Case Studies

DISNEY.COM

Overview: Brand + Marketing Strategy
“Changing the Face Of The Company”

Challenge: Disney was going through a serious makeover on its website from HTML to Flash technology. I was brought in to help launch the website, but found that the overall architecture, technology, branding and messaging was severely fractured. CEO Bob Iger had announced its’ launch at CES and in the New York Times well before its launch date leaving the team with a serious time crunch.

Results: During the initial audit, I discovered several factors that prevented the company from launching on time. Even worse, I found that many of the key stakeholders did not know how they could contribute to an efficient launch. I single handedly developed a brand, design, messaging and technology playbook that guided everyone within the team to work together efficiently. I also worked directly with the development team as a liaison to resolve any outstanding issues that would otherwise cripple the launch. The Disney.com website launched without a hitch, leading to several awards. The company, Disney, experienced an overall annual lift in net revenue totally $1.3B. I supported the ad-sales team, creating brand and marketing strategies that resulted in several hundred millions in partnerships.

WarnerBros.com

Overview: Brand Strategy
“The Loyalty Experience”

Challenge: Warner Bros. is a media giant known for their impressive roster of movies, tv shows, musicians, cartoons, games and other experiences. WB needed a massive overhaul to its website and position itself as a powerhouse in Hollywood. The challenge was creating a website to host all of its properties in an interactive and customizable environment without compromising the overall WB brand. Furthermore, the company wanted to create a seamless experience between the WB branded website and its properties, while captivating customers at the core.

Results: Through several design conversations, the team knew we needed to create the ultimate web experience for WarnerBros.com. The final product resulted in a complete web overhaul where design and technology blended perfectly. This allowed us to fully control the experience and swap out content as needed while remaining sensitive to all departments. As a design strategy, we opted for all official music, movies, TV show websites to remain true to their own creative experience but within the confines of a universal template. We put intentional focus on providing total entertainment value to the end-user that could be enjoyed in-home. I created a WarnerBros.com brand playbook that was used across all internal departments. The unique design approach led to the creation of printables, interactive games, original content that continued the conversation with fans beyond the screen.

AT&T TEAM USA

Overview: Brand Strategy
“The Cosmic Collision of Major Partners”

Challenge: I was approached to create an overall brand strategy for the AT&T Team USA Soundtrack which was to be released during the 2008 Olympic Games. The project featured several award-winning artists such as Lady Antebellum, 3 Doors Down, Nelly, Queen Latifah, Chris Brown, Sheryl Crow, Kate Voegele, and Taylor Swift, Team USA. The soundtrack is sponsored by AT&T. The challenge was creating compelling visual and engaging experience that highlighted all parties involved while promoting the artists, soundtrack and raising money for Team USA.

Result: After several discussion and alignment of the project’s goals, I went on to create a visual identity that remained sensitive to all parties involved. Using an attractive color scheme, I was able to blend the worlds of the artists, Team USA and AT&T seamlessly. We extended the experience from the website to various web platforms, online apps, downloadable content and more. The AT&T Team USA Soundtrack raised $1 million for Team USA athletes.

Skechers.com

Overview: Conversion Strategy
“Creating a comfortable experience for customers online and in their soles"

Challenge: Skechers, the international shoe retailer, is known for their comfortable shoes. The current website is sorely outdated and key stakeholders wanted to know if the architecture was salvageable from a short-term viewpoint.. Furthermore, they wanted to learn how to increase online revenue and how they could improve the overall customer experience.

Results: Working with the in-house team, we assessed the overall current situation. Data analytics validated and identified profitable customer segments, as well as other younger segments that would respond positively to our new conversion strategy. During the brand audit, we discovered frustration from online shoppers customer service, responsiveness and discount redemption. Furthermore, we also discovered significant drops during the web experience due to a lack of uniformity and organization between each page. This work resulted in a user-experience and marketing strategy that focuses on relationship building, as well as appealing directly to the emotional and functional needs of its users. Skechers was able to quickly made small adjustments in its current website to improve revenue, and is currently working on several projects that will significantly close the revenue gap between their business and competitors.

Sonya can always be counted on for innovative and clever design, even in high pressure situations when others might stumble. Her creativity and detailed approach were very appreciated. I thoroughly enjoy working with her.

Jason Steinberg, Digital Director, Warner Bros

CUSTOMERSERVICE.AI

Overview: Brand Strategy
“Integration Customer Service with the Future of AI”

Challenge: CustomerService.AI is a tech startup incubated by NYC’s School of Business, run by world renowned scientists. They approached me to create a new brand identity that would attract clients and serve their customers at an enterprise level. At the core, the business resolves customer issues in real-time, at a fraction of the cost of traditional agents across multiple platforms. The startup was challenged with a branding issue and how it could differentiate itself from other early competitors.

Result: After several strategy sessions, the company decided to embrace a complete rebranding and change the business name to “HelloVera”. The team was very pleased with the overall design strategy, re-aligned mission statements and core values. We further created a lexicon and a story that would speak directly to customers, investors and clients. The transformation resulted in interest and investments by several venture capitalists.

Starlight Foundation

Overview: Brand + Donation Strategy
“Global Donation Platform"

Challenge: The leading global charity that partners with experts to improve the life and health of kids and families around the world, wanted to create a global donation platform as well as modernize their teen social networking platform.

Result: We created two seamless solutions integrating two technology platforms that combine the corporate website with a private social networking environment. The result is an easy to use website experience that allows for visitors to review and purchase items from hospital wishlists. Furthermore, we created a dynamic catalog of thousands of SKU’s so that hospitals could continue to build their wishlist. Following the relaunch, the organization saw a 300% increase in contributions from individual donors and a 70% increase in average gift.

ANANDTECH

Overview: Brand Strategy
“Advancing into 2.0”

Challenge: Anandtech is the leading computer hardware website, started and founded by Anand Shimp when he was 15 years old. The website boasted millions in impressions, as well as being the ultimate source for all computer fans around the world. Anand wanted to redesign the website to allow for an updated visual experience, as well as make room for ad placements across the site.

Result: The first goal was to address the visual identity beginning with the logo. Many loyal fans were resistant to change, but the logo was received in a positive light. The website underwent a massive visual, architecture and responsive transformation, as well as a new addition of ‘The Bench’ which provides readers with internal benchmark data, as well as the ‘Pipeline’ a column for short form content. Anand was very pleased with the design as it reflected the company’s internal focuses. The company experienced an increase in revenue and was eventually acquired by Purch, a digital publishing and marketplace platform.

Relax The Back

Overview: Brand Strategy
“Ease of Use"

Challenge: The premier retailer of back and neck care products with more than 100 stores nationwide, wanted to raise their online revenues by enhancing their site’s user experience and integrating a multi-channel strategy.

Result: We approached the project with the customers interests at heart. A complete makeover in the user-experience added functional effectiveness in helping customers find products to match their needs. The new website works seamlessly across desktops, tablets and smartphones. The overall brand makeover resulted in increased revenue, SEO page rankings and organic traffic.

I came upon Sonya Lee through two different professional referrals from trusted, reliable sources. If she came so highly recommended from these two people I was very confident she would deliver. She did. Sonya was sensitive to our company culture, fit right in with the team and demonstrated excellent leadership qualities throughout our engagements.

Michael Gibson, Director of Professional Services, Guidance

DUDE I NEED A TRUCK

Overview: Branding + Business Development
“Delivering Awesome”

Challenge: Dude is a new Uber-esque startup that launched from a small home office in Santa Barbara, California. The challenge was to turn this home-grown business into an enterprise level software that would appeal and serve a two-sided marketplace. The company was experiencing retention problems, which stemmed from inconsistent brand messaging. The company also wanted to launch a mobile app that would automate the ordering and fulfillment process.

Results: Dude underwent a complete business transformation starting with branding. We created a new website that spoke directly to the needs of the average customer, while remaining sensitive to the ‘Dudes’ who would want a chance at running their own business. From there, we created a brand and operational playbook that led to the profound change resulting in a very tight-knit corporate culture. A new user-experience was created for the mobile app, enhancing the overall automation of the business. Dude went on to expand into 8 cities nationwide and more, as well as securing 6-figure contracts with corporate clients.