HALLMARK CREATIVE + BRAND STRATEGY
THE COMMON THREAD:
When I look back over my 11 year career at Hallmark, I see a wonderful range of experiences, knowledge, and skills that I obtained.
However, I don't have to look too hard to see the common thread that ran through it all: using a combination of emotional intelligence, my understanding of human universals, empathy, and integrative thinking to solve problems.
MY REACH:
HALLMARK BRANDS, SUB-BRANDS, & CATEGORIES:
Hallmark, Inc.
Hallmark Gold Crown
Hallmark International
Hallmark Design Collection
Hallmark Baby
Hallmark Pets
Hallmark Loyalty Marketing
Hallmark Business Connections
Hallmark Channel
Hallmark Jewelry
Hallmark + Faith
Hallmark + Humor
Hallmark + Home
Hallmark + Pets
Hallmark + Celebrity
HMK
Sunrise Greetings
SpiritClips
DaySpring
ShoeBox
Sinceremente
5 Points
Easy Tiger
BRAND PARTNERSHIP PROJECTS, PITCHES, & ASSESSMENTS
Target
Walmart
CVS
Walgreens
Product(RED)
Livestrong
State Farm
Barnes & Noble
Wells Fargo
Sea World
Discovery Cove
Busch Entertainment
Nestle
Purina
Family Christian Bookstores
St. Jude
Fashion Angels
Oprah's O You! Event
HALLMARK PROPERTIES AND PARTNERSHIPS:
Hoops & Yoyo
Hello Kitty
Rainbow Brite
UNEEKS
Mateo & Abigail
HALLMARK CELEBRITY PARTNERSHIPS:
Sarah Jessica Parker
Tina Fey
Other celebrities and designers
TYPES OF WORK:
As part of the Corporate Innovation Group, all of my Creative & Brand Strategy work at Hallmark was rooted in creating solutions that were aligned with the principles and vision of the brand, while ensuring the solutions were both emotionally and culturally relevant.
However, the types of projects I worked on varied. Some projects involved directing a team of people with disparate skills to execute a vision, while others involved hours of research and problem solving on my own. At the end of the day, they all required thought leadership.
Concept development
Internal and external pitches
Leading and participating in collaborative brainstorm sessions
Research: products and brands, cultural trends, demographic and psychographic trends, social and cultural anthropology
New business development
Assessing & developing brand, celebrity, & property partnerships
Strategic presentations for stakeholder buy-in
Creative direction of product lines, photography, video, etc.
Brand positioning for brands, sub-brands, & subsidiaries
Creative and brand strategy development for brands, sub-brands, & subsidiaries
Public speaking in presentations to fellow leaders & employees to democratize ideas and initiatives
Consulting on public relations issues impacting the brand
In addition, I served three years in a Corporate Diversity & Inclusion leadership role: 1 year as Co-Chair and 2 consecutive years as Chair of HERE, Hallmark's LGBT Employee Resource Group.
Developed Hallmark's first ever LGBT corporate display that included photography, stories, and quotes about the lives of LGBT people and employees.
Proposed, concepted, and produced, and directed Hallmark's "It Gets Better" video to help stop LGBT teen suicide
Promoted initiatives to achieve high scores on the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index
Helped Hallmark senior leadership team develop, promote, and roll out "The Business Case for Diversity & Inclusion"
Worked collaboratively with other diversity leaders to lead development and production of "The New Norm" series, an empathy-driven presentation consisting of research, statistics, and personal story to inspire more relevant product development and solutions. Presented to over 1,200 employees. The program was so successful that I was asked to develop and direct a follow up version the following year (see "The New Norm" videos here)
Consulted with Public Relations on LGBT specific communications and issues in the media
Recipient of the CEO "Walking the Talk" Award