In a landscape of category sameness, our client Nasalcrom had the rare benefit of preventing allergy symptoms before they started. The more we dug into the symptoms, the more we realized how personal each consumer’s experience is with their nemeses and effects. We turned some of them into the key visual element and lever of the idea and partnered with a brave client who stepped outside category norms to make an impact.

Role: Group CD/CW

Ask me about: the cat

Sometimes, the hardest thing for people to do, even if they know all the reasons they should, is to take their first steps toward a healthier lifestyle. The South Dakota Department of Health asked us to create a vibrant, motivational campaign that would get people up and moving. The key was to make it seem like they’re already doing it, and that that the next steps were going to be a lot easier - and a lot more personal - than they thought.

Role: Group CD/CW

Ask me about: The approval process

My partner and I were tasked with creating a B2B print campaign for MasterCard RPPS, which offers faster, more reliable payment services between companies and financial institutions. This idea started out in the “no way they’ll ever go for it, but we should show it to them” pile, but once we worked out how to execute it, it quickly became the agency recommendation and approved concept. We may have bent a law or two scanning the currency to get the detail we wanted, but the payoff was worth it. Selected for 2009 Graphis Design Annual.

Role: ACD/CW

Ask me about: the first internal review

We partnered with the South Dakota Department of Health to fight back against a silent health risk for kids in South Dakota: childhood lead poisoning. While lead exposure can come from many sources, old paint is the leading cause by some distance. Since South Dakota has a high index of homes with lead-based paint, that was our hook. We used paint chips for our key visual element, made up some new color names, and spoke directly to parents with a high-impact, highly motivational campaign.

Role: CD/CW

Ask me about: The unchosen names

Medical device client Hologic asked us to help them launch a public service initiative to promote women’s cervical health, and our women-owned agency jumped at the opportunity. We created the Public Cervix Announcement, leveraging the language of various platforms to put an empowering twist on the idea of being “Healthy AF”. We created a digital ecosystem to support and amplify the campaign, and tactics covered both DTC and HCP audiences.

Role: ECD/CW

Ask me about: the ideas that WEREN’T selected

While the Buffalo Bills have always enjoyed the fanatical support of the “Bills Mafia,” years of disappointing play had tested the resolve of many fans, even in some of the most passionate corners of Rich Stadium. Tasked with promoting season ticket sales, we channeled the experience of being inside the stadium on game day and went head-to-head with the 60-inch flatscreens, comfortable seating, and cheap beer of home. Digital and offline efforts supported the work, and sales goals were shattered as the in-person appeal brought the Bills a much-needed W.

Role: Group CD/CW

Ask me about: Stevie Johnson’s audio

For as noble and intrinsically rewarding as the childcare profession is, it faces more than its share of challenges to draw enough qualified talent into the field. This is especially true for people who choose to make it a career. The South Dakota Department of Social Services challenged us to switch the narrative around childcare, elevating it from glorified babysitting to the vital part of the fabric of South Dakota that it is. We leaned into the idea that you’re probably already qualified for a career in childcare, and it might be more rewarding than you think.

Role: CD/CW

Ask me about: the interviews

“Energy efficiency” isn’t often used in the same sentence as “branding,” but Focus on Energy tasked us with rebranding them and their work with several Wisconsin state agencies to support and market energy efficiency programs. Research told us that famously independent Wisconsinites would take individual action toward being more energy efficient, especially if it would help their collective communities. Instead of treating the brand like an impersonal list of products and services, we reimagined it as the engine behind a movement: “Wisconsin Is In”. When we called upon consumers to help themselves at the same time they could help their neighbors, they answered.

Role: ECD/CW

Ask me about: The production road trip

The Northern California group of Ford dealers wanted their own creative to launch the new Ford Focus, and we got the opportunity to develop a campaign to run alongside the national brand creative. Produced with a shoestring budget and a skeleton crew, we built the entire campaign around the “limited” vocabulary used to express so much between friends. The spots quickly gained momentum when other dealer groups started to run it, and the work ended up replacing the original brand launch campaign in dozens of markets. Pretty cool, dude.

Role: CW

Ask me about: the dude’s coffee cup

For years, it was a professional goal of mine to work with famed illustrator Michael Schwab. Finally, after several failed attempts, AAA came calling with a request to refresh their brand in the Western NY market. We pitched an idea that took a new approach promoting a broader spectrum of services, along a recommendation to use the “contemporary nostalgia” of Schwab’s artwork for the campaign. Final output included print, direct mail, in-store posters, retail components and merchandising.

Role: GCD/CW

Ask me about: Mike’s studio basement

Thousands of people in South Dakota are impacted by diabetes, heart disease, and stroke every year. In 2024, we were tasked by the South Dakota Department of Health to fight back. We decided to leverage the number one reason people get early screening for those conditions their families and the relationships they truly value. Rather than frighten people into hiding, we inspired them to take action.

Role: CD/CW

Ask me about: casting

When the South Dakota Department of Health decided to adopt and implement the national Park Prescription program, they also decided to make their own campaign to support it. We partnered with the SD Travel & Tourism board to create a fully-integrated campaign that highlights what South Dakota has to offer the most: open spaces.

Role: CD/CW

Ask me about: State park bickering

Working at a McCann subsidiary agency, we were asked to collaborate with the brand team to develop ideas to support the new “Dream Up” campaign at both a regional and national level. We ended up producing print work and several spots at the brand level, and several more retail TV templates for distribution nationwide.

Role: GCD/CW

Ask me about: Hugh Jackman’s VO session

We worked with the foundational arm of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota to promote behavioral change when it came to healthier eating habits for Minnesota families. We learned that parents were much more likely to act when exposed to messaging highlighting the long-term risks for kids who don’t have enough fruits and vegetables in their diets. We developed a “time travel” visual lever that delivered the message with tremendous impact in print and video, and we developed a distinct campaign tone of voice to carry other tactics. The integrated campaign included TV, print, transit, ambient, outdoor, and a program website.

Role: ACD/CW

Ask me about: the Tooth Fairy

Efficiency Vermont, an energy efficiency services implementer, needed to refresh their brand awareness and perception, even in a progressive state like Vermont. We found a way for them to take their story beyond their products and services and into the homes of the fiercely independent Vermonters who benefit most from them. We also found a way to develop original, ownable assets within their extremely limited budget. Using a child’s voice for the launch creative was a disruptive way to express the long-term impact of working with Efficiency Vermont without pandering to a future state that often fails to motivate consumers.

Role: ECD/CW

Ask me about: the VO talent

Absorbine gave our team the opportunity to turn something scientific into something human when they asked us to develop a campaign for their line of premium equine grooming products. The more we talked to horse owners and enthusiasts, heard their stories, saw their pictures, and watched them with their horses, the more it was clear that tapping into those relationships was the way to motivate them. We commissioned original photography, crafted a tone of voice, and took advantage of integrated tactics to get Absorbine onto the podium.

Role: Group CD/CW

Ask me about: The intern

Not every project is a multi-layered campaign with things like ecosystems and standards. Even single deliverables have given me an opportunity to help clients stand out.

In 2017, we developed a new brand positioning and tagline for Northwest Bank: “Increasing the value of you.” For several years, we brought that promise to life through a full spectrum of online and offline tactics and content with messaging designed to express Northwest’s humility and reverence for the relationships they have with their customers.

Role: ECD/CW

Ask me about: Rico