|
john nielson
frank co-founder |
|
|
|
|
||||
|
|||||
Leadership consulting company delivering authentic branding and organizational courage through social media.
Our clients include:
+ PepsiCo
+ Endura Financial
+ Burns Engineering
+ Medtronic
+ American Medical Systems
+ ING Financial
+ Hearth Connection
+ Give Us Wings
+ Cargill
+ GE
+ Cox Enterprises
Wow! A turning point in my career in so many ways:
+ I lead the global re-branding of The FISH! Philosophy with so many talented folks, many of whom are still great friends today
+ I lead the successful, U.S. launch of the product extension, FISH! For Schools, with so many more amazing people – including educators, teachers and students alike
+ I started my first blog, The Carrot, and continued my personal 2.0 marketing transformation
+ I met and learned so much from a completely new group of effective, creative, optimistic, passionate professionals – those in the world of Organizational Development – including one of my future business partners, Jacqueline Prescott
+ I was working at Charthouse when I drew up the napkin vision for frank at McSorely's in NYC
Never mind my career: those were among three of the most powerful years of my life!
In the past 10 years I focused on marketing to consumers 50 and better, I've specialized in the industries of health and well-being, retirement communities, financial services and travel and tourism, including work for Medtronic, Sag Harbor, Turkish Tourist Office and Waters of Vermilion - a maintenance-free community of luxury cabins on Lake Vermilion in Northern Minnesota.
I also published several articles on mature marketing (including a chapter on U.S. Seasoned Travelers to be published in a new Boomer Marketing book in early 2003), earned many Gold and Silver Mature Media Awards. My colleagues at CODE50 and Sandcastle were also frequent speakers at corporations and national marketing conferences, including:
+ American Express
+ Aruba Certified Travel Agent Conference
+ General Mills
+ Health & Beauty Global Expo
+ Institute for International Research
+ Johnson & Johnson/Merck
+ Kraft Foods
+ New York Office on Aging
+ Strategic Research Institute
+ World Affairs Council
My work has also captured the attention of the trade and consumer media with feature stories appearing in American Demographics, Minneapolis Star/Tribune, New York Times, PROMO Magazine, St. Paul Pioneer Press and Twin Cities Business Monthly.
In 1995, I co-founded The Sandcastle Group: a full-service advertising agency specializing in leading-edge Baby Boomers - consumers aged 50 and better. It was at Sandcastle that I co-created proprietary research methodologies named BAMBI and SAGE to gain deep, qualitative insights into mature consumers.
For example, I conceived of sending Sandcastle staff and clients to The AgeGame at University of Minnesota to be sensitized to what it's like being an older member of our society. I also helped draft Sandcastle's Mature Excitement themes: a proprietary group of principles proven to more successfully resonate with and compel mature consumers to take the next step with an advertiser's product or service.
Our Sandcastle clients included:
+ AdvoLife
+ American Express
+ Choice Hotels
+ Jones Harrison Residence
+ Medica Health Plans
+ Minnesota Department of Health
+ Minneapolis Public Schools
+ Omron Health
+ Sageport
+ Starkey Hearing Aids
+ United Health Group
+ YMCA
After growing Sandcastle to a staff of 15 and several million in revenues in 5 years, we sold the agency to MDC, being folded into Colle+McVoy in 2000 and renaming it CODE50.
I moved to Minnesota in 1990 to work at Lee & Riley Micromarketing and Chuck Ruhr Advertising as senior copywriter creating print, direct mail and radio advertising for clients that included:
+ Toro
+ Target
+ TCF
+ Jennie-O
+ Hormel
+ Pannekoken Restaurants
+ MECC
+ March of Dimes
+ Cellular 2000
+ Minnesota Chore Corps – an information and referral network designed to help seniors live as independently as possible for as long as possible.
Copywriter on print, radio and TV advertising for brands including:
+ Coca-Cola
+ Mennen
+ Goodyear
+ General Motors
Junior writer focused on marketing, advertising, collateral and brochures for Chrysler Canada.
learn about KNARFs and the 3 most common types that may be blocking your social media success.
if you missed frankfest1, no worries, enjoy our video now. There are many more coming up! Just send me your email and I'll make sure you get an invite!
“John & the team at Frank helped Burns build our strategic plan in a simple 3 step process. 1. Confirm Core Values and Vision 2. Solidify Authentic Brand position and internal structures 3. Market manifestation, communication and Continuous improvement. John helped us ensure that our Authentic Branding was supported & strengthened through our Organizational Courage.”
"When a project calls for breakthrough thinking, I look to John and his colleagues at frank. With his unique insights, John stretches my initial assumptions about a project to uncover opportunities and creative solutions that I would otherwise miss. Partnering with the frank team is an inspiring experience, and the effects extend far beyond the individual project at hand.
Oh, and did I mention that John is FAST, often producing jaw-droppingly good materials overnight? I can't say enough about that."
“I've had the opportunity to work with John at several companies and have found him to be the consummate creative professional. John brings a high degree of professionalism and passion to his work.”
“In addition to his insight and creative talent, John has an extraordinary ability to get others to ask the right questions. He can fill up a whiteboard faster than anyone I've seen without ever picking up a marker. I am inspired by his commitment to promote youth literacy. John is an authentic leader."
“I love working with John! He is truly an inspiration. His creative thinking and guidance has helped me produce my best work. I value and appreciate John's intelligence, judgment, unrestricted creativity, and sense of humor. I wish he was involved in all my projects.”
“John is a pleasure to work with. He's strategic, respectful of time and resources and a creative problem solver. He brings great vision to every project he works on no matter the scope or complexity. It's always fun to work with John because I know that something special will happen. I'd be first in line to pick him to be part of my team.”
“John is one of my all time favorite collaborators. John brings a ton of positive energy, ideas, inspiration and insightful strategy/positioning to clients marketing initiatives. He can digest a lot of information and turn it into a unique brand position and deliver tactical ideas that support it. I look forward to the next time we work together.”
Thanks for scrolling all the way down here! Click on my pic for another glimpse into my life experiences.
Check out the pics and the local vibe of a global event at the frankosphere! And thanks to the perfect party partners – our friends at Star Collaborative!
This VisualCV is available as a printable .pdf file
