BRAND: AAA Washington
PROJECT: Help is Here Campaign
After months of market research, AAA Washington was ready to roll out a new branding campaign called “Help is Here”.
CHALLENGE: Reintroduce an Established Brand
After years of running the very successful “Heroes of the Highway” campaign, AAA Washington needed to launch a new branding campaign that reestablished a legacy brand for a new era.
To support the Help is Here campaign goals, the central message had to change. After much deliberation and development, it became clear that AAA needed to shift the focus from ‘What Does AAA Do For You’ (services) to ‘How Does AAA Make You Feel’ (outcomes).
SOLUTION: Help is Here
I’ve spent my tenure at AAA authoring the Help is Here campaign and defining the look, feel and tone of the new Help is Here message. From writing and producing compelling sets of Radio and Streaming TV Ads to developing Digital, Print, and Out-of-Home bus-board & billboard extensions, it’s been a joy to apply my creativity across such a diverse collection of executions.
In each instance, I’ve had to consider both broad campaign goals balanced against the tactical limitations of the work in front of me. Where is the work going to be placed? Who are we hoping will see it? What are we asking them to do? All those factors are considered to ensure that the final work achieves its specific goals while maintaining alignment with the other Help is Here work in the market.
The most recent and highest profile creative produced for the campaign was a set of eight streaming TV spots (4 x 30-sec & 4 x 15-sec). These were the first TV ads created by AAA Washington in decades and internally, it was a big deal to create work in the TV space. They’ll air on streaming platforms like Apple TV, Sling, Amazontv, and on digital apps like Bravo, MSNBC, and HGTV among many others over the rest of the year.
From writing and pitching the scripts to producing the voiceovers, music, edits and overseeing the entire post-production process, it’s fair to say that these are the crown jewel of my stewardship of the Help is Here campaign. And given the constraints, I couldn’t be happier with the results. Please enjoy the 30-second spots.
RESULTS: Standing Ovation
The Help is Here campaign has been recognized throughout the organization for the compelling way we’ve brought the member experience forward, highlighting the diverse and nuanced ways AAA Membership makes life better. Our membership enrollment and retention numbers were both up in 2021 and I expect those trends to continue as this campaign continues to unfold.
In addition to the satisfaction of developing fresh creative, my efforts on Help is Here have been a tremendous opportunity to gain a higher-level perspective of how the individual creative pieces coalesce into a comprehensive campaign. As a result, I can comfortably explain the elements of the campaign and how they function together in a detailed, all-inclusive way to anyone who wants to listen. Which in more than one instance included onboarding new team members who joined AAA midway into the campaign about all things Help is Here.
And as a fun anecdote, when attending a Seattle Mariners game last season, I was delighted to spot one of my bus-boards out in the wild, which was a fantastic first of my career. Also, the M’s won!
Jon Aiken 