Our Team’s Magic
Every member of our team is a creative professional. What does that mean? It means that we consistently look for strategies, approaches and creative advertising that avoid the rote and the expected. In this way, we’re able to maximize the impact of your marketing dollars. Another difference: our impact extends to marketing strategy, tactical planning and execution, creative copy, and post-launch evaluation and measurement. Our focus is on the positive: When you get positive results, we do too. Find out more about our clients’ experiences and results.
The Core Team
Lynn Strand - President, Creative Director
and Behavioral Marketing Specialist
Lynn’s “secret sauce” is her extensive background in cognitive and behavioral psychology, which gives her an unusual degree of insight into how people think, act, and buy. Her unique approach really does inspire customers to take action, and shortens the sales cycle, with positive measurable results. Lynn has over 20 years experience with both commercial companies and non-profits including dozens of clean technology, energy efficiency and green businesses, as well as community outreach, high technology and consumer enterprises. Her experience includes generating leads in innovative ways, coordinating international branding campaigns, launching new products and programs, managing multi-million dollar budgets, and analyzing the effectiveness of marketing and advertising programs. She started the first e-marketing roundtable in Silicon Valley and served as the Vice President of the Business Marketing Association. She is a 2008 graduate of Acterra’s Be the Change environmental leadership program, currently serves as marketing chair of the Cleantech Open and in her spare time, runs the Cool the Earth program at her son’s elementary school. Lynn has a Bachelors of Science degree in Human Development from University of California, Davis, plus masters level graduate courses in psychology.
Joan Rock - Account Manager and Strategist
Joan brings a unique blend of analytics and creativity to product marketing management for B2C companies, such as General Motors, American Greetings and Portal Publications. Her expertise runs the gamut of the entire product lifecycle from market research and new product development to producing marketing collateral and sales trainings. She has partnered with top mass merchants, including Target, Wal-Mart, Kmart, and Costco to develop chain-specific products, promotions and merchandising plans that delivered double digit growth. Specialty retail chains like Cost Plus, Bed Bath and Beyond, Barnes and Noble, and PetSmart, as well as national and regional groceries and drugstores, have maximized their returns by implementing Joan’s strategies. She has proven her expertise in reaching a company’s ideal targets with the essential “P’s”—the right products, positioning, pricing, placement and promotions. Her passion for creating art and past experience in international education serve her well when interfacing with creative agencies and in launching products for our global economy.
Inka Traktman - Account Manager and Strategist
Inka is an experienced marketer with proven skills in business strategy and development, marketing planning and communications. She has worked in a marketing, project management and product marketing capacity for over 20 years and her diverse work experience provides unique perspectives to customers. She has lead branding efforts with PC Guardian and created co-branding campaigns with organizations such as WoolrichR, Stanford University and QVC, resulting in significant launch and growth campaigns for the organizations. Through the development of new market segments, Inka contributed to growth at Birkenstock Footprints where she was also responsible for developing tradeshows, national sales meetings and customer round tables. Through the implementation of PR, lead generation and nurturing, as well as SEO strategies, Inka positively impacted profits at Portal Publications, and PC Guardian. She has worked with large retail chains such as Macy's, Target, Walmart, Nordstrom and Bed Bath and Beyond as well as corporate organizations such as Well Fargo, the State of Florida and Kaiser Permanente. Her work experience includes a wide variety of industries ranging from wireless technologies to electronics and software, to education and government, security, apparel, publishing, arts, hospitality, gift and garden. She brings a very analytical point of view to the table and is fluent German.
Randy Moravec – Designer
Randy’s creative transformation of images reflects his unique humor, distinctive conceptual approach, and graphic style that is colorful, playful, smart, and clever. He has received prestigious ADDY and Harvey Awards for his ads and campaigns. He and his design team have developed an eclectic and flexible style over the past twenty years and have won numerous national awards for their logotypes, branding, and corporate identity systems. Adobe employed his team’s expertise in typography, and his portfolio includes the Oracle mark as well as integrated marketing campaigns for RSA Security, Microsoft, IBM, Serena Software, VeriSign, Silicon Graphics, and Cisco. Randy has developed memorable graphics that convey humor even in the most serious of ventures, including Internet security, bringing unprecedented attention to his clients’ products. He has partnered with Nike to promote the University of Oregon’s football team in an over-the-top, fun, extreme manner. He has also published a playful book describing feline characteristics and behaviors based on observations of his cat Claude.
Tom Upton - Photographer
Tom is an award-winning, seasoned photographer whose reverence for the classic style of commercial photography and affinity for analog and digital technology makes him a nimble collaborator. He thinks visually and leverages creative processes to give clients photography that works. Intel, Adobe Systems, Hewlett Packard, Apple Computers, Silicon Graphics are just a few of the technology companies that have employed his inspiring images to convey their messages. In addition to those familiar names, Tom has created dramatic photographs for medical providers and researchers, such as the Stanford Genome Center, and medical device manufacturers worldwide. On the consumer and retail fronts, Tom’s images have graced the marketing materials of IKEA, Klutz Books, and Scharffen Berger Chocolate. His talent for capturing the essence of his subjects is apparent whether he is creating a portrait that instills trust for a corporate brochure or developing a concept for a high-tech product that expresses playfulness.
Jason Thompson - Web Designer
Jason, master of the web, offers award-winning Web/Flash design and development and Internet project management. The website that he designed and managed for RSA Security received numerous accolades, including PC Magazine's 100 Best Web Sites for four consecutive quarters. Jason also serves as webmaster for the Bonneville Environmental Foundation carbon calculator and website. His experience includes website design and layout, daily content management, implementing web and e-mail marketing promotions, executing lead gathering systems that interact with customer relationship databases, deploying web-based databases and security functions, and conducting site functionality studies. His client list includes VeriSign, Magellan Navigation, SnowShore Networks, Secorix, and Liberty Alliance Project. Jason is an expert at coding HTML and web construction using a wide variety of web editors. He is also skilled at multimedia production employing a long list of graphic design programs and applications for audio/video development, 3-D graphics and animation.
Kerri McHale - Print and Web Designer
Kerri McHale brings over a decade of experience in design, art direction and marketing that spans the gamut from wholesale to retail to B2B. She has created and directed fresh and compelling campaigns, retail products, marketing materials, brand identities and websites for small and large clients (such as Target and Cost Plus) alike. She’s a web Standardista who’s passionate about usable and engaging design and dedicated to constantly improving the craft. Kerri has a knack for turning abstract and diverse ideas into valuable design and marketing assets, and enjoys working with clients to help turn their concepts into profitable realities.
Lisa Strand – Research Analyst
Lisa’s love of numbers, combined with her economic savvy and understanding of human behavior, allow her to cut through the noise in our increasingly data-rich environment to provide clients with thoughtful analysis and action plans to propel their business forward. She provides the integrated data and sound analysis they require to address complex business issues. Dell, Nokia, Motorola, TD Waterhouse, LimeLife, Consumer Reports, and CNET Networks have incorporated Lisa’s findings into their strategies. Lisa has helped both traditional and online retailers such as JC Penney, Yahoo! Shopping, Amazon.com, and eBay understand the dynamics of how people shop. Lisa served as Director and Chief Analyst of the eCommerce Strategies Service at Nielsen/NetRatings, a leading Internet Audience Measurement & Analysis firm. In previous work with GartnerGroup Dataquest, VLSI Research and Asahi Agency (Tokyo), Lisa demonstrated her expertise in market sizing and forecasting and customer satisfaction surveys for global telecommunication, networking and marketing communications vendors. Lisa’s work counts!
Kazuyo Masuda - Ethnographic Researcher
Kazuyo provides clients with the raw ethnographic data necessary to gain an edge in today’s highly competitive environment. In addition to coordinating data generation and managing third party suppliers, she consults on data interpretation and utility and facilitates ideation sessions to develop actionable steps. Kazuyo utilizes a wide range of qualitative market research methods to test new consumer product concepts, designs and strategies. Her technical expertise includes intercept interviews, in-context discussion groups, observations, context mapping, rapid assessment, and persona creations. A former senior ethnographer at Ethnographic Research Inc., Kazuyo has conducted research in the U.S., Australia, Taiwan and Japan in consumer products, retail, electronics, cell phone applications, durables, pharmaceuticals, financial services, entertainment and advertising. Pfizer and Unilever are two of her well known clients. Kazuyo has presented at professional conferences and has led workshops on ethnography and research techniques.
Sharon Wilcox - Marketing Project Manager
Sharon is armed with a wealth of account management experience in marketing communications. Working with such notable clients as Coca-Cola and Roche Pharmaceuticals in Australia and Bank of the West and Knight Ridder in the US, she has tackled a range of marketing, public relations and advertising projects. As an account manager in Silicon Valley's oldest advertising agency, Sharon exceeded client expectations by developing marketing plans (including market analysis, branding and positioning) and managing projects ranging from print ads, direct mail and radio to tradeshow, outdoor and online elements. Sharon is an avid world traveler. She put her global marketing expertise to work at Coca-Cola and British Telecom in Britain and IBM, McCann-Erickson Advertising and Mangold-Sengers Communications in Australia. In her corporate communications role, she worked on newsletters, annual reports, corporate capability brochures, direct mail campaigns, point-of-purchase displays, and sales promotions. Having experienced both the agency and client sides, as well as launching her own entrepreneurial venture, Sharon understands marketing from various perspectives.
Anne Ferguson - Executive Assistant & Project Coordinator
Anne supports Positive Impact Partner team members by cheerfully taking care of virtually all of the nitty-gritty details so they can focus their creative energies on what they do best. From maintaining marketing calendars to budgets, from technology support to mailings, Anne’s coordination efforts are indispensable. Anne is committed to providing valuable professional and collaborative services with dedication, integrity and the highest standards. Anne possesses good judgment, taste and a rare combination of ease and action. She brings a blend of skill and sensitivity, knowing when to push, when to pull and when to hold back. These intangible qualities in addition to her technological skills are the Anne Factor—Anne’s greatest asset. Anne has been interviewed by Time Magazine and for a number of books related to career and personal development. As a successful small business owner, Anne has first-hand knowledge of many issues that PIP clients face.
Here are some of the companies our team members have helped grow.
Home Z
Climate Earth
Green Key Real Estate
Clean Tech Open
Mobile Money Ventures
Worksoft
Cooler, Inc.
VeriSign
Apple
RSA Security
Ampro Computers
Serena Software
Borland
ZixCorp
Visa International
GreenCard Visa
Portal Publications
|
American Greetings
NeuColl
Laserscope
Stanford University
University of Oregon
California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office
@ONE Project
Multicultural Education Magazine
Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden Foundation
Smooth Sale
Green Chi Designs
Green Career Central |
Certifications