Transforms Berkshires into Remote Areas of the World
By Lauren Zink
“A soldier walks towards his military vehicle in an arid desert…”
“A couple prepares to sail the ocean on a hot summer day…”
These are scenes from the advertising campaign for the new Pelican ProGear product line – staged in some unexpected locations. Winstanley Partners, a marketing and interactive agency in Lenox, Massachusetts, transformed the Berkshires to look like remote areas from all over the world – from Canada to the Middle east.
Nate Winstanley founded his partnership in 1986. What began with two people has grown into a firm of thirty employees with over twenty- five clients including Spalding, General Electric and Pelican. Winstanley Partners is a full-service high tech agency specializing in advertising, marketing, and creative-design. And amidst forests and lakes, attracting outdoor consumer products came naturally to this boutique agency.
“It’s not about the products, rather, it’s about understanding the consumer and what the hot buttons are for that target demographic,” says Founder and President Nate Winstanley.
The target audience for Pelican is very similar to the audience for Spalding – people who like outdoor lifestyle products and have a keen sense of adventure. The staff has become experts in understanding this consumer segment.
VP/Creative Director Ralph Frisina’s rough pencil sketches for the Pelican project. / Photographer Gary Gold takes a photograph of a Pelican cooler with a floatplane in the background on Onota Lake in Pittsfield / A gravel quarry in Lenox, MA became an arid desert when Winstanley Partners brought in Pelican ProGear, cast and crew, and a vintage Land Rover to show the products in the hands of an adventurer. / All images are courtesy of Winstanley Partners.
Recently, Winstanley Partners completed its first phase of a comprehensive campaign for Pelican ProGear, introducing the brand’s new line of rugged-use products ranging from shatter- proof iPhone® cases and laptop backpacks for city-dwellers and travelers, to rugged outdoor/ marine coolers for serious adventurers.
Some of the core imagery in the photo shoots for packaging, advertisements, sales material and in-store collateral were captured in the Winstanley Partners backyard – literally and figuratively. All their shots try to look as remote as they can. “The Pelican products are at the level of being very real, and we want to keep their message at that level in our photos,” said nate Winstanley.
“Sites were chosen to illustrate specific themes,” noted the partners’ Vice-President and Creative Director Ralph Frisina. “Pittsfield Airport served as the backdrop for an aviation- based photo shoot, while an active quarry was transformed into a barren, remote desert through creative staging.” The creative team for that shoot included Winstanley Partners and local photographers Mark McCarty of Troy, New York and Bill Wright of Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
Pelican ProGear products were also captured on rough terrain atop Monument Mountain in Stockbridge, on the water at Onota Lake in Pittsfield, and among the trains of the Berkshire Scenic Railway in Lenox.
Owning their own backyard has served as an appropriate backdrop for an off-roading themed photo shoot that charged staff with slinging mud at vehicles, products, and models. in another photo, models are sitting inside a tent at night in the forest. in reality, they are on the back porch of the Winstanley Partners office during the daytime.
The agency began its work with Pelican ProGear in late February, 2012 with development of ProGear’s identity, followed by packaging design for the entire line, the creation of sales brochures and point-of-sale materials, and design of the Pelican ProGear website.
In the future, Pelican is expanding their line to include even more heavy adventure outdoor performance products, and Winstanley Partners will be there to help with their advertising campaign. Soon Winstanley Partners will shoot new imagery in the Berkshires for Pelican ProGear. A floatplane landing in the water in Canada is actually on Onota Lake in Pittsfield. A young couple camping in their silver airstream trailer will be shot in the Pittsfield State Forest.
The Berkshire Film and Media Commission [BFMC] frequently asks the local community for locations and specific props; it helped spread the word to find the silver airstream camper. “it is great to collaborate with Winstanley Partners and assist them with various productions, especially with their commitment to shoot locally,” says Diane Pearlman, BFMC’s executive Director.
Locations are not the only local focus for Winstanley Partners to utilize. They also like to cast local residents in their shoot. Their requirement is not to have professional experience as the model or actor, but rather, to actually work in the role they are cast in.
“With hunting shots, we always recruit hunters because they know what they are doing and it looks the part, said Nate Winstanley. “Recently, we wanted to capture three generations of hunters. We set out to find teenage boys who were comfortable carrying a shotgun so in the photo it would come across as realistic.”
Local people are utilized with radio and voiceover work as well. Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, have been a great resource for television and radio talent. “Sometimes you can not beat a professional actor, and we are very fortunate to have some great ones right around the corner from us,” says Nate Winstanley.
Winstanley Partners has been recognized for their work, including winning numerous ADDY Awards. Their collaboration with the Berkshire community, and appreciation for having the opportunity to hike among rolling hills at the end of the workday, has helped them find their niche, which has put them on the map all over the world.
To learn more visit, www.winstanley.com.
Lauren Zink is the Communications Manager for the Berkshire Film and Media Commission. Reach her anytime at Lauren@berkshirefilm. com. To keep up-to-date with the western Massachusetts film scene, visit www.berkshirefilm.com
