» Client: American Trucking Association
» Job: Create an ad campaign that will attract 20,000 new truckers to the field and raise awareness of truck driving as a career among new, targeted demographic groups.
» Agency: +SmithGifford Inc. in Falls Church
» Theme: The road is calling. Take the wheel.
» The concept: After exhaustive research — including ride-alongs with truckers and sessions with focus groups — the agency developed a campaign that focused on the freedom of a career in truck driving.
Print ads with lines such as “My office has a better view than yours” and “Assembly lines don’t give you stories to tell” convey the advantages of driving for a living.
» The Plan: Place print ads in national publications such as USA Today beginning this summer in conjunction with the launch of National Trucking Week. Print, television and radio ads will also run in regional publications that target four specific would-be groups of truckers: those soon to be or recently discharged from the military, people older than 50 an looking for a second career, Hispanics and white males between the ages of 18 and 35 — the group that now makes up the majority of truck drivers.
» Creative Team: Matt Smith (co-president), Bruce Gifford (co-president), Barbara Paris (account planner), Ernie Frate (account director), Drew Magary (copywriter).
» Ages: 30 to mid-40s
» Background: Co-founders and cousins Smith and Gifford founded the agency four years ago after prestigious careers at top advertising agencies in New York, San Francisco, Washington and Richmond.
The firm only hires senior-level advertising veterans. Previous clients include AOL, Brown’s Automotive and Simply Wireless.
» Working on next: Campaigns for Roy Rogers restaurants and Explorica, an educational travel company.
