Reframing a relationship with the place Amazon calls home
Amazon’s Reputation Marketing & Insights team put out a call for creative partners with a nuanced challenge: create a campaign that could help shift perception among Seattle locals—sparking curiosity, not conversion. The goal wasn’t to win over the region with sweeping sentiment, but to invite a second glance at the many ways in which Amazon is having a lasting, positive impact on the place it calls home.
Amazon’s presence in Seattle has undeniably brought innovation, jobs, and investment to the region—but it’s also fundamentally changed the city. As Amazon became more deeply woven into the fabric of Seattle, cultural tensions emerged. Longtime residents and newcomers alike grappled with rapid growth, shifting values, and rising costs. The RMI team understood that rebuilding trust wouldn’t come from promotional language—but from real stories grounded in honesty, community, and humility.
Through deep discovery and collaboration with the RMI team, we developed a campaign framework that elevated real people and real moments. Stories that reflected Amazon’s local involvement, without overstating its role. Our approach was simple: let the work speak for itself. Show up with humanity, not hype. And let Seattle draw its own conclusions.
We produced four story-driven campaign spots highlighting Amazon’s work in the region through the lens of the people and programs it supports:
Each story focused on the humans behind the headlines—showing how Amazon is helping move real lives forward.
Three of the stories were adapted into a :30 cut designed for broadcast, along with additional cutdowns for digital channels. With documentary pacing and cinematic visuals, these edits brought quiet power to the message—inviting viewers to lean in.
We created organic-feeling social edits optimized for TikTok and Instagram, bringing the stories to life in a platform-native way. Additional static assets were designed to drive engagement and broaden reach across Amazon’s channels.
Display creative focused on driving awareness through direct, benefit-forward messaging. Each ad surfaced a specific proof point—like day-one benefits for hourly employees or the size of the Housing Equity Fund—designed to shift perceptions through fact, not fluff.
We brought the campaign to high-foot-traffic areas that reach a cross-section of Seattle’s population: Seattle Center, Climate Pledge Arena, and the monorail. Inside the arena itself, we extended the story even further with interior ad placements—embedding the message directly into the rhythm of the city.
By meeting skepticism with sincerity, and leading with people over polish, we helped Amazon reintroduce itself to Seattle—not with a brand anthem, but with small truths. Stories that didn’t demand a change of heart, just a moment of reconsideration. And in a city where perception is hard-won, a quiet “maybe” is a step in the right direction.
