what won't. Being a creative think-er, I can understand the shifting of trends as if they were the shifting of the wind and tide.

Advertising and sailing both require steadiness, creativity, and ability to problem solve. You can’t be intimidated by what’s ahead, and you must master what you are capable of in order to stay afloat, to persist and press forward. I’m no master at either (yet), but I’m sailing in that direction.

OFF!

My Role: Strategist

The challenge was to develop an ad that communicates the benefits of OFF! Bug Repellent for Kids via collateral media.

After researching the benefit of our product and effective ways to appeal to children, the artist and I simplified the message in to an all-visual ad. Our strategy was to have notable super heroes and beloved characters that children would easily recognize as “good guys” and “protectors.”

Our campaign earned us two AAF American Advertising Awards:

Student Gold (Local) - Trade Publication CampaignStudent Silver (Regionals) - Trade Publication Campaign

Bigs BBQ

My role: Account Manager & Strategist

The challenge was to create a social media campaign that would boost awareness of Big's Barbecue in Richmond, VA. Our ulti-mate goal for Big's Barbecue was to make it a part of the Rich-mond food culture.

Following market and cultural research in and around the area where Big's Barbecue is located, our idea was to create a scav-enger hunt that could be completed at the participant’s own pace. The scavenger hunt included activities like visiting Richmond landmarks, participating in popular Richmond activities, and even taking pictures with popular Richmond notables like the "quack-ing man." After users liked or followed Big's on social media, the list of items was made available to them. To complete a task, the participant would share evidence on Big’s social media sites in the form of a photo or video tagged to the campaign. For every specified number of activities completed, the user would reach a benchmark making them eligible for a reward they could collect or use at the restaurant.

Krazy Glue

My Role: Strategist

The challenge was to create a social media campaign for the Krazy Glue brand that engaged the audience and made the brand more relevant.

First, we wondered – what do people think Krazy Glue can do? Our research lead us to the answer that we, as con-sumers, already knew: it can fix everything with an almost impenetrable bond. "Everyone knows that" we thought. "What else can we do with Krazy Glue?"

Our solution was to ask the consumer "How do you Krazy Glue?" By searching for posts on pinterest tagged with "Krazy Glue" and "Super Glue," we found the potential in this product to be more than the go-to quick fix tool. We found a way to make the brand relevant to DIYers, artists, innovative thinkers and creators. Our call-to-action was to ask these consumers who are sharing their works online to share them via social media with the Krazy Glue brand. By the end of the campaign the product that got the most favorites, likes, shares and retweets would be endorsed by Krazy Glue and featured in a campaign that would follow the social media effort.

UNBOUND RVA

My Role: Strategist

Our challenge was to develop a full social media cam-paign for UnboundRVA that expanded brand awareness. We also needed to cultivate trust for this new business with a customer base.

UnboundRVA was struggling with awareness and trust because people didn’t know the inspiring stories behind the entrpeneurs Unbound supported who now have a second chance at success.

Our strategy was to create content that really showed what these stories were and connected viewers to the benefits of what UnboundRVA was doing on a personal level.

We wanted to show people what success is to the brand, to the entrepeneurs, and encourage people to engage and share what success means to them.. Our solution is #Successis

With this hashtag, people vould share the little suc-cesses of their lives and relate to others, including the brand and the entrepeneurs that the brand supported.

My Role: Strategist

The assignment was to put together a creative brief for Spirit Airlines.

Research revealed that Spirit Airlines has more negative feedback surrounding it on social media than any other airline (both domestic and international).

The challenge then became to rebrand the airline. I real-ized that the best strategy would not be to fight the uphill battle of changing consumer perception, but rather to give the brand a sense of humor by laughing at itself.

This sort of strategy can be hit or miss. However, this type of open acceptance of a company’s own shortcomings would also create a sense of honesty and integrity for the brand. Being a part of the cathartic experience with the consumers would serve as theraputic for the brand image in the eyes of the public.

My Role: Strategist

Our challenge was to develop a full social media cam-paign for UnboundRVA that expanded brand awareness. We also needed to cultivate trust for this new business with a customer base.

UnboundRVA was struggling with awareness and trust because people didn’t know the inspiring stories behind the entrpeneurs Unbound supported who now have a second chance at success.

Our strategy was to create content that really showed what these stories were and connected viewers to the benefits of what UnboundRVA was doing on a personal level.

We wanted to show people what success is to the brand, to the entrepeneurs, and encourage people to engage and share what success means to them.. Our solution is #Successis

With this hashtag, people vould share the little suc-cesses of their lives and relate to others, including the brand and the entrepeneurs that the brand supported.

IANCBUSH.SQUARESPACE.COM