Had the opportunity to work with T-Mobile For Business stakeholders to develop a series of organic social videos, in partnership with large sporting events like PGA, SailGP, and MLB All-Star week, as well as brand influencers.
What is the story that we're telling? T-Mobile's Advanced Network Solutions offer a variety of use cases in high-intensity, major sporting events. And if T-Mobile can provide private network solutions at events with thousands of fans, often spread across large or urban areas, just think what they could do for your business.
The results of these campaigns blew expectations out of the water. Over 35M+ combined impressions across 4 social channels (LinkedIn, Twitter, Meta, YouTube), beating KPI's by around 35% total.
Having worked at T-Mobile since 2016, I have had the unique opportunity to take on a progressive series of roles (Communications Manager, then Art Director, then Creative Director).
It’s difficult to put into words the learning journey I’ve gone through. I was part of the core team that has grown into what is now T-Studios, our internal creative powerhouse. From graphic design, to video editing, to web and digital display, I now running my own team of designers and copywriters focused on the Metro by T-Mobile brand.
I’ve developed countless sizzles and mood boards and story boards. Out of home at some of the biggest venues, stadiums, and airports in the country? Check. Scripts for radio that involved coaching voice talent, TV commercials, and creative partnerships with the likes of Netflix and Marvel? Check. Getting to be on set at commercial shoots and directing videographers? Check. Not to mention the occasional coffee run.
It’s often felt like a startup, where you wear more than just a few hats, and jump at any opportunity to work cross-functionally with marketing, social media, advertising, and production.
If the whirlwind of my job at T-Mobile has taught me anything, it’s to approach any project with a “can-do” attitude, and push the limits of what I think I know or am capable of.
Bradford and Bryan Manning are two brothers with a degenerative eye disease called Stargardt’s. Through their company, Two Blind Brothers, they have an audacious goal: Help cure blindness.
I have worked with the brothers since 2018 on hundreds of assets to help tell and shape their brand story, including web, podcasts, and social media. Two Blind Brothers is unlike any brand I’ve ever worked with, in that they have a passionate, dedicated audience who are on mission with them.
Their biggest product to date, is the “Shop Blind Challenge”, where customers are invited to purchase a box of unknown items, and trust the brothers to pick out products they think customers will love. Just as the blind and visually impaired community often do with those around them: Trust.
The scope of work ranges from developing a narrative around key times of the year and fully executing on creating dozens of distinct pieces of social content, to creating ad content (video, stills, mograph) for use in their sales channels. We worked together early on to define animation style, brand story arcs, and key benefits messaging.
One of the challenges in working with a smaller brand is limited access to original content, including videos done by other edits with baked-in audio such as music. On more than one occasion, it’s been a learning experience to be crafty, and to work with what you have (like customer-submitted social content).
The sheer scale of work won’t fit on a page, so selections from throughout the years have been chosen.
Lettuce Grow’s mission is to deliver healthy, sustainable harvests to every home. With their Farmstand, they deliver on that promise by providing a self-watering hydroponic vertical garden - so people can grow their own fresh ingredients - indoors or outside.
We worked together on media for organic & paid search, social content, brand guidelines, K-12 workbooks, company events, and so much more.
My role as Creative Director was to help define brand tone of voice in social channels, including crafting narratives, copywriting, graphic design and video editing + animations. Across stills, video, and e-mail campaigns, we reached more customers than ever before, and successfully converted them.
Key design programs: Figma, Photoshop, Premiere, After Effects
Lettuce Give: K-12 farming curriculum and activities to introduce sustainable farming techniques and healthy eating habits.
Consiglieri offers honest counsel for executives to create impact & efficiency through a modern approach to marketing.
Worked directly with founders to develop brand identity in social channels, and to help introduce this new agency to the world. Assisted in defining tone of voice, animation style, and core brand values.
We started this project by first developing the answer to the biggest question: What problem is Consiglieri looking to solve? A frequent issue that arises when working with agencies is that their interests are often aligned to their shareholders, and not the clients they are brought on to serve. You become just another metaphorical notch on the belt and your logo is added to their logo farm.
Consiglieri is a company with experts sourced from a wide net of industries, and they stand tall in a crowded market. By bringing focus and partnership to the fore, they solve issues with their clients as if your problems are theirs as well.
Keith Villa, founder of Blue Moon Brewing Company, launched a non-alcoholic beer with the intention of crafting a beer that tastes just like a typical lager or IPA, without the buzz.
I was brought on just as the brand was launching to do motion explorations, sequenced messaging tests, and craft (pun intended) preliminary messaging.
As any designer or creative director can attest, one of the biggest challenges when working with any company is a lack of available assets. In this case, we had one can, a logo, and a background to work with.
TUSOL is both a wellness and lifestyle brand. Their unique blend of smoothies are healthy, but the brand is much more aspirational in nature.
We worked together to develop a series of ad content for use across social and web, and my role was to edit, provide mograph, and create thumb-stopping content through the use of creative storytelling.
During the pandemic, a lot of people decided to start making sourdough bread. I decided to roast coffee, one of my biggest passions.
I knew I was onto something when friends who would try beans said they would prefer to drink the liquid gold I roasted rather than what they could find at the store, and so Crown Coffee was born.
I immediately settled on a logo, designed some labels, and started a page on Instagram offering direct-to-consumer, freshly roasted beans on demand. The business did really well, and I gained a loyal cadre of supporters.
Ultimately, moving into an HOA-managed community meant that I would have to move the operations elsewhere (you'd be surprised how much smoke a coffee roaster puts out), and with busy schedules and a growing base of freelance clients, I decided to put this side business on pause.
But the dream lives on!
Image courtesy of Vadim Bozhko (bozh.co)
In partnership with Netflix, I developed a social "scavenger hunt" to promote the latest season of Stranger Things, and increase brand awareness of one of T-Mobile's biggest benefits (at the time): Free Netflix included with your plan.
My role was to concept the idea, create a social calendar for posting cadence, and engage viewers enough so as to not make the competition too easy. We targeted base and prospects, with the primary KPI's being total impressions and customer leads.
Results: 150M impressions, 1.5M+ engagements, and 6k+ new customer leads. This project also resulted in being T-Mobile's most-engaged series of social posts...ever!
Is there a difference between “clients” and “partners”? I believe there is.
Clients give you work, and expect a one-way relationship, where work and instructions are given, and that’s the end of the story. You may have the opportunity to pitch some new ideas, but it’s usually a one-way street.
Partners, on the other hand, work together with you, value your input, and are open to suggestions to elevate the creative. They have brand standards, sure, but are more open to new creative explorations, new stories you could tell, and approach creative with an open mind.
I am thankful to have worked in both environments, but over time, “clients” tend to become “partners” once they see what you are capable of. My job isn’t just taking orders and making creative content. Oftentimes, it’s becoming a valuable partner that yields the best results, but it’s only after gaining trust.
No project is too small or too big when you have a healthy partnership. “Flow” becomes easy once you’ve worked together and seen the brand flourish. Whether it’s a simple ad, or a narrative woven through disparate pieces of creative, partners trust each other to provide a good brief (even if it’s vague) and make the creative truly thumb-stopping.