John McNeil Studio Takes Launches To New Heights with Campaign for Smartsheet

Launches set the rhythm and pace of the working world – whether it’s launching products, services, campaigns or big ideas. That’s why, in a rapidly shifting landscape, Smartsheet has evolved to meet tomorrow’s launch challenges, offering a dynamic suite of capabilities for businesses embracing the future of work. In celebration of this mission, the company collaborated with longtime partner, creative agency John McNeil Studio (JMS), for a campaign designed to educate consumers about their new tiers of offerings, in advance of the launch of their latest innovation, Smartsheet Advance.

Born in the cloud and built for the hybrid future of work, Smartsheet is the only platform that can scale from a single project to end-to-end work management. Smartsheet also eliminates silos: connecting business on a no-code, cloud-based platform where anyone can create the solution they need — backed by the control and security IT demands. In solidifying Smartsheet as an industry standout, JMS worked closely with the Smartsheet team to develop a campaign that upends perceptions and charts a new path forward for the evolving workplace management platform.

“The market may be more competitive but Smartsheet still stands alone in its offering and capabilities,” explains agency Founder/CEO, John McNeil. “The question was, how can they showcase their accessibility and status as a dynamic and secure workspace platform with the ability to scale across any business level?”

The solution was an overarching broadcast and online campaign, inspired by the theme of “the launch” – a universal workplace expression of action, impact and achievement. Anchored by an anthem film that uses a mix of stylized footage, kinetic cuts, sweeping camera moves and voiceover to evoke an exciting launch countdown – each spot features workers on a literal launchpad showing the various different industries that Smartsheet can serve, from marketing to shipping logistics. These launch themes carry over to digital banners and other brand touchpoints.

JMS handled concept, creative and strategy for the campaign, which will run on TV, OTT, OLV, podcast/streaming audio, social, and programmatic banners. The 30s and 15s video content will also live on Smartsheet’s YouTube channel.

As partners since 2019, both Smartsheet and JMS approached the campaign as true collaborators, which allowed the agency to work more directly with company leadership, integrating their ideas into the core of Smartsheet’s business. “The benefit of JMS has always been our ability to work directly with CEOs on using creativity to drive real impact,” says McNeil. “Our capabilities, experience and in-house production facilities like The Annex allowed us to handle everything for Smartsheet and made us a valuable, trusted resource in a way that they really appreciated.” In fact, the teams were so aligned that they even used the Smartsheet platform to manage the entire campaign, proving its flexibility and ability to deliver excellent results across the whole team.

“With the workplace changing, Smartsheet isn’t staying stagnant,” continues McNeil. “They’re making sure that their platform is helping businesses manage that increasing rate of change. Communicating that was our biggest goal, one that we think this campaign helps make clear for anyone looking for better scalable tools for navigating the future of work.“

Credits

Agency + Production Company: John McNeil Studio

Founder/CEO: John McNeil

President: Nils Peyron

Co-ECD: Gerald Lewis

Group Creative Director: Doug Green

Director of Project Management and Creative Services: Darcy Novo

Associate Creative Directors: Drake Paul and Jeff Roy

Project Manager: Emi Reed

Director: Gerald Lewis

Director of Photography: John McNeil

Producers: Paul Grimshaw

Editors: Stephen Berger, Seth Andrews

VFX Artists: Monica Rodriguez, Anthony Hernandez, Adam Hazard, Kons Edelstein, Michael McClain, Iban Goiatxe

Color: Brandon Kuchta

Music & Sound: Asche & Spencer

About John McNeil Studio

John McNeil Studio is a creative company with capabilities that span the needs of modern marketing communications, from brand strategy to creative to production, motion and image, technology, design and innovations. We help companies make the most of their communications and our founded belief that everything is a chance to build a brand.