ernie lageson

As the technology partner of the F1 Red Bull Racing Team, who better to promote the introduction of F1 racing into the US than Citrix. To kick-off the F1 exhibition week in Miami, we orchestrated and directed a shoot, where we lifted an Aston Martin / Red Bull Racing car on a Miami skyscraper doing donuts on a helipad, 709 feet up. We captured the video which was then featured on ESPN’s Top Ten and other media outlets around the world. This unscripted and highly engaging piece, drove brand awareness not only for F1 in the US but for Citrix around the globe. This disruptive cultural event was viewed over 5 million times and received over 300,000 social engagements.

An accompanying immersive website continued the experience and took the viewer into the F1 world from the lab to the track. It was recognized by The One Show and was named a FWA Site-of-the-Month.

To introduce Aimovig, a breakthrough migraine treatment, this branded product launch broke outside the usual pharma model to show life unfiltered — including mundane, raw authentic moments. The “I Am Here” campaign focused on people with migraines who are able to now be present.

Insightful targeting and best-in-class social media positioned the brand as a true “ally” to the migraine community and demonstrated their commitment to removing the stigma around this neurological disease. The debut outperformed on all metrics, and the product achieved No.1 market position in this crowded new anti-CGRP category.

The integrated campaign was a MM&M AND DTC silver winner. In 2019 DTC named the campaign Best in Social. Again in 2020, it garnered Best Established Social Media campaign of the year.

"Talk to Chuck"

In the early 1970s, The Charles Schwab Company “democratized” the U.S. brokerage industry by giving people a less expensive way to invest. The bold move turned the industry upside down, securing for Charles Schwab a reputation as the advocate for the individual investor. But, by the mid 1990s, online discounters like E*Trade and Ameritrade significantly undercut Schwab’s pricing, grabbing the less-expensive role that had been Schwab’s. Even mutual fund companies and banks encroached on Schwab’s territory. This truly original brand needed to be reinvigorated to recapture its distinction with investors, and gain a renewed feeling of momentum and purpose.

We developed the campaign line, “Talk to Chuck.” Encasing it in the simple graphic device of a “talk bubble” became the creative platform for the campaign. It communicated a company that was approachable, reliable and on your level, and the go-to source for whatever you needed. At the same time, it was a simple and memorable call to action, and its tone and manner were iconoclastic in the category.

We executed “Talk to Chuck” across all media: broadcast, social, outdoor, digital, and print. More importantly, we put it in unexpected places that were part of the rituals of our targets’ lifestyles. So “Talk to Chuck” messages appeared on the sleeves of lattes, polybags of the morning newspaper and dry cleaning, platforms of commuter trains and above the outfield of Wrigley Field.

The success of the campaign was best summed up in the Charles Schwab annual report: “Total client assets rose 18% to $1.2 trillion at year-end, while net new assets rose 33% to $87 billion in our core Schwab Investor Services and Schwab Institutional businesses. Additionally, new brokerage accounts rose 15% to 655,000…reflecting the continued success of our ‘Talk to Chuck” advertising.”

“No Such Thing as a Little Flu”

As we set out to launch Genentech’s Tamiflu, market research showed that most consumers did not seek medical treatment for the flu; rather they “rode it out.” Also, those patients that did visit their healthcare professional’s office often-times received an antibiotic not an antiviral for their flu. Similar to campaigns supporting allergy products, there is a limited window of opportunity to promote and sell influenza products. Brand awareness building needed to happen quickly to support the disease season.

Also, in introducing Tamiflu to the antiviral market consumers had to self-diagnose their flu bout and begin treatment within 48 hours of symptom onset. In the past, consumers relied on rest, over-the-counter symptom-reducing medications and homemade chicken soup to get through the flu. Now, new antiviral treatments like Tamiflu were available to actually treat the flu but in a timely manner.

Creating digital tools like the first ever flu-tracker proved invaluable given the slim window available to these patients. Geo-targeted mobile coupons were also implemented to expedite the prescription process.

Results were stunning. Within 6 months of the launch consumer awareness of “new prescription flu medications” heightened to 60%. And Tamiflu was positioned as the treatment of choice for influenza. Within the first year, it was the number one prescribed antiviral medication for the flu.

We spent over a decade building every aspect of this incredible brand from developing their voice, revolutionizing their ecommerce experience, and launching various new product offerings from household cleaners to laundry detergents. One of our greatest achievements was developing one of the internet’s first online communities called People Against Dirty. Tapping into the power and passion of this group fueled the brand’s tremendous growth both online and offline. Our efforts culminated with the sale of this home grown brand to Ecover of Belgium.

The rapidly growing digital therapeutic market saw a new entry with the launch of Orexo’s Vorvida! - a therapy used to treat and reduce alcohol abuse. The brand was on an accelerated timeline after receiving FDA approval (a first for a digital therapeutic). To capitalize on this, the brand’s identity was crafted and brought to life in a 360 campaign in under three months. Friendly, accessible, non-judgemental and smart the voice and graphic language all brought this to life while remaining highly educational. On social media, Vorvida’s goal was to connect with drinkers who were looking to treat their alcohol reliance through moderation-based methods, rather than the traditional ”all or nothing” approach. Through relevant stories and product benefits, we were able to launch Vorvida to the world with a social splash. Subscriptions began within hours of the site launch. To see more visit us.vorvida.com.

“Laws of Enbrel”

How do you reinvigorate a 20-year-old brand that’s losing its leadership position with physicians and getting lost in the arthritis “sea of sameness?” You appeal to their innate love of science while playing off the brand’s legacy core benefit of preserving motion.

The “Law’s of Enbrel” campaign was the spark that got doctors to take notice once again. To remember the days when Rheumatologists finally had a weapon that could actually successfully fight arthritis. This Newtonian campaign found its way into every aspect of Enbrel HCP marketing from advertising and sales collateral to tradeshow and partner marketing. We even crafted an AR experience in the brand’s first ever iCVA.

“Space for the Human Experience”

Despite being a leader in hard drive manufacturing, Seagate was seen as stodgy, non-innovative, and outdated. The brand was focused on bits and bytes rather than the big picture. As a result, there was a lack of awareness of their product offerings and they were not able to differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive and commoditized world. The challenge was to redefine and transform the Seagate brand from a storage company to a global business solutions company that combines different technologies in new, fresh ways to solve customer data storage challenges.

Today, data storage is more than just archiving; it’s about providing ways to analyze information, understand patterns and behavior, to relive experiences and memories. To transition this view, we needed to change the way people think about data and storage – data needs to be safe, but it also needs to be accessible and able to help a company grow. Our new positioning captured this: “Seagate Creates Space for the Human Experience.”

A new identity brought this positioning to life. We created a “living” logo that streamed real-time data through it. This new brand identity was applied across a range of industry verticals, including small business, surveillance, and cloud services to reinforce brand messaging. This created the foundation for a globally relevant, fully integrated campaign (TV, print, digital, social) that was launched at CES in Las Vegas starring Oscar winner Matthew Goode.

The entire rebrand and campaign ushered in a new era for Seagate.

While Genentech was still preparing its blockbuster launch of multiple sclerosis drug Ocrevus, it was critical that the patient community was gathered, galvanized, and educated about the coming treatment. Despite never using social media in any major marketing capacity, Genentech research showed a unique opportunity to reach active patients online and on social media. With a broader age demographic to target, Facebook offered the best platform to provide meaningful information to patients and connect with them at critical moments in their journey. After much convincing, Genentech finally took their first foray into social media marketing.

And they went all in.

The creative strategy focused squarely on the patient’s voice, making them the hero. MS Voice was born to encourage MS patients to speak their minds about their experiences with the disease. But with a crowded market, the campaign needed to be game-changing to break through. Bold colors and typography brought their focus and determination to life, demonstrating that this is not another MS campaign.

Using Facebook as the hub of the larger ecosystem, paired with the website, YouTube channel, a targeted email program, and other drivers, the program was designed to engage and inform patients while strengthening Genentech’s presence in the MS space.

MS Voice was Genentech’s first patient-focused social media campaign in its history. It achieved overwhelming success six months after launch, attracting over 20,000 Facebook followers, garnering over 5,700 YouTube views, and over 100,000 post engagements. Its success helped create a groundswell of interest once OCREVUS launched later in the year.

As a companion to the branded launch of Aimovig, Amgen launched the Know Migraine Mission to truly become the trusted ally of those suffering from migraine - to challenge public misconceptions, start new conversations, and make the world a more migraine-friendly place. The lightly branded integrated digital campaign served as the platform for multi-channel executions including video, social media content, and a microsite. The campaign educated the world on the realities of living with a serious neurological disease, changed the conversations in both personal and professional settings, and reduced the stigma that people with migraine face. The increased positive sentiment within the migraine community and the provided resources to educate those without migraine, showed that a brand like Aimovig is truly walking alongside the migraine community and an ally to those suffering from chronic migraine.

Introducing a new line of snack foods in today’s crowded market was the challenge Continental Mills was facing as it looked to introduce a new line of seriously tasty snacks called Buck Wild. In an effort to carve out a niche in the crowded industry we launched to millennial males primarily through social and specialty curated in-person experiences. 

Our research showed that this target craved adventure and “wild times” albeit from their couch at home! The name “Buck Wild” was born. The next step was developing a brand identity and packaging that would really stand out and get noticed. The unique design we finally developed was immediately embraced by our audience and created legions of brand ambassadors.

This was followed by a highly engaging website and social media presence. Armed with user-generated content, videos and GIFs, we’ve surpassed all engagement metrics for the website and social channels, and shattered sales projections for the first month of trial distribution at Starbucks nationwide.

Also looking to disrupt the status quo, we reinvented the concept of “product sampling” and rolled out the “Snackling Tour” that featured a popcorn cannon that served to generate countless amounts of UGC across the country. 

The site was awarded by FWA and the packaging was recognized by Communication Arts.

“40th Anniversary”

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of this iconic Napa Valley wine, SIlver Oak turned to its iconic water tour that adorns its label. It embarked on an across the country tour with a replica of the tower to key industry meetings, media events, restaurants and festivals. All this was captured on social media and generated engaging content fit for the significant celebration. Simultaneously a new website was launched that integrated their second, lesser known label Twomey. The cross marketing proved wildly successful as did the virtual tasting/history room on the site which used AR to bring the winery experience alive no matter where their loyal customers were located.

“Keep it Real”

Krusteaz baking mixes, the original “just add water” brand, wanted to transform their brand to reach the modern working mom. The “Keep it Real” campaign, launched in digital, print and social media, focused on the ways time-challenged real moms balance doing it all, giving them ideas and hacks to spoil their families and wow their friends.

“Keep it Real” is an affirmation and a rallying cry for every busy working mom who’s trying to balance getting it done and making it perfect. It’s an inside joke, a badge of recognition and an instant bond she shares with every other working mom who’s managing the same balancing act.

The centerpiece of the campaign was an engaging new website filled with everyday entertaining ideas, videos, recipes and curated user-generated content.

In anticipation of the launch of the upcoming drug Tamiflu, Genentech saw the need to radically change how the flu was perceived and ultimately treated. A new class of antivirals were about to be introduced and soon, would be gone were the days of “powering through” the flu.

A light and accessible unbranded digital campaign needed to disrupt and persuade flu patients that a better alternative was available despite the fairly radical change in behavior that would be required. We began to tease our digital tools that would roll out with the Tamiflu brand launch. The campaign was entertaining and fun, yet highly educational and had an approachable sense of urgency that was relatable and accessible.

"People Rule"

Paypal’s first global campaign focussing on how its payment options “power” people’s lives and the businesses that use its services. The campaign also introduced a fresh and more contemporary visual identity.

"Unstoppable"

How better to reposition an old American textile to a demanding audience who expect top quality and performance than with the bold and aggressive campaign, “Unstoppable.” This not only spoke to the product attributes of Lycra but also appealed to the emotional desires of our target.

It was global brand campaign consisting of print, video, digital, outdoor, point-of-sale, and event marketing. Shot by famed photographer Stan Musilek on location in Africa, Norway and Brazil the campaign launched during Miami Fashion Week and was later featured in Campaign.

“Do Something Amazing”

Recruiting is the key to the future of the US Air Force. Unfortunately, most potential candidates viewed joining the Air Force as merely a “back-up plan” to a legitimate career.

The Air Force needed to convert this negative perception into something positive and attractive so as to attract the best quality candidates. We had to convert the perception of joining Air Force into a prideful choice for bright young people who want the opportunity to accomplish uncommonly great things.

One key behavior was shared across our entire target: digital gaming. Our entire communications platform was built as cutting-edge gamification. Everything we did had to look and feel like a video game. We created a dynamic interactive marketing campaign called “Do Something Amazing.” Through engaging experiences of interactive video and scripted game play, rich media banners, and an immersive site experience,

the exciting opportunities offered by the Air Force were brought to life. We created a robust gaming platform of digital properties that raised awareness of their unique and vital role in national defense.

Results were immediate including: double-digit lift in leads generated, site visits, event attendance, and cost per lead dropped by more than 32% while quality of leads improved every year. Our efforts to inspire and educate prospective recruits and their influencers resulted in a digital platform which allowed prospects to “see what it’s like” in the Air Force.The sites and corresponding online media drivers served as the primary tool for pre-qualifying leads, while our marketing efforts have been highly awarded within the industry.

Global launch

ANCA-Associated Vasculitis is a debilitating vascular disease that left the physicians who treat it – nephrologists – few treatment options other than massive doses of glucocorticoids that had extremely harmful side effects on their patients. Tavneos was a new type of treatment that promised true relief from not only ANCA but its harsh standard of care.

While developing naming, branding and identity, we launched an unbranded effort called “Rethink ANCA” that prepared physicians for the coming new treatment. An inventive horizontal scroll website inspired by leading edge-tech consumer brands was core of the campaign. It was supported by social, digital advertising, and print collateral.

Next, the full branded “Release” campaign was launched to physicians in all media channels. It was hugely successful garnering Silver at the MM&M Awards. Riding the success of Tavneos, the small biotech company that developed Tavneos, Chemocentryx, was acquired by Amgen.

"Holiday Smooch Booth"

The Holiday Smooch Booth, presented by Backup Plus, allows users to create personalized cards by taking selfies under the mistletoe. This content creation tool is a perfectly festive reminder that Seagate backs up all of your jolly memories.

The experience hosted some 95,339 visitors with 11,142 cards created ultimately selling over $2.1M in additional Seagate products.

Sony Playstation's Twisted Metal

First ever use of internet-based customization that can be transferred into Playstation platform. Cannes and One Show winner.

"Always" campaign

Brand campaign. TV, radio, print, digital, site, social, in-store, store design, and app development. Brand awareness rose from 24% to 49% in a two year time period. The Carpet Showroom App had an amazing 48% completion rate.

“Bold Moves” (US launch)

OFX is an Australian online foreign exchange and payments company headquartered in Sydney. As an online company taking on the big banks, OFX had speed, savings and transparency in spades. But as an Australian-owned company with an ambiguous name, it lacked the banks' brand recognition. To launch the company in the US, we picked key markets in San Francisco and Silicon Valley where we took over key outdoor and digital spaces with our simple, fun and memorable brand campaign. Tailoring it for specific geographical areas was key and we also utilized digital outdoor boards to capture specific messaging at specific hours such as commute times etc…

Hainan is the fourth-largest Chinese airline and the largest publicly traded airline (the top three are all government-run). Established in 1993, the company has seen consistent growth that first started with domestic Chinese routes focusing on leisure travel. With a Branson-esque CEO at the helm, and with their sites set on becoming an international leader, they expanded to the U.S. with a Seattle to Beijing route. This is the first and only non-stop flight to Beijing out of Seattle.

Hainan needed to focus on its key differentiator—the only nonstop—in a unique and impactful way to hit home their key benefit. We created a highly impactful visual treatment that quickly and uniquely telegraphed the airline’s point of differentiation in a way that captured the attention of travelers who might just be interested in cutting their travel time down a bit. We also featured some of the key differentiators like fully reclining sleeper seats and individual video monitors in each seat. The campaign ran in the leading local newspapers—both English and Chinese language—as well as Northwest editions of USA Today and Wall Street Journal. In addition, we used airport signage, radio and online to drive awareness and bookings.

Launch communications drove bookings that significantly exceeded Hainan’s marketing goal of a 85% booking rate.

George Howell is one of the true pioneers of the specialty coffee movement in the United States. He founded The Coffee Connection, a high-end coffee retailer based in Boston, which was acquired by Starbucks in 1994 and formed the nexus of their expansion on the East Coast. He is an expert on single-origin coffee beans and is also the founder of the George Howell Coffee Company.

To capture his essence, we embarked on complete redesign of their brand. This included identity, packaging, website, and in-store displays. Our initial audit revealed that their existing brand identity was dated, unexciting, and most important, it didn’t communicate anything about their brand experience. Extensive focus groups informed our creative development, which led to a simple solution.

George Howell is known as “the expert” on indigenous beans. To illustrate this, we created a simple graphic logo of a coffee bean, a registration mark, and George’s signature. These three elements simultaneously and harmoniously identified the category, the brand, and the best-in-breed expertise that defined GHC. Subsequent research confirmed our beliefs.

An upscale, artisanal approach followed the development of the logo across all consumer touch points. Special attention was paid to on-shelf impact, given this cluttered category. George Howell will also be the first coffee retailer to offer reusable leather bags in their roasteries.

Declining tourism in San Franciso led to the erosion of funding for the San Francisco Visitors Bureau. We needed to increase the average hotel stay by a 1.5 days among affluent travelers. Filled with its eclectic grandeur, San Francisco requires a longer stay. The campaign was based on the idea: “San Francisco. Don’t rush it.” Tourism in San Francisco increased an unprecedented 10% during the six-month period after the campaign started. TV won a silver lion at Cannes and was named the best art directed commercial of the year by the New York Festivals.

Global corporate campaign. Digital, print, outdoor, social and trade show.

"Store Your Wolrd in Ours"

Global brand campaign. TV, print, digital, outdoor, tradeshow, in-store, channel marketing, and social.

Gruvi Card (Rolling Stone/SanDisk Partnership ) was the first industry-use of pre-loaded content from a storage provider.

Howard Schatz, photographer.

"See the Signs"

Global security product campaign. Digital and print. Reprinted in Archive.

Original launch of Yahoo Personals

Branding, digital, print, wild postings, point-of-sale.

Research showed the biggest barrier to purchasing new carpet was not visualizing what it would look like in context. We developed a visualization tool that solved this problem.

Results were incredible: 18.75% of those who downloaded the app eventually went on to purchase Stainmaster carpet at Lowes.

It’s estimated that 13 million US adults suffer from clinical PTSD in any given year. Palo Alto Health Services developed a game-changing, digital therapeutic breathing device which significantly reduces PTSD symptoms in 82% of its users. They developed Freespira, a device to help users learn to breathe properly and equalize carbon dioxide in the lungs. Comprised of a tablet app and a breathing device, the product is FDA-cleared and has been shown to reduce or eliminate the symptoms in as little as 28-days.

Despite being best-in-class, it lacked a clear and cohesive creative identity and vision that told their amazing story. We set out to identify their voice and tone and persona by selecting the “hero” archetype. This just didn’t reflect Freespira, it personified its audience many of whom were true heroes such as first responders, veterans and law enforcement officers.

Its brand needed to be consistent and own-able so we turned to our audience for inspiration. The new identity and logo used upward facing letterforms echoing wings taking flight and a soldier staking claim under a soaring flag. Fresh colors were pulled from nature to infill a sense of life: red for energy and optimism. Light neutral for balance. And deep grey to invoke trust and loyalty. The combination reinforced that Freespira saw their audience, understood them, and was committed to them.

The transformation was so well received that Palo Alto Health Services actually replaced their company name and identity with that of Freespira’s reflecting the elegance and confidence of a brand with an 82% success rate. But just as important, the brand became the hero that everyday heroes need to reclaim their breath and their lives.

Introducing Tria Beauty’s revolutionary blue light acne technology to a millennial audience.

Poster campaign recognized by One Show (Gold), Cios (Gold), and LIAA (Gold).

The post-COVID era has created a health-minded consumer who trusts science today more than ever. With lung cancer being the #1 cause of cancer deaths worldwide, the need for early detection is paramount for both patients and the healthcare system.

But patients fall victim to the stigma and shame associated with smoking rather than focusing on screening for the cancers it may have caused.

Delphi Diagnostics set out to own the smoking-related cancer detection market with a bold, non-judgmental, ownable campaign executed in a variety of channels: "Get Smoke Screened."

My grandfather, Ernie Lageson Sr was a prison guard at Alcatraz Island. In the spring of 1946, several inmates managed to commandeer weapons and took control of the cell house and the “Battle of the Rock” was underway. For three days six guards including Ernie Sr were held hostage. As the siege escalated, he was shot in the head by notorious bank robber (and branded the FBI’s 5th “most wanted” at the time of his arrest) Joseph Paul Cretzer. Thinking he might die, Ernie Sr scribbled the names of the conspirators and circled the ringleaders on the wall just in case he or the other officers didn’t live to tell the story. Fortunately, the US Marines were brought-in and ended the battle. Despite being shot, Ernie Sr survived and he and the scribbled names were both central to the trial and successful conviction of the rebel inmates that followed.

My father, Ernie Lageson Jr lived on Alcatraz while my grandfather was a prison guard there. He delivered newspapers to all the civilians who lived on the island and was dubbed “The Paperboy of Alcatraz.” He was also the recipient of a set of marbles from one of Alcatraz’s other infamous inmates, Al Capone.