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< Back Cabo Diablo - Branding & Social Media Launching a new coffee flavored tequila, from the ground-up. With flavored liqueurs gaining momentum amongst younger crowds, it made sense for the mother brand of Cabo Wabo to create this new devilish blend of smooth coffee with the bite of tequila. Targeted at males, ages 21-25, it was our challenge to come up with the overall brand image, story and engagement strategy. Concept The winning concept: “Diablo Made Me Do It. ” The message: “No matter what mischief you get into tonight, you’ll have the best excuse in the book. So go ahead, give into temptation and embrace the night’s adventures .” This concept is heavily tied to the hashtag: #DiabloMadeMeDoIt – encouraging digital participation and sharing. Digital After launch, we grew our page from zero to over 10,000 fans in two months. In fact, one of our promoted posts became so popular, it was listed on the top 10 “Most Engaging Facebook Posts” by Unmetric . Experiential We co-hosted three Halloween parties in our key launch markets. It was dubbed “Diablo’s Lounge” – where consumers could meet a Diablo character, sit in his throne, share a shot and be surrounded by Diablo’s "temptresses." My Specific Contributions: Co-developed the original “Diablo Made Me Do It” concept Created the “Diablo’s Lounge” sampling program Led the social media strategy, oversaw content creation and execution Co-developed retail pieces, including teaser and reveal Wrote all copy for concept decks, retail and experiential elements Project Gallery Previous Project Next Project

< Back Busch Beer - Creative Direction How we brought the sound of refreshment "Buschhhhh" to life in the retail space, and increased sales. During my time at We Are Alexander, I was the Senior Creative Director over the “Value Brands” for Anheuser-Busch. The biggest brand of the bunch: Busch. Managing a team of four art directors and one writer, we collaborated with agencies from all over the country to re-launch this iconic brand in a fun and engaging way. As the “retail agency” it was our job to translate the “Buschhhhhhhhh” creative at the store while also hitting pivotal passion points throughout the year, mainly racing and the outdoors. A Brief Summary The brief was definitely brief: The above the line agency had a new TV ad reaching back to the ’80s for that famous “Buuuuuschhhh” sound. Our challenge was to use this concept to sell beer at retail. We started by creating our own benefit-driven tagline: “The Sound of Refreshment.” From here, we were able to develop the look, feel and type of retail elements. Our bread and butter retail pieces for two years showcased the CTA: “Crack One Open” on a bright blue background with condensation, and the classic spraying can. Pricing was also a very important message for this "value" brand, that continues to grow in sales and visibility. My Specific Contributions: Led the creative team, brainstorms, and presented all creative to clients and partners Wrote copy for the pieces and, of course, the decks Worked closely with multiple agencies Fun fact: I wrote and recorded an original song about Busch beer for a “Billy Bass Busch” singing/talking fish retail and on-premise item (Hit single can be seen and heard here: https://youtu.be/Y5r-gP_ax4k ) Project Gallery Previous Project Next Project

< Back Cabo - Thick Cut Lifestyle How we blazed a path were no tequila had ever gone before. Cabo Wabo was in need of a big re-brand and revamped direction in the way it connected with consumers. Instead of following the pack and harping on Mexican heritage and pretentious quality, we took a fresh approach, based on insights, that made Cabo Tequila stand out for some more assertive reasons. Cutting Into It First, let’s define what “Thick Cut” means. It’s a two-part answer: 1. When Cabo is made, the master distiller uses a thicker cut of the distillate. In plain words, it’s a bolder, more agave-forward tasting liquid. 2. Thick Cut is a way of life. It means taking a no-holds barred approach to life, liberty and the pursuit of pleasure, and never apologizing for doing what you love. Because hell, you’ve earned it. It was our job to bring the program to life through retail, digital and experiences. After running the Cabo social channels for a couple of years, we used digital insights to develop a very targeted campaign, focused on the middle aged, mid-western male. He knows what he likes, will pay more for the things he wants and doesn’t care what you think. From one of our positioning decks, Cabo is “100% Mexican, 110% American” tequila. We Did the Research & Delivered After hosting focus groups, we discovered that our drinker loves grilling and outdoor entertaining as much as drinking tequila. So we connected Cabo with some of the nation’s top BBQ experts. Our approach was to provide utilitarian content from the experts, taking each consumer’s already awesome grilling and drink making skills to an even more awesome level – while showing them how to pair the perfect, bold Cabo drink with their kick-ass meal. While the campaign was digital content and retail focused, we also were aggressive in hosting sampling events throughout the country, especially at BBQ-centric events. That's where our influencers would appear to serve up meats and Cabo drinks. It was a truly 360-degree campaign, highlighted by an ever-growing video series, retail promotions and ongoing digital/social content. Some Fun Results: Over 3 million video views. 20,000+ drink and meat samples. 23.5 overall impressions. 31% new Facebook fans, 13.1% more Twitter followers, 152.3% more Instagram followers, 85.5% more YouTube followers. My Specific Contributions: Led the creative process and ideation for how to execute the Thick Cut Living program. Wrote copy for communication/retail pieces/website and overall talking points. Worked closely with experiential team to run and manage sampling events. Led scripting and direction of video content. Directed overall social media content and communication strategies. This platform and programming is still ongoing and evolving. Project Gallery Previous Project Next Project

< Back Radio Spots Two radio spots - Verizon Wireless & O'Charley's I wrote the scripts, came up with the concepts, selected the talent and performed as producer for these spots. Both ran nationwide. Project Gallery Previous Project Next Project

< Back Behind the Barrel - Wild Turkey Reigniting passion for a worthy brand, through an unforgettable experience. Challenge: Shift Consumer Perception While knowledgeable bartenders know that Wild Turkey is a fantastic and high quality bourbon, for far too long the brand had suffered from misguided consumer perception. Research showed that the average drinker thought of Wild Turkey as a harsh whiskey made for the "good ol’ boys." Solution: Inspire Gatekeepers to Educate Consumers Using industry contacts, we personally invited 30 of the country’s best and most influential bartenders to Kentucky to spend two nights immersing themselves into the Wild Turkey bourbon world and family. The Experience: https://youtu.be/kzBSitmqY8o How The Event Inspired: Private welcome dinner and cocktails with the Master Distillers. Visit to Independent Stave for a hard-hat wearing VIP tour, witnessing bourbon barrels being built and charred. Two-hour VIP tour with the Master Distillers. Skeet shooting on the grounds, while learning about how Wild Turkey earned its name during a turkey hunting trip. The Rare Breed Challenge: Divided into groups, bartenders blended their own small batch bourbon to match the flavor and profile of Wild Turkey’s own Rare Breed bourbon. Drinking bourbon straight from the barrel: The Master Distillers thief’d and served from the oldest warehouse on the grounds. Outdoor dinner, overlooking the Kentucky River and an amazing skyline. Bonfire, music and bourbon with the Master Distillers. Sleeping on the distillery grounds in 5-star tents. This event was such a success, it's been running twice a year ever since this innagural launch. Plus, the program now invites bartenders from all over the world! My Specific Contributions: Led the creative process and ideation for the event, from the original pitch deck through complete execution and expansion. Wrote copy for all communication pieces and talking points. Worked closely with experiential team during planning and on-site to put on a perfect event. Collaborated with the Master Distillers and brand team to ensure integrity. Personally took care of bartenders who partied too hard the first night. Led the creative process for the next iteration of the event based on feedback. Project Gallery Previous Project Next Project

< Back The Pledge - Anheuser-Busch How we celebrated Anheuser-Busch's 30th anniversary of its landmark “Know When To Say When” campaign. Anheuser-Busch was looking for a way to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of its landmark “Know When To Say When” campaign. Back in 1982, it was the first time an alcohol brand had ever led a campaign to promote responsible drinking. We came up with “The Pledge” – a participatory campaign that encouraged the entire world to commit another 30 years of progress in responsible drinking. When someone visited nationofresponsibledrinkers.com and took “The Pledge,” their face, profile and location would go onto the interactive map in real-time. They could then share their commitment. Elements: Interactive website that showed people taking The Pledge in real-time. Mobile sign-up via iPads at events, like the MLB All-Star Game. Social media promotion. Series of internal Pledge events at Anheuser Busch breweries and wholesaler operations. Billboards including a Times Square experiential activation Full-page USA Today ad. Social Media Establishment: The success of this campaign allowed us to then takeover the brand’s corporate Facebook presence. We grew from a few hundred to 600,000 fans in just one year. I developed content and wrote a social media guide for the brand for multiple years, which provided more opportunities for new business. My Specific Contributions: Developed the concept, wrote the presentation deck and led the presentation Wrote the copy for all elements, including the website, USA Today ad, radio scripts, the actual “pledge” and social media content Assisted with logistics and event flow, including the Times Square activation Assisted with overall digital strategy and user experience Assisted with the management of the brand’s social media presence and digital content strategy Created and managed the social media guide for the corporate brand Project Gallery Previous Project Next Project

< Back Que 42 - Launching Our Own BBQ Brand The journey from cooking in the backyard to store shelves & online sales. I've cooked and participated in the competition BBQ scene for almost a decade. Over those years, I've learned so much from mentors and the overall experience. Living in Buffalo, I wanted to bring the passion and knowledge I had learned to a market not known for its own style of que. Starting with my original two sauce and rub recipes, we began working on bringing Que 42 to life ... The Inspiration The name is inspired by the parallel that Buffalo city sits upon: 42. The ingredients are all real, natural, no fillers. The honey comes from a farm less than an hour up the road. The recipes are authentic to their regional inspiration, and award-winning on the BBQ circuit. First Steps & Background Working with a professional designer, we quickly developed the logo and brand essence. It's gritty, to represent Buffalo city. Black and white, because we're transparent about everything that goes into our products. The horizontal line communicates that "42" is our place on the map. Each product is numbered to represent its inspirational place on the map. Every sauce bottle is batch numbered, and the first seven batches were hand-filled, sealed, labeled and numbered, much like a bottle of bourbon. The biggest challenge in starting your own CPG brand is in how to take a recipe and make it shelf-stable. They don't teach you these things in school. We quickly learned what a "Scheduled Process" is through Cornell University. Testing and testing in the kitchen, I finally had my exact to the .01 ounce of each ingredient in each recipe. With approval from the health department and Cornell's food scientists, we could start producing. It Started with Batch #001 After carefully sourcing ingredients from as many local suppliers as possible, and bottles, caps, seals, labels ... it was time to secure time at a commercial kitchen. We had made and hot-filled every bottle, crafting about 24 bottles per session. With about 50 bottles of each product, we secured our first shelf space at a local craftsmen store, launched our e-commerce website, and social media channels. Our sampling events were a huge hit and gave us early proof of concept. That's when we found co-packers in the Western New York region to help us create a larger batch, allowing us to expand versus cooking sauces and mixing rubs all day. When that first batch was ready, I rented a uHaul to pick up our 128 cases, and unloaded our stock into the house by hand ... just the two of us. We've grown to be featured on multiple store shelves, and have the support of former and current Buffalo Bills players, fellow food influencers in our region, and national influencers. You can dig in and even order your own bottles at www.que42bbq.com . Project Gallery Previous Project Next Project

< Back Wendy's "Year of the Burger" A burger making contest, taste tour & more - for the love of a burger that doesn't cut corners. What happened in the 2007-2010 era when the client says “yes” to every idea the team throws up on the board? An immersive Flash website with a sweepstakes, photo gallery, video, blog, music mixer, “create your own” tools, and a tour truck. Before the social media boom hit, Wendy’s asked us to create a digital experience that got people excited about their fresh, never frozen burgers like never before. We also needed to keep them engaged and entertained all year long. The site was centered on the ‘Build Wendy’s New Burger,’ tool and contest. The winner took home $25,000 and his or her burger would appear on the Wendy’s menu. Surrounding the contest were daily “Burgers for a year” winners, a music mixing tool made from burger-making sounds, and a photo gallery with shots from the nationwide burger tour. Another popular part of the site was the “Create Your Own Wendy” tool, which let users get creative with pieces and parts to make their vision of Wendy come true. The site had an average surf time of about 20 minutes, delivered hundreds of daily “Burgers for a Year” gift cards and received thousands of Burger Build entries/votes. The campaign also toured 20 cities across the U.S., handing out fresh burgers and testing attendees’ burger IQ for a chance to win T-shirts and a one-of-a-kind magic burger 8-ball. (It revealed replies like “Sounds Sizzling” and “That’s Juicy!”) This was also the kickoff for the "red wig" of elightenment national campaign. My Specific Contributions: Wrote all web, PR and promotional content Wrote speech material for experiential events Helped to develop the “Burger Building” tool, including user flow and messaging Acted as point-person for all updates, QA and messaging needs Worked closely with art directors and the interactive team in creative development Assisted with promotional video creation and sound recordings for the music mixer tool Was a thought leader in ideation and execution Gold ADDY winner – ’08 Interactive/Website Promotion. Project Gallery Previous Project Next Project

< Back Natty Light - Creative Direction How we increased sales for a value brand in an extremely competitive environment. It’s no secret that Natty Light is a beer best-known for being a favorite at places like ... "educational hubs" AKA: campuses. As the Senior Creative Director on this brand, it was our job to stand out with price, plus the help of irreverent fun retail tools that moved cases in those target markets. My favorite pieces in the gallery are the Natty Kong and Loch Natty Monster. Created from packaging, these popular items that my team concepted, pitched and created encouraged retailers to build mass displays surround by cases of Natty. That’s so important, because it’s a fact that if you get your beer on the floor, that beer will sell. One “white paper” item you’ll see is a TV ad concept. We were afforded the opportunity to pitch one-slide fun TV spot ideas to go against Miller Lite’s Taste Test campaign. The whole agency pitched in with fun scripts and had a blast. The one you’ll see was my favorite from the stack I wrote. You’ll also see a couple of billboards that went up in key markets calling out Miller Lite for having one more calorie than Natty and spelling “lite” wrong. My Specific Contributions: Led the creative team, brainstorms, and presented creative to clients and partners Wrote copy for the pieces and, of course, the decks Worked closely with multiple agencies and our strategy team to bring programs to life Project Gallery Previous Project Next Project

< Back Purina Work - Mostly Cats A collection of pieces I wrote or concepted for Purina over the years. Working in the St. Louis region, it's inevitable that you'll either work on or pitch Purina. While at a digital agency, we had a retainer for the cat litter work. DYK: Cat litter is a more profitable business than the toilet paper business? Here are three programs that came to life. Also featured is an image of the Breeze Litter system, which is by far the best system ever. Ask me why, and I'll let you in on the not-so-dirty secret. What You Gonna Do When They Come For You? Purina challenged us to take their “No More PU” Tidy Cats litter campaign to the next level. They wanted something that was both experiential and digital. “No More PU” was about how this new blend of cat litter worked so well at solving your litter box problem, the brand was ready to take the stink out of your life ... in other areas. Showcased here is the original white paper idea. We came up with the “PU Patrol” – a team of stink fighters whose main mission is to stomp stink wherever it may lurk. Flat tire? Bad layover? Case of the Mondays? The Patrol is ready to pounce. My Specific Contributions: Wrote all white paper and eventual presentation deck copy Led initial brainstorms and developed the “big idea” Presented all creative ideas to agency partners and client Created a social media content strategy for the campaign Connecting With True “Catpanions” You’d be surprised at how excited cat enthusiasts can be about their litter brand. Knowing that true social networking is best left to Twitter and Facebook, the Tidy Cats Community focused on letting its 10,000 members win prizes, download coupons, share photos and vote for the cutest of cute cats in a feline version of “Hot-or-Not” called "Purrfect Pic." Fun fact: Tidy Cats was the very FIRST Purina brand to have a Facebook presence, which we created, launched and monitored for them. My Specific Contributions: Drafted all copy for periodic updates and product launches Developed new site feature concepts, including badges and featured members Wrote call-outs and banners to support promotional activity Wrote all of the Purrfect Pic content (70 cute questions, total) Assisted with user flow and site map creation Worked closely with the social media team in the transition to and launch on Facebook Cat Litter Goes Green. Trees For Tomorrow was a digital campaign for Yesterday’s News brand cat litter from Tidy Cats. It’s a litter made from recycled newspapers, making it extremely eco-friendly. We asked users to create a virtual tree and plant it in a virtual forest. By doing so, the brand would donate $1 to the Arbor Day Foundation to plant a real tree in your honor. It was supported by an email campaign, banner ads and social sharing of created trees. My Specific Contributions: Wrote all site copy, including instructions Assisted in user flow and site map strategy Wrote promotional emails and banner ads Wrote share copy for social media Developed original names and themes for eight virtual worlds Project Gallery Previous Project Next Project

< Back Footwear Marketing Dipping my feet into the retail and digital side of footwear marketing, and making an impact. From 2018 – 2021, I took a break from the agency world, and went to the internal marketing side at Caleres. It’s a corporation that houses multiple footwear brands under one umbrella, with Famous Footwear being its biggest brand. I spent my first six months as a senior writer on the high-end men’s line of Allen Edmonds. I spent my final two and half years as a creative director and writer on the Famous team. My Specific Contributions: Led the creative team, brainstorms, and presented creative to leadership and partners Wrote copy for a variety of projects, print, digital, and many presentation decks Assisted in developing and unveiling a new branding effort Successfully managed a team of twelve total creatives and six direct reports, in the office for nearly two years, and remotely for a second year during a global pandemic Established new creative methods for developing and presenting work Assisted in the launch of the new flagship Manhattan store Worked very closely with the content creation team – photography, video, and more Project Gallery Previous Project Next Project

< Back Rock n' Awe - Cabo Wabo When Cabo was still about rock n' roll, this is how we treated loyal fans like rock stars. Cabo Wabo Tequila was in a state of transition, moving on from its Sammy Hagar identity and turning itself into a premium brand that represents the rock n’ roll lifestyle . The challenge: Create an experiential campaign that lets consumers experience the rock n’ roll lifestyle, without relying on music or celebrity endorsement. Concept The Rock n’ Awe experience was three days for winners to party like they were rock stars on tour, but without the burden of actually having to play a show or instrument. We flew winners into LA for a night of decadence on the strip. They then hopped on a bus that drove to Las Vegas overnight. When they arrived, they received VIP access at the casinos and bars to do as they pleased. Finally they hopped on a private plane and landed in Cabo San Lucas for a private beach party. The Rockin' Sweeps Winners were selected through a digital sweepstakes. The fun part was how we conducted entry at sampling events: Consumers gave us their “rock star name.” It was created by combining their middle name with their school’s mascot. (For example, mine would be Johnny Thundering Herd). My Specific Contributions: Developed the original Rock n’ Awe tour concept Assisted in the development of the sampling engagement tactic Wrote all content and copy for the program This was such a success, it became a flagship portfolio piece for the brand Project Gallery Previous Project Next Project