Fractional Chief Creative & Brand Officer · Advisor · Mentor

In their first few decades, the company famously avoided traditional advertising. Then, conditions changed. The brief: Launch five new heated beverages and run Starbucks’ first paid retail advertising in North America.

The campaign came together at 11 pm, built from a 1930s black-and-white photograph of a woman visiting a shrine, a writer stirring his coffee, and a Starbucks “Sumatra” shipping box rescued from the trash and repurposed as the binder for the pitch. The campaign was called Stirring the Human Spirit. What Stirs You? Two decades later, Starbucks’ mission statement still reads: to inspire and nurture the human spirit.

The regional test-market campaign extended across print, direct, radio, out-of-home, events, coupons, and sampling. An out-of-store Marketing Effectiveness Test quantified the return on the work. Sales increased in target markets, unlocking greater investment in future programs and helping shape the brand’s voice for decades.

A respected 11-year-old SaaS company had grown into a global leader in services procurement, but the brand had not grown up with the business. Partnering with the CMO, I assembled a 20-person cross-functional team with the domain expertise to rebuild it.

In six months, we tackled positioning, identity, messaging, website, sales materials, environmental graphics, trade shows, Advertising, Print & OOH, campaign videos, and brand guidelines. Within the first year, sales doubled, the sales cycle compressed from 11 months to 9, web traffic rose 164%, ColoradoBiz named the company the Top Technology Company in Colorado, and Forrester named the product line a Leader in its category.

A founder on a mission. A team of former Boeing engineers. A real-world problem: the smartphones in our pockets are surveillance devices that their owners cannot fully trust. The vision existed. The genius did too. The brand didn’t. The work involved naming the company, building the brand identity, writing the manifesto, and directing initial product design.

Privoro is now in a hardware-to-hardware partnership with Samsung’s flagship phones. Its SafeCase is the first mobile device solution approved by the NTSWG for use in classified federal spaces. Investors include John Chambers, former CEO of Cisco.

Platinum Guild International’s first lifestyle campaign began with bridal and expanded into gift-giving, special moments, self-purchase, men’s categories, and designer co-ops. The work ran nationally in publications including Vogue, Elle, and Wired.

The campaign drove an upswing in sales and growth. Within two years, desire for platinum reached an all-time high of 80%, and awareness among bridal customers reached 100%.

Element invests in and works with companies helping the planet across air, fire, and water. The identity included the statement: “We identify, invent and execute products that benefit people, portfolios and the planet.”

The work included brand development, strategy, naming, creative direction, website design, and investor materials. Work created at CIG New Business.

The campaign educated drivers about Colorado’s new Express Lanes through the memorable tagline “When It Matters Most.”

Digital ads, digital bulletin boards, social media, resort media, radio, billboards, and bus advertisements generated 35.7 million impressions, drove a 76% surge in new Express Toll accounts, and increased website traffic 41%.