Case studies
The problem, what we did, and what it did for the business.
- Summer Concert Series
Lyft
Lyft needed to win the Gulf Coast against, you know, Uber. So we sent a mobile video truck to Pride Parades from Houston to New Orleans, set up hot cocoa-equipped charging stations at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, created a MarioKart moment at Comic Palooza, built (with our hands and nails) a monument at the Nutcracker Market, and helped launch a summer concert series across five cities. It was a lot. It was fun. And it worked to deliver 8x app downloads over the previous year.
Read the Lyft story →- 5
- Gulf Coast cities
- 6+
- major events activated
- 8x
- app downloads over the previous year
“We absolutely love working with 5+8! The team always brings new and fresh ideas to the table and worked at lightning speed!”
- National Burger Day 2026
Becks Prime
Becks Prime has made some of the best burgers in Houston since 1985. No shortcuts. No gimmicks. But even when you're doing everything right, people can forget to notice. They didn't need a new story. They needed to remember how to tell it. So we mixed new school with old school: influencer collaborations, AM radio, and everything in between, including Jeff in a Santa suit. The result was higher sales in 90% of their restaurants. Then for National Burger Day we ran a buy-one-get-one offer across nine locations with almost no paid media behind it. It became the most successful promotional day in Becks Prime history. And it wasn't a one-off: for their anniversary party we did it again, with burgers sold up 47% over prior years and new customers up 23%.
Read the Becks Prime story →- 90%
- of restaurants saw sales increase
- +47%
- burgers sold at the anniversary party
- +23%
- new customers at the anniversary party
“This was our best National Burger Day ever. The team understood exactly how to make it feel like a real event, not just another promotion.”
- Text JOB to 69922
SERJobs
SERJobs had 45 days to get 1,000 people signed up for job placement and career services. Most of the people they needed to reach did not have smartphones and were not on social media. So we reached them where they already were: family-run restaurants and neighborhood businesses, with the message on napkins, cups and posters. Every one carried the same line: Text JOB to 69922. No app. No form. No account. The campaign brought in 1,100 sign-ups, and SERJobs kept it as a permanent part of how they recruit.
Read the SERJobs story →- 45
- days to reach the goal
- 1,000
- sign-up goal
- 1,100
- people who signed up
“With this request, we weren't sure it was at all possible, but we were happy to be wrong because their speed and creative ingenuity not only met our goal, we exceeded it.”
- Am I killing my yard?
Galveston Bay Foundation
Galveston Bay Foundation had a free app that told Houston homeowners exactly how much to water their lawns. It saved people money and saved the bay. Almost nobody had heard of it. We stopped talking about conservation and asked the question homeowners were already typing into a search bar: Am I killing my yard? Every answer pointed to WaterMyYard.org. The campaign was bilingual from the start, with billboards, radio and digital timed to the summer watering season.
Read the Galveston Bay Foundation story →- 5x
- app downloads vs. goal
- Cool down your crew
Louisiana Cat
Louisiana Cat needed its crews to take heat safety seriously during the hottest months of the year. Safety talks don't stick, so we made it a contest instead. Then we skipped hired talent and cast one of their own: Jacob Booth, Louisiana Cat's #1 fake weatherman. He delivered the forecast in a blazer and sunglasses, with temperatures that went from bad to 125°. Every post pointed crews to one place to sign up, and the prize was a bundle of cooling supplies delivered right to the job site. Using a real employee made it feel like theirs, and it cost less.
Read the Louisiana Cat story →- 2 weeks
- to beat the sign-up target
- Caterpillar
- Excellence in Marketing Award
LCLouisianaCatLouisiana
- Sweat it out
Sudor Sauna Studio
Sudor started as an idea with no name, no look and no voice. It needed to feel established the day the doors opened, because partners, press and early members would decide fast whether to trust it. We named it, built it and wrote every word. Sudor means sweat in Spanish, and the whole brand grew out of that one honest idea: a restorative sweat, a cold plunge and an hour to unplug. When it opened, the press told the story in our words. Customers still describe it as luxurious and gorgeous, and say there are other saunas, but there's only one Sudor.
Read the Sudor Sauna Studio story →- Day one
- the brand was ready before the doors opened
- Every year since
- still built on the same foundation
“The brand identity you created for Sudor not only gave us the polish and professionalism we needed to launch, it also helped us gain the trust of key partners and elevate our presence right from the start.”
- Repackaging
Trentino Gelato
Trentino's packaging wasn't selling. It wasn't coming off the shelf. It was stale. They needed something with life. A personality. A true brand. We rebuilt the packaging from the ground up and gave every flavor its own voice, so the copy carries the personality as much as the design. The old box blended into the freezer aisle. The new one asks to be picked up.
Read the Trentino Gelato story →- Before
- stale box that blended into the freezer aisle
- After
- a brand with a voice for every flavor
“I was blown away how they came up with such a cool and creative way to package our brand. They were so fun and easy to work with!”
- From logo to full brand
Tachus
Tachus came in for a logo. Underneath it was a bigger need: a whole brand. So we built it. Brand strategy, voice, logo, website, campaigns, and ongoing ads and social. Customers grew from 965 to 6,011 in a year, up 523%. Website users rose 914%. They came in for a logo and stayed for a partner. That's the 5+8 model in one story.
Read the Tachus story →- 965 to 6,011
- customers in one year
- +523%
- customer growth
- +914%
- website users
“Whenever I go to a new company, 5+8 is my first call. They're the one agency I know I can trust to not only do the job, but to do it better than anyone else.”
- Small Wins. Big Moves.
United Way of Greater Houston
United Way built a free tool to help Houstonians set a goal, see their next steps and connect to resources. Almost nobody knew it existed. We built the campaign around two people: Gabe, just graduated and unsure what came next, and Iris, a single mom who wanted a better job and some breathing room. Then we stopped selling the organization and started showing the moment: someone got the interview, updated a resume or found childcare.
Read the United Way of Greater Houston story →- 2,000
- people who took action
- $17
- cost to move one person to action, versus a typical $97
- 1 in 3
- took action after clicking; typical is 1 in 50
Results
- Over 700 people asked to start or talk to a navigator.
- The ads were seen 4 million times.
- By the final month, the cost per person had dropped to $14.
- Four years in
SEARCH Homeless Services
SEARCH came to us in 2022 with a problem most nonprofits have and few name out loud. What people believed about homelessness was wrong, and it was costing them donors, volunteers and support. We stopped talking around the myths and started naming them, using facts from their own impact report. That first campaign became a partnership. We built their identity system and brand guidelines, a distinct look for House of Tiny Treasures, and the Building Together capital campaign for their new home on Pease Street.
Read the SEARCH Homeless Services story →- 2022
- mythbusting campaign
- 2024
- brand identity and guidelines
- Today
- still their creative partner
Results
- Built a new and distinct identity for SEARCH Homeless Services.
- Integral in the design implementation of environmental graphics for the new SEARCH building.
- Created the Building Together capital campaign, including the donor paver program.
- The Inactive Joggers
Southern Star Brewing Co.
In spring 2020, bars and restaurants shut down and Southern Star could not sell a keg or a can to anyone. The brewery needed a new revenue stream right away, and everyone stuck at home needed something to laugh about. So we sold sweatpants. The Inactive Jogger: sweatpants for the new, more sedentary you, with a waistband that stretches so you don't have to. Sold through the online store and pushed through email and social on a $0 budget, it became the best-selling product in the brewery's history in under a month, with every sale going to a local business that needed it. The work also won Best in Show for copywriting.
Read the Southern Star Brewing Co. story →- 0%
- paid media
- 100%
- of proceeds to local businesses
- #1
- best seller in under 30 days
“I feel that 5+8 has taken the time to deeply understand both our business and our culture and seems to seamlessly integrate both of those things into the work they provide for us. I can't find enough great things to say about my experiences working with 5+8.”
- U.S. Hispanic Mother's Day
Samsung
Samsung brought us in early on creative concepts for their U.S. Hispanic Mother's Day and Holiday work. Over several months we worked alongside other agencies and Samsung stakeholders, with our bilingual team reading every idea to make sure it was written for the audience, not translated at them. No stereotypes, no shortcuts.
Read the Samsung story →- $3.2T
- U.S. Latino economic output in 2021
- 25%
- Hispanic adults who were smartphone-only internet users in 2021
- #1
- Samsung's position in the Latin American smartphone market in 2021
“I went back to my calendar to remind myself of when we briefed y'all… oh it was just two days ago. And in that time you created such EPIC scripts! AMAZING work. I look forward to us partnering together more!”