How a Billion-Dollar Business Got Its Name
When Avery Dennison needed to grow a high-margin product line with a clunky name and a technical story, I led the creation of Embelex — a consumer-style B2B brand built on a simple human truth: the graphics and words on our clothes are how we express identity. Launched with TikTok influencers, CEOs, and sports teams, the brand created a gravitational pull the product never could. Embelex grew from an internal product code to a $300M brand in two years, with partnerships across the NFL, NBA, Premier League, LaLiga, and MLS.
THE PROBLEM
A high-potential apparel trim product known internally as "EE" — External Embellishments — with stagnant growth, no external brand identity, and messaging built entirely around its limitations.
THE BIG IDEA
The graphics and words on our clothes are how we express identity. By leading with that human truth first, we created emotional investment that traveled up the supply chain and across to investors — launching it like a consumer brand in a traditional B2B company.
THE RESULT
$300M in revenue in two years. Partnerships across NFL, NBA, Premier League, LaLiga, and MLS. PRWeek Award for Best in Corporate Branding. Proof that B2B marketing doesn't need to “stay in its lane” — it needs to be human.
"Marketing doesn't need to choose a lane. It needs to be human."
You Can't Control What You Can't See
When Avery Dennison needed to transform a line of printers into a platform for the future of supply chain visibility, I led the development of Optica — a brand built not on features, but on the emotional reality of operating in a volatile, opaque industry. By naming the pain before selling the solution, we turned a fragmented internal product into a coherent, high-value category. Optica now serves 4,500 factory clients globally and was named one of Fast Company's World's 50 Most Innovative Companies in 2026.
"B2B Marketing Doesn't Need To Be B2B or B2C. It Needs To B2H (Human)."
THE PROBLEM
A disconnected product line with stagnant growth and poor perception. The technology was capable of solving a massive industry challenge. The story wasn't.
THE BIG IDEA
Supply chain professionals weren't managing logistics. They were managing anxiety. We named that pain — developing Optica as a brand built on control, clarity, and visibility — and coupled the emotional story with a hard financial case: lack of visibility costs the industry billions every year.
THE RESULT
From a down indicator in customer research to Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies. 4,500 factory clients. A high-value category driving YOY growth. Proof that emotional differentiation isn't soft, it's a strategic unlock.
When WGSN needed a large-scale Fashion Week activation with no budget, I turned a constraint into a creative brief. Instead of chasing exclusive access that social media had already democratized, I invited the internet to become the trend forecasters — launching a social contest built entirely on pre-existing content. The result was a 1,113% increase in social impressions and national press coverage in AdWeek and the Daily Front Row.
How a Zero-Budget Campaign Drove 1,000% Growth
"Embrace constraints to unlock creativity."
THE PROBLEM
A large-scale Fashion Week activation. No budget. A premise — exclusive runway access — that social media had already made obsolete.
THE BIG IDEA
Fashion Week's power had shifted from access to participation. Rather than showcasing WGSN's exclusivity, we democratized it entirely — publishing our trend predictions and inviting Instagram and Twitter users to become the forecasters themselves.
THE RESULT
1,113% season-on-season increase in social impressions. Coverage in AdWeek and the Daily Front Row. Built on zero budget and one insight: your constraints are your creative brief.