I find little insights that make a big impact
Throughout my career, I've dedicated myself to understanding brands through research, insight, and instinct. I've applied this knowledge to craft strategic platforms and creative solutions for clients from Silicon Valley to International NGOs to some of Canada's biggest banks.
Reframing Prevention Through Behavioral Psychology
As strategy lead, I developed and launched the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation’s first unified national prevention platform, transforming stagnant fear based messaging into a psychologically grounded, empowerment driven behavior change movement.
Services Qualitative Research, Strategy, Concept, Content Design, Copywriting, Television, Print, Social, Website, Content Creation, Mobile, Experiential
Background
The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation wanted to create a fully integrated campaign that, for the first time, focused on preventing breast cancer. The challenge was that women already understood the recommended behaviors, exercise more, drink less, quit smoking. But awareness was not translating into change.
Years of fear based communication had created fatigue, guilt, and disengagement, particularly among women 40 and over, who research showed were experiencing higher rates of depression and self care avoidance. Knowledge was not the barrier. Emotion was.
Strategy
It was important that women love the message, so lectures about healthy choices needed to be avoided. Therefore, a psychologist validated our hypothesis that if you feel good, you’re more likely to make healthier choices. Also, research revealed that one of the best ways to feel good is to try new things. So, the work needed to inspire women to get out of their comfort zones and try something new, knowing that it would lead them to other healthy choices. To take the pressure off, the message reinforced they didn’t need to be good at whatever it was. As long as they were trying, their health would benefit.
Our goal
We wanted to have women embrace our message by incorporating it into their everyday routine. We felt that, instead of making healthy choices appealing, historically, women had been lectured at and made to feel guilty. Through research, we learned that women in our target age group of 40 plus had higher rates of depression, which was contributing to their lack of self-care. However, when women feel good, they make healthier choices, and one of the most effective ways to feel better is to try new things. So, we created a campaign to inspire women to get out of their comfort zones and try something new, knowing that it would lead them to healthy, happier lifestyles, which in turn would help prevent breast cancer.
Results
“Two-thirds of women who recall seeing the campaign say it positively impacted them in some way, causing them to think about ways to change their behaviour (e.g., diet, exercise, alcohol intake, etc.).” - Post campaign quantitative market research.
Based on the success of the initial campaign (targeting Ontarians only), our communications were rolled out nationally, uniting all local Canadian Breast Cancer Foundations together with one message for the first time in their history.
Rippleworks
Brand positioning and messaging strategy
Rippleworks is a global nonprofit that helps social ventures scale their impact by connecting experienced technology operators with mission driven organizations around the world.
To support Rippleworks in strengthening its digital presence, I conducted a competitive analysis of leading global foundations including Skoll, Omidyar Network, the Gates Foundation, and others.
The review examined how peer organizations communicate their mission, structure messaging, present ventures, and guide users through their digital experience. This analysis revealed patterns in brand positioning, storytelling, and content hierarchy across the category.
Based on these insights, I identified strategic opportunities for Rippleworks to clarify its value proposition, strengthen its brand voice, and improve how its impact and venture partnerships are communicated across its digital experience.
Key Insights
The analysis revealed several opportunities for Rippleworks to improve how it communicates its model and impact.
• Clarifying the value proposition and headline messaging to better explain Rippleworks’ unique approach
• Elevating the ventures and leaders Rippleworks supports to create stronger emotional engagement
• Developing a more distinct brand voice and tone to differentiate from peer foundations
• Structuring messaging and content to help users more easily understand how Rippleworks creates impact
Strategic Outcome
The analysis provided Rippleworks with a clear view of how leading foundations position their mission, ventures, and impact across their digital experiences. By identifying patterns in brand positioning, storytelling, and messaging hierarchy across the category, the work highlighted opportunities for Rippleworks to differentiate its narrative and strengthen its digital communication.
The recommendations clarified how Rippleworks could better articulate its value proposition, elevate the ventures it supports, and structure its content to guide audiences through its model and impact more effectively.
.
Go To Market & Competitive Strategy
At ROI DNA, I contributed to competitive research and go to market strategy for venture backed Silicon Valley technology companies across enterprise software and cloud infrastructure markets.
I helped translate complex market landscapes into clear positioning, differentiated messaging, and strategic recommendations that supported product launches and growth initiatives across competitive enterprise categories.
Case studies available upon request.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Strategic Discovery and Future State Vision
I led strategic discovery and competitive analysis to inform future state digital experiences across TD Insurance and TD Wealth Investing.
My work shaped high level product direction, defined content and experience principles, and delivered strategic recommendations that informed the TD app store redesign and relaunch.
Case study available upon request.
Reinventing Recurring Giving Through Immediate Impact
As strategy lead and lead writer, I co developed and launched Survival 365, a recurring donation platform for UNICEF Canada designed to strengthen donor retention by making impact visible in real time. The model reduced donor attrition by 30 percent and generated international interest following its presentation to global fundraising leaders.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Co-led strategy, creation and execution of UNICEF Canada's highly successful direct mail fundraising campaigns - Strategy, Qualitative Research, CRM, Content Design, Copywriting
BACKGROUND
In the past, most of UNICEF's contributions came from a monthly donor program promoted through direct mail, email, door-to-door canvassing, and community events. However, with new technology changing how Canadians accessed information and responded to charitable causes, UNICEF Canada needed to develop a new donation instrument that gave contributors more choice in how their money would be spent.
EXECUTION
We created a monthly email campaign allowing donors to experience the impact of their recurring donations. With Survival 365, every time a donor makes a contribution, UNICEF sends a thank-you email detailing what life-saving products their donation has purchased. This immediate feedback established an intimate connection between their generosity and the children's improved well-being.
RESULTS
The launch of Survival 365 saw incredible success with a 30% lower attrition rate. This immediate improvement reflected the “stickiness” of the new campaign amongst donors. At the same time, marketers quickly reached their initial goal of attracting 500 new donors across Canada.
The results were so positive that at a meeting of UNICEF fundraising leaders in Geneva, many countries, including the United States, China, Australia and New Zealand, expressed interest in utilizing Survival 365, leading to the possibility of it becoming the organization’s flagship monthly product.
Survival 365 put us on UNICEF's radar, leading to our work on Survival Gifts, UNICEF's most important fundraising campaign and allowed us tofilm our first VR film in Karamoja, Uganda.
No more to scroll. Instead, please reach out on LinkedIn.