A true disruptor in the Customer Experience (CX) SaaS space, SocialSurvey turns customers and employees into a brand’s #1 marketing asset.
I spearheaded the marketing team for a Customer Experience (CX), SaaS startup to earn the following:
+ Won over 100 new clients and $5M in ARR, with zero (0) churn, leading to a $17M Series A fund raise
+ Designed Sales Enablement programs, allowing team to expand into 5 verticals in less than a year
+ Successfully launch 3 major products on the enterprise platform
+ Established a national Top Performers awards program for high-performing Sales Agents
+ Created cult-like, customer and employee fandom by marketing “Create WOW” brand promise
Living large in one of the world’s biggest cities.
In Mexico City, you often find construction, living spaces, and real estate marketing all muddled into one, wildly confusing experience. Enter Punto Destino—translation: “The Destination Point.” Punto Destino is an ambitious architecture and real estate development firm that needed to break through the congestion of traditional marketing. Rather than focus on the classic “hard sell” model of selling units, I developed a customer-centric platform that inspired buyers to "live the city".
Showcasing black-and-white lifestyle photography and artful videos, I directed a team of local image-makers to perfectly captured the essence of each neighborhood—helping the brand stand out from its color-saturated competition. I drove the digital strategy through innovative methods for selling homes: a mobile app (powered by augmented reality), a “Destino Central” culture/lifestyle magazine, and a stunning showroom to immerse buyers into the Punto Destino experience.
I also architected and led a bilingual, four-day branding and marketing educational workshop for the entire organization to connect and inspire sales, design, and construction to the brand values.
Today, Punto Destino is averaging over 90% occupancy across their current mix of over 50 pre-sale and occupied apartment complexes. They’ve doubled building plans to meet demand. Their investors are thrilled and their customers are fully immersed in their desired city experiences. In the end, my work with Punto Destino has helped evolve one of the world's largest cities, and further established a brand that perfectly lives up to its name.
“Working with (Clay) is fascinating, and the best part is getting real results. We have achieved an identity that has given us an edge, making our product special and unique thanks to the creative and very well thought process." — Alberto CEO
The Linus Group is a strategic marketing company focused in the Healthcare, Life Sciences and Biotech industries. While serving as a Senior Interactive Designer, I worked on campaigns for giant, international companies. I also supported The Linus Group with their own marketing (see book), social media, events and interior office space.
One of my successes there was building an international advertising campaign, “The Measure of Confidence,” for Agilent Technologies—a multinational healthcare equipment and services company with 12,000 employees and revenues of over $4 billion. The campaign focused on giving consumers confidence in knowing their tools were offering them the most precise measurement needed to do their work—which proved challenging to win the loyalty of this highly skeptical consumer set. The campaign was adopted worldwide, it ran successfully for over 2 years, and led to the overhaul of Agilent’s international Brand Guidelines—another feat in itself hurdling layers of internal brand management and legal liabilities.
An online treasure hunt.
Artefact is a design and salvage company with a unique take on home décor elements. Its highly acclaimed Sonoma, CA showroom is the perfect representation of founder Dave Allen’s remarkable eye for curating rare objects in space. It’s the kind of retail store that ignites inspiration, sparks new ideas, and rethinks interior design. It's also the kind of place where you find unexpected notes of irony and humor. Therefore, when the client requested an ecommerce site to push his business online, I knew the it needed to push virtual boundaries.
The final product exceeded all our expectations, showcasing Artefact’s eclectic taste with a robust back-end content management system (CMS) and dynamic e-commerce capabilities. The website played off of Dave’s inspired curation process with a seamless “seek-and-find” interactive experience for the user that was pure virtual treasure hunting. Users would zoom-in to find curated content, and then discover more surprises along the way. It was a truly dimensional and engaging online experience that catapulted Dave’s enigmatic personality and unique brick-and-mortar business.
“My business isn’t something I do, it’s who I am. On my website I didn’t just need my eye to come through, I needed my voice. (Clay) knew when to give me the reins, and more importantly, when to take them away.”
Dave Allen - Artefact Design & Salvage, Owner
Building a Foundation of Trust.
Some marketing relationships involve a quick remodel. Not so for South Bay Construction (SBC)—one of the Bay Area’s premiere commercial construction companies. My task: to lace up their boots and rebuild the entire brand from the ground up. Leveraging a solid identity, responsive online experience and a sophisticated print and digital strategy, I directed my team to built leads and increased sales. Next, I helped set the brand apart by developing a cost calculator mobile app—the first of its kind—which has turned into an industry-wide favorite for estimating new building opportunities.
SBC counted on me to capture the essence of what they do in every project. Through photography, videography and good story telling, my team helped them showcase the unique offering of each project. We entrenched ourselves in their business operations—providing seamless service solutions and making sure the entire team, from headquarters to field operations, was in alignment with the goals of the company. I view our work with the brand as a unique way to contribute to the long-term growth of communities in and around my favorite place in the world: The Bay Area!
Proven Results
500% increase to $500M in revenue during my time leading SBC
300% increase in monthly traffic due to my strategies and team's digital marketing efforts
200% increase in mobile app users after new release campaign
Building a 5-star online experience is much easier with class-A clients.
SB Architects claim that, “The only thing more important than experience is passion.” And I tend to agree. Except, in this instance, we’re talking about a passionate company with over a half-century legacy of leadership and design talent as a world-renowned architecture firm.
I fell in love SB Architects's commitment to not only creating beautiful and successful projects, but also to fostering and maintaining a shared passion that makes their design and production process rewarding for everyone involved. So I was thrilled to support a team in crafting a website that would share this kind of inspired, responsive experience with their digital community.
To build the kind of online experience SB Architect was looking for, we started with rolling out the latest HTML5 technology, which enabled sleek parallax scrolling on the homepage and dynamic isotope filtering in the work portfolio. It also set the foundation for a visual timeline feature—a unique and interactive way of displaying the firm’s illustrious 50-year history. The fully mobile-responsive site serves as the perfect platform for the company to express who they are as designers—and because we trained them in content management, they can continue to build on it as they develop new projects around the world.
Painting a Picture of Paradise
Picture a place where seabirds gently glide above the crest of warm waves, spilling on the sun-drenched banks of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico’s most treasured beachfront. This was the vision given to us to by El Banco, a dream destination and exclusive private community unlike any other place on earth. Despite the breathtaking natural beauty of the property, the project posed a unique challenge: to interpret a dream—with all of its expansive possibilities—into an imaginable reality. With equal parts inspiration and perspiration, I dove into the local culture and environment with my partner to articulate a brand experience with a venerable foundation. We reimagined what “luxury” looked like and began to dress the journeys of the super affluent that come to El Banco as more than a destination to “check out” upon arrival, but as a place to “check in” to an unforgettably opulent experience.
To guide our journey, we developed some guiding principles to pave the way: Personalize the Experience, Promote Serenity, Remove Clutter, Encourage Interactivity, and Incorporate Storytelling. From there, we ensured that everything we created had a “hand-touched” quality, from the logo to the vibrant color palate, from the hand-sewn promotional books to the watercolor renderings, from the welcoming voice to the rich stories threaded throughout the website. The result was a stunning brand built on the premise of a dream—helping El Banco sell its first set of multi-million dollar estates in one remarkable week!
“I’ve never met people with their rare combination of being wildly creative as well as being supremely concerned about doing the right thing. They care about my business almost as much as I do. (Shannon and Clay) sweat the details and spend every penny wisely (as if it were their own). I’ve never worked with creatives like that. They’re so, so, so, so gifted. Monster talents they are. They’re so good I don't think I’ll ever work with anyone else.”
Pam Scott - Developer & Marketing Director, El Banco
Time is the new luxury, and Martis Camp is the place to find both.
Gently tucked away on the North Shore, Martis Camp is truly one of the finest in Lake Tahoe luxury real estate. Sprawled across almost 2,000 magnificent acres, it’s an exclusive family home-away-from-home destination that stirs nostalgia like marshmallows in hot cocoa. With the brilliantly conceived family barn, distinctive architecture, and majestic Tom Fazio golf course, Martis Camp is noted by Forbes as “Possibly the best four-star private community in the United States.”
I helped transform Martis Camp’s online brochure into a unique experience—worthy of its acclaimed brand—by giving prospective buyers real insight into life on the property. We created an online portal for the many exclusive members to return and connect to the site and their coveted community. And we gave potential buyers, limited access to that world. We designed a “virtual Campfire” where members could gather, share stories, check real-time weather and traffic conditions, and get the latest news. We made it easy to search events to attend and encouraged guests to send virtual e-cards to family and friends from the carefully curated photo gallery. The interactive map of the golf course gave rollover photo views from each of the eighteen breathtaking holes and allowed members to set up tee times.
They say Martis Camp is where the life you’ve always wanted becomes the life you actually live. I was thrilled to be afforded the opportunity to support that mission and get a small slice of this heaven-on-earth.
“Before we had even awarded the re-design of our website to Madplum, the team was invested in visiting Martis Camp, getting to know who we are and learning about our business. (Shannon and Clay) reviewed with us how our website could be more functional and better serve our audience. Madplum’s design aesthetic is educated, refined, hand-crafted and pairs perfectly with the grand vision for Martis Camp. Every step was documented in an online project management system that tracked every discussion, revision, approval and deliverable. Given its size, I don’t think our website could have been successfully created and launched so quickly without this approach. Madplum was wise, tech-savvy, creative, incredibly responsive, gracious and just plain fun to get to know.”
Kelly Heapy - Martis Camp, Creative Director
Going national, organically.
Madplum Creative takes pride in having helped the world’s first USDA-certified organic skincare line grow to national levels in our short time together. And I was certainly fortunate to be a part of that team. A few years ago, Nourish Organic gave Madplum Creative an incredible opportunity to create an identity for their brand that aligned with their strict Pledge of Purity. The hand-drawn logo and botanical illustrations harkened back to a time when quality and care were paramount, balancing vintage apothecary with modern day convenience. We meticulously crafted an initial 29 packages to launch their line of body products, supporting in-store signage, retailer pitch presentations and a head-turning trade show booth at the largest Natural Products Expo in the country.
We also tended to other facets of the business, giving them a beautifully designed e-commerce website, a social media presence, celebrity endorsement (with environmental advocate Christine Taylor), and winning in-store merchandising solutions. We continue to roll out new lines, collaborating on product innovation through design and development.
These efforts have helped Nourish Organic bloom into a new realm in the skincare marketplace, landing them on the shelves at Whole Foods, Target, Ulta, QVC, and more. The brand has also garnered rave reviews from sustainable authorities such as Danny Seo from Naturally magazine, “Best in Beauty” from Allure, and continues to shine across influencer networks and nationwide press.
At the end of the day, we like to think of our work with Nourish Organic as the perfect representation of their story and “Good for you, Good for the Earth.” Nourish Organic is truly a special brand that is 100% chemical free, 100% cruelty free, and 100% thoughtfully designed.
Proven Results
#1 indexing natural brand amongst Millennials by more than 15 points
55% growth per year since Madplum secured a global launch with Whole Foods in 2012
100% chemical and cruelty free
"From the first concept, they nailed the creative. I can still remember the day I opened the files on my computer I said “That’s exactly what we envisioned for our brand. It’s perfect!” Consumer testing further confirmed that it was a winner and today, years later, the creative is still nearly exactly like the original concept —a true testament to how good the work was.”
Rob Robillard - CEO, Nourish Organic
Maverick Collective: A Work of Heart
It's always thrilling to partner with brands that champion innovation. It's even more passion-inducing when supporting brands that change the world. While at Madplum Creative, I was presented with an opportunity to work with one such organization, PSI (Population Services International)—a leading global health nonprofit—on an unforeseen initiative dedicated to exponentially change the lives of women and girls in developing countries. We knew we had to create something equally revolutionary and profound.
I had the immense pleasure to work on this brand, funded by Melinda Gates, as both an online strategist and a Human Centered Design specialist for one of Maverick Collective's immersions in Africa. I became both a brand architect and field ambassador. The experience led me deep into the jungles of Rwanda and inside the inner city of Ethiopia's capital, as well as, to help the collective's fearless leaders, Kate Roberts & Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway be acknowledged by Fast Company as “2016's Most Creative People.”
Yummy & Healthy brand well together.
Laughing Giraffe is a family run business based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Owners Phil and Kathy Gilmour entered the health food business out of a desire to learn about healthy eating and how it might improve their own wellbeing. To elevate their unique brand within the growing organic snack food marketplace, a standout identity and packaging system was needed to celebrate words like "Laughing Giraffe" and “Snackaroons!”. I helped bake a strategic brand that made it on the shelves of major health food retailers nationwide.
Time to Shine.
Nothing is more intimidating than being the tiny new guy on the shelf during a holiday craze at Target. Method—back when the company first pushed its way onto the aisles of the behemoth retail chain—had to stand out big and claim its right to be among giants in cleaning products. Call it elfin’ magic, but the creative exploration my team employed for Method Holiday packaging truly drove home the objective to “Give the Gift of Holiday Sparkle.” And the rest of this brand story went down in history.
Creativity and passion in spades.
At Madplum Creative, the core competency is marketing gifts. That means each consumer at every touchpoint should be surprised with a delightful brand experience. kate spade is a ubiquitous global luxury fashion and accessories brand that has captivated women’s hearts since 1993. When Madplum Creative was offered the opportunity to design a qualitative research and brand storybook for one of our favorite luxury brands, I knew we needed to create something truly special. The printed piece was developed to capture the voices of brand loyalists through the balance of playful typography, iconic illustration, fresh color and arresting photography.
My partner and I worked closely with The Curious Company to craft and compile qualitative data into a meaningful story, which was accompanied by ideas and fashion quotes and built into a comprehensive portrait of kate spade’s iconic “playful sophisticate” style and voice. We presented the book to the marketing team as if it were a gift from Kate herself. Wrapped with beautiful linen boxes and peony flowers, the book fashioned over 100 pages of colorful insights to help drive the company’s future. We gave the client an experience unlike any other ... something uniquely Madplum—and perfectly kate spade. The book was printed and placed in kate spade stores on display everywhere.