The problem I'm handed usually isn't the real problem.
I’m Russ. The problems I’m brought in to solve usually come down to marketing or digital experience issues. Growth has stalled, the brand no longer fits the business, customers drop out of the digital experience halfway through, or a campaign has no story. Sometimes the cause is in marketing communications, advertising, or the story behind the brand. Often it sits in the offer, the experience, or how the organization is set up to sell.
I find the real problem, set the creative and digital strategies that fix it, propose creative solutions, and stay with the work until it moves the business. That means working with the executive team, the creative team, and developers, and getting all of them working on the same solution.
What I do
Creative brand, marketing, and digital strategy for businesses with complex offers, crowded categories, or growth problems framed too narrowly.
Define the problem
What gets handed to me usually describes a symptom. I get inside the business, market, and customer evidence before deciding what problem needs solving.
Audience research
Segment size tells you who is biggest. I want to know who can actually be moved. They are rarely the same people.
Direction and creative
I set the direction, then stay through development. I was a creative director before I became a strategist, so I can pressure-test an idea without confusing strategy with creative direction.
Positioning and launch
The brand story, how it goes to market, and the case your team needs to secure support and defend the investment.
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![Large digital billboard displays a message saying, 'DEAR CANADIAN EXPORTERS, NOTHING CAN CONTAIN US,' in bright white letters against a dark background.]()
Export Development Canada
Tariffs made Canada’s safest market its riskiest. EDC couldn’t say so during live trade talks. The strategy I led cast EDC as the partner that takes the complexity out of entering new markets.
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![ATCO Energy]()
ATCO Energy
Every Alberta energy retailer advertised its rate. ATCO’s campaign never did. I made the case to fold home services into one consumer brand: ATCO Energy, the name that handles the mess of owning your home.
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![A vinyl record and its cover art titled 'Roots Remastered' by SmartStax PRO on a golden background.]()
Bayer Crop Science
Bayer’s SmartStax PRO fights pests underground, where no farmer can see it work. Growers had to commit a season early. My team let them hear it, with a country album recorded from the electrical impulses of healthy roots.
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![Multiple electronic devices including a monitor, tablet, and smartphones displaying Blue Shield of California website and app screens.]()
Blue Shield of California
Blue Shield of California’s members didn’t trust its website. Over five years, I led teams that redesigned the customer experience, advised the C-suite on marketing effectiveness, and built a digital wall for its San Francisco sales center.
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![Triple electronic devices showing AT&T website and service options: a desktop monitor, a tablet, and a smartphone.]()
AT&T
AT&T sold phones and plans to over 100 million customers through a checkout that ran past ten pages. My team and I cut it to three in an early responsive build, and later brought DIRECTV into it.
Where this usually starts
A campaign in market that is not moving the business. A launch that needs a story before it needs media. A digital experience that isn’t converting. A pitch or board presentation that has to land. Brand architecture that stopped matching the business three acquisitions ago.
Reach out for an introductory session. Most times, the problem you start with turns out to be different than what you thought, and that’s when things start to get interesting.