Meet Twist Global Capabilities and Case Studies

Introduction to Twist

Twist is a lean, agile, relationship-rich communications powerhouse specializing in getting your company noticed. Not overburdened with unnecessary overhead and big egos, we flow nicely into your team dynamic and help drive off-the-chart results.

How?

Twist offers you that extra “something” that breathes life into your brand or campaign and positions your business, product or service as a must-have. Your team is curated to meet your needs, features some of the brightest minds, and it is those minds that actually work on your business. We keep it sleek, not loading your account with extra bodies that drive costs up without adding value. *Bonus* we pride ourselves in bringing genius, fresh, well-rounded thinking to your business by hiring women and people from diverse backgrounds.

CAPABILITIES

We service local, national, and international clients in a wide range of verticles. The one thing all of our clients have in common? They don't mind being different.

Chef Influencer Campaign

Challenge: Unilever/Knorr sought a strong lineup of industry-respected chefs to be featured in a series of photo and video shoots for a Knorr B-to-B messaging campaign, in addition to contributing to testing/benchmarking efforts. With a key deadline looming, Unilever/Knorr sought out Twist Global because the agency assigned to this initiative was having difficulty meeting very specific client requirements: Each chef must be a formally trained, executive-level industry influencer with the ability to be engaging and willing to use their products.

Solution: We used our national/international contacts to quickly and efficiently identify potential candidates and fully vetted/interviewed each chef to ensure the client received a top-notch list from which to choose.

Execution: Twist Global curated an effective campaign that pulled on relationships throughout the tourism and restaurant industries and top cooking schools to identify what we call “Chefs’ Chefs,” a diverse array of food and tourism industry influencers perfect for Knorr's marketing campaign.

• We also facilitated benchmarking efforts by bringing in chefs to test products and invent recipes, leading up to a Big Reveal — showcasing the versatility and creativity possible with Knorr products.

Results: Several attractive, amiable and charming chefs who photographed well were successfully included in the campaign. And despite the built-in time challenge, Twist Global also was able to identify underserved and underpromoted female chefs, giving them an international platform from which to showcase their talent and innovation.

Client Testimonial

Walmart/Time Warner Global Film Tour

Challenge: Position Walmart as caring, connected to the community, and cool enough to meet the needs of the elusive “selective shopper.”

Solution: A brand-enhancing partnership with Time Warner was developed to link Walmart with the film world. In addition to revenue-generating in-store movie promotions and award-winning creative, the “Voices of Color” campaign featured the nationally televised, Walmart-commissioned documentary entitled “Will to Survive: The Story of the Gullah/Geechee Nation.”

Execution: Our team developed strategic partnerships with the Field Museum (Chicago), members of the Illinois State House of Representatives and State Assembly, the Schomburg Center (New York) and many others to expand program visibility and enhance the retailer’s corporate reputation.

• Hosted highly experiential, standing-room-only film launch events chock-full of celebrities, tastemakers, media, and community and political influencers (as attendees and participants) in Chicago, New York, Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Berlin, Germany.
• Further drove visibility for the retailer by creating a multi-dimensional, international education program as support for the film. Curriculum kits were distributed globally to schools, non-profits, churches and libraries at no cost.

Results: This campaign garnered tens of millions national and international media impressions, as well as positive word-of-mouth buzz from around the globe. Beneficial relationships were built, and congratulatory letters were received from politicians, educators, and the general public (many of whom were not originally fans of the retailer). The campaign also earned Six Telly honors and an International Cinema Award.

“...the film screenings were great events. Walmart was was well received by the crowd. As a company we had some good media visibility and appreciation by key influencers. The reception was very well orchestrated and quite effective...” – K. McCall, Public Affairs, Walmart Stores

Coca-Cola Millennial Film Tour

Challenge: Create hype with Millennials for the Weinstein Co.’s “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” before the official release date in a turn-on-a-dime 8-city tour to generate impressions/expressions and reach attendees with Coca-Cola messaging and product information. Drive awareness and attendance at screening events and ultimately underscore Coca-Cola’s key values of fairness and inclusion through alignment with a beloved, respected international figure.

Solution: Maximize influencer relations; blow out social media; and leverage campus outreach and celebrity appearances.

Execution: We identified and recruited Millennial influencers, students, press and campus leaders from key campuses in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, New Orleans and Houston to insure strong attendance of 500+ at the “Mandela” first-look screenings and increase viral reach on social media.

• Developed pre-event interactive opportunities to allow the college students to be fully immersed in the “Mandela” movie release experience with the chance to become influencers on campus and in the social media sphere.
• Continued the influencer experience by creating an insider opportunity for the stars and producers/directors of the film to engage directly with the student attendees.
• Fully leveraged tastemaker/influencer engagement by identifying vast networks, empowering them via messaging to create awareness of the movie and screenings.
• Established promotional partnerships with key regional Millennial influencers (like DJs, performers, artists, and bloggers), leveraging their social media networks to get the word out, and we found social experts in each tour market, including them on the program, while providing messaging to receptive followers.
• Encouraged social sharing at the screening by designing social media contests that rewarded Twitter and Instagram participation.

Results: Our first screening in New York enjoyed a packed theater, which had not been the case in previous screenings executed by the studio. During our mid-December showing in New Orleans our designated hashtag outperformed #Christmas. Nearly two million people were reached nationally.

“The results of this campaign were amazing —they far exceeded our expectations. Jetta is creative, has an exceptional aptitude for strategy, and is very adept at developing social media and engagement campaigns that inspire the Millennial marketplace to action. A true partner, Twist Global brings fresh ideas, resources, hard work, and technology to the team to ensure success.” –W. Rodwell, Communications Director, The Coca-Cola Company

Coca-Cola Sponsorship: ESSENCE Music Festival

Challenge: Fully leverage Essence Music Festival (EMF) sponsorship to deliver maximum exposure for Coca-Cola in the media and marketplace; ensuring that, in the sea of sponsors, Coca-Cola shined the brightest.

Solution: Twist Global was selected by Coca-Cola's agency partner to design and lead an aggressive public and community relations push to ensure Coca-Cola’s efforts were recognized in local and national media. Prior to the event, we engaged the press to develop coverage opportunities and position Coca-Cola’s media relations team as a trusted and responsive information source.

Execution: We designed an integrated strategy focused on engaging media and tastemakers and inspiring them to action.

• Pre-pitched local broadcast outlets several days prior to the release of Coca-Cola’s EMF press release to gain traction, stoke interest.
• Personally invited attending media to Coca-Cola events (which we designed to be alluring to the press). Connected the Coca-Cola client with community events and high-profile celebrities for coverage-generating photographs.
• Each day, media alerts and personally crafted media pitches and engaging photos were distributed to keep Coca-Cola at the forefront of the media’s mind. Working closely onsite with our dedicated wire image photographer, we developed shot lists for each of the planned Coca-Cola events and cataloged images to ease the approval process.

Results: Media relations efforts to promote The Coca-Cola Company’s involvement with and sponsorship of the EMF were a tremendous success, as Coca-Cola and its brand were featured in a number of national and local print, broadcast and web-based outlets. This was one of the best media efforts Coca-Cola had seen in its years of sponsoring the EMF.

"You guys rocked the PR plan! This is a strategic team who knows how to win..." – S. Ringer, Portfolio Activation Manager, Coca-Cola North America

Adidas Basketball Championship Weekend Millennial + Gen Z

Challenge: Adidas aspired to increase their basketball business and capture more market share in Chicago – positioned against its formidable competitor Nike.

Solution: Twist Global was retained by Adidas' agency partner to strategically leverage the brand’s sponsorship of a signature basketball championship weekend in Chicago.

Execution: We designed a social media and influencer program that assisted Adidas with elevating their visibility and winning the hearts and minds of Millennial and Generation Z basketball fans and fashion enthusiasts.

• Developed an onsite social correspondence team and partnerships with local celebrities and influencers in the sports and fashion space to ensure real time digital coverage of the weekend on Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram.
• Created event contests and product giveaways to inspire photos and amplify social mentions nationally.
• Collaborated with an agency creative partner to design an engagement space that included arresting signage, engagement areas, and numerous on-location branding hubs which provided the perfect background for social sharing.

Results: Efforts resulted in record attendance by the desired target market. Adidas secured more than 500k social media impressions in two days and won several key schools as branding partners.

"I love how you know what I need before I need it; thanks for having my back..." –Vince Leigh, Vice President, AthLife (agency for Adidas)

Nielsen Public Affairs Millennial Engagement

Challenge: The Nielsen brand might be as American as apple pie to millions of Americans, but not so much among Millennials. The media analytics behemoth was suffering a serious awareness deficit among this heavily courted demographic group because of a lack of a social media presence in youth-oriented spaces. Nielsen needed to kick-start engagement with next-gen audiences by creating a meaningful and deep social media footprint, using a variety of messaging outlets to create memorable experiences of what Nielsen does and how it does it.

Solution: Strategically select sponsorships that reach the desired target where they live, work, and play. Create an online presence and launch social and digital engagement campaigns to establish authentic connections to Influencers and Tastemakers. Feature real-time, onsite audience engagement at high-profile events. Be active and engaging with event attendees via sharing the amusing and practical nature of Nielsen insights. Create a plan to galvanize CSR efforts globally and empower each market to bring value in a way that is meaningful to their community.

Execution: We launched the division’s digital presence, negotiated strategic sponsorships, revamped the public relations strategy, and developed national partnerships.

• Partnered with the GLAAD Media Awards in San Francisco to facilitate new and deeper connections to LGBTQ influencers.
• Using onsite social media for the first time, we shared consumer insights, helping audience members understand what consumers watch and why, and generated engagement and new followers through an electronic auction, on-the-street buzz and real-time awards show reporting.
• At the Taste of Chicago, we moved beyond the typical booth set-up to promote music insights and trend data through the presence of up-and-coming singer/songwriter Adam Emil. Emil’s talent and established social media fan base drew festivalgoers to the Nielsen booth in droves, making the R&B-with-a-hint-of-hip-hop artist one of the most-attended appearances.
• Interactive games leveraging Nielsen data got audiences thinking about the insights and sharing them on social media using our special hashtag, while they competed to win quality prizes such as iPads and Nielsen-branded wearables.
• Negotiated the largest in-kind sponsorship — $2.5 million — with the president of Nielsen’s North America Buy Division to supervise a national launch event around Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap. Worked with the ConAgra Foods-supported Map the Meal Gap study to leverage existing platforms and create new social media channels and messages on the state of food insecurity, highlighting the real stories of hunger in the United States.

Results: Nielsen impressions went from 1,200 to 5.3 million in a single year. Visibility around sponsorships shot through the roof, enabling our team to get more out of sponsor relationships in a strategic manner. Increased Millennial engagement by 48% for Nielsen Public Affairs in less than a year.

BP High Net Worth Franchise Search Events

Challenge: Generate interest in the BP franchise program among ambitious, entrepreneurial professionals of color and women who have at least $700,000 in liquid capital available and could support a $3 million to $4 million investment. Target markets were Chicago, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Atlanta.

Solution: Twist Global worked with BP's agency partner to design a visibility strategy, and lead a multi-layer, grass-roots approach to meet the client's marketing and business development objective.

• Collaborated with high-level influencers to further our efforts to ensure that all key leaders and influencers within the market were included.
• Secured relationships with pivotal government, business, and community leaders, as a way to build a coalition and assist in our outreach efforts.
• Hosted successful informational meetings, luncheons, and dinners with agency-identified government officials, business, and community leaders to help educate and raise awareness about the BP franchise program.

Results: By every measure, our efforts were a success. It was the first time the client ever participated in such a forum and was so positively received — they were amazed at the caliber of influencers, politicians, and prospective investors who attended the meetings and expressed interest in the BP franchise offering. The meetings were well represented with politicians; key influencers from the Chambers of Commerce and lead social organizations; CEOs of mid-size firms; and C-suite executives in the banking, legal and finance industries. Many came prepared to discuss and/or start the sales process, which helped BP executives meet their business development goals. The client was so impressed with the team’s work that they contracted the team to use this same model to attract an even wider audience of prospects.

“Jetta brought a strategic perspective to my business that help the company reach, and secure its goals. She has key contacts throughout the US and is able to mobilize at a moments notice. I am impressed with her candor and ability to formulate and get the right message to the client. Her keen understanding of PR strategies and tactics for media and corporate communities is extremely valuable. I would highly recommend Jetta and her company as a partner for any major projects. She made me and our company look good while exceeding our objectives. Looking forward to the next project." –M. Carr, National Franchise Manager, BP

FOUNDER

Jetta Bates Vasilatos

As founder of Twist Global and Jettasetting: The Lifestyle Channel, a profound sense of breathless possibility undergirds Jetta Bates Vasilatos’ approach to life, love and business. Jetta masterfully curates the best ideas and trends from a range of areas — fashion, music, design, spirits, architecture and beyond, marrying them with strategically astute public relations and marketing campaigns that shift businesses and bottom lines from good to great.

Knowing what’s hot and being connected to what’s (and who’s) hotter is how Jetta gets down to business. She has a keen understanding of the benefits and limitations of corporate orthodoxy, possessing the instincts to break form when necessary to achieve greater sales, profits and messaging that resonates. As a creator and curator of experiences, Jetta has brought her talents to a broad range of national and international business initiatives from consumer products and retail to spirits, tourism and nonprofits. Clients include Miller, BP, The Embassy of France, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Adidas, YMCA, and AT&T.

As a professional with international expertise, Jetta has designed launch strategies and supported events for designers at Paris Fashion Week and tourism companies at business forums globally. Jetta has created and managed successful international integrated marketing campaigns, including the Walmart/Time Warner Voices of Color film initiative, which included a national experiential tour featuring internationally recognized celebrities and artists, a specially crafted low country culinary experience, a global educational campaign, and the screening of documentary “Will to Survive,” about South Carolina’s historic Gullah Geechee residents. She amassed an impressive array of awards, including Executive of the Year, two AT&T President’s Club awards and the Gold SIAA award for excellence in public relations. On the strength of her creativity and innovation, her client, Walmart, won six Telly honors and an International Cinema Award.

Harnessing the power of social media and tastemaking, Jetta created a successful influencer relations and audience generation campaign for Coca-Cola to identify and recruit Millennial students, press, and campus leaders in six cities, including New York, Los Angeles and New Orleans. Her leadership resulted in packed theaters nationally and a social media blowout for all of the brand-sponsored “first look” screenings of the film “Mandela:Long Walk to Freedom.”

Jetta designed and led buzz-generating national public relations campaigns for Coca-Cola’s title sponsorship of ESSENCE Music Festival and the launch of Sprite Green, which included sponsorship of the “Two Kings” party with Jay-Z and LeBron James. She also crafted a turn-on-a-dime B-to-B North American initiative for Unilever, featuring leading executive chefs in a successfully curated ad campaign and benchmarking initiative.

When Jetta isn’t tending to the bottom line, she is shaping her lifestyle channel Jettasetting. Star of Bravo’s “Tour Group,” Jetta has been a TV and radio correspondent featuring travel, lifestyle and personal branding topics on popular shows in her hometown of Chicago and as far away as Seoul, South Korea, and Nairobi, Kenya. Jetta also regularly shares her trendsetting expertise in magazines, including Essence and Recommend.

Jetta co-authored “The Entrepreneur Within” and has been a featured speaker at SXSW, Northwestern University, Social Media Week Chicago, and Ad Week, New York. The Columbia College Chicago graduate, an avid “curator of cool,” can be found sharing unique shopping, travel, dining and entertainment experiences to consume and enjoy at Instagram and Twitter @jettasetting.