CASE STORIES

THE COBBLER’S KIDS
(Narrative, Messaging, Content)

How can agencies and consultants work on the business when they are too busy working in the business?

It’s no secret that agencies, management consulting companies, and other organizations like VCs, and law firms, often struggle the most with their messaging. It’s a crowded space where differentiation is difficult. The best firms are busy delivering results for their clients, but when it comes to telling their own story, things can get, well, murky. We’ve helped a PR agency, an information architecture firm, a management consulting firm, an impact investment firm, and others survey, develop, and plant the seeds of their messaging. We love the unique challenges these engagements bring. We take great joy in the unique challenges these engagements offer. It’s not about being the loudest. It’s about being heard.

“At Factor, we’re librarians, and most librarians are introverts. We weren’t comfortable with anything that felt like marketing or self-promotion. Todd Lieman helped us find our voice. By nurturing everyone at Factor to find *their* individual voice, he got us comfortable with telling our story. And as it turns out, the story of how a small team of introverted librarians came to help Fortune 500 companies build their own enterprise libraries, is a pretty interesting one.” — Bram Wessel, Co-Founder, Factor

MUTUAL OF OMAHA
(National Campaign, Experiential Tour)

How can a Fortune 500 insurance company with only two percent unaided awareness connect in a more human, story-forward way?

We created the “Aha Moment” Campaign and supported it with a comprehensive integrated marketing platform including broadcast advertising, experiential, social, public relations, and sales activations. The campaign delivered sixty national TV spots, 6000 recorded stories, billions of impressions, and millions of dollars in revenue over its eight-year run. It also featured the first-ever silent spot featuring only sign language.

“Todd inspires his clients to look at their objectives and the possible solutions from viewpoints they may not anticipate or feel completely comfortable with, and that’s a real talent.” — John Hildenbiddle, Former SVP Brand Management and PR, Mutual of Omaha

ALPHABET COMPANY
(Mission & Values)

How can a groundbreaking and status quo shattering transportation company, better reflect the new stage of its growth?

We worked with the culture, people, and EID team to develop a new mission and values. Our work has been expanded to help integrate the new messaging throughout the entire organization, into executive communications and social media, and into additional resilience programming. We advise on internal communications matters, unearth stories, and develop employee recognition programs that better reflect the updated mission and values.

“Todd helps us discover and tell the stories we didn’t even know we needed to tell.” — Head of Culture, People & EID, Alphabet Company

AIRSTREAM
(Digital Campaigns, Partnerships, Content)

How can an iconic American brand overcome the “They still make those?” perception?

We leveraged the rivets found on these innovative trailers and created “Live Riveted” messaging to capture what it means to be a Streamer. We augmented it with Airstream’s “Leave It Beautiful” program and tour, partnerships (Bumbershoot, Lockn’, Adobe Max, and others), and launched the “Endless Caravan” initiative that paid homage founder Wally Byam’s famous treks. Live Riveted became a rallying cry for Airstream’s global community and helped revitalize the brand’s awareness. Live Riveted remains in use in Airstream’s initiatives and in dealerships.

“Todd’s gift is understanding brands (like some kind of whisperer) and then causally developing activations & messaging that create connection magic. I can’t explain how it works. It just does. Todd is a charismatic, smart, funny human who truly loves what he does, and the people/brands he works with.” — Mollie Hansen, Airstream CMO)

SOVOS BRANDS
(Mission Messaging)

How can a challenger brand disrupt the packaged food industry with an elevated mission?

We worked closely with the Sovos Brands’ founder and CEO to craft a mission around the emotional experience of being together around food. Tying “joy” to the company’s “delicious food” narrative, we unlocked the narrative arc that carried the company through its growth and eventual acquisition by Campbell’s Soup Company.

“Guided by a unique feel, Todd operates with a heart-driven mindset at the intersection of strategy and creative. His fearless persistence shaped our “Delicious Food for Joyful Living” mission that carried us through our growth and eventual acquisition.” — Todd Lachman, Founder Sovos Brands

SAUSALITO ART FESTIVAL
(Event Conception, Activation)

How can one of the most prestigious art festivals in the country stay relevant?

We developed the Art Tech Pavilion to help modernize the 67th year of the world famous Sausalito Art Festival. We curated and showcased the latest in immersive and experiential art in Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), Video, Interactive and Holographic Display. The Pavilion was the highlight of the festival for all festival-goers … especially kids who loved the interactive displays.

“We knew we needed to update our 67-year old event. The Art Tech Pavilion was the kind of innovative addition that we never would have imagined. It was a huge success with lines out the door all day.” — Louis Briones, Executive Director

SCARLET FIRE ORGANICS
(Naming, Branding, Collabs)

How does an upstart cannabis brand stand out in a crowd of upstarts?

We not only developed a name and brand that pays homage to its Bay Area roots with both Grateful Dead and SFO ties, but also crafted an innovative naming rights partnership program for the Green Room of the famed Sweetwater Music Hall (owned by Grateful Dead co-founder, Bob Weir, pictured).SFO gained access to VIP events, implied endorsements, and introductions to other music influencers. The brand continues to grow and has expanded throughout the state.

“We turned to Todd to not only help us name our company, but design the logo/brand and open doors and collaborations to the music industry. Our green room deal was our portal to success.” — Harris Ross, Founder

GRAB BAG
(Production, Partnerships, Collabs, More)

How do we…? What about those random conversations that turn into impact?

We helped Oracle overcome a sales messaging challenge. We orchestrated a sponsorship deal between a camera operator and T-Mobile, named a nightclub, and co-created, co-wrote, produced and sold an animated TV show. We produced the most attended college basketball event in California history, and in the early days of Twitter, created a campaign that was called, “The best use of Twitter for a non-profit to date.” For starters.

“Todd helped us develop messaging and strategy around several sales communications challenges. His ability to effectively translate the diverse needs of multiple teams to craft a variety of outputs helped us define our industry leadership position.” — Rod Johnson, EVP Applications, North America, Oracle