Platinum Award
Strategic Communications | Marketing/Promotion Campaign | Integrated Marketing 2022
The Davey Awards
Silver Award
Outdoor/Environmental Billboard
United Methodist Church – “Connect with Joy”
My Role
I helped concept the campaign and personally illustrated and animated the creative, bringing the holiday message to life across Times Square, Connected TV, and social media.
I helped concept the campaign and personally illustrated and animated the creative, bringing the holiday message to life across Times Square, Connected TV, and social media.
Challenge
After a 2020 Christmas apart, The United Methodist Church wanted to celebrate the joy of connection in 2021. With a major media buy in Times Square and a limited production budget, we needed a solution that would stand out from the glitzy holiday clutter while feeling warm and heartfelt.
After a 2020 Christmas apart, The United Methodist Church wanted to celebrate the joy of connection in 2021. With a major media buy in Times Square and a limited production budget, we needed a solution that would stand out from the glitzy holiday clutter while feeling warm and heartfelt.
Solution
We created simple, illustrated animations showing people reconnecting during the holidays through a series of cozy New York windowscapes. This approach allowed us to deliver emotional storytelling that felt inviting and human—without the need for large-scale live production.
We created simple, illustrated animations showing people reconnecting during the holidays through a series of cozy New York windowscapes. This approach allowed us to deliver emotional storytelling that felt inviting and human—without the need for large-scale live production.
Results
Times Square – Seven :15 animated boards ran for four weeks, generating 31.7M+ impressions and appearances on Good Morning America and New Year’s Eve broadcasts.
Connected TV – :30 animated spot with music and VO delivered 2.8M impressions with a 97.8% completion rate.
Social + OOH – Illustrated billboards and motion ads across top markets and TikTok delivered 18M+ impressions and 41K+ clicks, with 77% engagement on the “Find a Church” CTA.
This project highlighted how thoughtful concepting and design can maximize impact for a nonprofit client while telling a joyful, human story during the holidays.
As soon as these went up in NYC, I flew to NYC with my family to experience these in real life. The movement, the red glow, and warm messaging really stood out amongst the hectic ad-heavy nature of Times Square.
Originally, the campaign was meant for Times Square, but the client enjoyed it so much they asked us to adapt it to be used as their primary Christmas campaign, which included Connected TV, Social Ads and Billboards across the nation.
