EpandMedia collaborated with DC-based ad agency Squier Knapp Dunn (SKD) to produce 2005 re-election campaign ads for New York City’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The ad team was comprised of the same key creatives who succeeded in helping Bloomberg win his 2001 mayoral race: Chief Consultant/Director Bill Knapp, Creative Director Matt Herath, Producer/Director Len Epand, and SKD Production Head Damon Miranda. For this race, New York-based Consultant Josh Isay of KnickerbockerSKD also bolstered the team.
Besides directing a significant quotient of the footage seen in some 70 TV ads, Epand collaborated with Bill Knapp to create more than 50 radio ads. The ads targeted a broad range of New York media, from Anglo and Latino to Korean, Urdu, Indian, Russian, Chinese and Creole. As a result, Bloomberg beat his opponent Fernando Ferrer by one of the largest margins in history, 58.5% to 38.7%.
From the outset the campaign’s success wasn’t assured. Prior to any production, focus groups could name few accomplishments attributable to Mayor Bloomberg. The TV campaign was therefore crafted to feature real New Yorkers, in outer borough locations, talking about the Mayor’s substantial contributions to the city. The mayor had helped the city rebound from a $5 billion hit from 911 and balanced the budget. Crime was reduced to historic lows, jobs were increasing, and school test scores were up. Immediately following the ad launch, Bloomberg’s poll numbers began climbing, and press accounts quoted New Yorkers, in echoes of the ads’ sentiments, crediting the mayor for those accomplishments.