Business Roundtable

Throughout 2010, 2011 and 2012, we worked on several advocacy initiatives before Congress on behalf of Washington DC-based Business Roundtable, an association of America's top CEOs. The initiatives included education, job creation and the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement, which passed successfully and was signed by President Obama in December 2010. The full page print ads were created and written by Payne & Company and ran in Politico, the National Journal, Roll Call and The Hill. Accompanying digital ads ran in the website counterparts of the publications.

Payne & Company is the advertising agency-of-record for Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies with nearly $6 trillion in annual revenues and more than 13 million employees worldwide.

Pacific Chai

Pacific Beverage was a small but rapidly growing company when its principals began searching for a designer with packaging experience to re-design the identity and packaging for its main product, Pacific Chai. Chai is a tea latte made with honey, vanilla, cinnamon and ginger, first popularized in the far east. Pacific Beverage was ready to move to the next level, and it needed a unique, sophisticated look that reflected its higher profile in gourmet coffee shops and retail outlets across the U.S. I directed a team of packaging designers who began the project by re-creating the visual identity, hand-lettereing a bamboo brush wordmark that evoked a far-eastern look and feel. Warm tan striped packaging was then created and the label logo was color-coded to indicate the particular flavor. Result: Pacific Chai raised its profile in 2001-2002, expanding its market base and winning two gold medals from the American Tasting Institute, including "Best of Show" and "Gold Taste Award." The company continued to grow rapidly in 2003-2004, positioning the company for sale in 2004.

Agency: Riddick; Creative Director/Art Director: D. Payne; Designer: E. Zirkle; Illustrator: D. Payne

Leadership for Life

A branding campaign for Fishburne Military School was designed around dramatic portraits taken by award-winning editorial photographer Robb Scharetg for a Virginia Living cover story. The print advertising utilizes the headline "The Fishburne Experience" defined as "Leadership for Life", a character trait all FMS alumni share. Fishburne, the oldest military boarding school in Virginia and one of the oldest military prep schools in the nation, has produced leaders in a variety of fields since its founding in 1879, including former Virginia Governor Gerald L. Baliles '59, Pulitzer Prize Winner Eugene Gray Payne '38 and billionaire World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) chairman Vincent K. McMahon, Jr. '62. The campaign is part of a long-term awareness building effort designed to increase enrollment and aid in development efforts.

John Tyler CC

Doug directed a talented creative team and crafted the John Tyler campaign theme, “Get Real. Real-World Education” for print and broadcast media. The campaign featured actual students and underscores the College’s commitment to representing a diverse student body. The campaign profiled three John Tyler students and how the College offers “Real-World Education” to those who lead fast-paced family and professional lives outside the classroom. The message had to resonate with the returning student seeking a two-year degree, the working professional seeking technical certification and the traditional student seeking a transfer degree to a four-year university.

The campaign was a success, dramatically increasing John Tyler enrollment over a two-year period. The creative team also received one national and two regional advertising awards for communications excellence.

Agency: Riddick; Creative Director: D. Payne; Director/Producer: T. Trenz; Writers: D. Payne, S. Anderson; Production; D. Forst; Post Production: Henniger, Rainmaker Studios.