My name is Sean A. Cooper, I’m a Brooklyn-based copywriter, communications strategist, and brand humanizer, and this is my portfolio—a mix of work, conceptions, and ad-art
Ads
Blogs
Briefs
Emails
Scripts
Taglines
Concepts
Narratives
Messaging
Brand story
Social posts
Press releases
Website content
Advertising campaigns
Strategic narrative development
Conceptual advertising
Product management
Qualitative interviews
Behavioral insights
Experience design
UX & UI content
Growth hacking
Brand strategy
Sean stewards the soul of Flow. He architected the brand strategy. He distills the brand strategy through creative writing and concepts. Sean holds me accountable to the brand promise with an unwavering commitment to consistency.
—Rich Prashad, founder
Sean understood the ideas of our team and then transformed them into a short, precise and well-structured product and marketing strategy. Our team enjoyed working with him. We got a superb result.
—Pavel Guzminov, CEO
Sean's work was highly valuable, since it helped us focus our business strategy and start building our brand. He was very good at asking the right questions at the right time, which made brainstorming sessions highly productive in the majority of the cases. His contribution on business direction and creative thinking was assertive and gave us new ideas related to the name, domain, pricing, messaging and overall business structure.
—Alonso SG
As expected, keeping in mind the great references. I would work with again and also recommend to others.
—Bruno Negoita
When we are lost, we look to you to guide us. Thank you my friend.
—Pirro Cece, CEO
Sean helped us achieve clarity. We figured out a more effective business structure, picked a memorable, concise and strong brand name, and got a more defined product launch plan, pricing structure and roadmap.
—Marten Kauksi, founder
Highly recommended! Sean did an amazing job on this project and went well beyond what I asked. His understanding of market strategy and branding is top notch. He was extremely patient and shared honest feedback, which led to a better concept and design than I originally came to him with.
—Athina Williamson
Sean was amazing to work with. Was extremely flexible and took his time to deliver a great product, while allowing many questions and revisions. I look forward to working with him in the future again!
—Kyle Schnitman
Sean’s expertise in branding and business development brought much-needed clarity to building a sustainable business and brand for our startup. His thoughtful questions and insights helped us design a pricing structure that’s both appealing to our audience and highly profitable for our business. He gave us a crucial reminder as first-time founders to focus on one business, helped craft a name that clearly communicates our product's value and guided us in creating messaging that resonates with our target audience.
—Alonso SG
Objective: positioning and formulating messaging that differentiates Appstem from the competition, redoing its website, and revamping the content.
Process:
Insight: Even though the company had worked with many household name companies, it mentions its accomplishments only as a side note on the website.
Action: In addition to positioning the agency as a trusted Silicon Valley veteran that builds high quality products for affordable prices, the strategy included an element of borrowed credibility from its renown clients (if it’s good enough for Tesla, it’s good enough for me).
Deliverables:
Developed brand for an AI productivity assistant (startup) that reduces noise and increases focus by managing the user’s administrative tasks (e.g., email triage, time-blocking, note-taking, meeting preparation, etc.).
In order to tailor the brand and messaging for a target persona, I interviewed potential customers and users of competing products to get a glimpse into their experience. I then synthesized the insights with the founder’s vision into detailed customer profiles and a brand guide for consistent future communications.
The name, messaging, customer profile, and communication guide have been mentioned by founders and product testees as being clear and efficient. As a result, I was tasked with creating content for the company’s website (as well as managing the design and development process).
The full case study with the deliverables (including customer research, positioning, messaging, brand guide, and more) can be found here.
Overview: Mindspeller is a neuromarketing (neuroscience+marketing) SaaS platform for marketing concept testing and validation (telling you what people really think). Among the company’s clients were multinational corporations, local municipalities, and large consumer brands.
Objective: Develop brand strategy, messaging, and content that clearly communicate the company’s value proposition.
Process: Conducted over a dozen discovery sessions with the founders, interviewed consumers, developed the core messaging, tested an MVP, and created frameworks to convey the company’s positioning and maintain consistent communication across channels.
Content: When the company pitched to Simply Juice, I was tasked with creating a case study for Coca-Cola (Simply Juice’s parent company), showcasing how Mindspeller can provide insights to guide Simply’s branding decisions.
The case study can be found here.
The challenge:
A fintech startup needed to rename and rebrand itself to compete with the larger brand names.
The solution:
1) Created a catchy brand name (originally DigiDough, but the client preferred DigiDoe, for simplicity).
2) Formulated a succinct message that captures the essence of the brand.
3) Developed content that targets merchants—addressing their needs and fears—and separate content targeting consumers’ wants and concerns.
The problem:
Isabel Fay, a women’s self-care brand, was having low click-through and conversion rates.
The insights:
1) The message on the label was not communicating the company’s unique value proposition.
2) The font on the label was too small and unnoticeable for people who were searching and comparing products.
The solution:
1) Reframed the messaging to highlight the company’s differentiation and unique value proposition.
2) Redesigned the label so that the messaging would be clearly visible on the shelf and in search.
The logo, brand identity, and the name—LoftStory— encapsulates the essence of the event space (experiential experiences) and the type of events it was best suited to host—weddings and corporate events.
The messaging and marketing communications (website content, event invitations, brochures, and venue event tickets) were tailored to be consistent with the message and appeal to the target audience.
To achieve product-market fit, I defined the optimal customer profile and charted the journey customers (as well consumers) are on—from awareness, to trust, purchase, and beyond.
Delivery: Refined brand architecture and structure, revised identity guidelines, and reworded unique selling proposition.
Productivity AI: brand positioning, messaging, and content (case study)
Hygiene: brand messaging refresh
AI chatbots are proliferating, but many lack the human touch. To truly connect, businesses can focus on understanding rather than just efficiency. By prioritizing empathy and genuine helpfulness, companies can create AI interactions that build rapport, shape brand perception and pass the “Caring test.”
While traditional market research methods rely on what people say, neuroscientific tools like EEG and fMRI—though expensive to use—decipher what they really think. Mindspeller achieves the same insight for a fraction of the cost by harnessing the latest scientific breakthrough, as demonstrated in a pitch to Coca-Cola (to realign one of its brands, Simply Juices, with deeper subconscious consumer associations).
Securing an ideal brand name with a matching domain and social media handles is increasingly challenging due to high demand and domain squatting. While a consistent name across platforms is desirable, it's often impractical or costly. Prioritizing a clear, pronounceable, and indicative brand name is more crucial than exact domain and handle matches.
Artificial intelligence responds much like a genie—powerful, capable, but entirely dependent on how it's asked. The difference between noise and insight often lies in the clarity of the prompt.
AI brand leadership emerges as today's Oklahoma Land Rush — startups stake claims through unique differentiation, seamless simplicity, and customer obsession. Like Google dominated search, future AI leaders will blend clear and unique value propositions, intuitive experiences, and freemium generosity to carve irreplaceable mental real estate.
A look back at where I came from, the path I ended up on, and the lessons I'm picking up along the way.
In an example of a challenge converted into advantage, the U.S. Virgin Islands can differentiate itself in a saturated Caribbean tourism market by embracing its unique topography. Instead of competing solely on beaches, the VI can promote its mountainous terrain and jeep treks as a distinctive adventure, transforming perceived travel inconveniences into memorable experiences.
Life-changing lessons in loyalty and responsibility I picked up from a chance encounter with a stray puppy.
From Queen Victoria's diamond-encrusted timepiece to modern icons like the Eclipse, Patek Philippe watches symbolize elegance and enduring craftsmanship. Aunt Marta’s passion for women's Patek watches evolved into personal legacy, in a story that culminates in a heartfelt family moment.
My addiction of choice is ‘special moments’. Moments that surprise, delight, and inspire. Authentic, simple, and pure. One of my daily “moments” experiences is the first sip of a fine cappuccino. Not the common morning coffee, but the actual first sip of a freshly prepared, quality espresso drink. I have a few of those per day, and I enjoy each one as if it was the only one.
My coffee of choice is Blue Bottle. Whenever I want to treat myself, I walk ten blocks, passing other coffeeshops, in pursuit of the perfect cup.
From the clean and simple interior design to the traditional espresso menu, the Blue Bottle experience is about one thing: being the best coffee in town.
My favorite is the classic hot cappuccino. (Is cold espresso with un-frothed milk still a cappuccino.?) A good cappuccino experience treats all the senses. The coffee art on the surface, the smell of freshly ground beans, the unmistakable sharp taste, the warmth of the cup, and the sound of steam frothing the milk fuse into an authentic experience. I take a moment to take it all in.
Blue Bottle’s trained baristas consistently craft the perfect cup. Ideal milk/coffee ratio, not as bitter as a macchiato and not as adulterated as a latte, served at the perfect temperature—not too hot, not too tepid—just right.
I bring the cup closer and inhale the aroma and sip from the narrow white strip of milk. I tilt the cup, diving lip first into the foam, sinking deeper into the spume, letting the silky-smooth cream cuddle my upper lip. When I was a kid, I imagined what eating a cloud felt like and cuddling cappuccino foam with my lips was exactly what I imagined it would be. Tilting further, the espresso rushes in from the bottom, the scent of pressed coffee hits the nostrils, and Blue Bottle’s signature aroma hits the taste buds a moment later. The flavors meet and mix to create a distinct bittersweet profile. I let it linger, but not for too long. From the moment it’s served, a cappuccino starts to cool off and lose its essence. The creamy foam starts to flatten and mix with the espresso, slowly morphing the fluffy delight into cold coffee with milk.
In many ways, life moments are like a cappuccino. They tend to diminish in emotional valence over time. It’s never as good as the first sip, and if you don’t take a moment to appreciate it, it will pass you by.
Everyone has a favorite moment of stillness. Mine is the first sip of a Blue Bottle cappuccino.
Steve thought he had an idea that was truly unique: a pet costume rental business. People could browse his website, select a costume for their furry friend, and have it delivered right to their door. It wasn’t much, but at least it was original.
Working tirelessly, he spent hours perfecting his website and sourcing costumes. He went on Doola to set up his LLC, forgetting to set up a bank account, but he received a notification reminding him that without an account, he wouldn’t be able to receive payments. One forehead slap and a few clicks later, he finished setting up his account and launched his website.
Steve spent some time waiting for orders to start pouring in, but they didn’t. Finally, an order was received, but to his surprise, it was not for a pet costume rental order at all. It was a request for the delivery of a human-sized gorilla suit. At first, he was confused, but quickly realized that he used a picture of his old gorilla costume on the website, along with the other pet costumes, by mistake.
He felt he should fulfill the order since it was his first. Reluctantly, he got the gorilla costume from the basement, dusted it off, and headed out to make the delivery. As he approached the delivery address, he saw a large house and realized there was a party happening in the back.
He rang the doorbell, and the host, Lilly, answered the door. Seeing Steve holding a gorilla suit in one hand and his phone with the map app in the other, she quickly put two and two together and greeted him with a friendly smile. Inviting him inside, she asked Steve if he needed a room to change. Perplexed, he politely declined, only to realize that Lilly assumed that the gorilla suit came with the entertainer in it. The picture on Steve’s website indeed features the costume with a human (him) inside it.
Quick-witted and filled with confidence, Steve pretended that she was right and started putting on the costume right in front of her, with an “Of course, I was just waiting to be inside to put it on” look on his face. Lilly smiled, thanked him again, and left to join her guests in the outside garden. Steve watched her leave, then quickly opened the Doola app and adjusted his business settings and website. A few clicks later, he put on his gorilla gloves and entered the garden.
The guests were shocked at the sight of a six-foot-tall gorilla at first but warmed up to “its” personality. Steve acted the part, guests cheered him on, and he eventually became the life of the party. Lilly even paid him to stick around for longer.
He ended up meeting new people, handing out a lot of cards, earning lavish tips, and having a genuinely good time. When he was leaving the party, Steve realized that maybe his original business idea was not as unconventional and exciting as he thought; however, his new idea checked these and so many other boxes.
Convinced, he decided to pivot from pets to people. Instead of renting delivery costumes, he would “be the costume”. He went back to Doola and adjusted his business for his new venture: a delivery service for human-sized costumes, with the option to add an entertainer in it.
One of the disadvantages of being an international family spanning three continents and four languages is that the older generation loses contact with the younger one. My parents and wife don’t share a native language, and their communication is limited to a few acquired phrases. My recently divorced and happily dating brother once said that the secret to a good marriage is a wife and mother-in-law who don’t share a language. “Ideally,” he added, ”you’ll be the only translator around.”
Our parents didn’t get around to learning English, but nudged by the reality of potential Anglophone grandchildren, my mom picked up an English course and my dad downloaded Duolingo. The language learning app is quite a hit in our international clan. I use it to learn Spanish, my wife uses it to learn Portuguese, and now, my dad uses it to learn English, making it the most popular — non-communication app — used by my relatively small family, and one of the few things my wife and father share across thousands of miles.
The broad appeal is not accidental. Duolingo reinvented a whole category and built a multi-million dollar business by changing an old service into an eclectic activity. The vivid colors and gamified experience tap into our innate desire to play, vie for confirmation, and earn affirmation. Making learning fun makes it as engaging for a thirty two-year-old lawyer, who wants to explore Brazil, as it does for a septuagenarian who wants to connect with his daughter-in-law and future grandchildren.
Useful products that bring people closer together deservedly grow in popularity, and our Duolingo story continues to expand as the upcoming generation learns to talk to their nana and grandpa.
A Broadway show tune erupted, silencing the humming servers at the FTX headquarters offices. It’s Professor Octie’s showtime. No one seemed to mind that the professor was a talking green octopus, clad in a tailcoat and top hat. They didn’t mind him erupting in sporadic dance routines in the middle of the office, flinging his tentacles around, and knocking off screens and coffee mugs.
His boss, Sam Bankman-Fried, jokingly threatened to take Professor Octie to a restaurant, where they would fry and serve him on a plate.
There was not much love between the two, and when the feds came to arrest his boss for financial crimes on that fateful November day, Professor Octie sneered at his boss when he was led away in cuffs and cried out, “Who’s the slimy creature getting fried now?!”
Morose sniggers could be seen on the faces of the now-unemployed staffers and some of the feds’. Such an entertainer, that Professor Octie.
One word can change the world.
— Me
Brief
Target audience: busy founders, CMOs, and marketers of SaaS companies.
Interviewed: VP of marketing in a SaaS enterprise, with experience in a number of software companies.
Key finding: people in marketing positions don’t want to learn SEO, they want to benefit from it, ideally having control over the quality of the content. From a partner, they’re mainly looking for reliability and accountability. They don’t want to be blamed for wasting resources, but desperately need to gain exposure.
With that in mind, I targeted the educated decision-maker who fits the aforementioned profile.
A decision-maker’s perspective.
In the competitive landscape of SaaS products, an SEO strategy can be the difference between rapid growth and digital obscurity. Even if organic reach isn’t your main engine of growth, getting your company website higher in search rankings is vital to connecting with an audience online. While you might have the next revolutionary software solution on this side of the galaxy, without proper search engine visibility, people won’t know it exists.
But as important as it is, optimizing content for search engines is not the main or only function of a marketer’s job. Founders and CMOs who include an SEO element in their marketing strategy, but don’t have the time to become SEO professionals delegate. Below are the main things to consider when developing a SaaS SEO strategy, and searching for the right partner.
An SEO strategy that works is strategic (for the lack of a synonym), and there are various strategies to consider. But most generic SEO tactics fail to address the unique challenges SaaS companies face. Unlike conventional products, SaaS solutions demand continuous customer education and relationship nurturing. The most effective strategies focus on driving targeted traffic and moving prospects through the conversion funnel aimed at SaaS consumers.
Part of the marketer’s responsibility is ensuring that all elements of the marketing strategy align with business objectives. Below are steps to maintain control over the SEO strategy while effectively delegating its implementation.
Establishing clear metrics for success and KPIs to measure progress helps achieve the objectives. Unlike KPIs that measure progress towards business goals, metrics measure performance for specific business activities.
An SEO strategy is a long-term investment that requires rigorous implementation and consistent attention.
While an average decision maker spends 2-5% of their time on SEO, an SEO professional devotes 100% of theirs. The marketer’s job isn’t to compete with, but delegate to, a trusted SEO partner. The main things to look for in an SEO partnership are:
How much does a monthly SEO SaaS strategy implementation cost? I asked AI (ChatGPT).
“Generally, you can expect to pay anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000 per month for a comprehensive SEO service that includes backlinking.” — with love, AI.
Due to the amount of resources and personalization required, anything below that results in automated approaches that generate cold traffic.
SEO success in SaaS isn’t about gaming the system. It’s about demonstrating domain excellence and consistently delivering valuable content to the target audience.
Success isn’t guaranteed, but those who build scalable foundations find their efforts compounding over time, and their websites ascending the ranks of search visibility, bridging their solutions with the optimal audience.
A well-executed SaaS SEO strategy can become the most reliable and cost-effective customer acquisition channel. The right partners can help build a sustainable competitive advantage without draining your attention on SEO duties.
Good luck!
Integrating machine learning into a digital health product presents a unique set of challenges. Balancing real-time object detection feature requirements with resource limitations, technical complexities, and stringent data privacy regulations is a formidable task.
The Challenge
Digital health products require real-time object detection. This means developing an ML model capable of processing video streams rapidly and accurately while safeguarding sensitive patient data.
Solutions
Option 1: Outsourcing the ML Brain
While convenient, outsourcing ML to external AI services like ChatGPT is off-limits for medical data due to stringent HIPAA compliance. The added cost is another detractor.
Option 2: Cloud-based ML
Cloud platforms offer robust ML tools (e.g., AWS SageMaker, Azure ML, Google Vertex AI). However, they come with trade-offs:
Option 3: In-house Brawn
Deploying the ML model on the company’s servers offers better control over data security and potential performance gains through hardware acceleration. But the upgrade demands significant infrastructure investment, specialized skills, and ongoing maintenance.
Option 4: ML with TensorFlow.js — The Web-based Wonder
TensorFlow.js is a JavaScript library that allows you to build and run ML models directly in your web app. This approach offers:
While it might not match the raw power of dedicated hardware, TensorFlow.js is a viable starting point for most mid-sized startups.
The Final Word
Choosing the right approach depends on specific project requirements, resource constraints, and risk tolerance. While specific needs might vary according to circumstances, there are robust, secure, and efficient ML solutions that meet both business and patients’ needs.
Diverse experiences shape us in ways we haven’t even considered.
Gaining a global perspective can do wonders not only for your resume but for your social life as well.
With over 50 years’ experience placing students in international programs, AIFS Abroad invites you to enrich your academic journey with various courses and internships in London.
Join other students who get to develop practical skills, gain valuable experience, nurture lifelong connections, and create lasting memories while enhancing their resumes.
From history, literature, and art to social sciences, business, and politics, courses are curated to meet various academic requirements and personal interests.
Don’t miss out on gaining valuable international experience in one of the world’s oldest and most vibrant cities.
Financial assistance is available through scholarships and grants.
See you in London!
As winter approaches, Jobe Roofing—a commercial and residential roofing company that provides a range of roofing services in Southern California—announced its updated list of red flags and signs that a roof needs urgent attention.
To prevent lasting damage, the company’s roofing professionals identified the telltale signs of leaks, damaged or missing shingles, water pooling, and deteriorating flashing.
Several factors can shorten the lifespan of a roof. The most common causes of roof damage are poor maintenance and weather conditions.
While severe weather is rare in Southern California, roofs experience everyday wear and tear through the process of natural aging and exposure to the elements.
Even mild weather conditions can wear down or cause serious damage to a roof. According to the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, hail alone causes more than $1.6 billion worth of damage in an average year to residential roofs in the United States.
Jobe Roofing professionals explain that taking extra precautions to protect the roof during the cold winter months is important to secure its longevity.
Jobe Roofing continues to expand its range of high-quality roofing solutions, from inspection, installation, and insulation to maintenance, repair, and replacement.
The company also partnered with Sultra Sleek Solar Integration to provide customers with custom solar solutions that save on energy costs and contribute to a more sustainable future.
The company’s commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction is evident by its long-standing reputation. As one of the area’s oldest and most trusted roofing specialists, serving the greater Los Angeles area since 1998, Jobe Roofing is a Silver Star Contractor, a distinction reserved for companies that meet the stringent requirements for workmanship, financial stability, and good business practices set by CertainTeed Commercial Roofing.
A company spokesperson mentioned: “We use only premium materials and offer a variety of warranties, ranging up to 50 years, just to give people peace of mind.”
You can find out more by visiting: /JobRoofing
Subject: Organizational transformation executive.
Objective: Position as a thought leader in the military organizational transformation niche.
Method: Summarize the testimonials, distill the sentiment, and evolve into a conversational blog.
After two decades of transforming defense systems, I’ve witnessed countless technology implementations crash and burn. Not because the tech was flawed, but because someone forgot the most critical component: humans.
The most dangerous words in any transformation project: “The users will adapt.”
No, they won’t.
Most initiatives die because we focus on systems instead of the humans who use them. We obsess over features while ignoring how work actually flows through an organization.
This is backwards.
When transforming archaic military systems, the setup and people matter more than the tech stack. I call this “functional empathy”—truly understanding how individuals interact with processes before attempting to change them.
Military workflows aren’t just procedures; they’re cultural artifacts. They carry institutional knowledge built over decades. Disrupting them without understanding their purpose is organizational malpractice.
The most successful transformations I’ve led started by mapping how information flows between teams. We identified connection points where modernization could enhance–not replace–human judgment.
Instead of just digitizing existing processes, we asked: Why does this process exist? Who depends on its outputs? What decisions does it inform?
The military operates in high-stakes environments where system failures can have catastrophic consequences. Change requires not just technical skill but psychological safety.
Teams need to know their expertise is valued, even as we introduce new tools to make their work more efficient.
Digital transformation isn’t something you do TO an organization. It’s something you do WITH it.
When we champion functional empathy—truly understanding how work happens before trying to change it—we don’t just build better systems, we build better organizations.
#DigitalTransformation #ChangeManagement #DOD #Leadership #OrganizationalChange
Overview: EvolutionIQ has introduced an innovative AI-powered claims guidance system designed to help examiners and adjusters identify the right claim at the right time, increase the number of people who go back to work, and make claims management more efficient.
Challenge
Workers World Insurance had difficulty accurately predicting claim trajectories, understanding bodily injuries and effectively managing complex claims. These traditional processes often resulted in delayed return-to-work (RTW) outcomes, and could not assign complex claims to expert teams quickly or accurately.
EvolutionIQ was engaged to streamline and optimize Workers World’s claims processes.
Solution
EvolutionIQ’s AI-powered claims guidance system predicts claim trajectories, understands bodily injuries, and streamlines the claims process using next-generation machine learning and natural language processing.
Results
Workers World’s claims management had significantly improved after using EvolutionIQ’s system. The total number of RTWs in claims blocks, for instance, surpassed the outcomes of legacy processes across disability, workers’ compensation, and general liability lines. EvolutionIQ’s AI was able to predict claim trajectories earlier than historical methods, leading to faster RTWs. The process was quicker and more accurate for both carriers and claimants.
EvolutionIQ’s AI-based claims guidance system was successfully integrated into Workers World’s claims management process, and the results were transformative. Not only has it enabled the insurer to understand bodily injuries better, predict claim trajectories, and expedite return to work, but it has also helped save the lives of injured and disabled workers, which resulted in significant cost reductions for the insurance carrier.
The ability to handle claims more efficiently and manage them externally created substantial value for both Workers World and its stakeholders.
Brief
Product Focus: NodPod specializes in sleep-wellness products, such as weighted sleep masks and blankets. NodPod’s products are designed to promote relaxation and improve sleep quality.
Target Audience: Health-conscious (primarily) women in their 20s-40s, who struggle with sleep disorders, anxiety, or stress; who value quality, functionality, and a holistic approach to self-care. The core audience is sleep-deprived people who are willing to invest in products that can enhance their sleep experience and overall well-being.
NodPod’s Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is an innovative design that allows users to customize the weight and pressure on their eyes and face for a personalized sleeping experience. Unlike traditional sleep masks, Nodpod is designed with adjustable weight distribution and concentration in specific areas, providing stable, gentle, and soothing pressure.
NodPod’s brand voice is “friendly, approachable, authentic, and informative”.
Objectives
Micro: Increasing organic traffic, clickthroughs, and conversions; reducing attrition and customer acquisition costs.
Macro: building brand equity.
A well-executed content strategy can build brand equity, drive engagement, and foster lasting consumer trust. Below are some strategies to test and a few to avoid.
Social strategies to test:
1. Add channels. Maintain a strong Instagram presence and engagement (the current primary channel), while increasing engagement on Facebook, as it offers a relatively high return on ad spend for NodPod’s primary audience.
2. Optimizing targeting.
Using existing data to create look-alike audiences and targeting them with special promotions, driving traffic to the website. Facebook’s targeting capabilities allow for precise audience segmentation based on demographics, interests, and behaviors. Effective targeting increases reach and decreases customer acquisition costs.
4. Increase engagement on Pinterest and promote NodPod as a lifestyle inspiration.
Purchasing decisions don’t happen in the store, they happen in the mind at the peak of a customer journey that starts with something that caught her attention and resonated because it was interesting and relatable. She either heard about it from someone or saw it online (most likely on social media). Pinterest is a visual platform, optimal for top-of-the-funnel content for a lifestyle brand.
Content strategies to test:
1. Focusing on visually appealing images and video content, while maintaining a cohesive feed that highlights the brand and the product’s unique features. For example, content that promotes a peaceful and relaxing sleep environment aligns with NodPod’s value proposition.
2. Experimenting with various engaging and unique advertising concepts, showcasing the brand’s authentic voice. For example, a concept that fosters an emotional connection by focusing on something anyone can relate to — a good night’s sleep.
3. Building rapport and authority with useful content, such as blog posts, infographics, and short videos that educate followers about sleep health and provide tips to improve it. Informative continent earns brand awareness even though the brand is only in the background.
5. Borrowing authority: Interviewing authority figures (e.g., Mathew Walker) and discussing the benefits of a good night’s sleep and how NodPod helps achieve that.
6. Customer Testimonials: Encourage satisfied customers to share their experience with NodPod’s products on social media. (Incentives work best. Offering a mutually beneficial arrangement works better than asking for reviews. I don’t know about you, but like any Ameba on this planet, I’m more likely to do something if there’s something in it for me.)
7. Collaborating with influencers in the health, wellness and sleep-related space. Sponsorship, affiliate, barter or any other type of arrangement that gets the product to people who use it and share their experience.
Strategies to avoid:
1. Overposting: Posting too frequently can lead to fatigue and decreased engagement. To reach people, content needs to be scheduled according to their behavior. NodPod’s content should drop when it’s most likely to engage with the sleepless—when they’re struggling to stay awake during the day and when they’re struggling to fall asleep at night. (At work vs. in bed.) The time and frequency can be gradually adjusted based on performance.
2. Irrelevant Content: Sharing irrelevant content that doesn’t align with the brand’s values diminishes its value. To maintain and expand a cohesive and reliable brand image, NodPod needs to stay focused on sleep, wellness, and home lifestyle topics and avoid off-brand content inconsistent with the brand’s voice and style.
3. Aggressive Sales Tactics: While driving sales is important, aggressive sales tactics that may come across as pushy or spammy diminish brand value (desperation doesn’t sell). Instead, NodPod could prioritize building relationships and providing value for followers in order to gain their trust and build brand equity.
4. Lack of Engagement: Comments and messages from followers, even the negative ones, shouldn’t be ignored. Prompt responses and engagement with users build customer trust and foster a positive brand impression.
5. Aggressive discounts: Discounts are hard to sustain, and low margins stymie growth. If all the brand is known for is discounts, then that’s the only reason people would buy from it.
Sustainable growth lies beyond short-term sales tactics. Care and content for the sleep-deprived build brand equity and fuel growth.
A well-executed strategy not only drives conversions but positions NodPod as a trusted authority in sleep wellness, turning customers into organic brand advocates. Success depends on balancing innovation, authentic branding, and smart marketing execution while continuously adapting and refining content strategies.
By fostering trust, community, and value-driven engagement across multiple platforms—leveraging visual storytelling, educational content, and strategic partnerships—NodPod can cultivate lasting loyalty. Avoiding pitfalls like over-posting and aggressive sales tactics ensures the brand is more than just a sleep accessory—it becomes an essential part of a wellness-focused lifestyle.
Sleep on it.
Brand messaging (employee wellbeing)
Website copy (crypto)
Presentation (construction consulting)
Slack campaign concept
TechEd campaign concept
Cup side branding
Square’s new meaning
A campaign that showcases kids who were bullied for being smart and “square”. The kids persevered and grew up into successful engineers who built Square. (Redefining the meaning of the word “square”.)
Square Off
A series of unexpected rivals squaring off against each other in various comical situations. (E.g., A goat squaring off with LeBron for the title of the Greatest GOAT.)
Square world
When a lab experiment goes awry, two confused scientists find themselves transported into an alternative reality, where everything is square-themed. As they bid to return to their own reality, they navigate through a world of square-shaped architecture, and interactions with square characters who live the square lifestyle.
The concepts focus on Scopic’s most salient features, as mentioned by customers and users.
Campaign concepts
The Scopic Scope: See Beyond the Surface
This concept emphasizes Scopic’s ability to provide a deeper understanding of data and analytics beyond what’s available on the surface, using the microscope and telescope analogy.
In different entertaining scenarios, the Scopic Scope helps people uncover hidden opportunities and patterns. (For example, a telescope that gets a close-up of a UFO or a microscope that helps discover a world of trolls hidden on the surface of an apple.)
The message is that Scopic gives users a wider scope of vision, allowing them to see beyond the obvious, identify trends, make data-driven decisions, and gain a competitive edge.
Scope Out the Competition: A campaign that features the average Scopic user (hoodie and all) as the captain of an 18th-century vessel, who, looking through his scope, spots an approaching competing vessel. Zooming in even further, he sees someone who looks very similar to him on a similar ship, also exploring the horizon. The main difference seems to be that the competitor doesn’t have a scope. After surveying the competing vessel, the hero quickly analyzes the situation and creates a plan to outmaneuver the competing vessel.
Scopic Stories: Data-Driven Narratives
A campaign that encourages users to post their success stories (#ScopicStories). The stories should include the bad and the good. The purpose is to encourage an honest conversation, with the added benefit of collecting user feedback.
Preliminary research
Amare is a mental wellness company that aims to create a holistic wellness platform for a purpose-driven community of passionate individuals.
Amare’s mission is to provide support and solutions for mental wellness through the company’s products and services.
Amare offers revolutionary gut-brain axis nutrition, hemp oil products, and pure and potent products.
Amare emphasizes the importance of mental wellness and aims to create a community of like-minded individuals who are dedicated to improving their mental well-being.
The company offers a range of resources and provides a platform for individuals to connect and share their experiences.
Gutted!
A mockumentary-style video series exploring the world of gut health and its impact on mental wellness, featuring interviews with probiotics and other gut flora.
The Mindful Chef
An ad themed as a cooking show hosted by a neurotic chef called Amare, who uses food and nutrition to improve mental wellness.
Gut Feelings
A romantic skit, featuring gut bacteria that influence people’s feelings, causing them to fall in love, only to reveal that both use Amare to improve their gut health.
In a bustling city, where time ticked faster than usual, rumors of a new watch, known as WHOOP, were steadily capturing people’s minds.
Renowned for its uncanny ability to whisper secrets to its wearer, it didn’t tick like ordinary timepieces. Instead, it sang a melodious tune, guiding its wearer through the ebb and flow of daily life, gathering valuable data with every interaction and converting it into precious insight.
Busy executives and aspiring athletes sought the watch’s wisdom, for within its delicate frame lay the power to unlock hidden potential and embrace a life of perfect harmony.
Brief
CalmingCo is a San Diego-based beverage manufacturer that offers a range of calming tonics and kava-based products.
The company prides itself on being the world’s most effective calming tonic company, and its main unique selling point is its melatonin-free formula.
CalmingCo’s target customers are people who’re looking for ways to relax on the go and calm their minds at will.
The world’s most effective calming tonic
Comic situations where an anthropomorphized Tonic arm-wrestles other roots and elixirs and wins by using its superpower of relaxation (social campaign)
Tonics with a Twist
Showcasing CalmingCo’s use cases by depicting unique and unexpected ways to enjoy the tonics, using an analogy of everyday things that are used in unexpected ways (social campaign).
Tranquil Tonic
A cozy tea house nestled in a serene forest is the home of a sweet old lady who specializes in making handcrafted herbal blends that isolate you from the noise of the world and engulf you in serenity.
Give me the word and I’ll show you the road.
— Me
Content concepts
A game of dress-up for your voice
It’s like when you’re a kid, putting on your mother’s clothes and pretending to be a grown-up. Except instead of clothes, it’s voices, and instead of your mother, it’s the entire internet. It’s like playing dress-up, but with less judgment and fewer fashion disasters.
People always tell you to use your inner voice, but they never mention anything about your outside voice. This idea taps into the universal experience of being told to use our “inner voice”.
‘Roid rage meets vocal fry
This concept combines two pop culture references to create a humorous description of VoiceMod’s capabilities by creating a vivid and paradoxical image of a voice that’s both powerful and mellow.
Siri’s sassy cousin needs a job too
This idea focuses on VoiceMod’s ability to go beyond standard AI with unique and customizable voices and personalities.
Brief
CaaStle is a company that offers a fully managed service for retailers to provide Clothing as a Service (CaaS). It differentiates itself by allowing retailers to actively engage with customers, monetize garments, and make data-driven decisions.
Fashionably late
This concept plays with the idea of being fashionably late to events, dressed in outrageous, eye-catching outfits that make a grand entrance. A dress made of inflatable flamingos, a suit covered in disco balls, etc. The concept showcases Caastle’s unique approach to fashion and its ability to create memorable experiences.
The Never-ending Closet
This campaign features a small and stylish shop where customers approach a magical closet and whisper something into the receiver, prompting the door of the closet to open and reveal the unique outfit the customer had in mind. The campaign highlights the endless possibilities clients have with CaaStle.
Strategy
GT.school has two audiences: the customer (usually the parent) and the consumer (the student).
Marketing materials need to target the former, educational content needs to appeal to the latter, and campaigns need to target both.
Company summary
GT School is an online education platform focused on math learning for students in grades 6 to 12. They offer adaptive-learning programs, personalized learning experiences, and after-school acceleration (as well as hosting events). The main purpose of GT School is to help students succeed in math and prepare them for college.
Research
According to various online sources, there are several common challenges and struggles mentioned by 6–10th-grade students having trouble with math:
Mathovation
Math innovation challenge, where parents and kids work together to find creative solutions to everyday math problems.
Math Mates
A series of humorous comic strips and videos that depict the challenges, common misconceptions, and frustrations parents face when helping their kids with math. The campaign aims to connect with parents and motivate them to help their children overcome math challenges using simple tips and tricks.
Math Magic
A campaign that nudges parents to share their own “math magic” moments: instances where they witnessed their child’s progress or a breakthrough in math. The campaign will encourage sharing stories, pictures, or videos using a specific hashtag. This campaign aims to celebrate and motivate parents by showcasing the positive impact they can have on their child’s math journey.
Sean stewards the soul of Flow. He architected the brand strategy. He distills the brand strategy through creative writing and concepts. Sean holds me accountable to the brand promise with an unwavering commitment to consistency.
—Rich Prashad, Founder
Sean understood the ideas of our team and then transformed them into a short, precise and well-structured product and marketing strategy. Our team enjoyed working with him. We got a superb result.
—Pavel Guzminov
As expected, keeping in mind the great references. I would work with again and also recommend to others.
—Bruno Negoita
When we are lost, we look to you to guide us. Thank you my friend.
—Pirro Cece
Sean helped us achieve clarity. We figured out a more effective business structure, picked a memorable, concise and strong brand name, and got a more defined product launch plan, pricing structure and roadmap.
—Marten Kauksi
SERP Engineers
Sean’s work was highly valuable, since it helped us focus our business strategy and start building our brand. He was very good at asking the right questions at the right time, which made brainstorming sessions highly productive in the majority of the cases. His contribution on business direction and creative thinking was assertive and gave us new ideas related to the name, domain, pricing, messaging and overall business structure.
—Alonso SG
Highly recommended! Sean did an amazing job on this project and went well beyond what I asked. His understanding of market strategy and branding is top notch. He was extremely patient and shared honest feedback, which led to a better concept and design than I originally came to him with.
—Athina Williamson
Sean was amazing to work with. Was extremely flexible and took his time to deliver a great product, while allowing many questions and revisions. I look forward to working with him in the future again!
—Kyle Schnitman
Sean’s expertise in branding and business development brought much-needed clarity to building a sustainable business and brand for our startup. His thoughtful questions and insights helped us design a pricing structure that’s both appealing to our audience and highly profitable for our business. He gave us a crucial reminder as first-time founders to focus on one business, helped craft a name that clearly communicates our product’s value and guided us in creating messaging that resonates with our target audience.
—Georg Aare
