We started with some good ol’ ocular reconnaissance. We visually mapped existing brands positioned as corporate, industrial and green; this led to developing a new visual language that personified strength, technology and earth-consciousness. We simplified the scientific, touted our toughness and got down to the bottom line with direct headlines, striking imagery and clean illustrations. We carried this new brand development across all media to produce a new website, direct mail pieces, informative sales training tools and video.

After all – it’s bright pink.

What is it? Well, it’s a bus. But it’s also a moving billboard, promoting the Avera Breast Center and featuring some of the region’s very own breast cancer survivors. One message that travels to the city’s most populated areas. And as a motivation to keep breast cancer awareness alive and well – not just during October, and not just when it comes to buying yogurt, but in terms of scheduling mammograms and staying healthy – it’s invaluable.

It’s a fun machine to see roaming the streets. And it’s a great example of thinking outside the billboard.

Go big pink!

So we put the entire thing online.

From appetizers to desserts, dishes to drinks; all fully search engine friendly. We even put a section up for event, live music and Notre Dame game days. And to top it all off we opened up the floodgates and let visitors post comments on their favorite band, drink, meal… whatever.

McNally’s Irish Pub | Drink, Food & Friendship … now fully online, engaged and willing to listen to its customers’ feedback.

Because young professionals may hate moving, but they love saving a few bucks. Especially if it means saving a few bucks while moving into a place they love.

In addition, we provided a little added value as well. Noticing that the Northridge Estates logo was in need of some work, we volunteered our suggestions for a logo makeover. Not only was Northridge appreciative of the extra effort – they chose a logo and made it their own!

The goal was to develop an image that doesn’t clash with history, but doesn’t insult the technical sensibilities of today’s modern banking customer. So, without branching away from the traditional orange ATM kiosks, we were able to make Advantage look more like Awesome.

The result – an edgier look that better reflected Advantage’s technological advances and younger targets.

After all, it’s exactly what you’ve always wanted from a bank.

An Avera-wide initiative to provide advanced technology for patients across the entire Avera network, Avera eICU Care offers major benefits for small-town clinics and hospitals.

Our goal: make it known that Avera’s got the technology, and that the best in health care is right here, close to home.

After all, a hospital dedicated to your heart and vascular system was a new thing when Avera Heart Hospital (then simply the Heart Hospital of South Dakota) opened its doors.

HenkinSchultz set the tone with a heartstring tugging general image spot that got people thinking about what matters most in life: Life itself.

The situation: The University of South Dakota was lagging behind rival colleges in admissions and interest with traditional students.

The answer: Make college appealing to the people who matter most: the future students.

The outcome: This campaign led to an increase in admissions – and a total change in attitude toward The U.

The legacy: The Big Red U is still being used to this day, and the University effectively owns the letter “U” as it pertains to South Dakota.

What started as an internal care message quickly became the focus of Avera McKennan’s marketing for nearly a decade: the idea that the hospital wasn’t just providing health care, but also caring for life.

From here, Avera McKennan’s message of “caring for life” moved forward throughout the Avera network – though the actual words are never used, you still see Avera’s dedication to service, caring and advanced technology in everything we do to this day.

The song that launched a thousand campaigns, you could say.