Two Year Case Study
GE Multi, in collaboration with Mentor Creative Group, have been creating video ads for Ivar's Seafood Restaurants for the past two years. The most recent campaign from Fall of 2024 involved running a co-branded television and social video campaign between Ivar's and Holland America.
Crew:
Producers: Gregory Elgee and Rebecca Shurts
Director of Photography: Gregory Elgee
Sound Mixer: Steven Bechtold
PA: James Maltos
Hair and Makeup: Kay Matthews
Editor: Lalo Alvarez
Gear:
Camera: Canon C70
Lighting: 2x Aputure 600C
Diffusion: 12' x 12' Overhead Kit & "High Highs"
Glass: Rokinon Cine Primes
Locations:
Dialogue captured on location in Edmonds
Restaurant B-Roll captured at Ivar's branches in Kirkland and South Lake Union
Alaskan cruise footage courtesy of Holland America
Buzz
11,000% increase in Google search queries for the term "Ivar's near me" in the Seattle/Tacoma areas from March-August of 2024
23% increase in guest visits to Ivar's locations from March-May of 2024
8000% increase in site visits to Ivars.com from March-October of 2024
STORYBOARDs CREATED WITH MIDJOURNEY
30 second and 15 second scripts
Social posts:
Submit your story and win fish and chips for a year
The previous year, and the first year G.E. began creating ads for Ivar's, we interviewed guests as to what they loved about the restaurant and turned some of our favorite responses into a social advertisement (click the "Everyone Seems to Have a Story" link below) that included a clear call to action. We encouraged customers to record a video on their phone talking about what they loved most about Ivar’s. Those who submitted the video were entered into a contest to win free fish & chips for a year. The results can found below.
Additional Ivar's content Produced by G.E. Multi:
A history of the campaign and the G.E. Multi/Mentor collaboration
G.E. Multi began working with Mentor Creative Group as a video production consultant in March of 2023. Originally brought in to produce, shoot, and edit testimonial videos for Amazon, I assembled a crew of vendors to produce television commercials for their additional client, Ivar's. Ivar's had not had a television advertisement in over ten years and the company wanted to slightly deviate from the quirkier messaging the company had been known for during the 80's and 90's. Ivar's CEO, Bob Donegan, instead wanted to exhibit the loyalty of his guests and staff. To make Bob happy, we wanted to remind Seattle that Ivar's is often the first restaurant locals think of when they think local seafood. If we could get this loyal base to start generating buzz, we'd able to earn attention rather than simply pay for it.
In my second year of filming these productions, Ivar's announced that they were running a sweepstakes in partnership with Holland America. Ivar's guests could enter to win a cruise for two to Alaska if they dined in. As a producer as well as the director of photography for this shoot, I collaborated with Mentor's creative director, Aaron Shurts as well as his executive producer, Rebecca Shurts, to storyboard and script a 30 second and 15 second television spot. GE Multi hired and managed the production crew which included myself, the sound mixer, lighting technician, and production assistants, with Rebecca focusing on the post production. In addition to a Comcast television media buy, final edits were used as content for Ivar's' most frequented social media platform, Facebook, which was suitable for targeting the company's main demographic which is between the ages of 54 and 65.