Professional Speaker has Silent Partner

Mr. Dorsey first became a client of FÖDA studio in 2005. Though we crafted tightly prepared, professional print materials for him, the package never felt right in terms of defining his brand; it was elusive. Though the work was competent, it seemed to not really speak on his behalf .

It became apparent what was wrong when we were again commissioned for his 2007 campaign. All image, all Jason—packages filled with testimony, great quotes, and pictures of him with business leaders, celebrities, educators, students—yet nothing to hold onto. Our position was that though he was successful—and the material we designed was working—it could be vastly improved. The key was to stop presenting him as a product (which all his prior designers, including us, had done), and to start presenting him as a person.

It’s our contention that anyone who spends time writing books, thinking about how to help people reach their potential, and is willing to get out and share those things with large audiences, must really care. We saught to show compassion, approachability, confidence, a demonstration of warmth, humor, and intellect. Stop explaining. Set proper expectations for his audience and buyers. Build a brand, not a marketing slick.

The mechanics of this meant photographing him in a new way; removing excessive copy, unifying his material into considered, contemporary graphic standards and reducing the amount of imagery contained each package. In essence, following the philosophy we preach with every client: no gesture is arbitrary. Each decision will either strengthen or weaken the message. Period.

Enough credit cannot be given to photographer Nils Juul-Hansen. His talent and professionalism meant art direction for us was simply a matter of attire and distracting the client from the camera. Nils’ naturalistic and lack-of-affectation style feathered perfectly with our repositioning of JRD.

At the end of the year, a 35% increase in Jason’s sales and an appearance as a Gen Y Expert on 60 minutes helped to validate our position. The overhaul was a success.

We closed the year by re-applying the new brand strategy to his Generation Y market materials, and have begun work redesigning his book covers. We withhold showing you the interiors of these packages at the client’s request.

Make an appointment with us at the studio if you’d like to see and learn more about the work. Design Team: Jett Butler, creative director, with designers Nikki Niehus, Sean Lopano, Melissa Martin and JR Crosby. Photography by Nils Juul-Hansen. Printed by The Whitley Company.