This portfolio contains 3 case studies of projects completed at Miami Ad School’s Account Planner’s Boot Camp. They represent collaborative work with two talented and dedicated teams. The targets are diverse, as are the brands and business challenges. What unites them is thoughtful research and creative thinking about how to solve problems and create opportunities for brands. They are all driven by good ideas. After the case studies, there is a short section about my life and previous experience.

1. Tom Haslow
Strategic Planning Portfolio
Tom Haslow!
646-342-8176!
tom.haslow@gmail.com!
thomashaslow.com!

2. Good ideas happen when you’re awake
Being awake means seeing things as they are
When you see things as they are, you can be a little more fearless
Because you know what’s important
And can move toward it without hesitation
You can connect the dots and see the shape of things
And what they could become
You know what you need to do to change them
And then you can

3. This portfolio contains 3 case studies of projects completed at
Miami Ad School’s Account Planner’s Bootcamp. They represent
collaborative work with two talented and dedicated teams.
The targets are diverse, as are the brands and business
challenges. What unites them is thoughtful research and
creative thinking about how to solve problems and create
opportunities for brands. They are all driven by good ideas.
After the case studies, there is a short section about my life
and previous experience.
Case Studies!
GameStop – Making an irrelevant product relevant ! 4!
Smart Car – Finding a new target for a brand that missed the mark!! ! ! 11!
All Saints – Positioning an established brand in a new market! ! ! ! 17!
Bio!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 23!

4. A product insight makes the irrelevant relevant
Tom Haslow, Account Planner; Eider Cordoba, Account Planner; Kristina Bingham, AD; Dan Berenson; Copy Writer!

5. BACKGROUND: Avoiding Blockbuster’s fate
GameStop, America’s largest video game retailer, was in an unenviable position:
remain relevant as a bricks and mortar selling digital content in the download era.
They asked us to increase interest in their DLC (Downloadable Content) cards as
a way to drive traffic to their stores and keep them relevant.
…by selling a product no one needs
Downloadable content is something serious gamers know about. You just click through your
Xbox or PS3 online portal, punch in your credit card number, and buy new maps and levels for
your existing game. It’s easy, and you don’t need a DLC Card from GameStop to do it. DLC
cards involve a trip to the mall, disorganized in-store displays, and you don’t even get to keep The Product
the cards, you just get a register receipt with a code that you punch in at home.
CHALLENGE: Make the irrelevant, relevant
We thought about who may actually have a use for DLC cards: Heavy gamers (usually men in
their 30’s) still have to buy game discs at GameStop, but they all download DLC the easy way.
Young women are growing consumers of games, but they play mostly casual games that don’t
involve DLC. Moms buy a lot of games for kids, but reaching out to them would mean rebranding
GameStop. The stores are blocky, computery temples to maleness. Change that and we lose the
core dudes.
INSIGHT:
With so many reasons not to buy DLC cards, it struck us that there was one feature that DLC
cards had over online systems: you don’t need a credit card. You can pay cash, then use the
code GameStop gives you to access the content when you get home.
Dudes welcome here

6. TARGET: Teenage boys 13-17
Once we identified the key advantage of DLC cards, finding
a target was a lot simpler. Who loves games and doesn’t
have a credit card? Teenage boys.
Give them what they want… freedom.
We video interviewed teens and confirmed what we
remembered from our own pimply awkward years: teens
crave freedom, and love to express their autonomy. They
text, IM, go to malls together, and drive around for no
reason… all to be themselves outside the realm of parents.
No awkward adolescents were harmed
Parents tend to tightly monitor their purchases and restrict during the making of this strategy
credit card access. But teenagers do have small
disposable incomes from part-time jobs and allowances
that they can spend as they please.
STRATEGY:
GameStop empowers teenage gamers to play by their own rules.
CREATIVE STRATEGY: GAMESTOP LETS YOU PLAY YOUR OWN GAME
We created NOCC Club, a multimedia platform and loyalty program that puts DLC cards at
the center of giving teen gamers control over their gaming experience.

7. NOCC means “no credit cards” and is a riff on the Non Official Cover agents used by the
US Government. With exclusive features in-store and online, NOCC gives teen gamers the
control they crave. No one can track them, and no one can tell them what to do.
INVITATION TO JOIN NOCC
Teens today don’t really receive mail, so we decided to go retro and send
them (and not their parents) physical mail inviting them to join NOCC.
“Game Stop speaks your language… Because gaming is more of a
lifestyle than a hobby, we refuse to provide anything less than the ultimate
gaming experience. We’re still in your shoes, we know what gamers want.
Unlock the next level of your life, control your own world. No permissions,
no restrictions…. Enjoy all the DLC your HD can handle, in-store, with
cash… At GameStop, the gamer makes the rules...”

8. We wanted every touchpoint to breath life into the world we were creating for teens, so we
made over the DLC cards to feel like access cards into a top-secret organization. The cards
detach from their hang tags, and can be collected in the NOCC card portfolio.
DLC cards, before and after! Card Portfolio!

9. NOCC members have access to augmented reality tools that enhance gamers’ experience
in-store, and create a sense of covert exclusivity.
AUGMENTED REALITY ID CARD
These cards are blank, but when aimed at the AR
kiosk below, they reveal the photo and identity of the
user, and unlock the features of the kiosk
AUGMENTED REALITY KIOSK
NOCC members can preview and get information
about DLC content available

10. NOCC EXCLUSIVE YOUTUBE CONTENT
NOCC members are given a password to access exclusive
content on GameStop’s youtube channel. There, they can
watch video walkthroughs and tricks from hit games, lead by
top gamers and designers
NOCC FACEBOOK
This page contains members-only forums, realtime
chat events with expert gamers, and exclusive pre-
order opportunities for upcoming releases

11. SMART CAR: Finding a new target for a brand that missed the mark
Tom Haslow, Account Planner; Eider Cordoba, Account Planner; Kristina Bingham, AD; Dan Berenson; Copy Writer!

12. BACKGROUND: Small, and getting smaller
The tiny, 2-seater Smart Car launched in 2006 as a funky, cheap, eco-friendly ride for young,
progressive urbanites. As time went on, sales and interest in Smart began to wane. We had to
figure out why and make a change while not abandoning the core progressive ideals of the brand.!
CHALLENGE: The hybrids… they’re multiplying!
Fast-forward to 2011, and a new slate of hybrids from Honda, Ford,
Toyota were set to launch that beat Smart hands down on mileage
and eco-footprint. Young urbanites liked Smartʼs small size for city
parking, but found it too expensive for what you get (4-seaters like
Toyota Yaris or Hyundai Accent cost the same) and surprisingly, many of
them just found it ugly. !
Smart was more about fun than anything else…
We drove the car (very fun), interviewed owners and dealers, and
poured through Smart forums online. There was a passionate user base A Facebook poll of Smartʼs current target
for this car. People proselytized about it to their friends. They liked the yielded alarming results!
eco-friendliness, but what they loved most was just driving it, how
people gave them thumbs up as they cruised by and asked them about it
at gas stations. Even a trip to the grocery store became an
adventure. But these Smart lovers were not the young urbanites who
Smart had been attempting to reach. !

13. TARGET: Boomers and Dads
We discovered that the people who loved this car, and bought the majority of
them, were significantly older than the 20-somethings Smart had been
targeting: They were mostly baby boomer empty-nesters and middle aged
affluent dads. They liked Smart for the mileage and did share the progressive
outlook of Smart, but they loved it for other reasons. !
INSIGHT: Learning to have fun again!
Our target was entering a new phase of life. For Boomers, their kids were gone,
and the middle aged dads could finally set aside some time for themselves. Smart
reminded them of a bumper car, a golf cart, a Lego car, something that hearkened This man was shocked to
back to a more innocent time. It was anything but a boring commuter car. It was a learn that he was not 25!
little vessel to get out and explore.!
When they drove their Smarts through their cities with no kids in the non-existent
back seat, they were momentarily free from the decades of being responsible for
everyone but them. They felt young again, exhilarated by that same feeling of
freedom and exploration that came when they got their first car.!
STRATEGY:
Driving Smart is like driving your first car, all over again. !
CREATIVE STRATEGY: YOUR NEW FIRST CAR
We created Street Smart, a mobile platform that helps Smart drivers explore their world and turns driving
into an adventure

14. STREET SMART
The Street Smart mobile platform helps our target
explore their cities so they can make the most of their
newfound freedom. It has games, curated content, and
guided tours.
We didn’t want to “age up” Smart, so while we targeted
older drivers, the platform was designed to appeal to
progressive people who like to explore, no matter what
their age.
DICE GAME
Re-imagining a teenage driving game, we created
Street Smart Dice. Shake your phone to shake the dice.
They determine which direction you drive and how long
you drive for. Spontaneous and dead simple.

15. STREET SMART GUIDE
A collection of GPS guided tours of American cities that aren’t boring travel guides, but off-the-
beaten-path tours of quirky destinations, and lesser known museums and cultural events. They
help uncover the hidden gems of the cities that Smart lovers will want to explore.

16. smARTist SERIES
A year-long traveling exhibit of customized Smart Cars produced by 12 artists,
placed near key attractions in 12 cities over 12 months.
It may seem odd to put “street art” and “baby boomer” in the same sentence, but
we’re reaching progressive people who have been out of it, and are looking to get
back in, go to museums, do culture. We chose crossover artists they may have read
about in the paper and would be curious about, like Sheppard Fairey (Obama’s HOPE
poster) and David Byrne (from Talking Heads.)
smARTist Game
Driving game where drivers try to find all 12 artist Smart
cars in their cities. The app geotags the driver’s location
when they find a car, and gives clues as to the location of
other cars.

17. To enhance the feeling of connection to the local, and the artists
themselves, we’ll partner with Pandora, and ask each artist to
design a custom playlist around the memory of their first car.
We will sell reproduction panels of each artist’s work
which can be easily affixed to Smart cars, letting our
target show the world what they are into.

18. ALL SAINTS: Positioning an established brand in a new market
Tom Haslow, Account Planner, Micaela Ancewitz, AD; Fernanda Machado; Copy Writer!

19. BACKGROUND: British (Fashion) Invasion
All Saints, the edgy British clothier, had launched in America. Their upscale garments, inspired by
London punk and Japanese avant-garde, had found eager buyers in coastal cities without any
advertising. They wanted a plan to position the brand in this new market, and grow loyalty as
they expanded to 70 stores across America.
CHALLENGE: What does All Saints mean in America?
The middle Americans we needed to reach had more conservative taste than the fashion forward
buyers in New York and LA, yet they were buying the clothes. We had to find and connect with the
newbies, nurture them, and not lose those who had embraced the brand from the beginning.
TARGET: Professional women in their mid-20’s
When interviewing shoppers and visiting stores, we quickly realized that while men liked All
Saints, they didn’t perceive the menswear as being that different from competitors’ clothes. The
women’s line was very different, and the women (mid-20’s professionals) who liked it, really
liked it. They also has the disposable income to buy a $250 sweater once in a while. We knew
they could be advocates for the brand.
Comme de Garcon
The gateway drug to high fashion…
ALL SAINTS
To our target, All Saints was the nexus of the mall and the runway; more radical than Diesel, but
not as crazy as the Comme De Garcon dress they saw in Vogue. It was a first step into the upper
reaches of the fashion world.
Diesel
Women found the clothes “scary at first” and they “couldn’t find the arm hole” on some of the
Old Navy
garments, but once they put them on, they fell in love. These distressed, edgy garments made
them feel more confident and powerful. The clothes were helping them push the traditional
notions of what was sexy, what was masculine, what was feminine, what was appropriate.
fashion pyramid!

20. …and to a more fully realized vision of themselves
It was deeper than just how they looked. All Saints made them feel like “the women I want
to be.” It was different for each woman, but it was clear that All Saints was taking them to Your
what we called the “other side”.
face
here
They usually wore just one or two items, a funky sweater or a distressed coat, over their
more “normal” clothes. They loved wearing the clothes at work, where they provoked
conversation and attention. They said it was like wearing “a little piece of last night’s
party in this morning’s office meeting.”
INSIGHT:
When our target wore All Saints, they were giving little clues about their “other side.”
They were telling secrets that they wanted the world to know.
STRATEGY:
All Saints lets women to share their secrets and embrace their “other side”
CREATIVE STRATEGY: SECRETS
We created a multi-channel campaign that lets women share their secrets, hear others’, and turns
their stories into future content, and reward them for their participation.
the woman you want to be!

21. PHASE 1: RAISE AWARENES
Funny internet radio and viral video spots about women using that
Secrets
hidden, aggressive side of themselves to get what they want.
PHASE 2: SHARE SECRETS
Encourage target to share their own secrets
Microsite to share and
read others’ secrets
In-store vintage typewriter and submission box

22. PHASE 3: GENERATE USER CONTENT
Use submissions to create additional media
User-submitted secrets printed on garment tags and turned into
additional All Saints-produced videos on youtube
PHASE 4: REWARD PARTICIPANTS
Direct mail invite to a masquerade ball for those that
submitted and their guests, held in cities where All Saints
has stores, so that secret sharers can come out and play,
but still be anonymous. If they desire…

23. PHASE 5: KEEP TALKING
Fun ways to keep people telling their secrets
Partnership with Foursquare to add anonymous secret
stories about the bars and clubs our target hangs out at.
You get an All Saints “bas ass” badge for participating.
All Saints blog where people can continue to share
their stories, and get info on future All Saints events

24. about me
I discovered planning in 2010 while editing a new business video at JWT. I loved
the people I worked with. What they did and the way they thought just made
sense. I worked 12-14 hours a day for about 2 weeks. We won the pitch. Iʼd
found my tribe and set a path to join it. !
Before that I spent several years in film and television, editing and producing
music videos, documentaries and TV shows for AMC, IFC, Comedy Central, and
Discovery. Iʼve also worked with big consumer companies like Merk Pharma and
IBM, shaping their b-to-b communications. I learned storytelling and structure
from all of this; how pieces fit together to create a larger narrative. I also learned
how to work with clients. !
During this time I also played music. As the guitarist for The Drums and the
singer/guitarist for Action Painters, I toured Europe and America, played for
thousands of people at the temples of my rock and roll heroes, recorded two
albums, made music videos, and had my tunes on MTV and in bad commercials.
I also had more fun than you can imagine. !
It was art, but it was also business, and I approached it as an entrepreneur. In
music, the competition is relentless and there is never any time or money to
waste, so you have to pay attention and make smart choices. It focused my
passions and taught me to think strategically and work collaboratively. There is
no harder industry to make it in than music. I made it. Then I got sick of sleeping
on a bus for months on end. !
I received a BFA film and television from New York University's Tisch School of
the Arts.!
In planning, I see an ideal combination of the creative and analytical skills that I
have been sharpening for a long time. I canʼt wait to get started. !