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Author: Rafael Nercessian

Arcadia

Posted on by Rafael Nercessian

Shining a spotlight on solar.

Services

Market Research & Analysis

Email

Creative Development

Media Buying

Photography

Video

Digital Advertising

Brand Management

Investor Relations

For the Greater Grid

At Blaze, we know the ins and outs of the energy sector — and we’re proud to be the agency of record for Arcadia, a groundbreaking climate tech firm working hard to connect the clean energy future.

From developing the company’s first-ever corporate responsibility report, to producing their 300K+ subscriber newsletter, to marketing their cutting-edge community solar subscription, we’re letting the world know that the future of energy is clean, efficient, and accessible.

As the largest manager of residential community solar programs in the United States, Arcadia needs to communicate to a wide array of stakeholders. That’s where we come in. From rallying around new solar farm openings to coordinating a diverse media strategy, we’re shining a bright light on solar.

 

Arcadia isn’t just a community solar company. Their technology is powering the next generation of climate solutions, giving anyone the tools to electrify and decarbonize. And we’re constantly finding new ways to deliver that message to the world.

For Arcadia’s debut corporate responsibility report, we worked closely with their team to put the Arcadia mission and values front and center. Read the report, take a peek at the numbers behind our work, and watch an example of our video campaign — all below.

Read the report

335

Contracts signed from just one round of Maine-targeted incentive ads

3,896,908

Impressions from just one round of our Maine-targeted incentive ads

60.4%

Video view completion rate

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of our WORK

Amtrak

Posted on by Rafael Nercessian

PUTTING NEW ENGLAND
ON THE RIGHT TRACK. ​

Services

Strategic Planning

Audience Research

Creative Development

Production Execution

Digital Advertising

Media Planning & Buying

Next Stop: Results​

As the new agency of record for the Amtrak Downeaster, we’re conducting innovative research and rolling with compelling, cohesive creative collateral. For decades, the Downeaster had seen consistent ridership growth — but then the pandemic hit, and they saw a steep drop-off in riders and sales. That’s where we came in.

Women walking at the station

We discovered previously untapped white space for engaging potential riders, and developed a full-year, multi-channel media plan, balancing high reach channels with more targeted frequency driving tactics. With new insights and a media plan in hand, we landed on an exciting concept centered on the idea of that magical, potential-filled “Next Stop” on the train.

“Savor the
journey”

Our Next Stop campaign connects the experience of riding the Downeaster with the reasons people travel in the first place. Here, we highlight the “foodie” draw of the train’s largest metropolitan destinations.

Taking cues from the real experience of riders, we put together an aspirational set of ads across channels that spoke to the higher-level wants and needs of passengers. And though time was not on our side, innovation certainly was, as we implemented use of generative AI to help bring our idea to life visually in a matter of weeks.

Hand holding phone
Image Tablet

On the heels of that success, we wrote and produced a broadcast TV and radio campaign spot that we ushered from initial ideation to trafficking in just one month. Once again, we put our research-based understanding of the traveling consumer to use.

 

And the results speak for themselves. In the short time we’ve worked together, the Downeaster has not only returned to pre-pandemic levels of service — they’ve seen record-breaking ridership in recent months, and a significant increase in CTR nearly double industry benchmarks. By all accounts, it looks like we’re, “On the right track.”

+20%

Increase in Traffic YoY

516K

Riders, a return to
pre-pandemic levels

33%

Increase in paid search clicks over the course of one month

Man traveling by train

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of our WORK

Maine Spirits Winter 2024

Posted on by Rafael Nercessian

SIX YEARS OF SPIRITED
WORK, AND COUNTING.

Below is our Winter 2023 campaign, “Cozy Maine Cabin.”

Services

Strategic Planning

Audience Research

Creative Development

Production Execution

Digital Advertising

Media Planning & Buying

a recipe for success, HALF A DECADE in the making

Since 2018, Blaze has been the agency of record for Maine Spirits, the exclusive wholesale supplier of liquor in the state. Together, we’re making cocktails the drink of choice in Maine. 

We combine a strong digital media strategy with fresh, fun creative thinking and then we shake it all up and strain it over ice – or in our favorite coup.

Getting cozy with
cabin-ready
cocktails

Getting cozy with
cabin-ready
cocktails

How do you get people to drink cocktails in a beer-obsessed state? We start by getting to know the consumer through rigorous research and an eye for detail (spot the puzzle pieces, backgammon board, and toasted ’mallows!)

With our ingredients audience data in hand, we build a highly-targeted, integrated media strategy that brings a slew of new digital channels and tools to the table. 

This creative
performed nearly
4x the industry
average

That’s a meal!!

Save one for me!

Looks yummy, friend, tasty on these cold winter days!

We like to mix our media and creative together so 
they can work hand-in-hand — they’re basically our 
gin and vermouth. This method lets us customize campaigns to unique audience segments with 
greater precision and frequency.

We take advantage of every aspect of our seasonal campaigns. Winter isn’t just about getting cabin-cozy. It’s also prime football and basketball-watching season. That’s why we created this spot for broadcast OTT — to demonstrate that with Maine Spirits, anyone can host a winning party!

53.2K

Website visitors during this campaign, a 13.8% increase 
from the previous year

54% VCR

On our Winter video on
PreRoll, over double the
Industry Benchmark

2.6M

Paid impressions on Meta ads,
reaching high intent users

With our help, Maine Spirits is engaging a new generation of whiskey-tasters, gin-sippers, and mezcal-curious. Fresh creative — driven by audience insights and a fine-tuned media strategy — meets Mainers where they’re already searching, playing, listening, and imbibing. Cheers to that!

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of our WORK

Service Credit Union

Posted on by Rafael Nercessian

INSPIRING CUSTOMERS
TO BANK LOCALLY.

Services

Strategic Planning

Audience Research

Creative Development

Production Execution

Digital Advertising

Media Planning & Strategy

we know finance

For five years, Blaze was the agency of record for Service Credit Union, the largest New Hampshire-based credit union, supporting a full range of product campaigns and overall brand strategy. We helped them define what it really means to own your financial future — and we’re still good, old friends.

In a crowded space with a limited budget, it can be a challenge to find the right audience and target them in the most efficient way possible. With Service Credit Union, we made it our goal to identify personas that presented the biggest opportunity for engagement. We analyzed the nuances of our findings in the context of the overall market, and mapped out the opportunity ahead of us.

We developed five key messaging themes that stood at the crux of our key question: “Why do people choose credit unions?” We then conducted a 1,500+ person regional survey, crafted to determine which of our messages resonated most with our potential customers. We ensured that our respondent pool was representative of our Credit Union consumer base and leveraged our survey results (marrying both demographic and psychographic information) to extrapolate a compelling audience profile. With data in-hand, we started targeting with a balanced portfolio of messaging and media.

Through our discovery process, we were able to determine our audience’s priorities: ownership over their finances, a stake in their financial institution, control over their wellbeing, and flexibility to fit their individual needs. So we developed the “Be an Owner” campaign, encouraging audiences to take control of their finances without falling into typical, default options. We developed a creative strategy that yielded an all-encompassing broadcast, digital, and social media execution that could run on the platforms and channels we knew our audiences consumed — and the results speak for themselves.

+300%

New website users YoY

1.13%

Social average CTR

+68 million

Impressions

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of our WORK

Geo

Posted on by Rafael Nercessian

Marketing Maine's Clean Energy Future.

Services

Communications Strategy

Project Management

Collateral Design

Interviews

Website Design & Development

Comprehensive Research

Roadmap Design & Implementation

Brand Identity & Logo Development

Copywriting

Photography

POWERING OUR STATE

Blaze works on a variety of big-impact projects for the Maine Governor’s Energy Office (GEO), the lead energy office for the state. GEO provides energy-related policy leadership and program development. At Blaze, we’re consistently communicating GEO’s work, messaging, and goals.

We’re passionate about marketing Maine’s clean energy goals. We’re also energized about connecting the state’s skilled workforce and businesses to each other and to the future. Read below for examples of our projects and our process.

Can you feel the winds of change? GEO can. They brought Blaze on to lead the strategy and project management of the Offshore Wind Roadmap, which will act as a guiding force on how best to implement OSW off the coast of Maine.

Read the Roadmap

The project included the production of a nearly 100-page Roadmap document, factsheets, PowerPoints, video, photography, and an updated website. It was based on the input of 96 Working Group and Advisory Committee Members, over 75 public meetings to date, 50+ technical studies, and 1,372 unique participants.

Energizing the
clean energy
workforce

We’re currently supporting GEO in attracting new workforce talent to Maine’s clean energy sector.

Our latest work includes building a brand-new, sprawling clean energy job site. We’re inspired by the fact that our efforts will support existing and emerging Maine companies, connect Mainers to new jobs and career opportunities, attract new workers and families to Maine, and help deliver infrastructure investments in communities across the state.

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of our work

Umaine

Posted on by Rafael Nercessian

Reaching students
of all types.

Services

Graduate Admissions Marketing

Undergraduate Admissions Marketing

Brand Identity

Print Collateral

Digital Advertising

Video Production

Social Media

Game Day Marketing

Website Development

Capital Campaign Support

Research Support

YOUR CLASSES, THEIR COURSE

At Blaze, we work well with educators because we, ourselves, are lifelong learners. We understand that students take countless paths to learning — and we’re here for all of them.

Since 2017, we’ve worked with ten different campuses and institutes within the University of Maine system. We’ve run digital marketing programs, built websites, produced podcasts, written and designed alumni magazines, and built cohesive results-driven admissions campaigns that meet students, educators, alumni, and donors where they are.

In the Spring of 2023, Blaze became a qualified vendor for the University of Maine System, including the Maine Community Colleges and Maine Maritime Academy. If you’re looking for a fresh approach to branding, media, and creative productions, there’s no red tape for these institutions to go through in order to work with us.

We’re experts at
reaching students
of all types

We bring years of experience to our work with schools of all kinds, from initial research to high-level recommendations to robust, long-term communication strategies.

For over half a decade, we’ve crafted campaigns for institutions like The Maine Center, the Graduate School of Business, the Muskie School of Public Service, and the University of Maine Law School — where our work has accompanied a record-breaking number of applications. We believe in the power of cohesive stories about interdisciplinary education, and we can’t wait to tell yours.

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of our WORK