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Chapter three:
The Illuminati

our Client list

Our Story Framework analysis and strategic recommendations have been transformational for some of the world’s most valuable brands including:

Allstate

Amazon

  • Alexa
  • Amazon
  • Amazon Halo
  • Amazon Pay
  • AWS
  • Kindle

Andela

Annie’s Homegrown

Anheuser-Busch InBev

  • Blue Point Brewery
  • Bud Light
  • Goose Island Brewery

The Bazooka Companies

  • Push Pop

Boyd Coffee Company

  • Boyd’s Coffee
  • Coffee House Roasters
  • Italia D’Oro
  • Viaggio

Benson Hill

Beam Suntory

  • Knob Creek

Bimbo USA

  • Eureka!

Cadbury Adams

  • Bubbaloo Gum

Campbell’s

Cadbury Trebor Bassett

  • Bassetts Liquorice Allsorts

Cereal Partners Worldwide

  • Chocapic Cereal

Chick-fil-A

Colombian Coffee Federation

  • Juan Valdez

Compassion International

ConAgra Foods

  • Orville Redenbacher Popcorn
  • Vlasic

DaimlerChrysler

  • Chrysler

Deschutes Brewery

Discovery Networks

  • Discovery Kids
  • Discovery en Español
  • Liv

Dr Pepper Snapple Group

  • 7UP
  • Crush
  • Hawaiian Punch
  • Snapple
  • Sunkist

Diageo

  • Captain Morgan Spiced Rum

E & J Gallo Winery

  • Apothic
  • Dark Horse
  • Gallo Family Vineyards
  • Intuition
  • Kingdom
  • The Naked Grape
  • Prophecy
  • Redwood Creek
  • Turning Leaf

Edible Arrangements

Energizer

Fossil Group

  • Fossil

Foster Farms

Frito-Lay

  • Cheetos
  • Flat Earth
  • Lay’s
  • Stacy’s
  • Sun Chips
  • Tostitos

The General Insurance

General Mills

  • Bisquick
  • Cheerios
  • Cinnamon Toast Crunch
  • Cocoa Puffs
  • Green Giant
  • Hamburger Helper
  • Honey-Nut Cheerios
  • Lucky Charms
  • New Product Innovation
  • Pillsbury
  • Trix
  • Yoplait

General Motors

Georgia-Pacific

  • Angel Soft
  • Brawny
  • Dixie
  • Quilted Northern
  • Sparkle
  • Vanity Fair

GoDaddy

Grupo Bimbo

  • Bimbo Bear
  • Gansito
  • Nito
  • Tia Rosa

Hearst/King Features

  • Popeye

Henkel

  • All
  • Dial Soap
  • Persil
  • Snuggle

Hershey

  • Hershey’s Chocolate

Invista

  • Antron
  • Cordura
  • Dacron
  • Stainmaster

Johnson & Johnson

  • Johnson’s

Kasasa

Kellogg Company

  • Club Crackers
  • Rice Krispies
  • Frosties

Kraft Foods

  • A.1.
  • Cheez Whiz
  • Kool-Aid
  • Kraft Singles
  • Kraft Mac & Cheese
  • Miracle Whip

Laughing Cow

Maytag Corporation

M&M/Mars

  • 3Musketeers
  • Extra Gum

Magic Hat Brewery

McCormick

McDonald’s

Merck

  • Dr. Scholl’s

Microsoft

  • New Product Innovation

MillerCoors

  • Coors Banquet
  • Coors Light

Nabisco

  • Trolli Candy

NatureSweet

  • NatureSweet Tomatoes
  • Brighthouse

Nestlé/Purina

  • Café Memento
  • Beggin’ Strips
  • Maggi
  • Mighty Dog
  • New Product Innovation
  • Wonka

Optum

Pearl/Hotel Emma

Pepperidge Farm

  • Goldfish
  • Pepperidge Farm Brand
  • Milano

PepsiCo

  • Fuelosophy
  • Mirinda
  • Mug Rootbeer
  • New Product Innovation
  • PepsiCo Global Snacks

Perdue Farms

Pirate’s Booty

Portland Trail Blazers

Procter & Gamble

  • Ariel
  • Charmin
  • Dawn
  • Head & Shoulders
  • Herbal Essences
  • Kandoo
  • Mr. Clean
  • Old Spice
  • Pampers
  • Pantene
  • Pringles
  • Rejoice
  • Secret
  • Tide

Quaker Oats

  • Cap’n Crunch
  • Quaker Oats

Robert’s American Gourmet

Safeway

  • Lucerne

Samsung

Sam’s Club

SC Johnson

  • Scrubbing Bubbles

7-Eleven

  • 7-Eleven
  • Speedway
  • Laredo Taco Company

Shure

Silver Ventures

Starbucks

  • Starbucks
  • Seattle’s Best Coffee

Sunset Grown

Tabasco

Target

Time Warner

  • AOL

Tixie

Travelocity

Unilever

  • Paddle Pop Ice Cream
  • Snuggle

United HealthCare

Veritiv

Verizon Wireless

Walmart

  • Great Value
  • Sam’s Club
  • Walmart

Wendy’s

WhiteWave Foods

  • Silk

Wingstop

Chapter Two:
The Plot Thickens

Chapter Four:
Mark My Words

“For B2B businesses, Character is a powerful tool. I have used Character three times in my leader marketing roles, 2x were in B2B businesses. The Character work was the foundation of a transformation in product innovation/commercialization, rebranding, M&A, sales growth, and employee engagement. Character’s work helped us take dead brands and make them relevant again and helped us establish lesser-known brands with high share in a B2B market. What’s so unique is that you don’t create something that the ‘marketing talking heads’ think the company needs, you use the history, culture and DNA that is already part of the company to bring out the true story that is unique to only your brand. The Character team is so special, genuine, and has the perfect mix of creative and business knowledge to lead cross-functional executives through this process. ”
—Melissa Minihan, Head of Digital Commerce & Marketing, Veritiv Corporation

“Character gets to the heart of what good storytelling is all about. They’ve helped Wendy’s focus on what makes us unique, different and special and that’s helped us to get people’s attention, keep their interest and keep the business growing. We compete with much larger brands, but by being overt about how we want to attack those differences, we’ve been able to have a lot of tension and conflict in the story that we are telling. That allows us to keep the story fresh and to fuel it. The more we do that the more positive attention we get as a brand and the more the brand continues to grow, which, in turn, builds our confidence in our storytelling and keeps the courage level high.”

—Kurt  Kane, President U.S. & Chief Commercial Officer, Wendy’s Corporation

“I’ve been through Character’s story framework process four times in my career, and it has always added extraordinary value. It was a central piece of Walmart’s rebranding effort in 2006, as we sought a new articulation of our brand narrative and our purpose. It’s an equally powerful tool for us now, as Walmart defines its place in a rapidly transforming retail environment. And we are currently using it to do the same for Sam’s Club.”

—Tony Rogers, Chief Marketing Officer, Walmart

“Character’s approach to brand building is unlike any other in the business. Jim and his team use the timeless truths of human storytelling to unlock story potential and connect deeply with brand audiences. I’ve worked with Character throughout my career, and my experience with Tabasco was as fascinating, inspiring, and productive as ever. 

Character worked with our team not only to help us re-examine and re-articulate the elemental truths of our iconic global brand but also to develop and apply practical tools that make the brand story framework user-friendly for our entire organization. 

I whole-heartedly recommend Character to any brand marketer who is looking to make intuitive and durable connections with their consumer.”

Lee Susen, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, Tabasco / McIlhenny Company