Brand solutions advertising and marketing agency Neuron Syndicate Inc., which was featured on AMC’s unscripted series “The Pitch” on September 5th, was crowned winner of the competition by Tommy Bahama. Neuron Syndicate is helmed by Ryan Cramer, CEO/President/Creative Director, and Sean Alatorre, Vice President/Creative Director/Partner.
The Sept. 5th episode of “The Pitch” featured Neuron Syndicate pitching their ideas for a new advertising campaign to Tommy Bahama executives Rob Goldberg, Senior Vice President of Marketing; Stephen Cirona, Senior Vice President of Women’s Sportswear, and Ferdinand Van Alphen, Vice President of Creative Services. The three men were asked to choose between Neuron Syndicate and Pasadena Advertising Marketing Design, and their creative ways of getting out the brand’s message. The two agencies were asked to come up with ideas for how Tommy Bahama could improve the growth of its women’s business.
The ASSIGNMENT
Neuron Syndicate was asked to create a campaign that would raise awareness about the Tommy Bahama women’s apparel by specifically targeting female customers to promote their women’s active wear line. Although Tommy Bahama’s main objective was to communicate to its female clientele, Neuron’s assignment was also to generate ideas that would speak to both Tommy Bahama’s male and female audiences.
The executives from Tommy Bahama were very specific in what they wanted to see in the way of deliverables from Neuron Syndicate: a print ad or ads, an outdoor component or OOH (Out Of Home advertising,) a radio spot or spots, and an online advertising or marketing component (including web, social media, and/or email solutions.) All of these deliverables were due in just a little over five days.
The SOLUTION
“The first and most important thing we did to ensure a successful solution was to really listen to what the client was seeking, so we could be sure we understood that request,” Cramer said. “We then needed to accurately translate this information to our entire staff, so that everyone on our team would be on the same page. Once we were confident in our translation of the request, we could then conceptualize freely — both individually and as a group.”
Adds Alatorre, “It just so happens that, in this particular situation, the realization of the winning solution to this assignment came to us within just a few minutes after we received the creative brief from the client. Ryan and I walked out of that first meeting, looked at each other, and in less than 10 words came up with the concept: ‘It’s Not Just About Lifestyle, It’s How You Style Your Life.’ We then did what we do best-hustled back to our studio, to create a kick ass campaign, utilizing all of the talent, manpower and skill sets that our dedicated staff offers all of our clients, each and everyday. I guess you could say ‘It was business as usual,’ from that moment on.”
“Both agencies presented some intriguing ideas and inspired a lively discussion among our team,” said Rob Goldberg, Senior Vice President of Tommy Bahama Marketing. “In the end though, Neuron had a clear advantage in the digital and social media marketing space. We were impressed by their ability present a compelling proposal under such a tight deadline.”
Alatorre continues, “Appearing on “The Pitch’ was truly like living through a creative boot camp. I always imagined what it would be like to be on a reality show, and often wondered whether the action depicted is real or not. After this experience, I’ve got to tell ya, it’s all very real!”
Adds Cramer, “I’m so proud of our Neuron Syndicate team. We all worked extremely hard on this adventure. By having such a great team, and with my partner, Sean Alatorre, by my side, I knew we could bring this pitch together with a great deal of creativity and confidence. This was a very intense process, as we concepted and produced a print, outdoor, radio, online and broadcast campai
