In an effort to showcase its creativity, entertainment value, and individuality to clients, a Farmington ad agency created a social media campaign centered on its most unique trait: company officials say their 18th-century office is haunted by a 50-year-old ghost who may or may not have been a sea captain.
The campaign from Keiler — honored by the Ad Club of Connecticut as one of the best in 2013 — consists of a Twitter and Vine feed from the perspective of Keiler Ghost, a spirit the agency believes roams its 304 Main St. office, which once stood as a farmhouse. Keiler’s creative team pieced together tweets and videos under the handle @KeilerGhost to exploit the ghost story to clients.
“We had to ask ourselves, ‘How do we essentially bring our ghost to life?’” said Lynn Taylor, Keiler’s president and CEO.
The Ad Club of Connecticut in May awarded Keiler’s Ghost campaign with its Best in Show award. Keiler beat out more than 30 advertising agencies in the state.
“It was just so different, such out-of-the-box thinking,” said Sandra Brangiero, Ad Club’s executive director. “It took an amazing amount of time and creativity to put a campaign like that together.”
After winning the Ad Club’s Best in Show award, Melanie McMillan, Keiler’s public relations director, said the agency has attracted new prospective clients seeking a similar creative spark. Gaining that recognition was one of the drivers of the campaign.
The ghost has become ingrained in Keiler’s company culture, McMillan said, almost serving as another employee. Keiler’s staff often hears slamming doors and footsteps from the alleged spirit, who lives upstairs but wanders at night, haunting employees who work after hours.
Keiler recognized the ghosts’ entertainment value and used it to catch clients’ attention by launching a social media campaign.
The ghost’s tweets remain short to meet Twitter’s 140-character limit, but a lot of work goes into the messages’ creation. Team members working on the campaign develop lists of possible tweets before sending them into the twitterverse.
“For every tweet you see we have probably written five and rejected them,” said Alec Lawson, Keiler’s senior copywriter.
Lawson said the brainstorming process often includes procrastination and telling corny and immature jokes, which in turn allows for a better end product.
“The creative process is very social,” said Lawson. “It involves people building on each other’s ideas.”
Keiler employees take the time to draw thumbnail images by hand to produce their ideas for the Keiler Ghost campaign, which continues today. The firm is using the campaign to promote itself, as opposed to a client, in the advertising industry.
“When working for a client, there are often expectations and therefore limitations on what the agency produces,” said Taylor. “With the Keiler Ghost, we can have more creative freedom and we can produce our own ideas.”
Part of the ghost campaign’s appeal is that it incorporates thoughts, ideas, and interpretations from all Keiler employees. They story they’ve pieced together unfolds in the 18th century when a man took residency in an old farmhouse built by hand. When Keiler made the farmhouse their home in 1973, employees quickly learned they weren’t alone.
“It’s no secret this building has a ghost,” said Lawson.
Keiler employees have identified the ghost as a 50-year-old man who could be a sea captain, shoemaker, farmer, or merchant — all professions held by previous owners.
