Strategic branding and attendee experience

The Challenge
With the launch of its new thought-leader initiative, Solve, MIT is setting out to do nothing less than tackle the world’s most urgent problems, as defined against the stark reality of global population growth reaching nearly 10 billion people by the year 2050. 
Inaugurated with a three-day summit on MIT’s campus in October 2015, Solve will combine an annual live event, international satellite experiences and a digital platform: these will cultivate a community of business leaders, scientists, engineers, policymakers and MIT faculty focused on achieving actionable solutions to problems in global health, education, infrastructure and energy.

The Strategy
Devise a brand for Solve that wins VIP audiences by capturing and promoting the uniquely MIT problem-solving methodology that only Solve can own.  

The Solution
Problem-solving at MIT — an institution identified with the origins of everything from radar to the Internet — is an ongoing process in which each new insight leads to further inquiry and action. We created a kinetic, deliberately “incomplete”  logo for Solve that evokes this process through crisp, yet disrupted type. Our design puts Solve firmly in line with MIT’s distinguished graphic design heritage, specifically the iconic work of MIT Media Lab’s Muriel Cooper.

The identity gave rise to a linear graphic system for the Solve event experience which was then applied to promotional materials including street banners and outdoor exhibits, as well as stage design for Kresge Auditorium and the interior design of a 15,000 sq. ft. temporary pavilion installed on campus for the inaugural event.

The Results
The first Solve exceeded its revenue targets and brought luminaries including Laurene Powell Jobs, Eric Schmidt and UN economist Jeffrey Sachs together to make tangible progress against its four program pillars: Learn, Cure, Fuel and Make. Solve 2.0 has already been scheduled for September 2016.

The Challenge
Wow Microsoft’s most important partners and customers with interactive signage and experiences that befit the brand’s VIP meeting center and technology showcase, the Microsoft Executive Briefing Center in Redmond, WA.

The Strategy
We took advantage of the EBC’s recent remodel to weave a variety of digital experiences throughout the Center, including a playful and dramatic Welcome moment, a CMS-driven real-time way finding solution, and an extensive touchscreen signage program delivering shareable, multimedia Microsoft enterprise content.

The Solution
In the EBC lobby, we designed, animated, developed and audio-scored a custom Kinect experience that invites visitors to interact with elegant abstract imagery on a stunning 20x60’ veneer-paneled LED wall. Within the EBC, our interactive map delivers real-time briefing information to each guest. As visitors explore further, a configuration of touchscreens also uses Kinect to trigger videos and other content focusing on Microsoft enterprise themes.

The Results
Happy clients, an award-winning facility, and metrics reflecting an ongoing increase in visitor engagement with Microsoft EBC content. 

The Challenge
Execute a complete revamp of the Shopping Showcase — a scripted, host-driven experience of real-world vignettes enhanced by eBay technology — into a radically versatile space for collaboration, meetings, and events, filled with high-tech tools and relevant digital content.

The Strategy
Customization is key. Because eBay needed a multi-functional space that could host everything from daytime workshops to high-profile events, we recommended an agile interior filled with modular furnishings, moveable walls, and customizable digital canvases. The jewel in the crown: a massive, interactive Digital Wall that greets visitors with branded, browsable content as they enter.

The Solution
The NYC Studio, a light-filled corner space in the heart of New York’s Chelsea neighborhood, can host collaborative working sessions by day, and transform into a sleek event space at night. Dark wood finishes and clean-lined furniture speak to eBay’s modern coolness, and touchscreens equipped with wireless mirroring capabilities position eBay as a forward-thinking technology company. Walls, monitors, and furnishings are mobile and modular, making it easy to host any event, from a town hall meeting for 100, an exclusive press lunch for 35, or an intimate ideation and strategy session for 10. The Digital Wall, a 9’x15’ array of touchscreens, showcases eBay’s latest social, news, and product content, populated dynamically, plus tips, tricks, and company Fast Facts. Subtle motion invites deeper dives into the Wall’s 50+ interactive tiles.

The Results
"I was VERY pleased to see…the space! It is amazing. …The digital wall is awesome, and right in line with our thinking. … Can't wait to get using it; it will be so good for eBay, and the brand.“ 

— RJ Pittman, Chief Product Officer, eBay

The Challenge
Win new audiences for Bill Gates’ official blog, by making its often complex topics immediate and relevant to millennials and others who care about global health, development and environmental issues.

The Strategy
Use interactive storytelling and video to underscore the urgency behind Bill’s key priorities by highlighting their inherent human interest and rewarding the intellectual curiosity of our audience.

The Solution
Our work for The Gates Notes has included infographic-rich features on The Future of Food and humans’ impact on earth’s biosphere, enhancing Bill’s own writing on these topics in the form of book reviews. 

We’ve created videos on topics showcasing the effectiveness of Big History and the urgent need for clean energy innovation, and supported Bill’s very first Reddit AMA with original content and a meme while amplifying his efforts on The Gates notes homepage. 

And most recently we helped architect a first-of-its-kind Gates Notes quiz that challenged people to test their knowledge of global issues against Bill’s own. 

The Results
While The Gates Notes keeps its metrics confidential, our content’s success has led us working with Bill’s team on a significant evolution of the structure of the site itself.

Shaping the Women and Girls Conversation

CARE.org asked us to make its website as urgent and essential as its work. Our assignment: “make CARE cool”—and win the next giving generation for a non-profit lifting communities out of poverty by empowering women and girls. 

The new CARE.org’s vibrant, content-centric design connects people with humanitarian issues of the greatest urgency, driving donation and engagement through vivid storytelling. The responsive site translates across devices. Its CMS platform makes emergency and other site updates quick and efficient.  

The relaunch increased CARE’s critical end-of-year fundraising income by a double-digit percentage in the 2013 holiday season.

"Food is our common ground, a universal experience." -James Beard (1903-1985)

For nearly a decade I led a team of hungry creatives, creating strategic visual communications for global food organizations like Nestlé and the United Soybean Board.

Be it the science of interesterified fats, or the happiness from small indulgences, food communications range from the technical to wacky irreverence. With Nestlé Research I was embedded within their Product Technology Center, helping them craft their innovation story. For the United Soybean we amplified a two-decade program to convey health, versatility and availability of soy products.

Our team launched websites, email campaigns, social media campaigns, advertising, photoshoots, brochures, packaging, presentation design, visual identity, trade show events, and experiential marketing activations.

CLIENTS
Nestlé Corporate Communications, Nestlé Nutrition, Nestlé Research, Nespresso, Wonka, Purina, Lean Cuisine, Stouffer’s, Crunch, United Soybean Board, New Zealand Zespri Kiwifruit, Turkish Hazelnut Council, Cranberry Marketing Comittee, Roman Meal Bread, Pura Vida Coffee, FoodSaver

AUDIENCES
Health professionals, dietitians, nurse practitioners, food scientists, food manufactures, food service operators, media influencers, retailers, and consumers

RESULTS
Over two dozen communication awards, and countless media placements

10% increase in positive perception of client product, a leading indicator of consumption trends. Outreach influenced a 5% increase client ingredient sales

Increased qualified client leads for food marketing sales by +400% in three years by transforming trade show strategy and operations, and cultivating relationships with sector’s top organizations to create influential partnerships.