Branding

So maybe it’s a little ironic — writing a website for an outdoor event management and consultancy whose goal is to help people unplug from screens and devices. But so it was when Challenge the Wild rang. The parent company based in the U.K. was setting up shop this side of the pond and needed help translating its brand, mission, activities, and messaging for a North Carolina context. Paired with images of the stunning Piedmont, the invitation is to disconnect and to wander in “spaces where you can take in a broad horizon, rest under a shade canopy, and detect birdcall.”

The founders wished to sprinkle personality throughout the copy, so I wrote staff bios with a little humor. Of the Operations Chief, I wrote, “You know those nature documentaries with guides clad in khaki, walking through tall grass, whispering in hushed tones about rare birdcalls? Well, that’s Dale.” Of the Team Leader, I added, “Paul is the type who would enthusiastically go first rappelling down a 130-foot tower dating from the 1850s. You know, to show it’s safe.”

When a client asked if I’d help open a new e-marketing channel, I was all in. The company had not yet tried e-blasts but was ready to add this soft-sell marketing strategy to translate complex ideas to easily understood content, stay top-of-mind in a light-hearted way, and to cultivate credibility among 5,700 chief financial officers and other finance leaders. In addition to naming the e-blast series (“Making Cents”), I wrote more than 30 issues on everything from ChatGPT, GenAI, SEC interest rate setting, and tech stacks to travel costs, ESG regulations, storytelling with data, and the holidays. Along the way, I increased open rates (thanks to compelling subject lines) from 11% to 30% in less than a year. The short-form content — two or three paragraphs — also cross-posted to the “Insights” section of the company’s website.

Let’s face it: one of the most conservative brand categories out there is banking. It can be a sea of beige, white, and navy blue often paired with worn-out verbiage. So when this nimble community bank asked how they might stand out, I resolved with a crackerjack team of designers and marketing pros to take them way off the beaten-and-boring path. We splashed out with vibrant colors, energetic photos, and unexpected words like “fanatic”, “unflinching”, and “head-over-heels devoted” to make sure this brand was memorable in a crowded marketplace.

A commercial real estate finance company was ready to bring different lending divisions under one powerful brand to better communicate its pole position in the industry. I worked with a marketing team to carve out a brand that would stand out from the competition. In an industry focused on scale, expense, space, size, this company’s new brand was all about people. From its genesis, “Creating tailored offerings for customers wasn’t an afterthought for us. It was the very reason for our being.”

An Atlanta-area real estate group wanted to attract buyers for 38 new townhomes in Historic Roswell. I worked with a marketing team to develop brand messaging to mirror architecture of old-world brownstone with modern fit-and-finish. The townhome community name (“Providence in Historic Roswell”) was inherited from a newly published book containing love letters linking two 1850s-era Roswell residents; this backstory added distinctive historic charm to marketing materials.

Real estate services can be a little impersonal: phone trees galore. Two partners at a new firm wanted to offer boutique-level attention to stand out among competitors. Building a brand from scratch, I worked with a design team to place the two partners front and center. The headline, “When you hire Cott & Lambert, you get Cott & Lambert” stressed no-nonsense personal attention. After launching, the firm performed lease acquisitions or purchase/sale transactions in excess of 30 million square feet with clients ranging from Fortune 100 industries to local and regional entrepreneurs.

The new dean at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School resolved to level-up rankings with an inviting, modern, dynamic rebranding. The re-boot would take a fresh turn among staid competitors. With a dynamite team, I crafted messaging that carved out a light-and-bright brand to position for growth. Results? The next year saw MBA applications up by 11%, and enrollment up by 16% (even with increased selectivity). Full-time MBA now ranks #25, part-time MBA #13, and Executive Education #8.

Here’s a sample of my work on the campaign: