Marc Andrew Stephens
I believe it’s a brands responsibility to make the lives of people better. This does not come from some altruistic place, but rather a desire to drive bottom line performance. Smart UX design, the best apps, fun microsites and amazing ads all make people’s lives better. In doing so, they give people a reason to take notice, discover something new and share with their friends. The following portfolio is a collection of my attempts to bring my beliefs into action.
Osh Kosh B'Gosh
Problem: How do you bring an old brand back to relevance?
Insight: Kids should look cute, but kids need practical clothes.
Solution: Market clothes that are made for playing right now.
OshKosh.com, their mobile site and their banner ads will all feature
the current weather and ideas for playing outside in that weather.
The online store will feature clothing that is great for playing in the
current weather conditions on the front page.
Credit: Marc Andrew Stephens(CT), Warner Whatley(AD), Avery Oldfield(AD), David Sloan(CW,) Mr Din (photography)
My Role: Creative, UX, UI and Videography
Freckle Count
Problem: How do you count each freckle on a man’s body?
Insight: People will only count for a few moments before they give up.
Solution: Create a crowd sourced counting system.
I am covered in freckles, but I have nothing on Ryan (pictured above). So when he told us that his girlfriend had asked him how many he had, we laughed; then the three of us starting working on a way to actually count how many he has. We quickly figured out we did not want to count the freckles ourselves, so we took a bunch of photos and created a site FreckleCount.com. The site now has over 50,000 pageviews with an average time on the site of 1:43.
Check it out at: FreckleCount.com or read the writeup on Laughing Squid
My Role: UX, Art Direction & Photography
Team Members: Marc Andrew Stephens(CT), Jack Inscoe(CT) and Ryan Contillo(CW)
Dream Key
Problem: How can you sell a car 30 years before the purchase?
Insight: Childhood car fantasies can be nurtured so they last.
Solution: Give kids “The Key” to their dream car.
The Key:
- Designed to look like the Porsche car key
- Uses USB and Bluetooth to communicate with gaming devices
- Unlocks the users specific dream car in EA games accross all devices
- Allows users to take their car with them, wherever they play.
- Grants access to free custom online content (movies, photos and games)
- Functions as a USB drive
Launch Event
- Held at Nordstrom in the Kids Department
- Allow kids to sit in and see videos of the car
- Porsche branded clothing available for sale
- Key given as a gift with purchase
- Recipients are then encouraged to setup their “dream car” at the kiosk
- With parental permission, kids can register for more free stuff
Post Event:
- Influential gaming bloggers are sent their own keys
- Key sold on partner websites for premium price
- Customized printed posters and other gifts are sent to high frequency users
My Role: Creative Concept, UX, UI
& Art Direction
Team Members:
Marc Andrew Stephens(CT)
Jeremy Williams(CT)
Ben Johannemann(CS)
Katie Bowles(CS)
John Deere
Problem: How to gain market share in the small farm market in Europe?
Insight: Farmers are loosing their interaction with their consumers due to the expansion of super stores like Tesco and WalMart.
Solution: Give farmers a trustmark to help them connect with their consumers.
Product labeling like Chiquita banana's iconic sticker has helped multinational co-ops gain a following for their products. By flipping the tables in Europe and helping individual farmers with the development of a trustmark John Deere can provide farmers and consumers with real value.
The stickers would use QR codes that could be read by vendors and consumers (who knew how to use QR codes). Allowing users to discover how far away the produce traveled and about the farmers themselves. Kiosks and print ads would also be offered in high volume markets to give the program more credence. The labels would also allow for easy register sales where applicable.
My Role: Concept, Art Direction, Identity redesign, UX and UI design.
CSI: Citizen's Arrest
Problem: How do you keep people interested in a show between episodes?
Insight: The best part of CSI is solving the crime before the detectives.
Solution: Create a game that allows viewers to solve a crime between episodes.
To promote the hit CBS show, CSI: New York, our team created an augmented reality game that brings viewers into the action. Users collect virtual evidence via codes placed in major cities to gain points and put virtual criminals behind bars.
My Role: Concept, UX, UI design and Case Study Production.
Team Members: Tim Hurt(CT), Josh Souter(CT) and Stephen Hadinger(CT)
Cirque du Soleil: Destinee
Problem: How do liquidate extra tickets, and keep brand value?
Insight: Consumers are willing to accept chance in exchange for value.
Solution: Create a branded experience that transforms chance into part of the branded experience.
Paper tickets are simply a way to transport a barcode. By moving the barcode on to a mobile phone, theaters and artists can bypass costly ticket brokers and ticketing agencies, increasing their profit margins. This also opens up the opportunity to distribute excess inventory via a Priceline like model based on location and price. In order to make sure this move does not hurt brand value it's important to create an experience in line with the brand.
In the case of Cirque Du Soleil, this gives them the chance to use the idea of Destiny. It may be an algorithm selecting the shows for consumers, but why not just let them think its fait.
Fun Tax Forms
Problem: How do you make tax forms better?
Insight: Forms don't ask the harsh questions that would make them shorter.
Solution: Create off beat, fun forms that allow users to tell their story.
Tax forms are some of the dullest and most complicated forms to fill out. What is a dependent? What do they mean by claim? Why do I need to check this box? By using natural language, listening to answers and adding a bit of fun to the form, we can allow the users to tell us their story with just a few simple questions. The resulting data collected could then be parsed into the official government forms for printing or electronic submission.
JELL-O
Problem: How do you bring vibrancy to a shrinking product category?
Insight: Jello is a food that you can't take seriously.
Solution: Make a better world by making more things out of Jello.
At the root of the campaign is the idea that making anything out of Jell-O, makes it better. This is translated into print ads that use text made of real Jell-O to show how much better the world would be if more things where made of Jell-O. We also use social media to continue the campaign calling for user submissions. A select few are then translated into surreal reality for an echo viral campaign that will bring user submissions like Jell-O paintball and Jell-O art exhibits to life for thouse who submitted ideas.
In addition to the campaign we also created a new form factor. By creating a new slurpable packaging, we where able to expand sales to vending machines and convince stores bringing the joy of JELL-O to adults everywhere.
My Role: Concept, Digital Strategy, Photography, Secondary Art Direction
A Brandcenter Portrait
After taking portraits of nearly 300 Brandcenter students, I wanted to see if I could capture what an average Brandcenter student looked like. The male and female faces where created by layering the faces of the 2011 Brandcenter class, then playing with the levels so it looks like all of us and none of us all at the same time. Now all I need to do is automate the process with some facial recognition software and a bit of digital magic.
A Handbook
Problem: How do you create a handbook that gets read?
Insight: Magazines are handbooks for life.
Solution: Create a handbook that reads like a magazine.
After three years working at Wynn Las Vegas, I was given the chance to rework the company handbook. The design standards were tight, but the management team was open to new ideas and concepts. After a week of looking at the problem I did a test to see if I could transform the uniform section of the standard handbook into a fashion spread. The resulting article opened the doors for us to create a one of a kind handbook. The document features a magazine form factor, fashion spreads, feature articles and feels nothing like a traditional handbook. The book is currently in its third printing, and has now been distributed to over 30,000 employees.
My Role: Strategy, Conceptual Creative, Art Direction and Photography
Team Members: Erica Griffin(CW), Marc Andrew Stephens(AD)
I Need Some Culture
My Role: Conceptual Creative, Editing, and Photography
Team Members: Marc Andrew Stephens(CT), Simon Phillion(CW)
About: me
When I was a kid I knew exactly what I wanted to be. I wanted to be a singing, dancing, preacher man, just like my dad. I wanted to stand in front of a crowd, tell stories, do a little singing and dancing, then send people off on their way. Then when I was eight, things changed. My dad wasn’t a preacher anymore and the certainty I had of whom I wanted to be vanished. Over time I figured out there was something I wanted to be, but it was a bit more generic than the singing, dancing, preacher man of my early childhood; I simply wanted to be good at something.
Eventually, I found I was good with computers which led to video production, yearbook ad sales, that led to the pursuit of a degree in marketing. My studies in marketing led to website design and a love of photography. After graduation, it was a short trip to employee communications. There in employee communications I found the power of advertising to transform the bottom line. When I went back to school a few years later, I thought I was just following the things I was good at; but after three semesters and an internship at the Martin Agency I finally put together the pieces. I was chasing my childhood dream (slightly reimagined) and I didn't even know it.
Work History:
The Coca-Cola Company
Digital Content Creation Manager: 2012 -Present
Freelance
Creative / Strategist: 2010 - Present
▪ Rebranded the STEM development office for the Department of Defense
▪ Worked on digital strategy and creative executions for new business
▪ Developed websites and social media positioning for high profile clients
The Martin Agency
Creative Technologist Intern: 2010
▪ Developed creative executions for:
Geico, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum, Pizza Hut & ESPN
▪ Created digital trend reports for senior leadership
▪ Worked with creative teams to concept and present integrated campaigns
Wynn Resorts
Corporate Culture Specialist / Designer: 2005 - 2009
▪ Established the corporate culture at two 5-Star, 5-Diamond resorts
▪ Art directed campaigns for corporate initiatives
▪ Revised the UX and design of the corporate intranet
Nordstrom
Retail Sales: 2002 - 2004
▪ Recognized with the All-Star, Nordstrom's most prestigious award for exceptional customer service
▪ Acknowledged as a sales leader
Freelance
Photographer: 2001 - Present
▪ Shooting people and products in studio and on location (view portfolio)
▪ Providing photography for use in publications including: Los Angeles Times, New York Post, Maxim & more
Education:
Virginia Commonwealth University
Masters of Science, Mass Communication: 2009 - 2011
▪ Studying at the acclaimed Brandcenter school of advertising
▪ Exploring where concept and technology meet for brands
▪ Creating functional prototypes using AS3, XML and CSS
▪ Medalist in the student division of The Richmond Show
▪ Recipient of the Advertising Women of New York Merit Scholarship
University Nevada, Las Vegas
Bachelors of Science, Business Marketing: 1997 - 2001
▪ Received multiple dean's list recognitions
▪ Excelled in the study of Services Marketing, Research and Statistics
Contact Info
E-Mail | Resume | LinkedIn | Twitter | 702.334.8851
MAS
I've been making things with my dad since I was a little kid. Last summer I sketched up a plan to make a Vegas style sign. When I told my dad about the idea, he offered to help. The result is a 30"x30" MAS made out of wood and metal. I'm still working on plans to add neon and an arduino kit to give the sign life.