Trisect uses a video to help land the Bears business

The team at Trisect, one of three agency finalists for the bragging rights of being the Chicago Bears’ agency, won the account by displaying its creativity and salesmanship in an offbeat but obviously effective way.

A humorous 90-second video, called “Every Day is Game Day,” produced in a fast six days, “was what tipped the account in their favor,” acknowledges Bears VP/Communications Scott Hagel. Trisect earlier had been one of 10 agencies the Bears invited for their review. After winnowing down the candidates, Trisect ended up as a finalist competing with Two by Four, the Bears’ agency of seven seasons, and Energy BBDO.

The idea of producing a video came up on a Friday, less than a week before the big day after pondering “how to display our culture in a new way,” says Craig Miller, group creative director, who led the presentation.

“We had to assure the Bears that we are passionate about our work and the way we would go about working with them and we came up with the video.” “The video just evolved from what we were doing to prepare for the pitch and I think it showed our passion for the account,” CEO and agency founder Dick Thomas told Chicago Business Journals.

On Friday, K.T. Walker, executive producer at Jerry Rig, Trisect’s full-service, in-house studio, started preproduction. On Sunday she cast those who would be part of the pitch and staffers who would be working on the account.

They are seen in T-shirts and using Bears merchandise, getting revved by the big pitch, including doing the wave and holding a pep rally. Jerry Rig’s Paul Kreuter directed and edited.

Hours before their final pitch on the following Thursday, the video was sent to a key Bears executive. When they arrived at Halas Hall a few hours later, “The video had gone viral among Bears management. Everyone had seen it,” Miller says.

In the months ahead, Trisect will work on social media and some upcoming pre-season events as it helps the Bears establish strategy, creative, digital/social, media and event marketing to deepen their engagement with “casual” fans.

“The Bears have their legacy fans, but we seek to engage a more diverse fan base, including youth, female, multi-cultural and those new to Chicago,” Miller explains. To celebrate their first client meeting, the Trisect team, resplendent in Bears jerseys, pulled into Halas Hall parking lot and had a tailgate breakfast.

The Bears join Trisect’s array of clients that include ConAgra, Kimberly-Clark, Mike’s Hard Lemonade, DeVry University, Healthy Choice and Wrigley Food Service, among many other brands.