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A&E


   For around two years, I worked on A&E brands including shows for History and Lifetime. 




History: The World Wars




Opportunity:
Get their target (who over indexed in mobile gaming and “being a know it all”) to not just tune-in to the premiere, but become advocates in advance.

Concept:
HISTORY x QuizUp. We created a first of its kind partnership between the brands and subsequent content / a social TV viewing experience. 

Execution:
We partnered with a historian and an engineer from QuizUp to create a truly novel interactive experience, one that would surprise even the most well informed history buffs. But, it was also built to drive tune in, by promoting the show and lesser known storylines about the era’s icons. 

P.S. Can you guess who is reading the case study VO? (Hint: Yours truly!) 










Lifetime




Pitch Slapped + Bring It! 

By the time we received this double brief (social ideas for both shows which premiered the same week) we were accustomed to quick turnarounds for this client, but this was the most ambitious timeline yet. We had a month to concept and get something in market, and it was the month of December. But we were up for the challenge. We held a creative sprint to develop a wide range of ideas, fast.


Opportunity: 
Engage existing and new fans around show thematics to drive tune-in for the Pitch Slapped and Bring It! premieres.

For both brands, we had audience profiles as well as the inspiration below.

1. Thanks to entertainment like Glee, Pitch Perfect and The Sing-Off, a’capella was having a moment. People were drawn to it because of its novelty, but also because it gave a group of ‘misfits’ a place to belong.  

2. People watch Bring It! because it fills them with the joy of dance, and that joy is contagious. Professional dancers and non dancers alike find themselves being swept away in the moment while watching.  

Concepts:The two winning concepts were influencer driven (which had advantages given the quick turnaround) and they were fully vetted so the clients could say “Go” in that first round meeting. 


Idea 1: A’ Cammunity



We created an opportunity for anyone to #PitchIn and join the a’ capella community with their voice and sing with a prominent influencer and the show’s coaches.




Reception: 500k views on YouTube. 1.7M reach. 44k interactions. 250 submissions in one week. And the Pitch Slapped Premiere captured a total of 232K Impressions on Twitter (via SocialGuide) vs. 186K for Lifetime’s Daily Avg.



Idea 2: When Dance Is Life
We inspired fans to get swept away and embrace their inner dancer through a series of influencer videos that borrowed cultural equity from the meme When Ball Is Life.

Also... remember Vine? ;) We worked with creators on the now defunct platform to create a series of catchy promotional videos. 



Reception: I don’t have numbers for this one, but I can say we were pleased with how the influencers acted on our brief and the clients were pleased as well. We all felt like we could have blown this idea out to make a bigger splash, but alas, budgets and timing weren’t on our side, which was not uncommon for the account. 





Dance Moms





The following work for Dance Moms reflects how we approached a number of other shows over the years, which included bigger idea concepting as well as tactical social support.


Opportunity:Engage existing and new fans around Dance Mom show thematics to drive tune-in and sustain interest throughout the season.

We used our audience profiles for inspiration. From them, we knew the viewer was interested in learning more about the characters and dance.

Execution:A variety of social content and social page skins that informed and engaged.


Twitter Quiz
We always explored using native social functionality in novel ways, and one tried and true method for engagement on Twitter was the “quiz” format. The four image layout allowed our designers to hide the answer, so people can tap to reveal the correct answer.








Miscellaneous content concepts, like “you know you’re a dancer when” 





Social TV Scavenger Hunt (Twitter)
Usually we’d provide a second screen idea or two for the show. The below scavenger hunt was designed to glue eyes to the show, and get fans responding to questions on social using the hashtag, to win a Dance Moms dance bag. 

Teaser Post: Play the #DanceMoms scavenger hunt during tomorrow night’s premiere at 9/8c. You could win this dance bag!



Question Post (1 of 5): What was Kendall’s solo called? Answer with #DanceMoms and either #Champion or #Victorious for your chance to win.



Answer Post (1 of 5): The correct answer was #Victorious! Congrats to everyone who got it right.



Reception: I don’t have numbers for our Dance Moms work, but anecdotaly I know if performed well (happy clients) and we saw a lot of engagement around our premiere night scavenger hunt.


Final Note: We created social content for the following shows as well: Lizzie Borden. Unreal S1 and S2. Kosher Soul. Born in the Wild. If There Be Thorns. Preachers Daughters. Witches of East End.




Agency: Fanscape
CD: Brandon Stuart
Sr. CW: Zane Cassidy
CW: Courtney Davidson
AD: Christina Contreras
AD: Josh Sun
Mark

Hi, I’m Zane


I help brands develop their strategy and express it through creative concepts, content and copy.

I take my work seriously. But I don’t take myself too seriously. 

Want to see some cool new stuff? 


Cool New Stuff (Portfolio)

Copywriting

Verbal Identity

Brand Strategy


Before freelance, I spent 10 years at agencies and in-house. Working on household names. 

Nowadays, I partner with startups and small to mid-sized brands.  

Together, we create cool new stuff.

🏆 Award-winning verbal and visual identities. Like my work on Arch Anchor and Mosaic, done in partnership with comrades at Dean & Co.

🐣 New brand campaigns and performance marketing assets. That question category norms and drive engagement. Like my work with UCLA and Guava Family.

👔 Partner with CEOs at brands like Nexbelt and Unique Vintage. Helping them craft a distinct brand voice and a consistent story. Attracting new customers and investors.

You can learn more about these projects right here. Go. Browse! 

Then say hi. 


Clients
“Zane's ability to jump in and quickly create impactful, immediately usable work is every creative director's dream. Specifically how he helped us take dissonant insights and turn them into a solid, strategy-lead manifesto and multiple brand video scripts for performance marketing.” Reed Schmidt, Creative Director, Guava

“We hired Zane to help us reposition the brand with a new verbal identity and personality. He has a very thorough strategy process which really got to the essence of who we are as a brand. The collaboration and communication along the way was excellent. He truly exceeded expectations.” Gregg Hemphill, CEO, Nexbelt

“His ability to tie creative thinking to consumer insights, trends/culture, and our marketing objectives was unmatched by any creative I have ever worked with. It was always clear where an idea started and how he got to the final product.” Gina Colonette, Senior Social Media Manager, Philips 


Values
Positivity: It’s possible to be an effective pro and have fun at work. I try (my best) to murder my ego, uplift others and enjoy uncertainty. 

Curiosity. The act of learning and unlearning is like sunshine for the mind. Curiosity keeps me aware, humble and open to new ideas.

Adaptability. I’m gonna let Lau Tzu take this one, “A tree that cannot bend will crack in the wind. The stiff will be broken; the soft will prevail.”

Belief-iocity. You can call me Ted Lasso because I believe in belief and that the customer notices said belief. Trickle down belief-onomics.



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