Since I was assigned as the Creative Lead to the Whirlpool Corp. Builder and Trade account, I have been immersed and felt growth like no other account in my marketing career. Here are some of the highlights.
Whirlpool Pro
The client had asked us to create a new experience for their trade-facing customers. The new website was born from discovery and UX research, resulting in an industry-first (and only) persona-based website. It was after that I joined the account as Creative Lead.
From those beginnings, we evolved from what was an MVP to the award-wining site that it is now.
- Dig into WordPress to standardize the typography.
- Identify additional plugins with developers to bring our ideas to life.
- Persuade our account team to allow us to make incremental changes to the site to keep it fresh and exciting.
- Lead the designer to the new brand identity the Corporation established in early 2021.
- Identify opportunities for enhancements to the site in terms of functionality, simplification, and incorporation of new user experiences to keep the site looking and feeling fresh.
Content Marketing and CRM
My immersion came to life through our content marketing strategy. Working closely with our PR lead, I contributed monthly to our CRM Email program as well as lead the design team to identifying the right images from the Whirlpool Digital Library.
What does immersion look like for me?
- Every day I would read news relating to our audiences – builders, architects, designers, remodelers and distributors
- Shared that content with my PR counterpart who would often include it in her weekly briefing to the client
- Help to steer and educate my coworkers about new competitive products or upcoming trends.
- Attended national tradeshows on behalf of the client to see what the competition was doing but also to advance my knowledge to identify opportunities
Experiential Marketing
I love trade shows. Designing for them is a special treat where I can bring the brand to live and serve it to the people with instant gratification. In my tenure as creative lead, we have evolved the Whirlpool Corp. booth from a 100 sq. ft. table in a stall in a parking lot to a prominent, 8,000 sq. ft. space on the main floor. We encouraged them to move from showing appliances to telling stories about the kitchens.
Though I am rarely involved in the actual design work, I:
- Design the floor plan and flow of the booth
- Help determine which “kitchen stories” to tell
- Execute the first draft of appliance selections for each kitchen
- On-the-floor supervision and assistance two to three days prior to the show start and the day of (One year I even got to assemble the handles on the KitchenAid fridge!)
- Record the build process and the finished product, both still and video
- …behind the camera to interviews SMEs with our PR team (for our CRM program)
There’s not another place on the planet where all of that could come together like a trade show. Here are images from various shows throughout the years that bring me great joy:
my roles
Creative Direction
Creative Strategy
Annual Planning
Tradeshow Management
On-Site Setup
Video Recording
Video Editing
Photography