HALO is a not-for-profit focused on helping one more child spend one less day alone by providing housing, healing and education to youth who need it the most. Youth with nothing, both domestically and internationally. Nuance is grateful for the opportunity to help define and communicate the HALO brand. We provided the brand foundation and creative for marketing initiatives including: Brand Book, Website, Collateral, Change That Counts and a Monthly Giving Campaign. We also volunteered to create creative for the Defy the Odds and the 2018 Art Auction. The talented internal team and strong brand continues to thrive and grow. Quoting founder Rebecca Welsh, "My heart signs a little song every time I visit our website. Thanks for capturing our precious little baby in the perfect perfect way."

Opera is alive and well in KC. The Lyric Opera of Kansas City creates top to bottom original sets and costumes that make the operatic experience completely immersive. Layered in this is a curated cast and outstanding performances from signers and symphonic musicians. Our challenge for the 2017 season was to make the opera more approachable. It has been said that opera in general has become somewhat elitist. So we took a graphic approach that communicated very singular plot lines about each opera. A fresh voice gave each spot a unique quality that helped change the current perception. Visually, each opera had a hero image or composition that suggested a scene or concept relating to the story. Bravo to team!

Louisburg Cider Mill has been making cider the old fashioned way for over 40 years - by pressing apples. Because that’s what Grandpa wanted to do.

The family moved to Louisburg and renovated an old barn to set up operations. Today, the business is still in the family and they’ve expanded into additional fruit-centric beverages and sodas. There is also a family farm and country store to boot.

As part of the brand evolution, we wanted to make the old new again. Or “new-stalgic,” as we decided. The messaging and brand identity refresh captured the purity of a small family farm that has become a destination that provides family fun to over 80,000 people each year.

Footbeat is a start up company that has designed a unique moc that enhances lower body circulation. Which provides benefits to athletes as well as individuals with medical conditions. Increased lower body circulation reduces pain and swelling and allows your body to heal faster. Nuance helped Footbeat create the foundation of the brand and launch the product with a number of creative initiatives including: Social Media Campaigns, Website, Packaging Design, Collateral, Trade Show Booth, Video and Product Photography (Photographer Mark Wiens).

I had the opportunity to serve on the Public Awareness Committee for the Down Syndrome Guild to help share their mission: To provide support and resources to individuals with Down syndrome, their families and the professionals who serve them. Most recently DSG was awarded a grant in the form of paid advertising. Nuance partnered with the DSG to create an awareness campaign. The objectives were to 1) raise awareness of DS 2) create stronger credibility with donors, employers, volunteers and advocates 3) encourage exponential change. Conceptual, we wanted to start conversations with aren’t always being talked about. Thereby, planting a seed for change. Like getting an employers to consider hiring an individual with special needs. Or suggesting that we are more alike than different. Or simply what to say when in the company of an person with DS. This has been and will continue to be a passion project.

Water.org is doing some amazing work in developing countries. They are providing mothers and families with the opportunity to create their own futures through micro-loans. Water.org has empowered 12 million people with access to safe water and sanitation through affordable financing. Water.org isn't giving water, they're giving responsibility. Opportunity. And brighter futures. 

Nuance has been fortunate to work with water.org on a number of fundraising and awareness projects including: Year End Appeal Campaigns, Social Media Campaigns, World Toilet Day, WaterCredit Forum and World Water Day.

In 2008, the March of Dimes was losing relevance against an audience it seeked to embrace, mothers, while focusing on its mission on solve prematurity. I had the opportunity to rebrand and reposition the organization to this new audience. Playing of the brand essence of Wonder, we created a national TV/Print/Digital/PR campaign that spoke to mothers in their most vulnerable time. Pregnancy. First quarter comparison results showed that unaided awareness increased 67% while mission awareness increased 12%. Local chapter PSA TV airings doubled from year one to year two. And most importantly, there has been a 3% decrease in premature births since this national effort. 

In addition, spots were created to promote the March of Dimes largest fundraiser, the March for Babies. 

39 Weeks. That's the target for expecting mothers to provide optimum health and developmental time to their babies. 

Formerly the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging, Unbound had a brand alignment problem and began to lose sponsors through their current channel. As a global not-for-profit working in 21 countries, Unbound provides sponsorship to families living in poverty. We were challenged with rebranding the organization and telling the story of the life changing possibilities Unbound creates to a new, larger audience. 

The new brand represents self-sustaining opportunities for those families and creates strong relationships here at home. Research showed that current sponsors contribute based on their value system which lead to the insight that they get something equally as powerful out of their contribution.

Recently in El Salvador and the Dominican Republic, I witnessed first-hand how these families were not only adopting the new brand, but how they were living it.

Unbound continues to grow, as does every individual who touches this fine organization. 

Big tobacco settlements made it down to the local level. Like Hall County, Nebraska. Which allowed us to create a campaign that got people thinking about the deadly consequences of second-hand smoke.*

*No one was injured in the making of these images.
**Please do not try this at home. 

Everyone loves puppies. And kitty cats. Yet without proper care in the form of spaying and neutering, pet populations can run amuck. Which creates unwanted animals on the street and oftentimes in a shelter. Great Plains SPCA looked to solve both problems with a two-part campaign promoting vet services and adoption. Unaided awareness of Great Plains SPCA increased 26% in year one while the campaign drove consumers to utilize vetrinarian services more regularly.

Win, win. 

The United Way of Greater Kansas City is doing tremendous work for Kansas City residents ranging from after school programs for children to job placement for military veterans. In 2014, the service offering from the local chapter was becoming so broad that it was becoming difficult to communicate the real work being done. The UWGKC needed a platform for which all services could be talked about and easily understood. 

The solve was to align community services into causes that supported the UW brand. Causes that have purpose. And measurable goals. And most importantly, bigger impact. 

United for Literacy, United for Well-Being, United against Poverty, and United for Career Readiness became those platforms. Creatively, the strategy was to demonstrate the need by putting the viewer in the shoes of the less fortunate. It's easier to identify with the problem, if you the viewer become a part of communication. 

The new campaign that included outdoor, site, print, video, radio and TV laid the platform foundation with very simple, yet explicit cause messaging. A new responsive website further expanded on each cause, defined goals and shared current funding achievements. 

The results were immediate. Visitors are clearly understanding the mission of the United Way and that's the first step toward creating affinity and action in fund-raising. 

Marmot has long been known for exceptional quality among their loyal customer base. The company was looking to tell their "For Life" story on a broader scale to increase store and online visitors. Really smart Planners discovered that customers have an extremely strong bond with their gear/clothing from Marmot. This insight lead to a singular messaging strategy focused on defining that bond.

Habitat for Humanity if one of KC's longest living humanitarian organizations. By creating first generation home owners, Habitat KC is providing pride, confidence and dignity to families in need of a home. What's more, these families are earning their homes with 250 hours of sweat equity. They're building more than homes, they're building communities and a stronger city. 

For a year end appeal, Habitat KC looked to increase their individual donor base and create awareness of the service they provide to the community. This campaign defined what #homeis through social channels by featuring a few of the 27,000 vacant homes in KC and asked potential donors to help turn them into homes for families. Truly, there is no place like home. 

Videos were created to tell the compelling stories of those families. Contrary to perception, life is not that different on the other side of the Paseo. See for yourself. 

As a start up company, Virtuous Living came to us with only a name and a strong point of view. The company believed that everyone has the mom-given right to enjoy food. Even those with celiac disease. As a mother and innovator in the kitchen, the owner decided to introduce her gluten-free, organic food spices to the world. What started as a single-kitchen recipe has become a widely-distributed retail product and is now available at Whole Foods. The tagline we landed on: Taste Freedom. 

CCVI is providing a tremendous service to the community in teaching visually-challenged children to live a more normal life. This comes with the help from community donations and volunteering, as this poster series was intended to encourage both. See for yourself. 

Cerner was doing some innovative work in the healthcare industry long before healthcare became a daily topic of conversation. For instance, creating electronic medical records that decrease healthcare costs and create better patient outcomes. This print campaign demonstrates another benefit. Your records stay with, always. 

We created a second campaign in response to Cerner's CEO who said he'd like to take down health insurance companies that play a role in the mismanagement of consumers health. 

Each year, Powell Gardens has a summer exhibit to entice new visitors to enjoy the great outdoors. Ten local artists were commissioned to create a pedestrian maze of their own that represented nature. Conceptually, we wanted to promote the idea of mazes and nature but also let the actual commissioned creations be experienced in person. 

Dynamic Earth is an outdoor gear retail brand. We created an awareness and engagement campaign that positioned DE as the link between you (the consumer) and the outdoors. Having the right gear is critical to having a good outdoor experience. In-store POP was designed to reinforce exploration of the great outdoors by bagging fresh air from a particular location. Customers were encouraged to bag their own through additional store signage 

Local, independent filmmakers have the deck stacked against them. Budgets, crew, actors, distribution, the list goes on. This body of work represents three years of shedding light on what it really means to be independent. A new brand identity was created to bring greater consistency and relevance to the yearly festival with the "Completely Independent" spots.

The best place to run spots that celebrate film? The film house. In this case AMC. 

Known by its core as the City of Fountains Marathon, the Kansas City Marathon consistently brings runners out of their homes for 26 miles of fountain scouting. As it turns out, Kansas City has more fountains than any other city in the world, including Rome. These promotional and commemorative posters offer insightful relevance to runners from year to year. 

The 4H Council had a cow and chicken problem. The perception was that 4H was only available and geared toward rural children who had farm animals. When in fact, the 4H Council offers a number of programs in Science, Technology, Healthy Living and Art. Most importantly, 4H promotes confidence in children. 

Brand development opportunities from international to local.