PROJECTS
This represents a sampling of projects from my combined 25+ years of agency experience, and my work as an independent consultant with nonprofits and brands.
American Diabetes Association
Choose to be Nice
Home Depot
NBC Network
Susan G. Komen For the Cure
Timberland
sanofi-aventis
American Diabetes Association
America on the Move
Epilepsy Foundation
JDRF
March of Dimes
Moffitt Cancer Center
STOMP Out Bullying™
American Diabetes Association
Boston Beer Company
Choose to be Nice
Home Depot
Motts
Procter & Gamble
Yoplait
Cause Platform Development
Create strategic cause platforms for both corporations and nonprofits. Corporate cause platforms differentiate brands, amplify their values and make a social impact. Cause platforms for nonprofits bundle assets under a campaign theme and provide partnership activation opportunities.
American Diabetes Association (ADA)
Diabetes kills more Americans every year than AIDS and breast cancer combined. Over twenty-nine million people suffer from diabetes. Yet, despite that level of societal impact, activating the public and corporations to take action and donate is a constant challenge. For nearly 12 years, I served in a strategic role to the development team. My work was focused on attracting corporate partners to raise awareness and funds through cause marketing activations. I led the development of a signature program called, I DECIDE TO FIGHT DIABETES which I built off the insight of the need to personalize the fight against diabetes. Additional key accomplishments include, customized partnership opportunities for numerous corporate partnerships, the development of the Wellness Lives Here platform and the Women's Platform, content creation, sponsorship activations and affiliate implementation.
Choose to be Nice
Provided strategic advice and developed a slew of creative concepts for Choose to Be Nice, a socially-responsible for-profit. Conducted competitive landscape analysis/SWOT to uncover unique positioning in the crowded bullying prevention space. Found evidence that being nice to another person results in more positive feelings for both the giver and the receiver. Packaged the insight – that there is an “I see you” feeling that results from engaging in niceness and that that feeling is contagious and has the power to create a ripple effect of positivity. Developed creative campaign and tactics around capturing and sharing moments of niceness to inspire and motivate nice behavior.
Home Depot
Helped the brand increase brand equity among stakeholders and deliver a consistent brand voice about its cause commitments through the creation of an umbrella cause platform. My work consisted of competitive review, brand/CSR alignment, analysis of foundation giving, and development of focused giving areas.
NBC Network
Designed a military cause-marketing platform for NBC. Led extensive research and ideation to find compelling ways to motivate Americans to proactively support the military. Collaborated with number of military-focused non-profits and governmental agencies, including The Department of Defense, The Armed Forces Service Corporation (AFSC) and The Veterans Innovation Center (VIC).
sanofi-aventis
Helped create a patient support program that enabled sanofi-avents to authentically connect with patients suffering from breast cancer. The program “Living With It” provided free, timely, and often hard-to-find information on living with breast cancer. This bilingual program helped thousands of women with breast cancer cope with a wide range of issues, including information intended to inform the whole person, not just the cancer patient, such as diet, exercise, money matters, lifestyle, and medical decisions.
Susan G. Komen For the Cure
Spent 10+ years working on with Komen as a strategic advisor. Highlights include the development of the I AM THE CURE® platform that was designed to reinforce each individual’s ability to take charge of her own breast health, nationwide and affiliate activation of cause-marketing campaigns, and overall strategic advice on corporate partnerships.
Awareness and Fundraising Strategies for Nonprofits
Enable nonprofits to raise awareness and drive funds through asset evaluation, prospecting research and pitching, thought-starter ideation, materials development, and bat phone support to development departments.
American Diabetes Association (ADA)
Diabetes kills more Americans every year than AIDS and breast cancer combined. Over twenty-nine million people suffer from diabetes. Yet, despite that level of societal impact, activating the public and corporations to take action and donate is a constant challenge. For nearly 12 years, I served in a strategic role to the development team. My work was focused on attracting corporate partners to raise awareness and funds through cause marketing activations. One key insight we uncovered was the need to personalize the fight against diabetes. With that, I developed a signature program called I DECIDE TO FIGHT DIABETES. I also helped to ideate and sell-in numerous corporate partnerships over the years. Other key accomplishments include Women's Platform ideation, Advocacy/corporate partnership extensions, strategic lead on the creation of the Wellness Lives Here platform including content creation and development of a 360-degree plan, sponsorship activations and affiliates implementation.
America on the Move
America on the Move discovered a simple and easy way to help people stop weight gain: move more and eat less. Research showed that making two small daily changes, taking 2000 more steps (the equivalent of about one mile) and eating 100 fewer calories, stopped the average weight gain (one to three pounds every year). While this may sound obvious now, when the research first came out in 2004, it was big news. The issue of obesity was front and center – food manufacturing companies, parents and the government alike – were all hungry for a quick fix and America On the Move served it up. As the lead strategist, I wrote the plan to evolve the foundation from an organization with research to a national nonprofit. A core part of the work I did was to formulate the launch of their new movement. This work included the development of a national and affiliate structure for the organization, advisory board development, and the creation of a comprehensive brand identity. Other key highlights included the creation of a sponsorship model, consumer engagement activation, and the development of a public relations strategy. Importantly, I built the sponsorship packages from scratch, prospected and pitched. My efforts resulted in securing PepsiCo (Wellward Choices) as a founding sponsor. PepsiCo donated millions in start-up money and made a companywide commitment to “walk the talk”.
Epilepsy Foundation
Epilepsy affects almost 3 million people in the USA and 65 million people worldwide. More people live with epilepsy than with autism spectrum disorders, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and cerebral palsy combined. According to the World Health Organization, epilepsy is the most common serious brain disorder with no boundaries for age, race, social class or national origin. Despite all of this, Epilepsy is hidden, overlooked and misunderstood. As an organization, the Epilepsy Foundation has some visibility within the epilepsy community but limited to no visibility among the general public. The Foundation’s goal is to bring epilepsy front and center – to create a seismic shift, raise funds and awareness for this long overlooked and underfunded cause. As a part of the senior team’s re-branding effort, I work with the Development Team and I also help to manage the agency's re-branding process.
JDRF
Guided the strategy that led to a new signature campaign called “Unite to Cure Diabetes” and sold sponsorships. My work included cause landscape evaluation, analyzing JDRF’s current sponsorship offerings and assets, creating the new sponsorship model/pricing. I created customizable partnership packages, uncovered and solicited sponsors. Through this process, I worked closely with JDRF affiliates and volunteers.
March of Dimes
While the March of Dimes name has always had tremendous recognition, its roots in polio prevention were clouding its current mission, which is focused on premature babies. People knew the name, March of Dimes, but they did not know what the organization’s mission was and what the organization stood for. My work was focused on creating a theme that leveraged their past and present work in celebration of their 50th anniversary.
Moffitt Cancer Center
Strategic advisor to C-level staff regarding fundraising and partnership opportunities. The Moffatt Cancer Center, which is Tampa-based, is respected globally as a leading comprehensive cancer center. My work focused around creating partnership support both locally and nationally. I developed strategies to strengthen existing revenue streams and create new ones. This work included a comprehensive asset review of its main signature event, Miles for Moffitt, and providing qualitative and quantitative recommendations, including SWOT, marketplace demographic study, revenue growth model, staff plan, budget projections, and more.
STOMP Out Bullying™
The face of what bullying looks like today has changed dramatically over the last decade. Gone are the days when an encounter with a bully ended with name calling or a push. Today's students are at risk, and that risk grows more and more everyday as the popularity of the Internet increases. And years ago, when a kid or teen threatened to kill someone, they didn't mean it. Today, students have access to guns and the threat to kill someone is no longer idle. I provided ongoing strategic advice to this leading national bullying and cyberbullying prevention organization. Key accomplishments include securing a national retailer to sponsor Blue Shirt Day® World Day of Bullying Prevention™ and forming corporate partnerships including Planet Fitness and NY Jets.
Cause Marketing Promotions
Develop creative, interesting, successful and lucrative consumer facing promotions for brands and nonprofits.
American Diabetes Association (ADA)
Diabetes kills more Americans every year than AIDS and breast cancer combined. Over twenty-nine million people suffer from diabetes. Yet, despite that level of societal impact, activating the public and corporations to take action and donate is a constant challenge. For nearly 12 years, I served in a strategic role to the development team. My work was focused on attracting corporate partners to raise awareness and funds through cause marketing activations. One key insight we uncovered was the need to personalize the fight against diabetes. With that, I developed a signature program called I DECIDE TO FIGHT DIABETES. I also helped to ideate and sell-in numerous corporate partnerships over the years. Other key accomplishments include Women's Platform ideation, Advocacy/corporate partnership extensions, strategic lead on the creation of the Wellness Lives Here platform including content creation and development of a 360-degree plan, sponsorship activations and affiliates implementation.
Boston Beer Company
Provide ongoing strategic support to CSR team at Boston Beer Company. Assist team on a variety of brand specific, cause-marketing projects, include brainstorming promotional concepts, identifying and securing nonprofit partners, conducting research on millennial habits and cause affiliations.
Choose to be Nice
Provided strategic advice and developed a slew of creative concepts for Choose to Be Nice, a socially-responsible for-profit. Conducted competitive landscape analysis/SWOT to uncover unique positioning in the crowded bullying prevention space. Found evidence that being nice to another person results in more positive feelings for both the giver and the receiver. Packaged the insight – that there is an “I see you” feeling that results from engaging in niceness and that that feeling is contagious and has the power to create a ripple effect of positivity. Developed creative campaign and tactics around capturing and sharing moments of niceness to inspire and motivate nice behavior.
Home Depot
Helped the brand increase brand equity among stakeholders and deliver a consistent brand voice about its cause commitments through the creation of an umbrella cause platform. My work consisted of competitive review, brand/CSR alignment, analysis of foundation giving, and development of focused giving areas.
Motts
Created a marketing platform for Mott’s sponsorship of the National Race of Susan G. Komen for the Cure called “Pink to the Core." This cause promotion served as Mott’s breast cancer statement to consumers, with "core" as a nod to Mott's apple-based product, as well as a double entendre for "soul". The campaign successfully met Mott’s goals: to be expandable and encompass Mott’s support of breast cancer and Mott’s desire to stand out from the “sea of pink” sponsors that, at the time, populated the Race for the Cure events.
Procter & Gamble
Led the strategic process to meet P&G’s goal to create a cause-marketing promotion that connected with the female Hispanic community. Awareness is Love/Prevenir es Querer educated Latinas about the risk of breast cancer and drove sales of a variety of Hispanic-focused brands, including Pampers, Charmin, Pantene, Crest, Bounty, Downy, Tide and Gain.
Yoplait
Evolved the Komen sponsorship of Race for the Cure into a long-term, mutually beneficial partnership, which raised significant funds for Komen and drove sales of Yoplait. My work, over at 10 year period, included development of account specific retail promotions (general and Hispanic) that were activated at hundreds of retailers nationwide, onsite campaign activation which involved sampling at Race for the Cure events across the country, and more. Key Komen Affiliate relations programs resulted in overall brand awareness, an increase ROI for Yoplait, and funds for Komen's local affiliates.