Role: Startup Creative Partner & Advisor, Creative Director

Services: Brand Naming, Brand Architecture, Comprehensive Identity Design, Creative Strategy, Styling, Art Direction, Creative Advisor

Sitting in my tiny Ohio living room, Jason Ross (JackThreads Founder) pitched me the idea of a members-only discount shopping site tailored to men with taste, a place where “cool brands could liquidate their guys shit” he said. He asked for my help, told me the original thought was to name the company “UFuss,” and asked me to join the two-person team.

I was able to steer Jason away from UFuss, toward a name that fit the persona and service perfectly: JackThreads. From there, we developed the Primary & Secondary logos, developed unique brand touchpoints, and began wrapping the site. In those early days, we wrote handwritten letters from "Jack" as a means to form the building blocks of personality. Products were styled, shot, and sent from my small warehouse office off 5th Avenue in Columbus, OH. We did things the way all startups should: imaginatively, crafty, and cost-conscious.

If you're familiar with JackThreads, you'll likely know where the story goes from here...it was acquired by Thrillist and valued at $92M. 

JT for life. Millions of loyal followers agree.

Role: Creative Director

Client: Ed O’Hara, The Big West Conference

Services: Brand Architecture, Positioning, Brand Messaging, Brand Tagline & Naming, Brand Strategy, Brand Book Development, Identity Development, Uniform Development, Brand Standards

The Big West is comprised of 11 universities throughout California and Hawaii, including Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine, and UC Long Beach. In early Spring 2021, we set out to change the conference’s identity; to infuse energy and prestige into the governing athletic body, its schools, students, and athletes. After hundreds of hours of strategic research, stakeholder interviews, and athletic conference SWOT analysis, I was able to craft a new brand messaging direction for The Big West that helped inform the new identity as a whole. I wrote and pitched ONLY THE BOLD™ as the tagline to capture the spirit and strength of the conference, along with a brand book of complete architecture messaging. Download the book HERE. From there, and in partnership with the visual team, the now iconic ‘flying W’ was born. The logo, primary mark, is an external expression of the brand’s courageous pillars and will be a source of pride for generations to come.

Role: Executive Creative Director

Services: Pitch, Event Strategy, Experiential Ideation and Installation Design, Brand Activation, Event Messaging, Event Content, Event Programming, Set Staging, Art Direction, Production Partnership

Client: NBC Sports

I had 72 hours to strategize, concept, ideate, design and deliver a deck with a fully-baked experiential event that would wow the NBC Sports team into hiring our four person team (a small agency in Chicago) for their first invite-only media event. A challenge I accepted and poured some serious heart into, especially knowing it represented a huge opportunity to help grow women’s sports. After pitching the concept to the NBC crew at Rockefeller Center, the event was ours. A big win for a super tiny team. And so, “The Power House” was born.

From that point forward, we worked tirelessly to make my completely crazy ideas come to life—with a production budget of $20k. Still, there simply had to be an immersive shattering glass backboard. What says “women in sports are superheroes” better than that? There had to be an entry tunnel with ambient voices echoing the greatest moments in women’s sports. There had to be an immersive theater experience for guests, and food stations themed to sports and pay equality. As you can see below, we did all that and more. The event was a high touchpoint experiential gem at every turn, educating and inspiring partnerships with On Her Turf, and ultimately helping revolutionize and fund women’s sports.

For kicks, some of the original pitch work and renderings shown below.

No one was caked in the making of this campaign or experiential activations.

However, as I wrote in the tweet pinned on ASICS feed, "The wait's over. Welcome to the crew @steveaoki." In an effort to ramp up the Global 'I Move Me' campaign (Saatchi & Saatchi), ASICS North America and United Entertainment Group engaged famed artist, Steve Aoki, as the new face of the brand. 

As Creative Director (Contracted) with UEG at the time, it was my honor and responsibility to not only oversee and launch the North America campaign, but to also activate the major brand announcement with a series of experiential events, drawing big press and lots of talk.

On October 17th, 2017, we invited an intimate group of NYC's top editors and writers to The Public Hotel, for an ASICS overnight experience. The overnight was highly curated and personalized for each individual, with a Gifting Suite overlooking the Manhattan skyline to welcome them. From there, no detail was missed. Dinner was served Japanese style, in a room transformed to feel like a Zen Garden. Rooms had the guest's favorite hot tea served before night's end and little surprises popped up along their stay. On October 18th, we awoke the Editor's bright & early for a quick energy bite and then rushed them off to a room transformed into the hottest workout space in Manhattan. (Move over Rumble.) At this time, Aoki joined... for the workout, for brunch, and for individual interviews regarding his involvement with ASICS. 

THEN, there was "THE JUMP ROOM." An activation near and dear to my heart, evoking the spirit of Aoki alongside the ASICS ethos. Taking place at an unsuspecting gallery space in the Lower East Side, select celebrities and influencers entered the guarded space to find two giant trampolines and a serious party awaiting their arrival. More on that here.

Pause to watch the videos linked in the photo section, definitely worth the three minutes it will take to get through.

Cake.

Role: Creative Director

Services: Creative Strategy and Thematic, Event Experience, Event Design and Set Direction, Event Messaging

It was a showdown at Staples Center. 148 - 145 EAST during NBA All-Star Weekend.

As part of the NBA’s weekend schedule, we turned The Majestic Theater into the annual “NBA Crossover,” a celebration of the league’s influence on culture and the world around us. Featuring music to fashion, tech to entertainment, and of course…the kicks.

I was hired by the famed Mirrorball NYC to ideate, strategize, design, and pitch the work. What came of it was something of the extraordinary and resulted in the most talked about NBA Crossover of all time.

We went in ballin,' turning LA’s Majestic Theater into every NBA fan's most unexpected dream come true. The experience began with a personalized tunnel entrance brought to life (paparazzi and all) by Tissot. Next up, fans could cannonball into the giant foam finger pit; shoot some 3's with a digital Curry; drool over the custom sneaker collab + art gallery; get an NBA-approved haircut; score a front row seat to hear some of their favorite players talk ball, and drool over the high art backboards. Fittingly, we called the immersive space “The House of Ball.”

We’d hoped to include a shoppable Craig + Clyde Atelier, an NBA 2K Custom Avatar station, and "Bron Bron's Cookie Jam" stand, but we tabled those for another time.

Read more on the hyped event in the Los Angeles Times.

S/O to Michael Blatter and my stellar team at Mirrorball. 

Role: Creative Director, Copy

Services: Brand Positioning, Messaging, Product Naming, Product Copy, Web Copy, Visual Identity Systems

Client: Ronnie Shugar & Donda Mullis, Founders/Owners

Before Raw Sugar became the viral sensation it is today, I teamed with Raw Sugar’s Founders, and fellow Creative Director Joni Parenti, to help position the brand for success. (Wild success, in fact.) As is true for every startup, it was important to create a cohesive verbal and visual experience and highlight differentiators that would help the product(s) stand out on Target’s shelves.

The result of our initial strategy work was a shift to position Raw Sugar around the benefits and distinction of its ColdPress Technology© as well as develop a new voice for the target conscious consumer.

What you’ll see on the shelves of major retailers today, and all across the nation, is the result of our work. The brand copy, iconography, Sugar Notes, and visual approach we introduced gave Raw Sugar the character and presence it deserved—to go on and wow the world.

Role: Creative Director

Services: Campaign Ideation, Advertising, Art Direction, Brand Messaging, Broadcast Graphics, Yankee Stadium Events Campaign

Client: NY Yankees, Kara Mooney

Pinstripes never die.

In company with my rockstar team at SME (Justin Wright, Ed O'Hara, Daniel Gold, Brandon Cabassa) I worked on the Yankees brand for many years. Together, we were brand watchdogs and activators: ideating and delivering integrated campaigns, ticket campaigns, ticket design, photography direction, environmental design, fan experiences, social media, and more. 

The Yankees brand demands perfection at every touchpoint. We operated and delivered creative to this standard, always. One of my proudest pieces of work is the 2015 Season Ticket Design (shown below.) The concept was to pay homage to Yankee history while giving the tickets life beyond the turnstile. We landed on a series of 20 rotating tickets that resemble baseball cards of the past. To this day, the tickets are sold for thousands of dollars to collectors and amassed incredible buzz.

Role: Executive Creative Director

Services: Event Creative, Show Creative, Set Creative, Team Management, On-Screen Graphics and Messaging, Celebrity Script Management, Art Direction

Client: Freeman, Optimist Inc, Amazon

I’ve done a whole lot in my twenty-ish year career, but this one hour show takes the cake for most complex. NewFront is one of Amazon’s largest events and we set out to make it one of the best. It was a special year given Amazon’s NFL on Prime Video announcements, along with season previews of Bosch: Legacy, Lord of the Rings, and Freevee acquisition + rebrand—bringing together the biggest celebrities, talent, and…Roger Goodell.

Judging by the applause and press, plus a fully packed to standing-room-only Lincoln Center I’d say we pulled off something epic. To start the show, we created a montage video teaser that played across a 20’ screen, set to a live performance by New York City Ballet’s prima ballerina and NYC’s very own youth Blue Angels drumline. If you’ve never seen a graceful ballet performance juxtaposed against NFL footage, take a few minutes to witness the full intro moment magic here.

Conceptually, the show took a “variety” approach, with Amy Poehler at the helm. We integrated on-screen storytelling and incredible motion graphics to amplify executive announcements and key show moments. I couldn’t be more proud of what our mighty Freeman and Optimist Inc team accomplished on this one. To watch the show in its entirety, click here.

Full Case Study via Freeman here.

Role: Creative Director, Copy

Services: Campaign Concept(s), Copywriting, Copy Direction, Art Direction Partnership

Client: HEILBrice, LA Tourism & Convention Board

Los Angeles Tourism is the city’s largest industry. It supports over 200,000 jobs and provides billions of dollars in economic impact.

The Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board challenged my team at HEILBrice to create a campaign that increased awareness of Los Angeles’ meeting and convention possibilities, expanding on the team’s "MEET L.A." concept. In fact, check out this 2017 LA Times article. 

"The Los Angeles Convention Center reported an operating surplus of $10.2 million, a 5% increase from the previous year’s surplus of $9.7 million." -LA Times

The campaign concept grew from the strategic insight I’d discovered that LA is a city of unique adjacency, a place where event groups can have massive beach bonfires and board meetings all in the same day. Leaning into that concept, I wrote and developed the campaign to highlight LA as work and play, conferences amidst creativity.

Through digital, traditional and experiential activations, MEET L.A. has become one of the most recognized campaigns in the Travel Trade Industry.

Role: Executive Creative Director

Services: Creative Strategy, Ideation, Creative Platform, Environmental Design and Staging

Client: SoHo Experiential, Lord & Taylor

The fashion industry felt a collective gasp when Le Tote acquired 5th Ave’s Lord & Taylor to the tune of $100 million. For over a hundred years the flagship store on 5th & 34th was a mecca of fine fabrics, incredible cashmere, and couture. However, the acquisition meant a positive change to the brand’s business model, shifting away from our grandparent’s Lord & Taylor of past and into a subscription based hub of fashion for new generations.

Within a month of acquisition, Le Tote x Lord & Taylor engaged the agency to “show customers that Le Tote cared about the NYC community, create brand love by meeting new customers where they are and signal to consumers that they can expect new things from the business.”

Given the Holiday season was upon us, I felt there would be no better way to warmly and intimately welcome a new generation of brand loyalists than by inviting them ‘Home For The Holidays.’ The thematic became the inspiration for the SoHo pop-up space, the cozy experiential design, and dazzling product merchandising featuring shoppable products from Ugg, Kiehl’s, and a new cashmere line.

The event was featured in The New York Times here, CNBC, CNN, Adweek, and a dozen others.

ASICS isn't Dad's shoe company anymore.

In fact, the brand has taken their recent repositioning seriously, gaining big traction in the millennial market. As the Contract Creative Director at United Entertainment Group, an Edelman property, I was charged to seamlessly integrate the ASICS brand into Pitchfork's 21st Anniversary Concert. As the sole (no pun intended) presenting sponsor, alongside Virgin Mobile, we had a large concrete room with which to bring the brand to life. 

And that we did. 

Transforming the space from concrete and dust to gallery walls and mid-century mod vibes, we welcomed over 2,000 people into "THE VINYL CLUB." It was a spot to chill; a spot to look back on the 21 best records we curated alongside Pitchfork's ultra-talented music aficionado's; a spot to rub elbows with rising music stars and a spot to showcase ASICS dawning emergence in culture.

Live screen printing, photo stations, velvety lounge chairs and some of New York City's finest Vinyl DJ's spinning until 2AM accomplished our charge. We gained brand awareness, along with some serious disappointment when we had to call it a night. The party could have kept on going.

Almost forgot, check out Topaz Jones, thank me later.

There are two types of people in this world, those who pronounce adidas correctly and those who do not. #ThreeStripeLife

Over many years, with many agencies (s/o SET Creative, FICTION, SME) and the brand itself, I’ve worked with adidas on brand identity, creative strategy, holiday campaigns, MLB & NBA All-Star experiential activations, and product launch creative. This work extends all the way back to 2007 when adidas helped MLS level up America’s soccer game—becoming its first major sponsor and helping bring David Beckham to the fields of LA. In partnership with my incredible team at SME (2006-07) we worked with adidas x LA Galaxy x Beckham to create the league’s premier brand identity…the “Quasar crest.” The crest has become an iconic mark within the international soccer community and appears on some of the highest-grossing team sports apparel products.

(A Personal Note: I am honored and humbled to have worked with both Ed O’Hara and the late Andrew Blanco on LA Galaxy x adidas. Both of these incredible men have had profound impact on the sports industry, and Andrew will forever be missed. One of the greatest designers of our generation.)

If you're a Laker's fan, it's best to turn away now.

#Represent

I moved to Southern California to work on the Clippers account in 2012, at the peak of the City divide between Purple & Gold vs. Red & Blue. My job was to help re-position the Clippers as a contender and to unite Clipper Nation. The result? An award-winning campaign titled REPRESENT. For the entirety of the 2012-13 season, the word could be seen, heard and felt across LA. The players, coaching staff and front office had the words of the first television script painted on their locker room walls. It became a rallying cry, a movement. #RepLAC became the loudest NBA social buzz.

Then, in 2013, with a Championship season ahead we launched the supporting campaign "It's Time." It, too, spoke perfectly to the Clipper's brand we continued to build.

Upon moving home to New York at the height of the ownership change, my agency (SME) was tasked with the complete re-brand of the organization. As the Creative Director, it was my honor to continue work for a brand--and group of players--I so very much respected. Partnering with Steve Ballmer (Owner) and the Team, the re-brand work was completed and activated across uniforms, court, apparel, etc.

Watch the LA market spots below. Writing, filming and directing the Lob City crew (s/o DeAndre, CP3, Blake G and Grant Hill) was the illest.

REPRESENT - "Heartbeat"

REPRESENT - Media Day

IT'S TIME - "This is Our Time" 

IT'S TIME Activation - Jumbotron Player Intros

Baller.

Role: Executive Creative Director

Services: Creative Strategy, Event Creative, Experiential Direction

Client: SoHo Experiential, Campari Group

Tales of the Cocktail is the bar industry’s most anticipated event, featuring the best spirit brands, world-renowned professionals, and events. 2022 was a special year beyond that, as the industry celebrated its triumphant return to New Orleans and live events after covid.

Campari engaged SoHo Experiential to create a special space to launch its Perspectives series, and strengthen relationships with industry influencers.

To do that, I directed the activation around the idea of an imaginarium; creating a space that was full of portals and unexpected interactions. From the moment guests arrived to historic Broussard’s until their finishing sip of our Perspectives branded cocktails, their journey was equal parts curious and collaborative. In one room, guests were immersed in a cafe lounge and book club—”The Open Book Bar”—where they had surprise table side conversations with industry execs and celebs. In another room, floor-to-ceiling velvet curtains created an old Hollywood screening room to screen episode one of the Perspectives series. Four rooms in total, and a courtyard, each with a different memory-inducing experience, gave our guests a new lens into the world of Campari.

I still have the original presentation, the notes, the sketches of the logo from our first meetings with MLS, David Beckham, LA Galaxy and Adidas. (Someday, I'd love to write a book with Ed O'Hara on this and other defining Sports Branding moments.)

In 2007, when the MLS was in dire need of repositioning and The Beckham Era was beginning, SME was engaged to help. As the Associate Creative Director, I helped write and deliver the original brand pillars, manifesto (included here) and new positioning. This work was being done simultaneously to the LA Galaxy and Colorado Rapids re-brands. No small feat for our small team at SME.

The MLS grew in considerable ways and continues to evolve as a force in the world of Fútbol.

Page Under Construction - Coming Soon

The Atlantic Coast Conference is comprised of 15 of the top academic and athletic institutions in the United States. With the addition of potent programs like Syracuse, Pitt, Notre Dame, and Louisville; the ACC was ready to evolve it's brand messaging, strategy and overall positioning within Collegiate Sports. 

The year prior, the SME team had redesigned the Primary Mark, and it was our job to continue pushing the conference ahead. We were tasked with the development of new Brand Pillars, Tone & Voice, Look Tools Kit, Corporate Sales Presentation Materials and a complete Brand Book. 

You can download the final Brand Book here.

I get chills every time I look back on this work and read the Anthem. Writing it and presenting it to the Office of the Commissioner ranks up there on my list of surreal career moments.

Imagine having a single weekend to concept, write, film, interview, edit, mix, record VO, edit again and deliver a television spot for one of the World's largest Entertainment brands.

That's all while gaining internal *and* client approvals. 

Done and done.

Cirque du Soleil's IRIS was set to leave LA's Kodak Theater, for good, and our job was to spread the word: To get everyone to see the show before it was too late. Which is exactly what we did, with time to spare. Watch the spot, below!

You'll be happy to know that no one was harmed in the making of the video. Though we did pull an overnight in edit bay and I did finalize the script an hour prior to VO recording, all sans sleep.

This commercial assignment, in addition to work on the DESTINATION: IMAGINATION digital sales app, was all part of a year's worth of work with HEILBrice and Cirque du Soleil.

Sex is awkward to talk about, baby. But there's no sense in holding back when speaking up could mean saving lives.

The New York City Health Department is on a mission to make sure that everyone has access to free condoms and sexual health support. In an effort to market the NYC branded condoms and empower New Yorkers, I directed an integrated campaign titled "Play Safe NYC."

After a hefty amount of research, my strategy was to target the message to Women. Mostly due to the fact that condom campaigns are typically all targeted towards Men, and because very few Women ever carry condoms themselves. On average, Women are not raised to be prepared. So, this strategy flipped the script and empowered New York Women to *own* their choice and proudly carry condoms. By eliminating the cultural shame typically associated with this decision and maintaining a playful, sexy tone, the campaign positively supported SAFE sex and informed New Yorkers of products available to them.

Play on.

Crunchy french apple. Tart Key Lime. Fluffy chocolate cream.

#OhMyPie

Marie Callender's Restaurant & Bakery is a west coast fave and HEILBrice has been the long-time Agency of Record on the account. Working with the HB team, I strategically directed, wrote and developed lots of sweet culinary creative for the brand. Including; radio spots, digital ads, menus, product names, seasonal themes, television spots, social campaigns and you-name-it-we-did-it. 

The toughest part of the job? I experienced severe and frequent pie cravings.

In 2013, Condé Nast and Amazon announced a deal that changed the publishing industry as we knew it.

The publishing giant and e-comm site joined forces to simplify the subscription process for its glossy magazines. It was the first campaign of its kind to push the industry to become more digital and begin to phase out the stacks of magazine insert cards and direct mail.

You can read about it here.

Our team, at Bandujo, partnered with Condé Nast to launch the new process, create an "All Access Plan" for magazine subscribers and improve the customer journey. A journey, it was. One that made some publishing and digital history.

Sitting in a two day 'Communications and Agency Partner' meeting at JPMorgan Chase headquarters (Columbus, OH) resulted in knowing more about the banking and finance industry than I'd ever really hoped for. Really. 

But, it enabled me to own and understand the Chase voice: A voice that's transparent, friendly and straightforward. Over the course of a year with Bandujo Advertising, I wrote and directed hundreds of digital campaigns, email blasts, direct mail pieces, ATM screen prompts and in-branch marketing collateral. 

In addition, I developed editorial content for Chase.com and JPMorgan.com to help inspire customers throughout their personal financial journey. JPMorgan Chase was the first institution to solidly push useful financial literacy content to its audience, and the first to embrace the idea of "transparency" in banking. And they see that value through at every brand touchpoint.