sam hoey nelson

I have a passion for storytelling and business.. so when I got a chance to help create a new story for a 150 year old company, it felt like a big deal.

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John Deere decided they wanted to launch their campaign of Feeding and Sheltering the world with their youngest audience – kids. An incredibly forward thinking strategy, John Deere wanted to make friends and get to know the next generation of employees and customers.

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Ask: Create a new IP for John Deere aimed at the child market and promote their Feed and Shelter mission. As a 150 year old company they are also looking to the future.. who are they working for? who will they help and, who will join them? That answer became youth of the world. The new brand and it's execution would be presented through a marketing strategy research project.

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Idea: John Deere Junior became the answer to their ask. The solution was to create a fun, inviting brand and experiences that would bring back the the fun of playing, building, growing, and exploring outdoors. Creating a message that tells kids to go outside and get dirty.. play in the mud. This phased campaign will focus on 4 age groups (young children 3-6, school age 7-9, tween10-12 and teenager 13-18)

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Team: I had the opportunity to work with  a very talented designer and illustrator who both seamlessly turned my visions into reality. As well, we worked with a savvy market researcher who helped provide data on the current kids market to sell the "why" and reasoning to back up our ideas.

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Project execution: Included in this brand strategy and brand exercise was a new logo style guide, and usage, as well as a variety of executions in various branded entertainment channels: packaging, story-lines and character design for traditional books and e-books, YouTube series, portal website and brand app to host videos, eCommerce and shared content, social media campaign and experiential campaigns to be hosted nation wide.

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What stuck: This project was a advertiser's and designer's dream – the opportunity to create a whole new brand including all the visual communications and messaging that make it come to life.