Spotlight on: Audrey Huffenreuter

Fuseideas is proud to welcome Audrey Huffenreuter as Group Creative Director for our Bermuda Department of Tourism and Boston Harbor Hotel accounts. Audrey combines big-idea thinking with creative problem solving for Fuseideas’ clients, developing powerful and lasting brands.

During Huffenreuter’s 20+ year career in advertising she has helped build brands from the ground up as well as grow and maintain well established brands such as Verizon and MasterCard. From co-creating the Easy Button for Staples, which has sold more than 7.5 million buttons to producing award-winning Super Bowl commercials for Tide and MasterCard, Audrey has also provided pro bono work for the City of New York to help raise awareness to the epidemic of domestic violence affecting many women today. Her work has been recognized at numerous award shows and publications, which includes winning the Grand Prix at Cannes, the highest award for an advertising creative.

Prior to joining Fuseideas, Audrey was SVP Creative Director at Saatchi & Saatchi on Tide North America and SVP Group Creative Director at McCann Erickson on Verizon, Staples, Papermate and MasterCard. She began her career as an art director at Arnold Worldwide in Boston and has worked in Los Angeles, Austin and New York. With degrees in Advertising Design, Fashion Design and Illustration, creativity is in her blood and drives her goal of bringing creativity and innovative thinking to all aspects of integrated marketing communications for leading brands.

Follow Fuseideas on Facebook and Twitter! Connect with Audrey on LinkedIn.

Fuseideas Bermuda Client Showcased During Super Bowl XLVII

Fuseideas client, the Bermuda Department of Tourism, made an appearance in the third quarter of the Super Bowl… just as the game was getting interesting! The ad was featured on CBS | WBZ-TV in the Boston market.

Nicknamed the “Jewel of the Atlantic,” Bermuda showcased its pink sand beaches, stunning turquoise waters, and vibrant culture in two back-to-back commercials that dared viewers to daydream of an island getaway, while providing a refreshing escape amid Super Bowl ads shown year after year.  

“This was a big win for us, and especially for it to be in our hometown market, Boston,” said Fuseideas CEO Dennis Franczak.

Did someone say Super Bowl?

CEO Franczak was swept up in the Super Bowl conversation and shared some of his favorite ads in an interview with the Boston Herald.  Franczak names Hyundai “Kid's Football Team” and Audi’s “Bravery” commercials his top picks of the Super Bowl XLVII ads. As for Chrysler's Jeep ad featuring a patriotic theme addressing the U.S. troops and narration by Oprah Winfrey, Dennis commented that the commercial was ?the “universal dud” in his own home, with the ad lacking sincerity in its messaging

Learn more about what Fuseideas CEO thought about the Super Bowl ads of 2013: http://bostonherald.com/business/media_marketing/2013/02/some_ads_score_some_fumble

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Thinking Bigger: Building a New Brand Identity

Fuseideas Executive Creative Director Mike Benes, who also serves as partner of the agency’s division Fuseacademia, will be speaking at the 2013 CASE District 1 Conference on January 31 to highlight the agency's experience in the rebranding efforts of the University of Rhode Island. 

What is CASE? 

CASE District I is the regional chapter of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education representing the northeastern United States and eastern Canada. They are hosting a 3-day conference at the Weston Copley Hotel in Boston. CASE District I seeks to provide educational professionals in alumni relations, communications, and development with information, tools and networking opportunities to advance both their careers and institutions.

The Marketing Challenge 

The University of Rhode Island, a top-notch research institution, was perceived to have limited resources for faculty and a below-average curriculum for students. The University felt that prospective applicants and teachers associated the size of the state with the size of opportunity at URI. In addition to enhancing their brand and academic identity, the University also wanted to increase their out-of-state enrollment and appeal more to new faculty job applicants.

Fuseacademia’s Benes, who has recently spearheaded major marketing initiatives for higher educational institutions including Virginia Commonwealth University, William Paterson University, Wheelock College, Iona College, George Perimeter College and Worcester State University, immersed his team in the challenges URI faced and adopted a comprehensive approach in the University's re-branding campaign.

Fuseacademia’s Approach

"With all projects of this important nature, Fuseacademia spent a tremendous amount of effort pouring through market research and relevant case studies to define and distinguish URI's true identity and how we could leverage this to attract our target audiences," said Benes. "We devised our campaign around the idea of 'Thinking Bigger' because a relatively smaller institution in the smallest state in the U.S. must often 'think bigger' to succeed in the highly competitive higher education landscape.

"We know our branding initiative is working because we have the metrics to back it up. This is not to say we didn't encounter various speed bumps along the way. Of course every campaign has challenges. How you learn from them and adjust is the most important thing,” said Benes.

“We look forward to sharing our collective experience of URI’s rebranding project at the conference."

Follow CASE

Keep up with the CASE D1 Conference as Fuseideas tweets live during the event with the hashtag #CASED1. Follow @Fuseideas on Twitter.