If Ad Agencies Planned Kids' Birthday Parties

You'll enjoy this. Canadian ad agency John St., with a little help from Arcade Fire, put together this mock case study for one of its greatest marketing triumphs: Making Chelsea Bedano's 8th birthday party a success in an already cluttered birthday market. What's the takeaway? The integrated campaign of direct mail, out-of-home and social media was important—as was the pre-party sleepover with the snacks, the movies and the Justin Bieber songs. But to keep the audience engaged, you really do need that mini pony.