Dan Ledman

WEBSITE

Reebok has been pushing the boundaries of their casual footwear recently with striking releases like the Run.r 96 and 3D.OP98. Their focus on unique silhouettes with eye-catching shapes has garnered new fans the world over, and they’re keeping the unexampled look rolling with another brand-new shoe: the Sole Fury. Utilizing an updated take on Reebok’s classic Split Cushioning technology from the ’90s that was first debuted on the legendary InstaPump Fury, the shoes feature a blocky two-piece midsole and a two-tone upper, split directly between a white lateral side and a white/volt medial side. Interweaving of multiple textures add a layered effect to the upper, which is then tied together — both literally and figuratively — with thick neon laces.

The website featured:

Personalized shopping experiences based on user preferences and browsing history.

Advanced 3D product views allowing customers to explore Sole Fury sneakers in unprecedented detail.

Virtual try-on capabilities that leverage augmented reality (AR) to allow customers to visualize the footwear on their own feet in real time.

Interactive fit guide with AI-driven recommendations to help users find their perfect fit with precision.

Enhanced mobile experience, optimized for smartphones and tablets, ensuring a smooth shopping experience on the go.

Since its launch, the website has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from users and industry experts alike:

Traffic Surge: The site saw a 200% increase in daily visitors in the first week, signaling strong demand for the Sole Fury line.

Conversion Rate: The website achieved an impressive 4.5% conversion rate (up from the industry average of 1.5%) in the initial 30 days.

Engagement: Users spent an average of 4 minutes per session, exploring product details, customer reviews, and interactive content.

Sales Impact: Sole Fury sales have seen a 30% increase compared to the previous quarter, driven by the website’s launch and promotional campaigns.

DIGITAL EXPERIENCE

Dewar's Blended Scotch Whisky stands as a testament to the art of blending, where craftsmanship and tradition merge to create a whisky that’s rich, complex, and remarkably smooth. Unlike single malt Scotch, which comes from one distillery, Dewar's is carefully composed from a mix of fine malt and grain whiskies, each chosen for its distinct character and unique contribution to the final harmony.

The true magic lies in Dewar's meticulous blending process, which begins with selecting the finest aged whiskies from Scotland’s most renowned distilleries. These diverse whiskies are then combined and married in oak casks, allowing them to further mature together, marrying their flavors into a balanced masterpiece. The result is a whisky with layers of complexity—sweet, floral notes intertwining with hints of honey, vanilla, and dried fruits, all anchored by a subtle smokiness and a smooth, velvety finish.

The Master Blender game for Dewar’s website allowed users to step into the shoes of a whisky expert and create their own perfect blend. 

Through a dynamic, 3D interactive experience, players could mix and match various attributes of Dewar’s blended whisky, from the balance of smoky to sweet notes, to the richness of the flavor profile. With a simple, intuitive interface that drew inspiration from the beautiful Dewar’s Aberfeldy Distillery, users experimented with different combinations, learning the art of blending while crafting their own signature whisky. Upon completion, each blend was given a unique character, reflecting the player's personal touch—turning every participant into a master blender, one pour at a time.

In a world where many are drawn to the individuality of single malts, Dewar's reminds us that blending is an art form in itself—one that brings out the finest qualities of each whisky, creating something greater than the sum of its parts.

Your skill. Your blend. Your legacy.

MOBILE APP

Exxon Mobil Speedpass+ was designed to make fueling faster, simpler, and more rewarding. By integrating cutting-edge mobile wallet technology with a customer-first approach, the app transforms the way drivers interact with Exxon and Mobil gas stations, offering a seamless and efficient experience from the moment you arrive to the moment you drive off.

Key features included:

Pay with Ease: Skip the line and pay directly through your phone with just a tap. The app allows for quick, secure payments using your preferred debit or credit card, or even via Apple Pay or Google Pay.

Locate Stations: Easily find nearby Exxon and Mobil stations, along with real-time fuel pricing and station amenities, ensuring you're always prepared before you hit the road.

Rewards on the Go: Earn rewards with every purchase. With Exxon Mobil’s rewards program, you can save on fuel, car washes, and more—simply by using the app.

Track Your Spending: Stay in control of your budget with detailed transaction histories, so you can monitor fuel costs and rewards progress at a glance.

By introducing a fully integrated mobile payment system, Exxon Mobil not only modernized its fueling process but also enhanced convenience for millions of drivers. The app’s simple interface and streamlined functionality immediately gained traction among busy commuters, fleet operators, and everyday drivers seeking to optimize their fuel stops:

Increased Customer Loyalty: The convenience and rewards system fostered deeper brand loyalty. Users who adopted Speedpass+ saw higher engagement rates, with a notable uptick in repeat transactions and longer-term app usage.

Higher Fuel Efficiency: With the app’s easy-to-use station locator, customers were able to find stations with lower prices, leading to smarter fueling choices and cost savings, while ensuring an efficient and seamless refueling experience.

Accelerated Digital Transformation: The Speedpass+ app accelerated Exxon Mobil’s digital transformation, aligning with consumer expectations for on-demand, frictionless services in every aspect of their lives. The app also paved the way for further innovation in other retail touchpoints, including loyalty programs and integrated payment solutions.

CAMPAIGN

How do you signal the launch of Tomcat Advanced, Tomcat's new premium "more palatable" (yes it contains bacon & oysters) purple mouse bait? Easy. You open a restaurant.

We used classic chain restaurant advertising tropes (Chili’s, Red Lobster, Olive Garden) as a jumping off point for the campaign, using humor to disarm people in an uncomfortable category (mice are not something most people enjoy dealing with).

We worked with Vayner Media for a full funnel campaign to celebrate the opening of the Tomcat Bistro where the only thing they serve is purply, tasty bait! We were lucky enough to partner with the talented Anthony Farquhar-Smith who has worked with Tim Burton on Corpse Bride and was lead animator on Wes Anderson's delightful Fantastic Mr. Fox.

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Agency: Vayner Media
Director: Anthony Farquhar-Smith
Brand Creative Director: Dan Ledman
Creative Manager: Mark Field
Integrated Marketing Director: Jackie Shardo
Integrated Marketing Manager: Jill Heschel
Brand Director: Emily VonStein

CAMPAIGN

Bonnie Plants, the category leader in herb and vegetable live goods, often focuses on the plants themselves. With over 300 varieties of tomatoes, peppers, and many other herbs, it's easy to understand why: Bonnie’s mission is to provide gardeners a variety of healthy and exciting options for their gardens and they’ve been doing it for over 100 years.

But anyone who plants plants, does so because they want to cook amazing things with their harvest. So we created an upper funnel brand awareness story to remind people one of the main reasons they garden: so they can eat healthy and delicious things! We wanted to ignite the imagination and not just focus on the plants themselves or the “planting” process.

We partnered with the uber talented Buck animation studio to create a thrilling and mouth watering journey across the globe ... from a backyard garden, to an Italian kitchen, to an Ethiopian street fair and back again. Thanks to the team at Buck for helping us bring our vision to life.

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Agency: Buck
Chief Creative Officer: John Sass
Creative Director: Dan Ledman
Writer(s): Dan Ledman, Adam Hanft
Animation/VFX/Sound: Buck
Producer: Robyn Perry

CAMPAIGN

Taking care of a lawn is hard work and homeowners have many questions about their lawns. When is the best time of year to fertilize? How often should I mow? What are grubs? When do I treat for crabgrass? And who better to help people with their lawns than Scotts.

The challenge is not everyone likes to learn the same way and sometimes educational content can be a snoozer.

So we created “The Scotts Way,” an instructional animated series for hand raisers who need tips on how to get that beautiful Scotts yard. We were inspired by the wildly fun Instructoart style and felt it was the perfect way to connect with millennial homeowners in an irreverent and relatable way. We started with longer form YT content, but sliced and diced into shorter social :15s and more easily digestible tips for channel specific consumption. We worked with the talented design team of Jeremy Slagle of Slagle Design (illustration) and Joey Judkins of JJ Motion Studio (animation/sound) who helped us bring our vision to life. There are 17 episodes so far.

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Animation Director: Joey Judkins
Animators: Joey Judkins, Zak Tietjen, Pip Williamson, Ross Plaskow
Illustrators: Jeremy Slagle, Caleb Slagle
Sound Design: SonoSanctus
Brand Creative Director: Dan Ledman
Creative Manager: Mark Field
Manager, Digital Content: Su Reid-St.John
Manager, Social Media: Avriel Rayls
Social Analyst: Morgan Dominique
Project Manager: Leslie Lezon

CAMPAIGN

Part of our relationship with Tidy Cats was to continually look for ways for the brand to stay relevant outside of pure product promotions. Staying relevant, demonstrating core values and standing for something beyond “our products are great” is important for every brand, but can be especially challenging for a cat litter brand. But thankfully, well…. cats.

In the spirit of continuing to use humor to connect with their passionate cat owner audience, we chose to spoof Shark Week - the popular Discovery Channel phenomenon - and create Kitten Week. Among other tactics, we shot a series of webisodes featuring terrifying kitten attack survivor stories, using classic shark attack re-enactments as our inspiration. We shot the entire series in one day at a house in New Albany with an SLR and a 6” LED light panel. That's me with the terrible beard. Great work by our one man production army Jason Poteat: DP, AD, shooter, gaff, grip, editor.

Campaign was an Addy Award Winner for Best in Show.

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Agency: IBMiX
Creative Director: Joe Niedecken, Mark Hillman
Director: Dan Ledman
Motion Graphics: Dan Ledman
DP/Editor: Jason Poteat
Producer: Colleen Duffy
Writer: Luke Oppliger, Jason Poteat, Dan Ledman

CAMPAIGN

To accompany the launch of Scotts Rapid Grass, the amazing new grass seed that grows 2X faster than seed alone (no joke, new lawn in 2-3 weeks), we created a dynamic campaign that focuses on the one thing people growing new grass truly care about: speed. We were inspired by films such as X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) that played with time differentials and dynamic speed contrasts in order to communicate the idea of how it will feel to the customer to have a beautiful new lawn so quickly.

We were lucky enough to partner with Director Wally Pfister (best known for his work as Cinematographer with filmmaker Christopher Nolan on films like Memento, The Dark Knight Trilogy, and Inception) who brought his unique perspective and dynamic eye to the content.

Everything else just seems… slow.

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Agency: Vayner Media
Director/DP: Wall Pfister
Brand Creative Director: Dan Ledman
Creative Manager: Mark Field
Integrated Marketing Director: Jackie Shardo
Integrated Marketing Manager: Melissa Lyle

CAMPAIGN

Kingsford has been the gold standard for charcoal, barbecue and grilling for the past 100 years. We helped them create a summer grilling season campaign to supercharge their traditional charcoal product line with the help of Coach Carl. Through a series of video shorts, a robust Twitter campaign and a sweepstakes, Coach Carl dispensed invaluable (kind of) grilling tips and engaged with hungry brand enthusiasts all season long.

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Executive Creative Director: Mark Hillman
Creative Director: Joe Niedecken
Director: Dan Ledman
Producer: Colleen Duffy
Writer: Luke Oppliger
Editor: Jason Poteat
Motion graphics/animation: Zack McFarlen

BRANDING

For over 100 years, Bonnie Plants has been the leader in the consumer vegetable and herb category (if you have purchased a tomato plant or basil plant, odds are it was from Bonnie, but you prob didn’t know it) and with over 70 privately owned growing stations, has the largest network of nurseries, which means plants do not have to travel far to our stores.

Even with a lead in market share, Bonnie still has a significant lack of awareness (less than 35%) and a tired brand identity (Scottish tam o shanter hat?). We worked closely with our agency partner Ologie to create an entirely new visual language that celebrates Bonnie’s heritage while positioning the brand for a contemporary grower. The new brand identity will be rolling out in 2023.

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Agency: Ologie
Agency Creative Director: Paul Davis
Brand Creative Director: Dan Ledman
Creative Manager: Brian Schmitt
Integrated Marketing Manager: Robyn Perry
Brand Manager: Michael Morris

BRANDING/ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN

In 2016, Columbus competed against 77 cities nationwide to win the Smart City Challenge: a $40 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to turn Columbus into a Smart City through several technology driven initiatives. Smart Columbus was born.

As the Smart Columbus continues to grow, they will move into a brand new space along the Scioto Mile in downtown Columbus. We partnered with them to create a public facing Experience Center learning exhibit space as part of their new office. The new 3,000 square foot showroom at 170 Civic Center Drive will be open to the public six days per week, and serve as a place where residents can view how the various programs will work through a series of interactive displays, test drive new electric vehicles, and can sign up to be involved in other participatory programs.

The Smart Columbus Experience Center opened in downtown Columbus in July 2018.

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Executive Creative Director: Chuck Wagner, Dan Ledman
Creative Director: Meredith Yuskewich, Todd Yuzwa
Associate Creative Director: Jason DiPietro, Kevin Larson
Art Director: Richie Teleron
Writer: Meredith Yuskewich, Rikki Austin
Animation/design: Jason DiPietro, Kevin Larson, Chris Zajd
3D animation/design: Chris Zajd, Brooke Cardoza

BRANDING

No comparison, no compromise. Scotts ProVista sets a new standard for turf grass (sod) and an undeniably beautiful lawn:

Beautiful grass
ProVista is extremely resistant to weather extremes – dense shade and extreme heat/sun – which allows for an even lawn, regardless of shade conditions.

Cost Effective
Slow growth means significantly less mowing—saving on average $1,800 per acre each year in fuel costs.

Complete Weed Control
Resistant to fertilizers and dense enough to crowd out weeds, ProVista will slow-grow in sun or shade—saving time and money. You can literally put RoundUp on ProVista turf and it will not damage the grass.

Good For The Planet
ProVista grass maintains a deep, dark green—needing 20% less fertilizer and 50% less mowing than conventional lawns. Less mowing means less emissions.

With so many unique benefits and a variety of audiences (home builders, landscapers, growers and homeowners), we needed to create a strong brand identity for ProVista that celebrated its unique qualities and helped it stand apart from other turf/sod options. We worked closely with Bonfire Red to create a stunning design system that worked across a variety of grass types, audiences and applications.

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Agency: Bonfire Red
Brand Creative Director: Dan Ledman
Brand Director: Ben Wideseth
Integrated Marketing Manager: Molly Taylor

PACKAGING

Ortho’s New Mosquito Suppressor product – Ortho Stealth – uses mosquito breeding habits against them to suppress the mosquito population in your yard and provide continuous relief from pesky mosquitos. You place Ortho Stealth some place outside and inconspicuous in your yard. Mosquitos fly into the device, become infected with the active agent and fly back to the rest of the population. It kills up to 80% of male mosquitoes within days and prevents up to 95% of future mosquitos.

We were inspired by the tactical precision of the product itself and leaned into video game and military visual creative constructs to guide our exploration. We worked with the fabulous Paul Demyanovich of HiFi Brands to create a package that truly pays off the name and the single minded proposition of Ortho Stealth. Sleek. Covert. Clean. Hidden. Effective.

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Agency: HiFi Brands
Design lead: Paul Demyanovich
Brand Creative Director: Dan Ledman
Creative Manager: Charlie Larger
Brand Manager: Sam Stecher

PACKAGING

We needed to develop dynamic packaging design for Spring Ahead, a new all-purpose shake-n-feed fertilizer product by Miracle-Gro, in efforts to win the eyes and hearts of new-to-gardening consumers. The key benefit of Spring Ahead is the sustained feeding promise - up to 6 months of feeding, something remarkable and revolutionary to the category.

Today, young consumers are investing in plant decor due to a longing to nurture, but moreover: a desire to nest and imbue their homes with a lush aesthetic. When we took a look at the current shelf set in the garden centers where Spring Ahead would live, we noticed the competition was extremely disconnected from other lifestyle-driven brands. These products tended to focus on the specific, measurable results experienced by one’s yard, making gardening feel more like a task than a hobby. We set out to make something beautiful and arresting that would align with the values of a millennial shopper. We wanted every day gardening and plant care to feel like something enjoyable, not like work. We wanted people to smile every time they reached for the product on their shelf, almost like a collectable piece of art.

We worked with Marks agency in Cincinnati who gave us something arresting, something unique, something new and fresh in the category. It’s not every day you can take packaging creative and extend it to a suit, but we did.

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Agency: Marks
Associate Creative Director: Jeff Raulie
Brand Creative Director: Dan Ledman
Creative Managers: Xan Palay, Brian Schmitt
Integrated Marketing Manager: Summer Myers

PACKAGING

Today there are better ways to do practically everything — to watch movies and rides, to get groceries and ideas, to do your laundry, to make friends and share memories. So why not a better way to grow plants?

Surprise is a growing mix sold online made of wood fiber + coir that can be used anywhere, is lightweight, made with renewable ingredients, gnat resistant, grows plants 2x bigger (vs. unfed), feeds up to 6 months, and comes in a resealable packaging. It is lightly compressed to save space and is fluffy in texture. It is truly a revolutionary new “soilless soil” that can change the way people garden.

We worked with Marks agency in Cincinnati who gave us something arresting, something unique, something new and fresh in the category. Knowing this is a DTC only SKU (it will not be sold in brick and mortar stores) gave us opportunity to appeal to a younger audience who is drawn to brands that are disruptors in their categories. With a subtle endorsement from Miracle-Gro, we purposefully distanced ourselves from the master brand to allow Surprise to stand on its own and shed the perceptions of traditional big box garden soil (expensive, heavy, riddled with chemicals). We leaned in hard to a sustainable, upcycled message we could truly take credit for and we knew would resonate with a younger generation of gardener.

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Agency: Marks
Associate Creative Director: Jeff Raulie
Brand Creative Director: Dan Ledman
Creative Managers: Brian Schmitt
Marketing Manager: Summer Myers

CONTENT CREATION

DSW found themselves trapped between bargain basement discounters and high-end fashion resellers. They had the need to create a meaningful brand connection with target consumers through enhanced digital experiences and new ways to buy. As DSW’s omni-channel strategy and design partner, we were tasked with helping the brand evolve and position itself for the future in an ever-changing retail landscape. Our work began with a deep omni-channel strategy and a 2-year roadmap for evolving and connecting the website, mobile, social and in-store touch-points. Concurrent with the omni-channel strategy and website redesign, we created a comprehensive content strategy and modular design system to fuel the website and all social media channels. Instagram Stories were launched with an established follower base of 163k in 2016, offering a more personal and human way to engage users and communicate brand moments, key initiatives, campaigns, trends and product stories. Our posts were filtered against three Inspiration driven criteria: beautiful shoes, beautiful photos, beautiful locations.

We continue to leverage social media influencers as well as cultural events to engage with our audiences. These events provide location photography, organic social content and live streaming opportunities. Digital channels have accelerated DSW growth, and we continue to mine insights and leverage customer data to ensure that DSW is always top-of-mind, reaching our customer at the right time in the right way. 

• 51% increase in total social follower growth per month

• 100% increase in follower growth on Instagram

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Executive Creative Director: Brian Adams, Dan Ledman
Creative Director: Todd Roeth
Photographer: Jason Poteat, Jordan Katterheinrich
DP/camera op: Jason Poteat, Jordan Katterheinrich, Todd Roeth
Video editor/animation: Jason Poteat
Video editor/animation: Jordan Katterheinrich
Writer: Amy Turn Sharp

CAMPAIGN

Gillette Venus asked us to develop a campaign around their exclusive partnership with Kendall & Kylie Jenner. So we partnered with Gillette’s PR firm and developed a digital series focused on Kendall and Kylie sharing tips with fans about fashion, makeup, going out, ways to feel confident and how they like to have fun. We filmed in their home for two days. Bruce showed us his remote control helicopters. Chris cooked us eggs at 5am. The eggs were fantastic.

As you can imagine, engagement was high. Fans showed up on Facebook, Instagram and on Twitter to listen to anything the Jenners had to say about… well, anything.

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Director: Dan Ledman
Creative Director/writer: Jen Meredith
Camera operator: Dan Ledman, Kevin Larson
Editor: Kevin Larson
Design/animation: Zack McFarlen
Producer: Colleen Duffy

DIGITAL SIGNAGE

Barnes & Noble continues to be the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the country. Brick and mortar plays a significant role in their omni-channel strategy and as such, we are continually looking for ways to help them differentiate and to create experiences for the consumers that give them reasons to continue to visit the store vs seek other means of inspiration.

We worked directly with Barnes & Noble’s in-house marketing team to create an animated promotional, video content series for their giant, 3-screen, 4k in-store kiosk displays. The monthly campaign features new and bestselling books. We use the cover artwork and book concepts as fuel for the short animations which are designed to inspire seeker shoppers who are looking for that next great read. We help decide which books to feature based on the creative possibilities each book and story present. The animations are coupled with real-time ratings & reviews and quotes from critics.

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Executive Creative Director: Rich Ruggerio, Dan Ledman
Associate Creative Director: Ben Hurte, Jason DiPietro
Animation/design: Jason DiPietro
Animation/design: Kevin Larson
Animation/design: Chris Zajd
Animation/design: Brooke Cardoza
Animation: The Garden
Producer: Colleen Duffy

PHOTOGRAPHY

Owned by Berkshire Hathaway, NetJets was and is the first private business jet charter and aircraft management company in the world. They treat every owner with unparalleled service with a focus on safety, reliability and access. With an innovative shared ownership model, customers are able to have access to private flight travel without the inconveniences of ownership: maintenance, access, plane repositioning, etc. We partnered with NetJets and the visionary Kurt Iswarienko (photographer, Director) to create a beautiful campaign elevating their rigorous safety measures, commitment to details and the access NetJets offers their owners.

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Director/Photographer: Kurt Iswarienko
NetJets Creative Director: Jen Meredith
Executive Creative Director: Dan Ledman, Mark Hillman
Creative Director/writer: Meredith Yuskewich
Agency Producer: Barry Zeidman