Role: Creative Director
Agency: Pivot Marketing Inc.
Client: Faultless Brands

Team: Romina Kuppe, John Tomkiw

Old World Spices had a good news/bad news scenario on its hands. Rapid expansion meant its Twist’d Q offerings could suffer from a piecemeal strategy and brand packaging in a rush to add new products onto store shelves. That’s bad. But that’s where we came in. That’s good.

First, we reassessed the current branding and identity, making improvements in the positioning, while still keeping the lip-smacking, fun, frisky and aggressive nature of existing Twist’d Q product names. We revamped the logo and graphic elements to match that backyard bragging-rights tonality and created new product names that played off the fun aspects of grilling and chilling. Creating a flavor system to unify the products combined with new eye-popping illustrations positively screamed the brand’s personality.

So, we tested variations via online consumer research, tweaking and—dare we say it—twisting the packaging to propel Twist’d Q to the front ranks of award-winning, trash-talking, sizzling and Pitmaster-approved seasonings. Tasty.

How successful was our approach? Let’s hear from Chief Marketing Officer Rob Persaud:

“Once again, Pivot came through with a category-shattering packaging design and brand logo that brought humanity, attitude and accessibility to a category ripe for disruption. Pivot was involved from day one, and you can see their fingerprints all over the work…from the trademark spelling itself to the naming of flavors to a color palette that pops at shelf while delivering on BBQ appeal. We are so proud of not only the final product with all of its intricate details thought through and executed upon, but equally important, the intellectual discourse with Pivot that made the process such a true partnership.”

Role: Creative Director
Agency: Pivot Marketing Inc.
Client: Twist’d Q

Team: Sarah Wielusz, Heather Bult, John Tomkiw, Romina Kuppe, Gina Vaca-Loyola, Michael Bast

I worked with the team at Elim Christian Services to help Elim define their brand positioning and identity to best carry the organization into their future to equipping people with disabilities to thrive in their communities. Elim has been a long-time provider of services to people with disabilities, from schooling for ages 3-22, adult care, and guiding systemic change through consulting to schools, businesses and organizations. While Elim was renowned in the disability community of Chicagoland, their brand identity wasn’t a reflection of their positive and happy atmosphere so it was time for a change.

I led the leadership team at Elim through multiple branding exercises to develop the right tone and establish the shared values of the organization. I then guided the team through the development of a new identity that could reflect three values: Connect, Engage, Thrive. This new emotion-first identity was carried through every aspect of the organization from print materials, transportation, social media, and their website. We worked to put the students, adults and staff of Elim as the focus of all materials including launch materials like video and email to introduce the new identity to parents, students and the community.

Role: Creative Director, Brand Strategist
Agency: Pivot Marketing Inc.
Client: Elim

Team: Gina Vaca-Loyola, John Tomkiw, Sarah Wielusz, Fernando Mondragon, Becky Dryfhout, Jeff Dryfhout, Arturo Valle, Adam Laiben

As a leading co-manufacturer of pickles for America’s top pickle brands and restaurants, our client has decades of experience in pickling. They’ve produced some of America’s favorite pickles and now are tapping into their three generations of expertise to create their own superior refrigerated pickles. So we started by digging into the company history, getting to know the original founder to name and build a brand: Swanky Frank’s Fresh Pickles.

The name is taken from the founder’s school days, when his head-turning good looks and style were voted “most debonair” and well, swanky. But the name is more than just a high school moniker. It’s an attitude. An uncompromising flair for freshness. It’s got taste. So we built a brand to match that attitude including character development of our pickling hero Frank and a full portfolio of packaging that reflects his uncompromising style and pickling bona fides.

Role: Creative Director, Brand Strategy
Agency: Pivot Marketing Inc.

Team: Sarah Wielusz, John Tomkiw, Jason Richardson, Jeff Dryfhout

Development of a new brand of international frozen foods for Perdue Farms.

Role: VP/Creative Director
Agency: PKG

Development of 15 second animated ad for Herowiz.com to advertise their original Marvel animation art to fans of Ultimate Spider-Man on YouTube. This project came together from an idea to a fully realized ad very quickly with the help of a great team.

Role: Creative Director
Client: HeroWiz

Team: Sarah Wielusz, Ross Freedman, Arturo Valle

The charitable foundation arm to our client Designetics was doing great works in and around Northern Ohio, but it looked a little, well, drab, doing it. To better align with our efforts designed to engender employee loyalty, we gave the foundation a makeover, starting from, um, the foundation on up. The rebranding effort included reviewing communications tools and recrafting the “brand narrative” for the foundation, as well as a fresh take on all collateral materials. To more closely sync with the foundation’s work, we renamed it Designetics Cares—ensuring that anyone involved would immediately sense its purpose. That led to a vibrant and compassionate take on a logo and identity, as well as other communications. Now, the foundation looks as forward-thinking and innovative as the rest of the company.

Role: Creative Director
Agency: Pivot Marketing Inc.
Client: Designetics

Team: Kim Leshinski, Gina Vaca Loyola, John Tomkiw, Heather Bult

It started with a phone call…

”Liz, we really enjoyed working with you on that last animated video. We have exactly 3 minutes to make a pitch for why home healthcare workers deserve $15/hour during the DNC convention. Just 3 minutes. Can you help? It this even possible?”

Well, it certainly wasn’t easy but yes, it was possible. We rolled up our sleeves and got to work, on research, scripts, storyboards, locating VO talent, creating the art in batches to get the animator rolling. It was one of those all hands on deck kind of moments. So rarely do you get the opportunity to do something GOOD that will simultaneously be aired on primetime television, never do you think you’ll have two weeks of all nighters to get it done without throwing all your other client work to the side.

Role: Creative Director
Client: OC Creative

Team: John Tomkiw, Sarah Wielusz, OC Creative

In the summer of 2011 I was given an opportunity to start a new brand agency from scratch. After defining the new company as PKG to clearly define our top competency I developed the identity for the brand.

Based on the belief that a good brand agency develops transparent and authentic brand stories, I lead the creative and account team on all internal and external work for clients such as Hillshire Brands, Ralcorp Food Group, Perdue Farms, Nice-Pak and many more.

Role: Creative Director, Art Director
Agency: PKG Brand Design

Team: Ross Freedman, Sarah Wielusz

Development of a new vodka brand for Sovereign Brands. The first alcohol in this new company's portfolio, they were looking for something that stood out in the vodka aisle amidst the sea of frosted premium vodkas.

Role: Art Director
Agency: Wencel/Hess

Team: Alvin Wilcox, MJ Wencel

A picture speaks 1000 words right? One of my passions is utilizing photography to capture the unique essence of a product,  highlight it's appetite and convey a sense of warmth. With over 15 years of experience managing photo shoots, I've gathered a few of my favorite photos from Gallo Salame, Sara Lee Desserts, Ball Park Franks, Bertolli and Senseo Coffee. 

“You helped us reinvent our brand, now can you help us make a splash?”

When Kronos wanted to introduce their new global food offerings at the National Restaurant Association tradeshow, they turned to the Pivot team to help them design a one-of-a-kind streetscape to capture eyes and encourage trial of their new foods. Working with the structural team at Derse, we created a new kind of tradeshow design focused on an outdoor street scene with individually branded booths to convey the flavor and attitude of each global cuisine. The end results was an eye-turning and dynamic tradeshow design that was perfect to showcase how Kronos is so much more than Mediterranean.

Role: Creative/Account Director

Agency: Pivot-Forward

Team: Romina Kuppe, Sarah Wielusz, Gina Vaca-Loyola

Brand Identity / Collateral / Presentations

Established a design style for Reveal Research Studio that capitalizes on their unique blend of science and creativity. This design came to life in a flexible branding system, presentation, newsletter template and identity package.

Role: Creative Director/Art Director
Client: Reveal Research Studio

What happens when you have a great product, but the packaging is confusing and the name more so? Sales suffer. That’s exactly what was happening when our client reached out to us for a timely refresh. The Brittle Me This brand was causing a bit of confusion on shelf because the product—a pressed, sticky caramel and popcorn-based treat—wasn’t exactly brittle. What’s more, the packaging didn’t make it clear that the product was a guilt-free, healthy and delicious snack. So, we went back to the drawing board, reimagining what the product could be, and refocused the offering. Renaming it Popcorn Thins drew an immediate connotation with consumers, and the whimsical packaging redesign underscored the fun element of snacking. We also provided merchandising solutions in club and retail stores and even illustrated characters used on bag.

Learn more about Popcorn Thins at: hellodelicious.com

Role: Creative Director
Agency: Pivot Marketing Inc.
Client: HelloDelicious Brands

Team: Romina Kuppe, Ross Freedman

The partners behind FourKites had a lofty goal: To reshape and redefine the logistics industry, using technology to create transparency and real-time information sharing. But first, the company needed to establish its brand, so it could be leveraged in future communications efforts. Naturally, it turned to us. We began by developing the company name, as well as its brand story and identity, employing proprietary methodology to ensure that communications would be consistent and relevant to each of FourKites’ disparate audiences. Then, we applied what we learned in the initial strategic branding phase to a comprehensive style guide and a 2016 marketing campaign, developing traditional and digital components—such as web presences and tradeshow materials—and helping FourKites’ achieve that lofty goal.

Role: Creative Director
Agency: Pivot Marketing Inc.
Client: Four Kites

Team: Ryan Lynch, Romina Kuppe, Ross Freedman

When Hello Delicious! Brands wanted to boost sales of its venerable Pizza Crust Chips, they turned to us. First, we developed primary consumer research to determine if the current packaging and positioning were sizzling. They were not. Consumers felt the brand looked a bit dated, and lost sight of the packaging when it was displayed among a competitive set—not good for driving sales. So, we drilled down on consumer insights to get to the heart of selling—and buying—propositions. Then, we rolled up our sleeves and reimagined the brand, focusing on the attributes that people craved, while amping up designs to call out the wholly unique why-to-buy. We recast color palettes for greater shelf visibility and pop…and renamed products to more closely align with consumer expectations. We also invigorated the visual appeal and drew connections to intended uses of the product by placing the pizza chips in snacking context. In essence, we made them irresistible. And that’s something Hello Delicious! craved.

Learn more about Pizza Chips at: hellodelicious.com

Role: Creative Director
Agency: Pivot Marketing Inc.
Client: HelloDelicious Brands

Team: Romina Kuppe, Sarah Wielusz, Gina Vaca Loyola, John Tomkiw, John Watson

Fellowes Brands was expanding beyond office supplies into air purification systems; trouble was, the development of an air purifier line didn’t connect consumers to a 100-year old company that previously focused on shredders and storage boxes. That’s when we stepped in.

We reinvented the air purification lineup, looking at rebranding the overall identity and all aspects of consumer interaction.

First, we talked with consumers, confirming the name AeraMax because of its strong association in focus group testing. Then, we set about to create an identity that implicitly and explicitly said “fresh, clean air.” We also did baseline research to fully understand consumer motivations and found Fellowes needed to overhaul the very way the company talked about and described features, like the air quality sensor.

We even redesigned all retail packaging with the new brand identity, using online qualitative research to determine the best foot forward. The result: stronger consumer engagement. And a company that could breathe easy.

Role: Creative Director / Art Director
Client:  Fellowes Brands

Team: Romina Kuppe, Sarah Wielusz, Kim Leshinski

Mrs. Pure’s Cookies began life as a manufacturing plant for other consumer packaged goods companies, but when those companies took their production in-house, Mrs. Pure’s decided to keep on baking. The result: great homemade-tasting goods that mimic the fare of the corner bake shop that was once attached to the plant. Years later, the company had an opportunity to get distribution in a large retail environment…and that offered an opportunity to enhance the brand. Naturally, the company came to us. We reimagined the offering created specifically for the retailer, renaming it, repositioning it and developing a whimsically design to boxes and bags for each of the flavors. We created a new brand story and optimized shelf appeal and visuals. We even ensured that the new packaging would delight both moms and kids—no mean feat these days.

Role: Creative Director
Agency: Pivot Marketing Inc.
Client: Pures Food Specialties

Team: Romina Kuppe, Heather Bult, Sarah Wielusz, Gina Vaca-Loyola, John Tomkiw

Toasted coconut mixed with chia, pumpkin and sunflower seeds is not your typical snack. So why design a typical package? Instead, we got to the essence of Toasted Coconut Clusters, looking at not only visuals, but the overall form factor of the product for inspiration. Our take: the product was uncommon, so the design approach should be too, in order to resonate with potential audiences. That meant focusing on color palettes that evoked a sense of place—cool hues and funky, laid-back typefaces with a touch of the tropics in design. And that also meant designing a package that was unlike the typical aggressive, in-your-face riot of colors and type typical to snack foods.

Role: Creative Director
Agency: Pivot Marketing Inc.
Client: HelloDelicious Brands

Team: Ryan Lynch, Romina Kuppe, Kim Leshinski, Ross Freedman, John Watson

Perdue Farms was losing market share. So it turned to us to think through a new package. Seems consumers liked the convenience of Perdue’s ready-cut chicken strips, but found no convenience in Perdue’s existing packaging. And that mean declining sales.

We dug in. Did research. Gained insight into consumer wants and needs, as well as overall opinions about the current packaging. Then we rolled up our sleeves and convened a cross-functional team of marketers, research and development personnel, engineers and designers to look at all options, from graphic design changes to structural configurations for new packaging.

After landing on the right combination of form and function, we went into testing and retesting of the structural components, followed by eye-tracking research with consumers to ensure the new packaging and design stood out. What followed was a rigorous refinement period, ensuring that designs were optimized for the greatest chance of success. We even engaged a structural engineer to help internal teams create new packaging processes.

The result? A year-over-year sales growth of 20 percent for Perdue. And category dominance once again.

Role: Creative Director
Agency: Pivot Marketing Inc.
Client: Perdue Farms

Team: Sarah Wielusz, Steve Walker, Ryan Lynch, Jeff Dryfhout, Deanna Conoscenti, Victoria Garbarczyk

When our client came to us with the idea for a new venture, we told her to think bigger, and, well, pivot. So, her marketing research firm wasn’t going to be called the typical “three-last-names-incorporated.” Instead, we created a distinctive brand, leveraging what the firm did exceptionally well—take sometimes disparate points of data and thread them together to create a full story. That was the antithesis of those dusty binders filled with marketing data and charts and served as a great starting point. After creating the name, we then built the brand, crafting a style guide and full website.

Role: Creative Director, Designer
Agency: Pivot Marketing Inc.
Client: Storypoint Inc.

Team: Sarah Wielusz

Sharpie concept packaging development for an "impulse buy" during the holiday season.

Role: Sr. Art Director
Agency: Launch Creative Marketing

When venerable home services giant Terminix was approached to license retail products, the company thought it would be a great opportunity to expand its reach. However, without a clear-cut retail and licensing strategy, it soon found itself, well, bugged. Some products were off-brand, and some confused consumers. What’s more, there wasn’t a migration strategy to take retail customers into home service subscriptions, which was a lost opportunity. So, Terminix turned to us. First, we worked with focus groups to get to the heart of what Terminix stood for…and engaged those consumers to get a better understanding of Terminix’s brand positioning and promise. We took a close look at the licensed products—and found emotional, narrative and tonal disconnects with Terminix’s brand positioning. Then, we set about testing updated and more brand-centric packaging with consumers against an existing control of on-shelf products, in order to get the right mix of brand elements. We looked at color theory studies to determine the perfect blend of packaging colors to engage consumer and reinforce the Terminix brand on a subliminal level. We even tackled ways to get consumers at retail to participate in Terminix’s lead generation program for in-home services, tying the retail licensing model to the company’s primary objective of building its home services base. And, we learn a lot about pests—much more than we can ever forget.

Role: Creative Director
Agency: Pivot Marketing Inc. / PKG
Client: Terminix / ServiceMaster

Team: Romina Kuppe, Glenn Fuller, Ryan Lynch, Doug Miller, Jeff Dryfhout, Ross Freedman, Kevin Keating

It’s a common problem: a company starts out small, but as it grows, it takes on new industry segments and solutions. However, existing clients only see the company defined in terms of how it began—and that limits the company’s potential. That’s why Bayforce turned to Pivot. We saw that Bayforce’s identity didn’t represent the company’s current values and attitudes and it was time for a refresh.  We worked with the internal stakeholders to identity Bayforce’s key strengths so we could position the new identity to reflect their forward-thinking and tech-savvy attitude. And a new Bayforce was born.

We also saw that Bayforce’s solution set grew, but that the company’s existing website didn’t showcase that fact. So, we redesigned the site—and more importantly, the user experience—giving equal weight to the different solutions the company provided. Then, existing customers couldn’t help but notice a complete complement of offerings. And new prospects saw a potential partner brimming with possibilities. We even married an upbeat personality to the visuals and rewritten copy onsite, providing users with a distinct feel for the Bayforce experience.

Learn more about Bayforce at: bayforce.com

Role: Creative Director/Art Director
Agency: Pivot Marketing Inc.
Client: Bayforce

Team: Fernando Mondragon, Ross Freedman

Objective: Develop a brand identity and website for Bardo Law, P.C. that showcases their core competency in consumer protection law in an approachable, friendly manner. The new brand should be fresh, modern and approachable.

Solution: Iconic Linework - Modern sans serif typography meets unique style with open lines to signify transparency and honesty. Clean, simple typography with an extra kick showcase the firm's approachable nature while still feeling appropriate for the law. A bright, vivid color palette (anchored in a trustworthy blue) takes the clean design a step further to convey a straight-forward professional attitude.

Role: Creative Director, Designer
Client: Bardo Law, P.C.

Team: Lucy Hewett (Photography)

The idea? Leverage the brand equity and brand trust of the country's #1 selling pasta sauce to create a new competitive player into dry pasta. The solution, we created bright, engaging packaging that would capture consumer attention on-shelf to stand out in a sea of existing players.

Role: Creative Director
Agency: PKG

Team: Sarah Wielusz, Romina Kuppe, Allison Hardy

Nits No More needed a more professional (and responsive) website that would be fun, playful and appeal to a family in distress over a lice situation. Working with an identity created by Romina Kuppe, I developed a fun and engaging site designed to showcase the certified methods that Nits No More employs to help out anyone suffering from lice. 

See the site live at www.nitsnomore.com

Role: Creative Director/Web Designer

Team: Romina Kuppe, Fernando Mondragon

Web Design / Digital

Reveal Research, a research firm used by brands to gain insights into consumer behavior, wanted to shift its online focus from a solicitation for consumer focus group panelists to a fuller, more client-centric positioning. That meant a complete overhaul of the website. We were able to convey Reveal Research Studio’s personality throughout the whole website experience, down to the graphics, interactive elements and tonality employed.

Role: Creative Director
Agency: Pivot Marketing Inc.
Client: Reveal Research Studio
Team: Sarah Wielusz

Development of a new innovation-focused brand for Pivot Marketing Inc. 

Role: Creative Director
Agency: PKG
Team: Romina Kuppe, Ryan Lynch, Ross Freedman, Jeff Dryfhout

Creative development of a responsive website with unique sliding navigation and large-scale sliding case studies to highlight new agency capabilities. 

View Live at www.pivot-forward.com

Role: Creative Director

Team: Sarah Wielusz, Fernando Mondragon

Development and execution of a five month launch program for a new water enhancer product including strategic concepting, social media planning, online advertising, promotion development & execution, targeted social advertising, Facebook social media content planning & execution.

Role: Creative Director
Agency: PKG / Hangar-12

Team: Jeff Dryfhout, Ryan Lynch, Sarah Wielusz, Romina Kuppe, Ross Freedman

With two different potential users of these dry erase boards, two separate product lines were named and created. Expo Organize targeted "Mom" the at-home user of dry erase who wanted to use dry erase boards to get a handle on her busy day. Expo Imagine was aimed at tweens and teens who utilize dry erase as a means of self expression.  

Role: Creative Director
Agency: Launch Creative Marketing

Team: Monika Banaszak, Craig Hester, Ryan Lynch, Amy Banks, Amanda Geiger

In 2012 we partnered with the Sara Lee Deli brand (Hillshire Brands) to refresh their packaging and invigorate their brand. We worked to improve consumer perception about Sara Lee's deli credibility and roots, while finding a balance between the female persona of "Sara Lee" and a very male-dominated deli case. The refreshed brandmark and logo convey a sense of strength and pride, while the new packaging system highlights the fresh ingredients that go into every slice of deli meat or cheese.

I take special pride in this brand refresh as Sara Lee Deli was the first brand I "cut my teeth" on with packaging in the mid-90s so it was wonderful to usher the brand into a new era.

Role: Creative Director/Account Director
Agency: PKG

Team: Ryan Lynch, Ross Freedman, Sarah Wielusz, Romina Kuppe, Victoria Vitsur

When Johnsonville decided to move into a new category, it turned to us for guidance. The challenge: Johnsonville was known for pre-prepared, processed meats—but was venturing into the fresh meats category for the first time with a new product launch. So, instead of just offering up package design ideas in a vacuum, we dove deep, viewing the potential product through a consumer’s eyes. Through variety of primary research techniques, including qualitative, in-home usage tests and BASES II research, we uncovered a number of truths: Consumer expectations, desires and even the types of flavor profiles consumers enjoyed most. The data yielded solid strategic direction, and that led to breakthrough packaging design addressing consumer need states and emphasizing Johnsonville’s fresh take on kabobs.

Role: Creative Director
Agency: Pivot Marketing Inc.
Client: Johnsonville Sausage

Team: Romina Kuppe, Kim Leshinski

Online announcements for Sharpie.com and subscribers to Sharpie's email database announcing the arrival of new colors for the Sharpie Pen Grip and Sharpie Pen Retractable.

Role: Creative Director
Agency: Launch Creative Marketing

Team: Ryan Lynch, Sarah Wielusz, Craig Hester, Amy Banks

One of the greatest challenges a creative team can face is starting from scratch and developing a cohesive brand from naming through strategy and into execution. In the spring of 2014 we worked with the teams at Growth Catalysts and WhiteWave Foods to develop a new yogurt brand from scratch, Yulu Aussie-Style yogurt. 

Learn more about Yulu at: yuluyogurt.com

Role: Creative Director
Client: Growth Catalysts, WhiteWave Foods

Team: Kim Leshinski, Ross Freedman

Role: Creative Director
Agency: Launch Creative Marketing

Team: Sarah Wielusz, Ryan Lynch, Ross Freedman, Romina Kuppe, Heather Magnussen

Development of creative in-store executions to sell in a partnership between Dunkin Donuts & Hillshire Farm sausage and excite trade partners.

Role: Creative Director
Agency: Launch Creative Marketing

We leveraged the equity of NBC's The Biggest Loser program and the dry erase capabilities of Expo to create new branded white board products that make tracking diet goals and progress easy. These two tools are perfect for at-home followers of the Biggest Loser program to handle daily meal planning and weekly exercise.

Role: Creative Director
Agency: Launch Creative Marketing

Team: Craig Hester, Monika Banaszak, Amy Banks, Amanda Geiger

Development of an "Ernie Keebler" illustration and standee to promote the partnership between Keebler and NASCAR driver Kyle Busch.

Role: Art Director
Agency: Launch Creative Marketing

Team: Michelle Morales, Harry Moore

When consumers told Sara Lee that its brand is too “dessert-focused,” we were hired to develop new packaging for its Hearty & Delicious® bread brand. We also used the opportunity to align the brand within the competitive flavor/color framework already established on-shelf.

We developed a strategy to highlight the Hearty & Delicious brand’s improved nutrition and great taste, prominently displaying new, revised ingredient cues and appealing product images—“aspirational” sandwich images that differentiate the line from the competition. By creating a clean and easy-to-read nutritional claim system and aligning the brand’s flavor colors with those of the competition, the redesign helps shoppers find their favorite product quickly and easily.

Role: Creative Director
Agency: Launch Creative Marketing

Team: Romina Kuppe

The challenge: stand out in the crowded snack and chip category. The solution: Pivot. Instead of trying to elbow its way onto the shelf, consumer packaged goods company Hello Delicious! decided to offer its pizza crust chips in alternate spaces in grocery and big box stores. That meant making sure the packaging and product brand were distinctive. And that meant coming to us. We developed the product name, brand attributes, positioning and personality, right down to creating a brand mascot—Napoli the pizza-maker—as an identifier. Then, we created packaging for each line extension, providing a holistic look-and-feel while emphasizing the “why to buy” in visually arresting—and appetizing—ways.

Learn more about Pizza Crust Chips at: hellodelicious.com

Role: Creative Director
Agency: Pivot Marketing Inc.
Client: HelloDelicious Brands

Team: Romina Kuppe, Pamela Barbieri, Ross Freedman

Naming, branding, packaging, trade materials, HTML email and banner ads for the launch of a new line of uni-ball Jetstream pens.

Role: Creative Director
Agency: Launch Creative Marketing

Golden Grain has a long history in Northern California but had been surpassed by a stronger push from national pasta brands. We refreshed the brand and packaging graphics to regain a foothold in the marketplace.

Role: Creative Director
Agency: PKG

Team: Sarah Wieulsz, Ross Freedman, Allison Hardy

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Role: Creative Director, Art Director
Agency: Launch Creative Marketing

Team: Craig Hester, Ryan Lynch

Our client faced a problem: its frozen pizza was indistinguishable from the dozens of other brands crowding the frozen grocery case. And that meant depressed sales. So, we took a fresh look at the Teresa Pizza brand, sitting down with founders and delving deeply into the company’s history and heritage. Then, we developed an impassioned brand story, painting a vivid picture to be used as a linchpin to rebranding efforts.

This led us to tap into the vibrant iconography and visuals of the company’s mid-century start, as well as breathe new life and update the positioning of the brand’s namesake Teresa. After sorting through alternatives, we hit upon the right combination of colors, visuals, typography and design that positively reinforced the brand’s heritage while offering a timeless take that stood out amongst the competition.

Role: Creative Director
Agency: Pivot Marketing Inc.
Client: Teresa Pizza - Urban Farmer

Team: Romina Kuppe, Heather Bult, Gina Vaca-Loyola, Sarah Wielusz

We were tasked with creating a cohesive packaging line for Expo's white board accessory products. This line needed to designate a cleaning system that attracted Expo home consumers through the use of a cleaning system for maintaining their white board products. We utilized our work on the Expo Board packaging as an inspiration so that Expo White Board Care looked line an extension of existing brand packaging, but had their own look and feel that communicated "clean."

Role: Creative Director

Team: Sarah Wielusz, Ryan Lynch, Craig Hester, Amy Banks, Amanda Geiger, Michael Bast

Development of a new system for all Sara Lee bakery products to help the consumers understand their nutritional value. Included naming, logo development and implementation across a variety of bread, bagel and bun products.

Role: Sr. Art Director
Agency: Launch Creative Marketing

Team: Romina Kuppe, Lisa Utter

Parker Pen wanted to re-introduce their brand to a US audience which did not have the same quality and prestige perceptions as international audiences. We developed a new platform the brand to work with their "Write Your Own Story" campaign that highlighted the history and quality workmanship of their products.

Role: Creative Director

Team: Monika Banaszak, Craig Hester, Amy Banks, Amanda Geiger

In this concept packaging for Senseo (Sara Lee) we were asked to reposition the Senseo brand as a premium coffee with a quality taste and attainable price. Our designs evoked aroma and flavor, focusing on the richness of the coffee while strongly communicating the single-serve Senseo system.

Role: Creative Director

Team: Sarah Wielusz, Romina Kuppe

Corporate manual designed to engage internal stakeholders with the innovation process and provide guidelines for new product development. Winner 2008 Magnum Opus Grand Prize.

Role: Sr. Art Director
Agency: Launch Creative Marketing

Concept ideas for an Expo promotional end cap for Office Max stores.

Role: Creative Director
Agency: Launch Creative Marketing

The Colonial bread brand had been owned by Sara Lee Bakery for many years when we were challenged with finding a way to update this classic Tennessee staple and re-energize their consumer base. We did significant research to understand the history of the brand and discovered that it's roots went quite deep in the community. Instead of modernizing this brand, it needed to leverage more of it's historic pride, especially through the tagline "Colonial is good bread." With a retro refresh, this brand became relevant once again.

Winner 2013 American Package Design Award

Role: Creative Director
Agency: PKG

Team: Larry Teolis, Steve Walker

As stewards of the EarthGrains brand since refreshing its brandmark and packaging in 2006, our team at Launch/PKG was involved in the continuing evolution. We have guided the brand’s many line extensions, point-of-sale pieces, a promotional partnership and an EcoGrain revolution.

The EarthGrains brand has always stood for an all-natural approach to bakery bread. We improved upon the transparent brand story to highlight the lack of artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.

Team: Larry Teolis, Romina Kuppe, Michael Bast

Girl Scout Cookies are infamous. Everyone has a favorite Samoa or Thin Mint but the Girl Scouts actually have fundraisers throughout the year through catalog sales. These gift chocolates (developed in conjunction with World's Finest Chocolate) were developed to launch during the winter holidays, but extend into a year-round offering.

Role: Sr. Art Director
Agency: Launch Creative Marketing

Team: Bruce Butcher, Dave Macey

State Fair, the #1 Corndog in the US, came to us to redesign their packaging to evoke more playfulness in their brand. We created new packaging that differentiated between product forms while maintaining the brand's strong blue equity that consumers loved. An updated brandmark makes the brand easier to read and evokes the first place blue ribbon that launched the brand in Texas fairs in the '50s.   

Role: Creative Director/Account Director
Agency: PKG

Team: Sarah Wielusz, Ross Freedman, John Poll, Victoria Vitsur

Execution of a mystery flavor promotion for Jelly Belly jelly beans in 2006 under the direction of Jim Gelder and Michelle Morales at Launch Creative Marketing. 

Role: Art Director
Agency: Launch Creative Marketing
Team: Michelle Morales, Jim Gelder, Tina Baer

In early 2011, American Italian Pasta Company tapped PKG to refresh its largest brand, Mueller’s. We were excited to work with the AIPC team and partners to develop a new positioning, refresh the brandmark and ultimately refresh the packaging to attract new consumers.

As a popular regional brand, Mueller’s has deep roots in the Northeast that go back over 145 years. It was our job to refresh the brand in a way that would keep current users happy, and bring new users to the brand. We chose to add imagery on pack to emphasize freshness through a pop of color and inspire new recipe ideas, while maintaining what had always worked for the brand.

We listened to consumers throughout this project, from concept to completion. We interviewed consumers prior to concept to understand what they already loved about the Mueller’s brand and we discovered huge equity in the wheat stalks and field of white on shelf.

As we concepted packaging we discovered that consumers saw Mueller’s as an All-American pasta and we strove to maintain that vision. Consumers validated our strategy and were very drawn to the packaging with new inspirational imagery. The symmetry of our design concepts won over new and existing users in qualitative and quantitative testing.

Our solution was to modernize the Mueller’s brand without losing its classic appeal. The use of movement and simplicity of overall design helps the brand stand out in a crowded category. The use of side waves creates a new sense of brand block on shelf, while appetite appeal imagery helps differentiate cuts of pasta.

Our AIPC partners are so pleased with our work that we’ve since extended the design across the Mueller’s franchise for Whole Grain, Gluten Free and Hidden Veggie.

Role: Creative Director
Agency: PKG Brand Design
Team: Romina Kuppe, Sarah Wielusz, Larry Teolis, Allison Hardy

With a majority of hamburger and hot dog bun sales happening during the summer months, we created an engaging in-store display for Sara Lee & Ball Park Buns. Early concepts were vetted by consumers and a system was created so that the corrugate displays could work in any grocery retailer.

Role: Creative Director
Agency: Launch Creative Marketing

Team: Sarah Wielusz