Kohl’s will always have a special place, deep, deep, deep within my soul….Starting in 2012, up to present day, they have consistently been our clients, partnering with us to capture, cut and deliver all their promo (and sometimes beyond) work. Their brand spots were beautiful and handled by other agencies, but their promo work was the bigger beast in my eyes: constant pace, high volume, complex hierarchy of approvals, last minute changes, last minute pivoting, all while staying under budget, “on brand”, and socially relevant. We collaborated with countless creatives, producers, designers, marketers, executives, directors, etc. to devise new creative approaches, cut thousands (literally) of spots, and consistently get our work to air, on time and in spec. Kohl’s has been a wild ride, with many ups and downs, but it’s also where I cut my teeth coming into this game, and the project that taught me the most over the years.
Side note: Kohl’s Cash® has earn and redeem periods, MEANING you can only earn Kohl’s Cash one week, and spend it another. Gotta peep those legal lines.
Valentine’s Day
In the retail game, marketing direction is heavily influenced by consumer metrics. Kohl’s is no exception. We often recalibrated, reformulated or upended our approach, many times at the drop of a hat. This particular edit was our first in a reformulation around 2021, and I think it came out great. A good balance of information and “story”, great music (which I think should have been used for a longer stint), and really nice/moody lighting. This was a refreshing departure from what we had previously been producing. Shout out to Loan Tran for the creative.
Outerwear - Brand
To me, this was a classic Kohl’s cut - an edit that always comes to mind when I look back on our work with Kohl’s. This was only 2 or 3 years into our adventures with Kohl’s, but it’s one of my favorite spots. The music - Not Enough by Xylos - perfectly captures the tone we were pursuing, while giving a subtle, melodic nod to the holidays. Simple, clean, tight and appealing. When you kill all the price points, the cuts can really shine. Editor: Shane McGill
Black Friday
Motion graphics is a huge part of what we do for Kohl’s - being responsible for their promo work, whenever a sale is coming up, or a price slashing is imminent, we’re communicating that message. In that right, we tend to deal with a lot of price points, legal lines, sale names, brand logos, animation explores, etc. This Black Friday spot is a party - the electric dots up front, the Kohl’s Cash bills throughout, everything pops and snaps and slides and a wide array of products. Definitely a “HEY! LOOK OVER HERE!” spot, but many Black Friday retail ads are.
12 Easy Pieces
This is one of our earlier spots that we produced for Kohl’s, and one of my favorite. The entire piece is all stop motion, focusing on the idea of building great looks with a few simples pieces. This was also my first major “music supervision” victory, as I sourced, pitched, and licensed this track (called “Sham Salad” 🤘🏻). A super airy, pleasant, and bright edit, amplified by jovial, jaunty music - a simple, but effective, formula.
Semi-Annual Intimates Sale
Kohl’s puts on “Intimates” sales a couple time of year - a nice shake up for us, as the edits require a different energy and detail due to the subject matter. We did several of these over the years, but I liked this cut the most. Finding the right talent, establishing a feeling that is sale AND brand appropriate, while still showcasing and selling the products effectively within :15 seconds were all hurdles, but my team delivered, time and time again.