The Dutch organization Royal Anthos, representing Dutch Tulip Growers globally for the last century, approached us a few years ago to help them start up a new tradition in New York City: Tulip Day. The first meeting included the Dutch Consulate in NY, the NYC Parks Commissioner, three representatives of the Mayor’s office, and, of course, the Dutch clients themselves.

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Right away, we knew that our diplomatic skills would be tested. We were given just 5 months to pull this off, including obtaining city, police, and fire department permits, satisfying the various stakeholders, and bringing in an audience of 15,000-20,000 people.

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This is how we did it:

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1. Analyse the existing assets and identify your must-have elements.
2. We discovered that TulipDay.com was available and bought it on the spot.
3. We reached out to influencers focused mostly on flowers and gifting, and locked them in, promising exclusives.
4. We ran triple-duty days split up between A/ creative and strategy, B/ permits and legal, and C/event-related tasks.
5. Within 4 weeks, we established an approved campaign and brand identity, complete with a (living) style guide, gift bags, a PR reach-out plan, and social media assets.
6. We received the official green light from NYC three weeks before the actual Tulip Day, which, of course, is a bit insane.
7. Pulled it off on a sunny March day, attracting a total of over 30,000 visitors
8. Reached news coverage as far as Wisconsin and Ohio on channels like CNN, FOX, CBS, ABC, NY Times, NY Post, PIX11, 1010WINS, and USA Today

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Today, Tulip Day can be found in Washington DC, San Francisco, New York City, Berlin, Amsterdam, and soon Chile.

Sometimes a CEO has a dream, wakes up the next morning, and is convinced it’s the best idea since sliced bread. BMC’s CEO had such an awareness. BMC is one of the oldest IT software companies in the world. It can be found in practically every company, yet only IT folks know them.

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We were called in a hurry. Management ran around trying to make sense of it all, but couldn’t express the idea on a napkin. After learning the technology-heavy direction, we understood that this could be expressed metaphorically.

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We landed on the A-Game. The A-Game is a term used among athletes to describe the best shape they can be in. Compare that to a company wanting to be its best, which in today's world comes down to becoming an ‘autonomous digital enterprise.’ Just as athletes and sports teams have their A-Game, so too can businesses.

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We needed the right A-Gamer to deliver this message, and we brought in Simone Biles to showcase her amazing skills. Juxtaposed against the BMC futuristic message, we created several commercials for mostly connected TV ads during the Summer Olympics and repeated a new sequel during the Winter Olympics.

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A very tightly coordinated digital campaign supported the CTV efforts. The A-Game idea has to work on all fronts, convincing current clients to step up their game while increasing unaided brand awareness. The latter rose to 21% after the first year and reached a whopping 32% (client’s findings) after the second flight.

AT&T came to us in October. They were in a rush to launch a new cyber tech division in January.

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The Task: Name the new division. Design an identity, including a campaign idea, a website, and event assets, all within three months. And, make sure two different parties have ample time to make decisions within your approval planning.

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AT&T’s cybersecurity activities earn global respect – and spinning off a division alone raises awareness and eyebrows. We had no time to take a linear route; we needed a strategy to go first, with the rest to follow. The way to get such a drill done is to establish a decision group with the client and attack from all sides at once.

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1. ​Start interviewing stakeholders on Day 1. (make sure your Q’s include that of name preferences)
2. Start naming on Day 1. (even when the interviews are still happening)
3. Start digging into what strategic positioning the new company can claim.
4. Compartmentalize naming directions for the first presentation.
5. Work through weekends.
6. Have the first meeting in 7 days.
7. Repeat this over the next 4 weeks.
8. Start producing assets in week 5.
9. Deliver a week early.

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A case like this requires one major thing: a well-rehearsed team that knows when to run, stop, and run again. Project management becomes number one. Creative and strategic know-how on when to team up and work separately.

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A few months later, at the RSAC conference, the most important conference for cybersecurity, a new company called LevelBlue impressed the visitors, and had a clear mission and impressive brand look to share.

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​The Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism asked us to help them represent the amazing city overseas at international events and conferences. After strategizing, we discovered we could reach a much broader audience by using local airports. Not only would we attract the attention of event-goers at the airports, but we’d open the city to an entirely new audience.

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Two airport examples: Abu Dhabi International Airport and Takamatsu Airport in Japan.

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It was easy to convince the management at Abu Dhabi International Airport to host our well-designed, high-quality installations. Travelers were drawn to the Instagram-friendly landmark exhibition and encouraged to take and share photos using campaign hashtags, boosting visibility. A custom-built immersive photo booth used layered 2D papercut visuals to create a 3D Shanghai backdrop, enhancing the sense of presence. Posters featuring themes like “Meet Me in Shanghai” further attracted more participation.

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A similar pop-up event was staged at Japan’s Takamatsu Airport, integrating Shanghai’s identity with local flavor. The setup included interactive design and on-site activities that boosted traveler engagement and brand visibility.

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The results: the campaign went viral during its promotion phase. Airport visitors flocked to the installation, making it a popular social check-in spot. On Instagram alone, #ShanghaiDreamtrip generated 5,917 posts and tens of thousands of likes, demonstrating strong social media traction and user engagement.

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But after the campaign ended, we realized something. The new identity we designed would vanish. Shanghai has no logo, no identity, no meet-me-here spot. While the city is part Art Deco and part ultramodern, it needed a heart. So we proactively set up a plan to build a permanent city logo in front of the famous Oriental Pearl Tower. The Administration approved the plan immediately. Unbeknownst to us, we created the number one go-to selfie spot in Shanghai. Today, thousands upon thousands of tourists, young and old, visit our city logo and share their photos online. As a result, the entire campaign brought in over 12 economic and trade events in and around Shanghai.

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