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CLEVERWORKS - CREATIVE DIRECTOR
The Burke Company

When The Burke Company called on Cleverworks, they were in a three-year marketing drought. The
well-established home design, build, remodel firm had been trying to organize its own advertising, website design and updates, and direct mail in order to save money. However, they were spending precious time
and additional money just to maintain a baseline of marketing efforts.

When brought on board, Cleverworks quickly consolidated all these efforts, bringing The Burke Company website, advertising campaign, direct mail, public relations and logo design under one roof. This not
only saved The Burke Company time and money, but also created a uniformity and consistency that had
been lacking.

Cleverworks’s first order of business was to redesign The Burke Company’s 15-year old logo. Because Burke’s logo was a well-recognized fixture in East Dallas neighborhoods (thanks to the yard signs they post during each project) it was important not to stray too far afield. Cleverworks created an updated look that better reflects the high-end nature of the work The Burke Company performs in the historic neighborhoods they call home – while still reminding potential and returning clients why they trusted Burke in the first place.

Meanwhile, The Burke Company’s website had languished over the past couple of years. Links were broken, the photo gallery had lost content and data was old. I moved The Burke Company’s website to their own servers, cleaned up the problems and took over hosting and maintenance – all at a fraction of the cost Burke had been paying over the three previous years.

Once the basics were taken care of, I with the help of a copywriter and programmer I was able to move full steam ahead with a concerted advertising, marketing and public relations campaign for The Burke Company. Newly redesigned print ads reflected the updated image in the local neighborhood magazine; a persistent public relations campaign began getting the attention of
city-wide publications like The Dallas Morning News and D Magazine; a monthly expert column by The Burke Company president Jason Asmar established credibility; and monthly letters with updated copy and a redesigned header, sent to a targeted database, began reestablishing old customer relationships. Within weeks, the strategy was paying off with the first calls for major projects that Burke had received in months.

Through consistent, creative and customized advertising, marketing and public relations, we continue to build on this success and help The Burke Company reach new heights.

“Shane has been a pleasure to work with. In our monthly meeting, he always brings creativity and strategic thinking to the table. Thanks to him and the team, our advertising, P.R. and website all work together to drive customers to our door."
                                                                                                                 —Jason Asmar
                                                                                                                     Owner, The Burke Company

CLEVERWORKS - CREATIVE DIRECTOR
PIcasso dream

When Allison Harris Ludwig was preparing for the publication of her new book about a dying man’s dark secret, she came to me. Because she was self-publishing, she needed help generating interest among the book-buying public.

Her book, Picasso Dream, deals with internal struggles between friends and lovers as well as the real struggles of war, so I opted for an almost macabre tone to the cover design. The book deals with dark themes – from the military and the harsh realities
of war to the secrets that are revealed as a man is dying; those themes are reflected in
the images on the cover in a creative and eye-catching way.

Strategically, for the promotion of the book, I knew the traditional advertising methods would never break through the media and pop culture clutter that bombards the book buying public every day. Therefore, Social Networking became a key element in generating interest in Ludwig’s book. Taking a cue from the elements of the book that deal with the military, blogs and forums for service members were targeted with online banner advertising and positive reviews of the book.

In addition, I implemented a unique guerrilla campaign on military bases, distributing
leaflets – not unlike aerial leaflet propaganda used in warfare.

The unique challenge posed by the author’s needs was met with gusto by me. Thanks to creative and strategic thinking and design, Ludwig was able to claim very respectable sales within the first few months of publication.

“Shane brought an innovative approach to the promotion of my book. Besides designing the book jacket and developing the social buzz and website, shane successfully implemented a unique guerrilla campaign to get the word out."

                                                                                       —Allison Harris Ludwig
                                                                                           Author, Picasso Dream

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CLEVERWORKS - CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Prime debt services / deans of debt

Prime Debt Services called on me to launch their new sister company, Deans of Debt.
In order to expand their demographics, the debt settlement company wanted to broadcast
a radio talk show promotion targeted at college students overwhelmed by debt as well as
a new interactive site for the sister company. All of these new promotions, as well as the new logo, needed to tie in together to create a unique brand for that target audience.

I brought their design, branding and promotional expertise to the table, creating a unique logo for the new company as well as the tie-in and main websites for Deans of Debt and Prime Debt Services. The new logo, website and promotions were a success and helped Prime Debt Services expand successfully into a new market.

“We were impressed with Shane’s creativity and dedication to quality output.
Our new logo and website were exactly on the mark for our demographic.
We’re looking forward to working with him on future projects.”
                                                                                —Chris Mills
                                                                                    Owner, Deans of Debt

CLEVERWORKS - CREATIVE DIRECTOR
alan hodges associates

Alan Hodges Associates, a Dallas-based property tax consultant firm, needed a brochure to increase business prior to tax time. The brochure was slated to mail several weeks before the tax deadline hit, in order to give recipients time to act. This created a tight deadline for the me, but through communication with the client and a laser-like focus on the client’s needs, I was able to turn out a brochure that not only informed the target audience of Alan Hodges’ capabilities, but did so with an elegant design that reflected the professionalism and high level of service that is typical of Alan Hodges Associates. The brochure was printed with metallic ink and it had a clean, personable, informative and professional design.

In addition to the brochure for Alan Hodges Associates, I was called upon again by
Hodges – this time in order to design a logo for his sister company, Protest My Property Tax.

"We needed a brochure and we needed a pretty quick turnaround. Shane was able to provide a high quality professional, informative brochure within our tight deadline. I appreciate the great work he did for my firm.
                                                                                    —Alan Hodges
                                                                                        President, Alan Hodges and Associates

CLEVERWORKS - CREATIVE DIRECTOR
QA Insurance staffing, inc

When Quality Assurance Insurance Staffing needed to define their identity in the marketplace, they turned to me. After sitting down with QA and determining the company culture as well as the target audience and usage, I created and executed a look that sets the company apart from the competition.

Starting with QA’s logo, I introduced a combination of graphic elements and colors that would reflect QA’s business. From there, it was a matter of creating unique and professional designs for business cards, letterhead, and other collateral materials. Next was the QA website. Based on the established brand, I designed an easily recognizable site, taking cues from the design elements already introduced in the identity package. Besides being intelligently branded with the other QA materials, the website is navigable and informative, using imagery that suggests the immediacy of the need for QA’s staffing to their clients and the national reach of their services.

On a tight budget and extending the brand to QA’s upcoming appearance at a trade show, I designed a giveaway item – a promotional customized candy label for Life Savers candy to be handed out to attendees. In true Clevenger fashion, nothing was done without thorough thought to the concept and meaning to the target audience. In this case, because times of natural disasters and catastrophe are QA’s busiest time – providing staffing to insurance agencies in need — the company’s services are “life savers” to the agencies. This idea is a good example of meeting a clients needs that has no budget.

Branding and establishing an identity is an ongoing process that requires attention to detail and consistency. With my help, Quality Assurance Insurance Staffing has been able to quickly establish its look and personality in the marketplace.

“We were on a tight budget, both time wise and financially, so finding someone
that could work with our schedule was important. Shane was the guy.
We have been impressed with his turnaround times andhis ability to work with
our budget.”

                                                                               —Luster Drink
                                                                                   Owner, QA Insurance Staffing, Inc

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CLEVERWORKS - CREATIVE DIRECTOR
QA Insurance staffing, inc

With its cutting-edge ropes with Tip Xcelerator, Revolution Ropes was already breaking into the calf roping competition world thanks to successes in the arena and a good reputation among ropers. But they needed something more.

When he called me, he found a true partner with whom he could work and rely on to get the job done on the advertising front. I put in place a strategic plan to produce consistent advertising materials: print ads, posters, logos, display tags, catalog design, and eblasts.

Revolution Ropes finally had a coherent, branded message that played out over a variety of media. I worked hand-in-hand with Revolution Ropes to create a look and tone that stood out from the field in the rodeo roping industry publications and catalogs and at trade shows. With my guidance and tactical roadmap to follow, Stephens was able to get back to the task at hand of running his company.

Most companies are like Revolution Ropes. Without a focused person to guide them through the process of creating strategic, branded marketing and advertising output, the owners spend precious time working on marketing materials, often to less than optimal effect. I filled that gap, not only through my experience and creativity, but also the
big-picture mind-set that allowed RR to move forward with confidence that the
next step will build on the previous efforts and bring the company to new heights.

“Being able to rely on Shane has been a load off my mind because he really does operate as a member of the Revolution Ropes team..”

                                                                                                 —Sandy Stephens
                                                                                                     Owner, Revolution Ropes

CLEVERWORKS - CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Main Root, ROOT Beer

Main Root is a hand crafted root beer out of Austin. I discovered this product while shopping at Central Market and I liked what the this drink did for the world community. I created this campaign to help explain how everything in the drink is organic, but I also wanted to capture the Austin feel. Using the bottles as plants was a fun and artistic touch I think really pulled this campaign together. This was a fun project and I'm happy with the end product.

I hope you've enjoyed my online portfolio. As I've mentioned, please contact me for a meeting and I'll show more samples, I would appreciate the opportunity.

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