insightful thinking and creative ideas to establish or reenergize businesses, brands and products

Businesses: Defining your brand and creating an impactful name is where it all starts. By working with decision makers, I find the path to ensuring the conversation is at the boardroom table and not stuck on a departmental action list.

Agencies: Be it a day or two, or on long-term contract, white label brand strategist, or writer for hire, I’m ready to come alongside your team and bolster your brilliance. I work remotely or collaborate in-house with brand consultancies and design agencies, client-facing or the invisible ingredient to help break through walls, add some client-neutral eyes and ears, and truly couldn’t care less about executive titles, shiny awards, or internal shenanigans.

Either way: I adjust processes and deliverables to business goals and point out when internal distractions or artificial deadlines interfere. Time and space to think matters (it’s why people work with me)—without it, strategy and creative can’t be at their best. Together we work out what you think you need, where I might fit in, and how best to get the job done.

About me: I’ve always dreamt of being an artist of some sort—dancer or violinist to be specific. The creative side of my brain has been non-stop since as long as I can remember. Most unfortunately though, I am not an artist in the true sense of the word, but I can rough out concepts well enough that a graphic designer may appear to have been inside my head all along. The collaboration makes my heart sing. I am also not a trademark lawyer to clear names and logos for end use and legal registration but will conduct preliminary research and partner with brilliant people if you need these things.

I have been a marketer since graduating college and working on the client-side before transition to the agency-side. I have been working independently since 1998 after another bomb threat at our son’s preschool (but that’s a whole other story). I have more than 35 years of experience as a marketer. Self-employment has given me the freedom to do what I love—for clients of various sorts that are enjoyable to work with. The point where insight becomes strategy becomes creative idea still gives me a thrill and I’m equally skilled at both the strategic stuff and picking up a creative pen to craft names, taglines, copy, and campaign concepting. 

I have an interest in how businesses, brands and products reach out to people and make a difference, be that on an individual or societal level. A career in marketing has let me play at the interface of brands and people and to bring insight and ideas to life.