Lead Car Chevrolet
Role: Senior Producer
Agency: Congruent
Overview:
As one of our longest-standing clients, Tom Gill Chevrolet has trusted us with their brand for over five years. With the expansion of their footprint into a new dealership — Tom Gill Buick GMC — they aimed to bring the same legacy of trust, transparency, and community loyalty to a new audience.
This campaign served as both a brand introduction and a cultural bridge. It was our opportunity to help Tom Gill communicate that the values people love about their Chevrolet store would continue — and expand — under the new Buick GMC roof.
The Challenge:
The Tom Gill team faced a pivotal moment. Taking over a pre-existing GMC dealership meant entering a market with legacy customers who were understandably cautious. The concern: would this “new name” continue to deliver the same reliability they were used to?
We needed to establish immediate trust while reintroducing the store under the Tom Gill umbrella. We also had to preserve the brand tone — playful, magical, and honest — in a way that felt fresh yet familiar.
The Creative Concept:
We developed a creative centerpiece: The Genie.
The idea: even a magical genie — known for granting wishes — can’t compete with the deals, service, and transparency of Tom Gill. It was a playful metaphor for a dealership that can seemingly do the impossible.
This concept tied directly into the long-standing brand identity of Tom Gill Chevrolet: “Feel the Magic.” Our goal was to retain that whimsical spirit while expanding its reach into the Buick GMC brand — reinforcing consistency across locations and audience perception.
My Role:
As Senior Producer, I oversaw the entire project from concept to delivery:
- Creative Strategy: I collaborated closely with the creative team to ensure the concept aligned with Tom Gill’s values, tone, and long-term brand voice.
- Sensitivity & Tone: The Genie character introduced a satirical, lighthearted energy. I worked closely with casting, wardrobe, and scripting to ensure the humor was accessible and respectful to all audiences.
- Production Planning: I led all logistics for a six-part video campaign, including location management, casting, set coordination, and client communications.
- Efficiency: The entire suite — six 30-second spots and six 15-second cutdowns — was executed in a single-day shoot. This required tight scheduling, smart blocking, and creative problem-solving to keep quality high and cost low.
- Cross-team Leadership: I ensured seamless coordination between camera, sound, teleprompter, and dealership staff — all while maintaining the creative vision and tight timeline.
Results:
The campaign not only landed — it outperformed all expectations.
- Viewership & Engagement: The videos received excellent traction across digital and OTT placements, with metrics significantly surpassing typical dealership ad performance benchmarks.
- Client Satisfaction: The Tom Gill team expressed high confidence in the brand continuity between locations.
- Audience Feedback: Community response was overwhelmingly positive. The Genie character became a memorable highlight, effectively symbolizing the “magic” of the Tom Gill experience.
- Brand Expansion Success: Buick GMC’s reintroduction under the Tom Gill banner is off to a strong start, backed by a creative campaign that both honors legacy and invites new customers.