Rick Hecke, Creative

Go Ahead, Live Larger is the aspirational message I crafted for MCUA’s Bank on More initiative, educating consumers (with focus on millennials and single females) to the advantages of credit unions over traditional banks.

The campaign message was supported with the works in four major Missouri markets to generate the most reach with print, OOH, TV/R spots, banner ads, plus a new website and social/experiential SUV giveaway.

The overall campaign and statewide car giveaway sweepstakes with a social media photo-sharing component helped MCUA reach a far greater number of new followers though Instagram and Facebook.

I’ve worked on many fun, successful campaigns for this great brand over several years. Here are just a few of my favorites:

New Bottle Launch - Our client wished to engage brand loyalists and raise new consumer awareness with the updated bottle design. I created “A New Way To Look At Great Tequila” as a strategic message that piqued new consumer curiosity with the notion that it is a new tequila brand while simultaneously generating excitement among existing el Jimador fans.

The main communication appeared on all launch materials for off-premise engagement - case cards, shelf talkers, sell sheets, etc. I also produced the concept and script for the consumer and trade-focused video which appeared as a website takeover supported on all brand social channels.

The video also aired as a broadcast TV spot in key regional markets.

Jimi el Jimador* - A lovable brand mascot who tends the agave fields by day and lives the life of a luchador champion by night.

Reach For The Silver* - Olympics-window campaign encouraging consumers to celebrate everyday victories with the brand’s blanco expression.

*To avoid TL;DR you’ll find full breakouts of these campaigns in their own portfolio pages.

KCIA’s main terminal renovation was a pretty big deal for Kansas City. In fact, it was the largest single infrastructure project in the city’s history. That meant spreading the word about all the amazing new amenities, expanded dining options featuring local vendors, terminal-wide art showcase and more with a public education campaign.

OOH messaging appeared across the metro area along with digital ads, targeted paid social placement and a good, old-fashioned full page ad in The Kansas City Star to announce the official opening.

I’m proud to mention that my radio scripts for the campaign won an Excellence in Airport Marketing Communications & Customer Experience Award from Airports Council International - North America.

Working with an assortment of franchise ownership groups throughout the U.S. provides a wide variety of creative opportunities, from hiring campaigns targeting a more adult age group to writing scripts featuring star college athletes in their region.

For the hiring campaigns I contributed to the overall look and feel while also creating the scripting points to ensure the benefits and avenues for professional growth were properly communicated.

The scripts I wrote for Middle Tennessee State basketball players were a joy. Please enjoy them in proper aspect ratio here:

Elias and Jalynn Tens for 10 Piece

Jalynn’s Favorite Dunk

Elias Has It All

Hank is here to let you know all the advantages Missouri Credit Union offers over traditional banks. He’s a little snarky and that’s his charm.

These ran OTT/CTV, local TV/R and targeted socials in MCU's key markets across the state with print support on-premise.

A fun targeted digital media campaign for Sun Life Dental's Preventive Rewards plan option, speaking directly to HR brokers and deciders. Creating and shaping the service line message for banners, socials and emails was a fine challenge.

I can also scratch "write a dental insurance white paper" off my bucket list.

Westlake is the largest Ace Hardware ownership group in the U.S. with over 150 stores under their umbrella. I’ve written video and radio ads for a great number of their markets as well as their overarching campaigns, creating the “Bring It Home” theme they are currently using. I’ve also created countless paid social posts that run monthly, showcasing the many top brands and friendly assistance customers will find right in their neighborhood.

Also included here is a case study I had the privilege of art directing as well as scripting.

WireCo and its many sub-brands are a global company specializing in, you guessed it, ropes. They manufacture steel wire ropes for mining and construction as well as industrial fishing nets and more. I’ve been responsible for writing quite a bit of their B2B communication, including:

A Brand Evolution video anthem focusing on their importance to the US market as a result of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Promotion of WireCo’s first US manufacturing facility in Sedalia, MO, Made in USA website sub-page, a sell sheet for their team to use at expos, social media posts and various sales materials.

I’ve also included an internal case study I scripted to feature our work in rebranding and updating the company’s logos. Gotta represent for my design team.

This important cause began locally in Gateway PGA (STL), has since become an element of PGA National and I’m proud to have been a part of making that happen. Writing for The Wizard himself, Ozzie Smith, wasn’t so bad, either.

Two seasons working with the Blues may not have brought home the Stanley Cup (that happened, unfortunately after our tenure and no free seats), but it was pure joy inspiring fans and increasing ticket sales with OOH, arena signage, print and TV/R spots promoting the thrills and fun you can only experience live.

Overland Park, KS is a fun destination worth exploring. Just a quick drive south of Kansas City, it has something for everyone to enjoy.

This tourism campaign for Visit OP takes an honest approach – while you’re in KC for any reason it’s worth staying a little longer to experience more than you’ve imagined in Overland Park.

The video spots ran on broadcast and OTT/CTV, along with paid social and digital ad support in surrounding metros including Wichita, Topeka, Omaha and St. Louis.

From establishing Rams players as role models, hyping the arrival of a new head coach (no comment), to creating superhero personas for key players, I enjoyed two seasons writing and producing TV/R, OOH, stadium signage/merch, digital takeovers and home game giveaways for the former greatest show on turf.

Jimi el Jimador tends the agave fields in the tradition of his family heritage; caring for and cultivating the essence of great tequila by day while celebrating his best life as a luchador wrestling champion by night - elevating the inspirational brand message of “Rise To The Occasion” and “Live 100%.”

This campaign involved many moving parts including location shoots in Mexico and last-minute rewrites to edit and inject more of the improvised comedic ideas not included in the original scripts.

I’m proud to say that it all worked. The videos support messaging dominated the brand’s website and social media channels, resulting in shares and likes strong enough to initiate the brand to expand the campaign into on-premise sampling events featuring the appearance of Jimi in the brand’s key markets.

It was an honor to tell the Dubliner Irish Whiskey story for the brand’s official Unites States launch. Initially, I came up with “Imported From The Home Of Good Cheer” for an early holiday window POS comp. The brand deemed it strong enough to include on all launch messaging moving forward.

I also suggested the strategy of a tag line showcasing the brand’s Kentucky bourbon barrel aging process as the USP/POD for American whiskey consumers. The brand liked it enough to use it as a main communication for their full global campaign.

This assignment also presented me the opportunity to write a feature piece for Whisky Advocate magazine, allowing me to finally scratch ‘write advertorial’ off my bucket list.

Full Whisky Advocate PDF available upon request.

Created to run throughout the months alongside the 2017 Summer Games, the focus of the el Jimador Reach For The Silver Program was to reward the experiences of the everyday champion who is celebrating life to the fullest.

The growing popularity of Silver tequila over the Gold expression allowed for a tongue-in-cheek approach to the winner's hierarchy, with silver taking over as the ultimate prize.

The Reach for the Silver campaign featured an integrated program with print, web takeover, social media, video content, and an online sweepstakes that offered multiple weekly prizes of actual bars of silver, plus a grand prize of a brand new silver Airstream trailer.

The videos alone garnered over one million unforced views collectively in a very short activation window; delivering a strong identity for brand, campaign and cultivation of new-to-brand consumers.

The challenge: Make a 7-8 minute movie in 48 hours with genre, prop and a character name assigned at time start. This is the type of project that requires all involved to wear many hats.

For my part, I came up with the titles, provided log lines and compiled the final script for both films, directed one scene, hunted down props and, of course, served as a PA just like everyone else.

Imagined Slights - Best of Night, Best of STL (this earned us a screening in the worldwide competition hosted at Grauman’s/Mann’s/TCL Chinese Theatre in LA)

Maidens & Monsters: The Quest For Charisma - Best of Night, Best Costume Design

When our clients at St. Louis Lambert International Airport completed a 7-year, $150 million dollar renovation, their largest ever, we created The Lambert Experience campaign to deliver an in-depth look at the transformation, communicating the resulting benefits to regional commerce and travelers alike.

I had the honor of writing/producing video crafted for both consumers and B2B, onsite signage reaching travelers, a microsite off the airport’s website as well as a really slick print version of the story targeting local and regional businesses, politicians, media and additional influencers.

It’s always a satisfying challenge to provide clients with concise protocols that ensure the brand’s goals and initiatives are consistent throughout every communication channel; establishing guardrails and proper response ranging from overall campaigns down to local field team activations and social media promotional engagement.

Tone of voice assignments are also a nice profit center and POV for the right clients and I relish any opportunity to dive in, exceed expectations and produce successful results.

Full PDF examples available upon request.