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Aaron Kleiber

AARON KLEIBER

Grown @%$ dad.

Comedian Aaron Kleiber has toured throughout the country with top comics like Bob Saget and Harland Williams. But when it came time for Aaron to shoot his upcoming live comedy special, there was only one place that felt right – his hometown of Pittsburgh.

CHALLENGE

From open mics to hosting weekly comedy events, Pittsburghers get the chance to see him perform live almost every week. Which means that those same comedy fans were less likely to pay a premium price to see a performer that they usually saw for free.

SOLUTION

We developed a plan to tell the story of a national comic making it big without leaving his hometown.

RESULTS
  • 15 media placements
  • Reached an estimated 5.4 million people
  • Special now available on Amazon Prime Video
  • Aaron has become a weekly co-host on TWO of the local morning shows we placed him on for the first time
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Highmark

Highmark

VITAL

VITAL is a company within Highmark that helps new innovations achieve widespread health plan purchase, hopefully saving them from the potential decades long wait between FDA approval and healthcare plan purchase. 

CHALLENGE

The big problem? How do you explain that mission – as big and as far reaching as it is – in human terms that innovators, the media and even the general public can understand?

SOLUTION

That’s where we came in. We started with interview sessions, meeting everyone from the VITAL team to doctors that had worked with them and healthcare innovators that they’d helped. Then, we created brand platforms and talking points for both innovators and the media. 

We launched a fully integrated campaign with multiple print, trade show, digital and PR elements to bring even more doctors and innovators on board. 

RESULTS

A campaign touting the disruptive possibility of the VITAL process.

The portfolio folder was created to help the sales team talk through the difference in their process while being able to customize the solutions that are most relevant to their audience with slip sheets in the back.

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Friends of the Riverfront

Friends of the Riverfront

Connect to something greater.

Since 1991, Friends of the Riverfront has worked to protect and restore the riverfront in the Pittsburgh region through trail development and stewardship after decades of legacy pollution. 

CHALLENGE

Friends of the Riverfront was facing a bigger challenge than just a dated logo and the need for fresh marketing materials.

The organization was leading a revitalization of the region’s riverfront trails, but was struggling with how to communicate about their work and mission.

RESULTS

Our Deep Dive Session with staff, board and key stakeholders revealed that the organization was much more than just advocates.

They were working to connect people to the environment, healthier lifestyles, their communities and economic development.

QUOTE

“The message ‘Connect to Something Greater’ is vital to everything we do as an organization. It helps communicate and direct our mission to protect and develop our trail system.”

– Kelsey Ripper, Executive Director

Our trails are more than just the 25 miles of path that run alongside the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio Rivers. 

They’re a connection from home to workplace. They bring you closer to nature. And maybe yourself. They connect communities and all of us to a better place. And a better quality of life. They bring us to a common ground. 

But they need someone to protect them. To beautify them. To help them grow to their full potential. That’s why we’re here. To be their advocate. Their protector. Their activist. Their friend. 

That might mean bringing together businesses and governmental leaders. Communicating about a downed tree or washed out pathway. Or simply rolling up our sleeves and getting our hands dirty. 

Why do we do it all? Simple. To connect. And because every time someone hits our trails, they get the opportunity to connect to something greater.

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Erie Apparel

ERIE APPAREL

814 Day

Erie Apparel is an Erie-based company that creates high-quality, custom t-shirts and apparel for Erieites near and far. They put the 814 on the map with quality designs and craftsmanship and ship 814 pride across the country, but their hearts are docked right next to Lake Erie so they can pour everything they can back into the community. 

CHALLENGE

One of the brand’s most popular items is their shirt with a simple “814” across the chest, representing the local area code. 

With Erie Apparel’s mantra, “It’s Okay to Love Erie,” the brand wanted to create a day that was all about celebrating the great things about the region. 

What better day to celebrate than August 14 (8/14)? 

SOLUTION

No one doubted Erie Apparel’s love of all things local, but they wanted to make it official. We worked to have August 14 declared “814 Day” with an official proclamation from the Mayor of Erie. Once we had the proclamation in hand, we decided to make sure every Erieite was in the spirit. 

The goal for the campaign was very simple: to show our love for Erie — and hope the city would visit the store. 

 Results

The largest non-Black Friday sales day in company history

Six media placements and more than 1.1 million media impresssions

Visits from the Mayor and County Executives

An official Mayoral proclamation of “814 Day”

Media Placements

To give our newest Erieites a sense of hometown pride, Erie Apparel gave an 814 onesie to every baby born at Magee-Womens, UPMC Hamot the week of August 14. By outfitting these newborns in 814 gear, we were able to build on the legacy of Erie’s proud citizens who contribute to its big, fun, loving community. 

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Trade Institute of Pittsburgh

Trade Institute of pittsburgh

Rebuilding lives

The Trade Institute of Pittsburgh (TIP) is a non-profit building trade training school dedicated to providing opportunities for individuals with barriers to employment. 
CHALLENGE

TIP was busy helping its students rebuild their lives and needed someone to help tell their story. 

SOLUTION

We rebuilt their social media and marketing strategy, as well as supported the organization’s fundraising efforts. 

ReSULTS

Beyond a new look, brand strategy and website, our Brick by Brick giving strategy helped TIP raise more than $24,000 in just under ten days. 

TIP engages returning citizens to meet a growing need for skilled workers across the trades as the older generation of workers retires. 

Pittsburgh’s Annual Day of Giving is a day focused on charitable giving to local non-profits. The big challenge? Standing out. Since every non-profit is competing for eyeballs, social media space and dollars, it can be quite a problem for non-profits. 

We decided we could skip the day and tell our story over the course of ten days with a matching donation campaign. Our goals was to fund two scholarships for students. We funded three in just ten days. 

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Pittsburgh Pickle Co.

Pittsburgh Pickle Company

#Notasidepickle

Pittsburgh Pickle was started by three brothers out to create the perfect pickle. To this day, they pack each jar by hand to ensure a higher level of quality and to honor Pittsburgh’s hardworking steeltown heritage.

CHALLENGE

One of the brand’s biggest goals was to be served at THE Pittsburgh restaurant — Primanti Brothers.

The nationally recognized Picklesburgh event was the perfect place to get the word out. 

SOLUTION

We created a social teaser campaign leading up to Picklesburgh, the world’s largest pickle festival (yes, Pittsburgh is weird. And yes, Pittsburgh is awesome). 

In a few short hours we held blind taste tests, pitting Pittsburgh Pickle’s product against the commodity brands used by Primanti’s. 

The crowd’s overwhelming endorsement of the Pittsburgh Pickle cukes was shown with 1,300+ public signatures on a love letter to Primanti’s.

RESULTS

Thousands of signatures on a love letter to Primanti’s. 

Thousands of new tasters who tried Pittsburgh Pickle for the first time.

Oh, and Primanti’s is in discussions with the brand to feature their cukes. 

In a short time with a tight budget, we got them the recognition and meeting that they were looking for.

#MainPickle

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Allegheny Cleanways

Allegheny Cleanways

It’s not for everyone.

Allegheny CleanWays has been instrumental in engaging and partnering with community groups to remove dumps and debris from vacant lots, greenways, streets and riverbanks. But they were seeking to rebrand, as people often believed that they were a city organization tasked with cleanup.

CHALLENGE

Allegheny CleanWays  government-style logo and voice made the organization feel like a stuffy County entity that didn’t have any fun. More importantly, it made volunteers and donors assume that they didn’t need any support.

RESULTS

We repositioned Allegheny CleanWays for the future, setting them up as ‘CleanUp Artists’ that transform littered areas into blank canvases ready for revitalization.

QUOTE

“Oyster helped us better showcase the work we are doing and stand out from the crowd.”

– Myrna Newman, Executive Director

oyster_creative_work_allegheny_cleanways1acwlogosmall

Struggling to drag a waterlogged couch out of the Ohio River?

Taking care of an illegal dumpsite in someone else’s neighborhood?

Or taking out the tires and trash that no one else will?

Yeah, it’s not for everyone.

What is for everyone are the results of what we do – educating so that we have a cleaner community in the future and actually removing trash from neighborhoods throughout Allegheny County – is for everyone.

Some artists look at a blank canvas and think about what could be.

We look at a messy dump site and think the same thing.

We return it to as close to a blank slate as possible, so that great things can happen.