THE ISSUE: The team selling high-end printers and copy machines to the Fortune 500 found doors that were previously open were slammed tight following the Great Recession.

WRENCH: Xerox had a compelling story for the CFO/COO, but couldn’t get past the administrative assistant for a meeting.

PROCESS: The post-crash challenges were clear, yet industry analysts revealed that businesses surviving the recession had not only a reason to be optimistic, but were poised to thrive. Behavioral scientist interviews helped us make the case that optimism has a positive effect on a business' bottom line. Out of this, the Business Optimistic creative brief was written, then briefed in to Xerox and their agencies.

SOLVE: Chief Optimist, an oversized limited-edition magazine featuring original interviews, in-depth articles, and expert reporting. Accompanying messaging invited executives to a microsite to calculate their organizations’ “Return on Optimism” (ROO).

RESULTS: Because the format and content were so compelling, Chief Optimist made it onto the Fortune 500 executive’s desk. The “Chief Optimist” / Return on Optimism campaign placed $1.6 billion into Xerox’s pipeline, and won a “Beaker" award from the Xerox CEO, Ursula Burns.

• Desk Research

• Creative Brief

• Stakeholder & Expert Interviews

• Visioneering Sessions